Antoine Labelle
Encyclopedia
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
and the person principally responsible for the settlement (or "colonization") of the Laurentians
Laurentides (region)
The Laurentides is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains...
. He is also referred to as "Curé Labelle" and sometimes, the "King of the North".
He was born in Sainte-Rose-de-Lima, the son of Maher Angelica and Antoine Labelle, who were not very well off. He studied at the Sainte-Thérèse seminary. Little is known about the first years of his life but it is known that he liked to read Auguste Nicolas
Auguste Nicolas
Auguste Nicolas was a French Roman Catholic apologetical writer.-Life:Nicolas was born at Bordeaux. He first studied law, was admitted as an advocate and entered the magistracy. From 1841-49 he was justice of the peace at Bordeaux.From 1842 he began the publication of his apologetical writings...
and Joseph de Maistre
Joseph de Maistre
Joseph-Marie, comte de Maistre was a French-speaking Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, and diplomat. He defended hierarchical societies and a monarchical State in the period immediately following the French Revolution...
. He added François-Xavier to his name in honour of Saint Francis Xavier. He was ordained as a priest on June 1, 1856 after a comparatively brief theological education from 1852 to 1855. His physical size made him a giant: he was 180 cm tall (6 ft) and weighed 152 kg (300 pounds). He was first appointed vicar at the parish of Sault-au-Récollet
Sault-au-Récollet
Sault-au-Récollet is a neighbourhood in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough, in the city of Montreal. It is located at the eastern edge of the borough...
by bishop Ignace Bourget
Ignace Bourget
Ignace Bourget was a French-Canadian Roman Catholic priest who held the title of Bishop of Montreal from 1840 to 1876. Born in Lévis, Quebec in 1799, Bourget entered the clergy at an early age, undertook several courses of religious study, and in 1837 was named co-adjutor bishop of the newly...
, and later to the parish of Saint-Antoine-Abbé, near the United States border, where he worked until 1863, after which he was assigned to the parish of Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle. About 1867, frustrated by his debts, he asked to be transferred to an American diocese or a monastery. Instead, Bishop Bourget asked to him to remain, assigning him to the more prosperous parish of Saint-Jérôme
Saint-Jérôme, Quebec
Saint-Jérôme is a town in Quebec, Canada, near Mirabel, about northwest of Montreal along Autoroute des Laurentides. The town is a gateway to the Laurentian Mountains and its resorts....
.
Labelle immediately sought the construction of a railway line in the Laurentians to encourage the area's economic development. One of his objectives was to put an end to the emigration of French Canadians towards New England, where many had found employment in textile mills. His social activism was recognized, and he was compared to Auguste-Norbert Morin, who founded Sainte-Adèle
Sainte-Adèle, Quebec
Sainte-Adèle is a municipality in Quebec, Canada, and is part of the Les Pays-d'en-Haut Regional County Municipality. It lies on the Route 117 about north-west of Montreal. Its tourism-based economy centres on its skiing and hotel industry...
. On the whole, he was responsible for five thousand people settling in the Laurentians.
Hugh Allan
Hugh Allan
Sir Hugh Allan, KCMG was a Scottish-born Canadian shipping magnate, railway promoter, financier and capitalist...
and John Joseph Caldwell Abbott acknowledged Labelle's support of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and when the first section of the Canadian Pacific's Montreal-Saint-Jerome railway line was inaugurated on October 9, 1876, one of the engines bore Labelle's name. Labelle received support from journalist Arthur Buies and coureur des bois
Coureur des bois
A coureur des bois or coureur de bois was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian woodsman who traveled in New France and the interior of North America. They travelled in the woods to trade various things for fur....
Isidore Martin.
On May 16, 1888, Quebec premier Honoré Mercier
Honoré Mercier
Honoré Mercier was a lawyer, journalist and politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the ninth Premier of Quebec from January 27, 1887 to December 21, 1891, as leader of the Parti National or Quebec Liberal Party ....
named Labelle deputy minister of the province's department of agriculture and colonization.
The end of his life was marked by difficulties with the Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada (historical)
The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
party, which placed pressure on bishop Édouard-Charles Fabre
Édouard-Charles Fabre
Édouard-Charles Fabre was Archbishop of Montreal in 1886 and of Sherbrooke and Saint-Hyacinthe in 1887.Fabre was the eldest of 11 children in an important Montreal business family...
, since Labelle had become too liberal for the party's taste and had fought the ultramontanes. He wanted to go to Rome before he died, but he died on January 4, 1891, at 58 years of age.
Honours
A large statue of Labelle was created by sculptor Alfred LalibertéAlfred Laliberté
Alfred Laliberté was a Canadian sculptor and painter based in Quebec. His output includes more than 900 sculptures in bronze, marble, wood, and plaster. Many of his sculptures depict national figures and events in Canada and France like Louis Hebert, François-Xavier-Antoine Labelle, Adam Dollard...
and was erected in front of the Saint-Jérôme cathedral. His efforts to colonize the Laurentides region figure prominently in the television series Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut
Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut
Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut is a Canadian television drama series, which aired on Radio-Canada from 1956 to 1970. One of the longest-running programs in the history of Canadian television, the series produced 495 episodes during its 14-year run and was one of the first influential...
.
The Papineau-Labelle Wildlife Reserve honors him and Louis-Joseph Papineau
Louis-Joseph Papineau
Louis-Joseph Papineau , born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the seigneurie de la Petite-Nation. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838. His father was Joseph Papineau, also a famous politician in Quebec...
.
A secondary school named after him was opened in Laval, Quebec
Laval, Quebec
Laval is a Canadian city and a region in southwestern Quebec. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third largest municipality in the province of Quebec, and the 14th largest city in Canada with a population of 368,709 in 2006...
in 1961, near the Roi-du-Nord park, which also honours Labelle. Curé-Antoine-Labelle School currently has more than 2600 pupils and more than 200 staff members.
Many other sites and landmarks were named to honor Curé Labelle. They include:
- Boulevard Curé-Labelle (Route 117Quebec route 117Route 117 is a provincial highway within the Canadian province of Quebec, running between Montreal and the Quebec/Ontario border where it continues as Highway 66 east of Kearns, Ontario...
), located in the Laurentides areaLaurentides (region)The Laurentides is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains...
, QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
; - The municipality of LabelleLabelle, QuebecLabelle is a village and municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Les Laurentides Regional County Municipality. Its large "L"-shaped territory surrounds Lake Labelle, and the village is located along the Rouge River and Route 117....
; - The regional county municipalityRegional county municipalities of QuebecFollowing is a list of the regional county municipalities and equivalent territories in the province of Quebec, Canada, as of January 2007...
of Antoine-LabelleAntoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality, QuebecAntoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality is located in central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentides region. The Regional County Municipality seat is Mont-Laurier.-Municipalities:* Chute-Saint-Philippe* Ferme-Neuve* Kiamika* La Macaza* Lac-des-Écorces...
; - The provincial electoral district of LabelleLabelle (provincial electoral district)Labelle is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. The riding was created in 1980 from parts of Laurentides-Labelle and Gatineau. The riding also existed from 1912 to 1973...
, QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
; - Rue Labelle (Labelle Street), located in Shawinigan, QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
.