Timeline of Montreal history


The timeline of Montreal history is a chronology of significant events in the history of Montreal, Canada's second-most populated city, with about 3.5 million residents in 2018, and the fourth-largest French-speaking city in the world.

Pre-Colonization

  • The area known today as Montreal had been inhabited by Algonquin, Huron, and Iroquois for some 2,000 years, while the oldest known artifact found in Montreal proper is about 2,000 years old.
  • In the earliest oral history, the Algonquin migrated from the Atlantic coast, arriving, together with other Anicinàpek, at the "First Stopping Place". There, the nation found a "turtle-shaped island" marked by miigis shells.
  • The Iroquois, or Haudenosaunee, were centred, from at least 1000 CE, in northern New York, and their influence extended into what is now southern Ontario and the Montreal area of modern Quebec.
  • 1142 – The Iroquois Confederacy is, from oral tradition, said to have been formed in 1142 CE.
  • In the modern Iroquois language, Montréal is called Tiohtià:ke. Other native languages, such as Algonquin, refer to it as Moniang.
  • The St. Lawrence Iroquoians established the village of Hochelaga at the foot of Mount Royal.

16th century

  • 1535
  • * Jacques Cartier names the St. Lawrence River in honour of Saint Lawrence on August 10, the feast day of the Roman martyr. Prior to this, the river had been known by other names, including Hochelaga River and Canada River; Cartier penetrates far into the interior for the first time, via the river.
  • * September 19, Cartier starts his journey from Quebec City to Montreal, while in search of a passage to Asia.
  • * Cartier visits Hochelaga on October 2, claiming the St. Lawrence Valley for France. He becomes the first European to reach the area now known as Montréal. Cartier estimates the population to be "over a thousand".
  • * October 3, Cartier climbs the mountain on the Île de Montréal and names it Mont Royal; the name Montréal is generally thought to be derived from "Mont Royal".
  • 1556 – On his map of Hochelega, Italian geographer Giovanni Battista Ramusio writes "Monte Real" to designate Mont Royal.
  • 1580 – The St. Lawrence Iroquoians appear to have vacated the Saint Lawrence River Valley sometime prior to 1580.

17th century

1610–1629

  • 1611
  • * Samuel de Champlain, in the company of a young Huron, whom he had taken to and brought back from France on a previous voyage, visits the Île de Montréal.
  • * Champlain decides to establish a fur trading post at present-day Pointe-à-Callière.
  • * A young man named Louis drowns, thus giving his name to both the Sault-Saint-Louis and Lake Saint-Louis.
  • * Saint Helen's Island is named by Samuel de Champlain, in honour of his wife.
  • 1613–20 – The Compagnie des Marchands operates in New France but, in 1621, loses its rights in to the Compagnie de Montmorency, due to a breach of their contract.
  • 1615
  • * Denis Jamet and Joseph Le Caron say the first Catholic Mass on the island of Montréal.
  • * Samuel de Champlain, expected at the Saint-Louis Rapids in late June, does not arrive by July 8, prompting the Aboriginals, angry, to leave, taking with them Joseph Le Caron and twelve Frenchmen.
  • * Les Franciscains des Recollets, an order of French missionaries, are the first to settle Canada. A century later, a faubourg of Montréal adjacent to their residence in that city was called Faubourg des Récollets, a name still in use today.
  • 1627
  • * Cardinal Richelieu replaces the Compagnie de Montmorency with the Company of One Hundred Associates. The French Crown grants the new Company a monopoly on the fur trade, and directs it to colonize the St. Lawrence Valley.
  • * the King of France introduces the seigneurial system to New France, and forbids settlement by anyone other than Roman Catholics.

