In brief

Urban renewal: a “conspiracy” against Francophones?

Urban renewal deeply disrupts community life in Lowertown. Influential Francophones, led by Msgr Charles-Auguste Demers, point to the renewal project as a conspiracy against the capital city’s Francophones. While the conspiracy theory is never proven, it still haunts the memory of this unfortunate episode in Francophone history.

Black and white photograph of a priest clothed in white religious robes. He is standing at a church pulpit.

Charles-Auguste Demers, parish priest of the parish of St. Anne, Ottawa, on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the parish [1973].

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds de la paroisse Sainte-Anne (C72), Ph131-86.