The Seigneuresses: These Women of Heart

Speaker: Michel Bélisle
When: Thursday, March 19, 2026, 19:30 - 21:00
Where: Centennial Hall,
       288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English, followed by a bilingual question period

Presentation of the role of seigneuresses, those wives of the great landowners from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The conference features five of them: Louise de Ramezay (Sorel), Louise-Élizabeth de Joybert de Marson (Vaudreuil), Louise-Madeleine Chaussegros de Léry (Rigaud), Marguerite Dufrost de la Jemmerais, mother of Youville (Châteauguay), and Jane Ellice (Beauharnois). These ladies, through their originality and strength of character, would mark in their own way the destiny of their seigniory, shaped by the atmosphere of those times, and the environment where they lived.

Michel Bélisle, author and lecturer, was born in Montréal. He studied Anthropology - Ethnology at Université de Montréal, and Design & Environment at UQAM. He worked as assistant-curator at McCord Museum, curator at Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, curator at Trestler House in Vaudreuil-Dorion. He was guest curator for many special exhibitions and wrote several books and brochures on Montreal West-Island and Vaudreuil regions.

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Uncorking the Past: The Saga of the Beaconsfield Vineyard

Speaker: Mona Andrée Rainville
When: Thursday, February 19, 2026, 19:30 - 21:00
Where: Centennial Hall
            288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield H9W 4A4
Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period

Beaconsfield owes its name to a bold experiment. In the late 19th century, a young Englishman, John Henry Menzies, followed the gentleman-farmer fashion of the day by turning a vast stretch of Pointe-Claire farmland into a vineyard he called the Beaconsfield Vineyard. The venture caused a stir at first, but the land soon proved better suited to leisure than to grapes. Meanwhile, part of the property was subdivided, and by 1880 the small community that emerged there was already calling itself Beaconsfield though it would not be officially incorporated until 1910. The story, however, overlooks a key figure. While Menzies is credited as the vineyard’s founder, the estate actually belonged to his wife, Mary Isabella Scott. She acquired it at the end of a rapid series of land flips and was the one who grasped its true potential. Rather than vines, she envisioned a haven of summer cottages. She had six built and, with remarkable foresight, secured perpetual access to the water for their owners. In doing so, she reshaped the property and set the tone for the community that would become Beaconsfield. This presentation revisits the Beaconsfield Vineyard Saga through the overlooked vision of Mary Isabella Scott.

Mona Andrée Rainville is a public historian, cultural mediator, genealogist, retired lawyer, and journalist. A law graduate of the Université de Montréal with earlier studies in journalism and physics, she brings her meticulous research and storytelling flair to uncovering the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Recipient of the Percy W. Foy Award from the Société généalogique canadienne-française, she has collaborated with cultural and museum institutions across Canada, France, and the United States. Formerly on the boards of Éditions Histoire Québec and the Fédération Histoire Québec, she now heads the Société d’histoire de Lachine and leads the Facebook group Les 2000 Femmes de la Nouvelle-France.

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History of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue

Speaker: Ryan Young
When: Thursday, January 15, 2026, 19:30 - 21:00
Where: Centennial Hall,
       288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English, followed by a bilingual question period

Ryan Young is a Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue City Councillor and a College Professor at JohnAbbott College who has done extensive research about the history of Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue. Every year, he leads a number of historical walking tours in the old village of Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue.

His talk will cover what is known about the Indigenous history of the area, the beginnings of European settlement on the western tip of the island of Montreal, and then continuing all the way through to the present day. With the aid of historical photographs, the old village buildings of Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue that still exist from the 1800s will be discussed along with the early history of Macdonald College in the early 1900s.

