The Caraquet Riot of 1875 National Historic Event
© The Canadian Illustrated News, vol. 11, no. 7, February 13, 1875. Montreal, Burland-Desbarats Lithographic and Pub. Co / Canadian Illustrated News / Canadian Research Knowledge Network
The riot in Caraquet in 1875 was designated as a national historic event in 2025.
Historical importance: milestone event in Acadian history and within Canadian society in the 19th and 20th centuries regarding denominational schools, the riot is an early example of the efforts of the country’s religious and linguistic minorities to resist discrimination.
Commemorative plaque: no plaque installedFootnote 1
The Caraquet Riot of 1875
The riot of the Acadians of Caraquet in January 1875 was a milestone event in Acadian and Canadian history. It was the culmination of four years of Catholic opposition in New Brunswick to the provincial Common Schools Act of 1871, which aimed to eliminate denominational schools and establish a secular school system publicly funded through a general tax. Following the violent arrest of protesters and the deaths of two men, the law was amended. Acadians continued to provide their children with the primary education of their choice, which helped shape their linguistic and cultural identity. The Acadian community created other educational establishments in the following years, which contributed to the political ascendancy of Acadians to elected offices. The riot has gained symbolic value in relation to cultural grievances, remains imprinted on the collective memory of Acadians, and it serves as an early example of the efforts of religious and linguistic minorities to resist discrimination in Canada.
The Common Schools Act came into force on 1 January 1872, resulting in the collection of a new school tax and the prohibition of religious parish schools and teaching by a member of a religious community. Catholics in the province, and particularly Acadians, were outraged because their education system was run by francophone religious communities. Even before the Act took effect, Catholics of New Brunswick had asked the federal government to intervene and disallow it. The federal government denied their request, despite objections from many members of Parliament. This was the first time the federal government was called to intervene in an area of provincial jurisdiction. The legal challenge went through the courts and reached what was then the highest court of appeal for Canada—the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in England, which ruled in 1874 against abolishing the Act.
Meanwhile, Acadian Catholic parish priests continued to lead the resistance against this new tax and refused to pay. Authorities seized and auctioned off their possessions. In support of their clergy, Acadians and other Catholics also refused to pay the school tax. When all the taxpayers of the Caraquet parish were convened on 14 January 1875 to set the tax rate and collection methods, they refused to pay and protested when they were told non-taxpayers would be denied the right to vote. Chaos ensued.
© Lebreton, Clarence. 2002. La Révolte acadienne : 15 janvier 1875. Moncton, Nouveau-Brunswick : Éditions de la francophonie (https://archive.org/details/larevolteacadien0000lebr)
The following day, some protesters appeared at the school board commissioners’ homes to force them to resign. On January 23, arrest warrants were filed against 15 protesters, and a letter was delivered to the abbot of Caraquet threatening to burn his presbytery if he did not stop the rioters. On the night of January 26, the Gloucester County sheriff arrived in Caraquet with six constables and ordered the arrest of the protesters. Many protesters were gathered at André Albert’s home when they learned of the warrants. The arrests on January 27 culminated in a violent confrontation between the authorities and the Acadians. Two men were killed: Louis Mailloux, an Acadian, and John Gifford, one of the men who had volunteered to assist the sheriff. Protesters were charged with seditious assembly on January 15 and accused of Gifford’s murder. The death of Mailloux did not result in any legal proceedings. However, the accused were ultimately released.
The softening of the application of the Common Schools Act, known as “the Compromise of 1875,” was partly the result of this riot and enabled Acadians to provide their children with the primary education of their choice. That choice became a driver of Acadian linguistic and cultural identity. This was one of the many educational crises regarding denominational schools in 19th- and 20th-century Canada.
“For the people of Caraquet and the Acadian community as a whole, it was important to achieve recognition for the events of 150 years ago, when men, most of them young fathers, rose to defend and protect their language and religion. This revolt began the ceaseless struggle of French speaking minorities outside Quebec to have their rights respected."
This press backgrounder was prepared at the time of the Ministerial announcement in 2025.
The National Program of Historical Commemoration relies on the participation of Canadians in the identification of places, events and persons of national historic significance. Any member of the public can nominate a topic for consideration by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
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