1630–1649

1650–1669

1670–1689

1690s

18th century

1701–1719

  • 1701 – August 4, Great Peace of Montreal : The French and Native Americans from across the continent conclude a historic alliance, at Pointe-à-Callière.
  • 1705
  • * Montreal is now the official name for the city formerly named Ville-Marie.
  • * Place Royale is designated as a marketplace.
  • 1706 – After 1706, deforestation along the riverbank is advanced enough that the opening of a road along the lake, from La Présentation to the tip of the Île de Montréal, is decreed.
  • 1709 – Slavery becomes legal in New France.
  • 1711 – The court orders the construction of a stone wall around the city.
  • 1713
  • * Jurisdiction of the Government of Montreal begins to the west of Maskinongé, Quebec and Yamaska and ends at the extremity of the inhabited area, namely fort Saint-Jean, Châteauguay and Vaudreuil.
  • * Michel Bégon decides to erect stone fortifications. The wooden walls are replaced with stone due to the threat of British attack.
  • * Pointe-Claire parish is first established in the name of St. Francis of Sales and dedicated to St. Joachim the following year.
  • 1717–1744 – Stone fortifications were erected according to plans by the architect Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry. The fortifications correspond roughly to the present-day limits of Old Montreal, with Rue Berri to the east, Rue de la Commune to the south, Rue McGill to the west, and Ruelle de la Fortification to the north.
  • 1719 – Pointe-aux-Trembles windmill is built at the corner of Notre-Dame Street and Third Avenue. Its three storeys make it the tallest windmill in Quebec that still stands.

1720–1739

  • 1721 – The great fire. New wood constructions are prohibited inside city limits.
  • 1726 – A dam is built to link the river bank to the Île de la Visitation – one of the most impressive feats of civil engineering of the French regime. It remains in operation until 1960.
  • 1731 – Orchards covered on the Île de Montréal, on the side of the mountain and around town. From 1731 to 1781, the surface area occupied by the orchards rise from.
  • 1732 – Montreal earthquake at 11:00 a.m. on September 16.
  • 1734
  • * The construction of Fort St. Frédéric begins.
  • * Marie-Joseph Angélique is tried and convicted of setting fire to her owner's home, burning much of what is now referred to as Old Montreal.
  • 1737
  • * Inauguration of the Chemin du Roy on the North Shore (Laval) between Montréal and Quebec City. The road's construction takes 4 years and requires the construction of 13 bridges. After its completion, people can travel from one city to the other in 4 days.
  • * Plague Epidemic.
  • 1738 – Marie-Marguerite d'Youville founds the Grey Nuns. In 1747, she becomes director of the Montreal General Hospital.

1740–1759

1760–1779

1780–1800

  • 1783
  • * The North West Company of Montreal is officially created.
  • * A lottery is started in Montreal to defray the cost of a new jail.
  • * Fleury Mesplet gets out of prison in September.
  • 1785
  • * Fleury Mesplet founds the newspaper The Montreal Gazette / Gazette de Montréal on August 28.
  • * In February, the Beaver Club is formed by members of the North West Company.
  • * A dark day on October 10. Candles are lighted at noon.
  • * Maison Papineau is built at 440 Bonsecours Street. It will be modified in 1831 and 1965.
  • 1786
  • * John Molson founds the Molson Brewery.
  • * Allen's Company of Comedians is the first professional theatre company to perform in the city.
  • 1787 – Prince William Henry, later William IV, arrives at Montreal on September 8.
  • 1787–1811 – John Reid is justice of the peace for the district of Montreal, which governs Montreal's affairs.
  • 1788 – The Gazette, formerly a French journal, appears in English.
  • 1789
  • * Lord Grenville proposes that land in Upper Canada be held in free and common soccage, and that the tenure of Lower Canadian lands be optional with the inhabitants.
  • * May 4 – The justices of the peace, who govern Montreal's affairs, order "the price and assize of bread, for this month" to be: "the white loaf of 4lbs. at 13d., or 30 sous", etc., and that bakers of the city and suburbs do conform thereto, and mark their bread with their initials.
  • * Christ Church opens for service on December 20.
  • 1791 – Edmund Burke supports the proposed constitution for Canada, saying that "To attempt to amalgamate two populations, composed of races of men diverse in language, laws and habitudes, is complete absurdity. Let the proposed constitution be founded on man's nature, the only solid basis for an enduring government."
  • 1792
  • * December 20 – a fortnightly mail is established between Canada and the United States.
  • * Opening of the first post office in Montreal on 20 December.
  • 1793 – Importation of slaves into Canada is prohibited on July 9.
  • 1799
  • * Mary Griffin obtains the lease to Griffintown from a business associate of Thomas McCord.
  • * The census of 1799 lists 9,000 inhabitants while that of 1761 lists 5,500.
  • * Citizens of Montreal petition to secure master's rights over slaves
  • * A measure respecting slavery in Lower Canada does not pass.
  • * Of twenty-one members of Council, in Lower Canada, six are French Canadians.
  • * The Court House is completed.
  • * January 3 – Parliament appropriates $5,000 for a new Montreal Court House.
  • 1800
  • * Alexander Skakel moves from Quebec City to Montreal and establishes the Classical and Mathematical School. This was the principal educational institution for the English-speaking population.
  • * Thomas Walker is elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for Montreal County.
  • * Thomas Porteous (merchant) purchases the seigneury of Terrebonne.
  • * Last Jesuit in Canada Dies leaving the Jesuit Estates to charities.
  • * Mr. Boue expelled from parliament because of dubious transactions in the Montreal wheat trade.
  • * Parliament votes to remove Montreal's Walls.

