The History of Montreal: The Story of Great North American City by Linteau Paul-Andre

Author:Linteau, Paul-Andre [Linteau, Paul-Andre]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781926824772
Publisher: Baraka Books
Published: 2013-03-31T21:00:00+00:00

Social inequality was also visible in the world of education, with pronounced differences between Protestant and Catholic schools. Since each school board was funded largely by a property tax collected from members of their religious denomination, Protestant schools had much greater resources, which had an influence on the quality of equipment at their disposal and on teachers’ salaries. The underfunded Catholic school commission paid poorly and its schools were overcrowded. Moreover, the rise in the number of pupils worsened the situation. Here, too, reformers tried to step in to improve the quality of teaching programs, teacher training, and school management, but they came up against stiff resistance from the Church, which saw education as a matter for it and it alone. In spite of everything, reforms were introduced, although their effects would mostly be felt after 1914.

The reform movement also questioned the treatment of women as second-class citizens. At the start of the twentieth century, Montreal was a hotbed of Canadian feminism. The Montreal Local Council of Women, founded in 1893 and aimed at the English for the most part, was joined by the Fédération nationale Saint-Jean-Baptiste, created in 1907 to reach out to the French-speaking population. Both organizations battled to have women’s political and legal rights recognized, and to allow them access to higher education and professional occupations. They played a very active role in the social reform movements. Key Montreal feminists were Marie Gérin-Lajoie and Julia Drummond, although countless other women, most of whom were comfortably well off, played their part too.

Along with these changes to the social landscape, the cultural world was burgeoning. A real French-language popular culture was emerging, one that was unique to Montreal. Resolutely urban, this culture still drew on French-Canadian traditions, but looked increasingly to the United States for inspiration. Mass-market newspapers played a key role in this cultural affirmation. Popular newspapers, especially La Presse and La Patrie in French and The Montreal Star in English, reached most homes and put forward a modernist vision of society. They were also devoting more and more space to a phenomenon that would become a major part of any city’s culture: professional sports. Long the preserve of well-heeled (usually English) amateur athletes and fans, sport was now well organized, with teams, stadiums, stars, and fans. Hockey was growing in popularity, to the detriment of lacrosse, and on its way to becoming Canada’s national sport.

Cinema was another novelty that carved a place for itself in Montreal in 1906 with the opening of the Ouimetoscope. Movies were hugely popular and theatres appeared all over the city to cope with the demands of a people in search of entertainment. Movies were only a part of the commercialization of leisure activities, another side of which was shown with the opening of amusement parks like Dominion Park in 1906.

The development of municipal parks encouraged leisure activities. Many other parks came to join the ranks of the biggest—Mont-Royal, La Fontaine, and Île Sainte-Hélène—and the city opened its first playgrounds.

The start of the century was also a vibrant time for upper-class culture.

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