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Jacques Cartier Bridge

Inauguration ceremony

The inauguration ceremony started with a speech from the chairman of the Harbour Commissioners of Montreal, Senator W. L. McDougald. Monseigneur Georges Gauthier, archbishop of the diocese of Montreal, blessed the bridge. The Right Honourable William Lyon Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada, gave his speech by telephone from his office in Ottawa. He then open the curtains to unveil the commemorative plaque. At the time of the inauguration, the bridge was named the “Pont du Havre” or the “Harbour Bridge,” as it was built by the Harbour Commissioners of Montreal.

mckenzie king2

William Lyon Mackenzie King

Pont_Jacques_Cartier-Capsule-Inauguration-1956June 1956, inauguration of a fourth lane with Jean Drapeau, major of Montréal.

 

Stories and bridges


Bronze Bust
On June 30, 1934, the government of France gave Canada a bronze bust of the famous explorer and discoverer from Saint-Malo. The sculpture was officially unveiled on September 1, 1934. The bust was presented by Mr. Henry Bordeaux and was accepted on behalf of Canada by the Minister of Marine at the time, the Honourable Alfred […]

History of the toll at Jacques Cartier Bridge
Since its inauguration, users had to pay to cross the Jacques Cartier Bridge and only cash was accepted. Later, it was possible to raise toll fees, valid for the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges. Tolls existed for decades and were abolished in 1962. Automatic Toll System On September 8, 1959, toll collectors were replaced by […]

Lost in time
On August 9, 1926, the cornerstone was laid into Pier 26 at the corner of Notre-Dame Street and Craig Street (now Saint-Antoine Street) across from a spot called “the foot of the current” (“Au Pied du Courant”). No one knows the exact location of the stone on the pier, but we do know it contains […]