Cantley 1889 Articles
The following article first appeared in The Echo of Cantley Volume 25 no 10, May 2014. This article is made available for the enjoyment of others with the express permission of the Echo of Cantley.
Cantley's 25th Anniversary (Part one)
by Margaret Phillips (past-president Cantley 1889)
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the successful end of Cantley's six-year campaign for its separation from Gatineau. It is a time to remember and to thank those who worked so hard for our independence. If not for these men and women, our unique community would still only represent 7 percent of the City of Gatineau's population.
Many who are celebrating this year, consider 1989 to be the year that the Municipality of Cantley was founded. In fact, it was a resurrection. To help understand this, here is a short summary of the history of Cantley and its politics up to the time of the campaign for independence...
Cantley has a long rich history. For centuries, Aboriginal peoples traveled along and rested on our shores. In 1829, Cantley's first settler Andrew Blackburn arrived with his two sons. By 1842, there were 244 residents, mostly from Ireland and Scotland. These early settlers endured many hardships clearing the wilderness to create their farms. Many of their descendants live in Cantley today, some in their original family homesteads.
For 50 years, Cantley settlers had no voice in their own affairs. In the 1880s, two men in particular worked for self-government: Robert Kerr and Thomas E. Barrett. On September 12, 1889, their efforts were rewarded when the "Municipal Corporation of East Hull" was incorporated. Its boundaries were the Gatineau River on the West, Wilson's Corners on the North, West Templeton on the East and the railway on the South; 70 square miles, of which ninety-five percent was rural.
Cantley's first election was held on October 16, 1889. Alex Prud'homme became the first mayor on a motion by Council, whose first meeting was held at the home of James Davis on October 28. Interestingly, the majority of Cantley's Anglophones elected a respected Francophone as its first mayor and, until 1966, lists of civic representatives show both English and French names.
Our first town hall was on Montée de la Source, just North of River Road. It was later moved to a site opposite to today's Town Hall.
In January 1965, our council met for the first time under the name of "Municipalité de Touraine" in a new building on avenue Picardie. In 1971, the name changed to "Ville de Touraine". In 1975, Touraine and six other communities were combined to form the City of Gatineau.
Cantley was unhappy with this decision, imposed on them by the Quebec government without local consultation. It was losing its sense of identity and its unique rural interests were not being considered. There was a rapid rise in taxes. Cantley citizens were required to pay for their own water and sewage and also finance urban amenities they would never use.
Cantley was unhappy with this decision, imposed on them by the Quebec government without local consultation. It was losing its sense of identity and its unique rural interests were not being considered. There was a rapid rise in taxes. Cantley citizens were required to pay for their own water and sewage and also finance urban amenities they would never use.
