Subscribe7 Montreal Metro Stations Named After Racists
Montreal's 68 metro stations reflectthe rich history of the city. The name of each stop cements in history the names of the people and ideas that played key roles in the development of the city and county.
ALSO READ: Montreal's 5 Most Racist Monuments
But like all cities, Montreal also has a darker history. Many of the figures celebrated in history books and metro stations also perpetrated terrible offenses. Of course, many of those people were products of their times. All early settlers in the region predicated their expansion on the ejection of indigenous people.
Included in this list are the 7 figures whose racist actions and rhetoric had huge consequences for the development of Montreal and Canada. This list is by no means conclusive. But as leaders, these people shaped Canadian society for decades if not centuries to come.
Frontenac
The station is named for Louis de Buade de Frontenac, governor of New France from 1672 to 1682. Frontenac is established a number of forts along the Great Lakes and is responsible for the expansion of the colony and expulsion of many indigenous people, with whom he engaged in constant warfare. He also supported selling alcohol to indigenous tribes as a means of controlling them.
McGill
The merchant used the labour of both black and native slaves to build the wealth he used to found the eponymous university.
Square Victoria – OACI
The infamous queen oversaw the rapid expansion of the British Empire in North America, Africa, and Asia. During her reign, the British engaged in ethnic cleansing and brutal subjugation on all three continents.
Laurier
Wilfred Laurier, prime minsiter of Canada from 1896 to 1911, advocated the confiscation of indigenous land and the expulsion of indigenous people in the name of Canadian nationalism. He also levied a hefty tax on Chinese-Canadians.
Jean-Talon
Intendant of New France in the mid-17th century, Jean-Talon, like Frontenac, campaigned to allow the sale of alcohol to indigenous people as a means of controlling them.
Henri Bourassa
The famous Quebec politician was a notorious anti-Semite. His idea of French Canadian nationalism excluded jewish people.
Lionel-Groulx
The famous priest and has a controversial history. Many historians point out his anti-Semitic rhetoric and fascist sympathies.
