The Lost Code

Growing Cities

Factories and Homes Along the Lachine Canal at the End of the 19th Century

McCord Museum, VIEW-2942

William Van Horne's Home in Montréal, circa 1900

McCord Museum, MP-0000.27.38

Montréal in 1870

McCord Museum, MP-0000.1452.1

With industrialization, the exodus of the rural population, and massive British immigration, 19th century cities grew quickly and chaotically. In 1816, Montréal had a population of 10,000. It grew to over 57,000 by 1851 and surpassed 267,000 in 1901. The percentage of Quebecers living in the city rose from 11.2% in 1831 to 27.8% in 1881, and 36.1% in 1901.

Working class neighborhoods swelled and were filled with narrow, multiple-story buildings jammed together in unhealthy conditions. Conversely, bourgeois neighborhoods prospered on the outskirts of the cities, with their large, spacious homes nestled among shady trees. Luxurious villas housed business leaders, bankers, and politicians. In Montréal, affluent neighborhoods were located along Saint-Hubert and Saint-Denis streets, around Mount Royal, and in Westmount, Outremont, and Notre-Dame de Grâce. In Québec City, bourgeois families gravitated to Upper Town and Sillery.