Labelle, Curé Antoine National Historic Person
Saint-Jérôme, Quebec
Curé Antoine Labelle
(© William Notman. Société d’histoire de la Rivière-du-Nord; Fonds Mgr Paul Labelle.)
Address :
Saint-Jérôme, Quebec
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
2019-07-26
Life Date:
1833 to 1891
Other Name(s):
-
Curé Antoine Labelle
(Designation Name)
-
François-Xavier-Antoine Labelle
(Other Name)
-
Antoine Labelle
(Other Name)
Research Report Number:
2018-26
Importance:
Legendary figure in Quebec, he encouraged French Canadians to settle in areas of northern Quebec and Ontario, and Manitoba.
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: 355 Place du Curé-Labelle, Saint-Jérôme, Quebec
To curb the emigration of French Canadians to the United States, this parish priest of Saint-Jérome worked tirelessly to encourage their settlement in northwestern Quebec, northern Ontario, and Manitoba. Curé Labelle played a key role in the colonization of the Laurentides and the development of its railway lines. A strong-willed cleric with an atypical career, he served as Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Colonization in Quebec and went on government missions to Europe to encourage immigration. The memory of this colourful 19th-century figure, known as the “roi du Nord,” lives on in place names and popular culture.