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Léo Major: the one-eyed liberator of Zwolle

Speaker: Luc Lépine
When: Thursday, November 20, 2025, 19:30 - 21:00
Where: Centennial Hall,
       288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English, followed by a bilingual question period

Léo Major is the only Canadian and one of only three soldiers in the British Commonwealth to receive the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) twice in separate wars.
First DCM: Major lost the use of his left eye a few days after D-Day. However, he returned fighting with the Régiment de la Chaudière. In 1945 after a successful reconnaissance mission during the liberation of the Dutch city of Zwolle: He was sent to scout the city with one of his best friends, a firefight broke out in which his friend was killed. Major decided to liberate the town by himself. He captured the highest ranking German Officer and convinced him that the Canadian Army was surrounding the city. Thanks to his efforts, the city was spared the artillery fire that was planned the next day by the Allies.
Second DCM: During the Korean War, on November 22, 1951, the Chinese 64th Army (around 40,000 men) began their attack: over the course of two days, the Americans were pushed back from Hill 355 by elements of the Chinese 190th and 191st Divisions. The 3rd U.S. Infantry Division tried to recapture the hill, but without any success. Léo Major was asked by his commanding officer to retake Hill 355. With the help of 75 French Canadiansoldiers, he held the hill for 72 hours against a force of 2000 Chinese soldiers.

Luc Lépine is a military historian and speaker. He studied at the Royal military College of Canada in Kingston. From 2003 to 2013, he taught history to officers of the Canadian Armed Forces. He has published books and articles on the French and Indian War and the War of 1812. Since 2015, he has been interested in the life of Léo Major. In 2019, he published the biography of Léo Major.

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250th anniversary of the Province of Quebec liberation attempt by the USA

Speaker: Jean-Pierre Raymond
When: Thursday, September 18, 2025, 19:30 - 21:00
Where: Centennial Hall,
       288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4

Lecture in English followed by a bilingual question period.

In 1775, an invasion of the Province of Quebec occurred. The Lotbinière family got involved on both sides of the issue. The father in law Chaussegros de Léry, while dead since 1756, had built Fort Chambly, part of Fort Niagara, the Montréal ramparts and the Québec ramparts all involved in the events. The son of de Léry built Fort St-Jean in 1748 and was part of Carleton's staff. De Lotbinière's son was a British artillery officer during the siege of Fort Saint-Jean and was taken prisoner in Philadelphia. His daughter lived with a British officer; they fled to Massachusett and he became an American officer. The brother of Lotbinière who was a Recollet joined the rebellion and retreated to New-York where he became the first Catholic Chaplain of the US Army. Finally, Michel Chartier de Lotbinière was sent by France to Boston to support the rebellion with his knowledge of artillery manufacture.

Jean-Pierre Raymond is a retired engineer and history buff who studies the first Canadian engineers..

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Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré
Le Cyclorama

Speaker: Hélène Jasmin
When: Thursday, October 16, 2025, 19:30 - 21:00
Where: Herb Linder Annex
             303 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A7
P.S. The access to the Herb Linder Annex is through the parking lot in the back of the City Hall and Library building. The door is by the Lawn Bowling fence at the end of the parking lot.

Lecture in French followed by a bilingual question period

The Jerusalem Cyclorama, a tourist site of invaluable heritage and artistic value, continues to inspire admiration from visitors of all faiths. This cyclorama is the largest in North America, measuring 14 metres high and 110 metres long.
Inaugurated in Montreal in early 1889 during a large exhibition, then relocated to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, the building had to close in the fall of 2018. The following year, the government of Quebec designated it as a heritage monument. Today, visits have resumed, in small groups
This 360-degree painting was originally admired in Montreal (at the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Urbain, now the Place des Arts). A unique work in Canada. We are in the era of 'panoramas', long before film projections.

Hélène Jasmin, author and speaker, was educated at UQAM in Sociology; at École de radio-télévision Pierre Dufault in Montréal; and Violin private class with Master Eugène Bastien, member of MSO. Her professional experience includes: freelance journalist for manyspecialised newspaper: Le Compositeur canadien, OUR CANADA; freelance radio program host, Radio-Canada FM, Montréal; assistant curator for different exhibits; author of books on the history of theatre, arts and gardening, including on Elsie Reford, Frédéric Back and Père Émile Legault. She is Vice-President of the Quebec cultural enterprise La Belle Amérique.