19th century

1801–1819

  • 1802 The first unofficial cavalry corps is formed in Montreal.
  • 1803–15 – With the Napoleonic Wars comes a demand for large amounts of squared timber for shipbuilding. Montreal is able to fulfil the demand, and this expansion of the city's economic base is reflected in a rise in population to 26,154 by the year 1825.
  • 1804–17 – The demolition of Montreal's fortifications takes 13 years, from 1804 to 1817.
  • 1805
  • * Thomas McCord returns to Montreal and recovers his land, which has been divided by Mary Griffin into streets and lots. The name Griffintown sticks.
  • * Thomas Porteous (merchant) opens a store at Sainte-Thérèse-de-Blainville, where he also produces potash.
  • 1807
  • * May – The Canadian Courant and Montreal Advertiser are first issued; owner and editor: Nahum Mower.
  • * The brothers James and Charles Brown begin publishing the Canadian Gazette/Gazette canadienne in July.
  • * An Act provides for a new market house in Montreal.
  • 1808
  • * In early 1808, sick and in debt, Edward Edwards sells the Montreal Gazette to the Browns, who the following month announce their plan to revive it.
  • * Importation of slaves is banned.
  • * July 12 – 5 privates of the 100th Regiment, Montreal, are charged with desertion and are transported as felons to New South Wales for 7 years, afterwards to serve as soldiers in that colony.
  • 1808-11 – A new prison is built.
  • 1809
  • * August 17 – The foundation of Nelson's Column is laid in Montreal. Installed on Place Jacques-Cartier, this is the second monument to be erected in Montreal.
  • * November 3 – John Molson's steamboat PS Accommodation sails from Montreal to Quebec. It is 85 feet over all, has a 6 horse-power engine, makes the distance in 36 hours, but stops at night and reaches Quebec on the 6th. The PS Accommodation is the second steamboat in America and probably in the world. The fare for an adult is £2.10s.od =$10.
  • 1810 – John Jacob Astor founds the Pacific Fur Company..
  • 1811 – Founding of the newspaper the Montreal Herald by William Grey and Mungo Kay, founders, owners and publishers.
  • 1812
  • * June 18 – The United States declares war against Great Britain over territorial disputes in Canada.
  • * July 11 – U.S. troops invade Canada.
  • 1814 – The Treaty of Ghent ends the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain.
  • 1815
  • * John Molson builds the luxurious Mansion House Hotel on Rue St. Paul.
  • * March – Parliament votes $25,000 for Lachine Canal.
  • 1816
  • * Population of Montreal is about 16,000.
  • * The National School is opened.
  • * May 14 – Thomas A. Turner and Robert Armour, Esq., are appointed commissioners for the improvement of internal navigation between Montreal and Lachine, under the Provincial Act 48 George III, c. 19.
  • 1816-18 – John Coape Sherbrooke is the Governor General of British North America; Sherbrooke Street and the town of Sherbrooke later named after him.
  • 1817
  • * The Bank of Montreal begins operations in June. Mary Griffin's husband, Robert, is the first clerk.
  • * Guy Street is named on August 30 for Étienne Guy, a notary who gave the city the land for the street.
  • 1818 – Saint Helen's Island was purchased by the British government. Fort de l'Île Sainte-Hélène was built on the island as defences for the city, in consequence of the War of 1812.
  • 1819 – Darkness at noon on November 9.

1820–1839

1840–1859

1860–1879

1880–1900

20th century

1901–1919

1920–1939

1940–1959

1960–1979

1980–1999

21st century

2001–2019