RECOMMEND
 ADD COMMENT  READ COMMENTS (0)  PRINT  EMAIL  SHARE  THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA
0 people recommend this
Institut canadien, fd 17 Dec 1844 in Montréal by a group of young French-Canadian intellectuals who wished to establish a centre of patriotism and culture. The institut quickly became a political and cultural force in francophone society, and similar organizations were established in about 60 other centres. At first politically neutral, it fell under the spell of Louis-Joseph PAPINEAU and developed leftist leanings in harmony with L'Avenir, a newspaper fd July 1847, to which a number of members contributed articles. In 1854, 11 members were elected to Parliament. But their radical nature, which earned them the nickname "rouges" (see PARTI ROUGE), and their stand favouring annexation to the US caused the Liberal-Conservative Party and the clergy to join forces against them.

In 1858 the opposition of the bishop of Montréal, Mgr Ignace BOURGET, led to the resignation of 138 members, to Rome's condemning the institut and placing its 1868 yearbook on the index of forbidden books, and to the GUIBORD AFFAIR. Conservative public opinion turned against the institut, beginning a decline virtually completed by 1885. The Institut canadien had sponsored the most liberal and innovative discussions of the period, and its library was a collection of major scientific, legal and literary works. An ultraconservative political, social and religious climate ruined the hopes raised by its foundation.

Papineau, Louis-Joseph (Daguerrotype)
Complex and contradictory, Papineau was the first effective political leader of his people and a fitting symbol of their discontent (daguerrotype, courtesy Library and Archives Canada/C-66899).

Author PHILIPPE SYLVAIN


Links to Other Sites
Octave Crémazie
A biography of Octave Crémazie, bookseller, writer, and poet. From the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.

Feature Articles
Invention of Standard Time
Time waits for no man… and neither do trains...
MOST READ ARTICLES
Trudeau, Pierre Elliott
Pierre Elliott Trudeau, politician, writer, constitutional lawyer, prime minister of Canada 1968-79 and 1980-84 (b at ...
Great Depression
Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ...
Riel, Louis
Louis Riel, Métis leader, founder of Manitoba, central figure in the NORTH-WEST REBELLION (b at Red River ...
MOST RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
Group of Seven
The Group of Seven was founded in 1920 as an organization of self-proclaimed modern artists. The original members - ...
Macdonald, Sir John Alexander
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, lawyer, businessman, politician, first prime minister of Canada (b at Brunswick Place, ...
Great Depression
Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ...
MOST COMMENTED ON ARTICLES
Ware, John
John Ware, "Nigger John," horseman, rancher (b near Georgetown, SC 1845; d near Brooks, Alta 11 Sept 1905). ...
Créditistes
Créditistes, Québec party involved in federal politics. For nearly 2 decades before its 1958 formation ...
LaMarsh, Julia Verlyn
Julia Verlyn LaMarsh, "Judy," lawyer, politician, broadcaster, novelist (b at Chatham, Ont 20 Dec 1924; d at ...
newsletter subscription
* E-mail:
join us on facebook twitter
WIRE BLOG
Canada's Many Heroes and Heroines
by FRANCES CATION
WIRE BLOG
Welcome to the Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War Project blog!
by JENNA ZUSCHLAG MISENER
WIRE BLOG
Silence and Remembering
by JAMES MARSH
WIRE BLOG
A Message From George Brady
by CHRISTINA L
WIRE BLOG
The making of Hana's Suitcase by Director Larry Weinstein
by LARRY WEINSTEIN
INSIDE TCE
Gallery
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Interactive Resources
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
Canucklehead
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
Timeline
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
100 Greatest Events
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MUSIC IN CANADA
Zvankin, Peter
Zvankin, Peter (Phinehas Zvi). Composer, b Kherson, Russia, 15 Aug 1879, d Winnipeg 25 Aug 1975. He played clarinet 1903-6 in the Russian Army Orchestra then moved in 1906 to Winnipeg, working in the textile business and ...


Who's Who at TCE    |    Our Partners The Canadian Encyclopedia © 2009 Historica-Dominion Copyright Information