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Our lectures take place on the 3rd Thursday of the month, starting at 19:30.

The Life and Times of Charles Wilson, Montreal’s 1^st directly elected Mayor

Speaker: Joanne Burgess
When: Thursday May 15 May 8, 2025, 19:30 to 21:00
Where: Centennial Hall,
       288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4
Lecture in English, followed by a bilingual question period

Charles Wilson (1808-1877) was a prominent Montreal businessman and politician, best known as the city’s mayor from 1851 to 1853. In 1852, he became the first mayor directly elected by those eligible to cast their votes. However, Wilson’s political success and popularity were short-lived. Governing Montreal during the 1850s was not an easy task and, in a city marked by intense ethnic and religious strife, Charles Wilson could not avoid becoming a polarizing figure.
This presentation examines the life of Charles Wilson, exploring his family origins, his business pursuits and, especially, his life in politics. Particular attention is paid to the brief period when he served as mayor of Montreal and to the challenges which the city faced in the early 1850s. This was an exceptionally rich and fascinating time in Montreal’s history, and our speaker is looking forward to sharing it with you.

Joanne Burgess is Professor Emeritus in the History Department of the Université du Québec à Montréal, where she taught until her retirement in 2023. Her area of expertise is the socio-economic and urban history of Québec and Canada. She is the director of the Laboratoire d’histoire et de patrimoine de Montréal, an academic and community-based research partnership which she founded in 2006. Her current research interests relate to the history of commercial activities and buildings in Old Montreal in the 19th century, as well as the history of food and provisioning in Montreal with a special focus on the baking industry. During her career, she has been active in both academic and applied research. She particularly enjoys working with museums and other community partners. Joanne Burgess was awarded the Acfas André-Laurendeau Prize in 2015 and was made a Knight of the Order of Montreal in 2017. She currently serves on the Commission de toponymie du Québec.

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Peuples autochtones du Québec: histoire et modes de vie

Speaker: Martin Lominy
When: Thursday April 17, 2025, 19:30 to 21:00
Where: Centennial Hall,
       288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4
Lecture in French, followed by a bilingual question period

Learn about indigenous people of Quebec with an archaeologist from paleohistoric to modern times through a hands-on interactive activity with artifact reproductions. This presentation based on current archaeological knowledge will offer an overview of the landscape, the lifeways and the main cultural traditions throughout paleohistory.

Martin Lominy studied anthropology at the Université de Montréal with a specialization in prehistoric archaeology. Over the course of a decade as a museum educator and anthropology teacher working with artifact collections and aboriginal colleagues on various education projects, he developed an expertise on aboriginal technologies through the reproduction and experimentation of artifacts. He founded Abotec in 2005 and has since provided educational and scientific services for schools, museums, universities, research groups and aboriginal communities.

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Montreal's Women Painters at the Art Association during the 1890s

Speaker: Lorne Huston
When: Thursday, March 20, 2025, 19:30 to 21:00
Where: Centennial Hall,
       288 Beaconsfield Blvd, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4
Lecture in English, followed by a bilingual question period

Montreal had very talented women painters in the 1920s, like those associated with the Beaver Hall group. Few people know that there were dozens of women painters in the late 19th century who regularly participated in the annual exhibitions of the Art Association of Montreal. Many of them had works which were included in the exhibitions of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Their work has been mostly lost and there is next to nothing written about them. New research tools in genealogy now enable us to learn more about them, a fascinating discovery. After sharing some rare photos of their works and the artists themselves, Lorne Huston will give an overview of the demographics of their situation and their careers.

Lorne Huston holds a PhD in history from Concordia University and a Master's degree in Sociology from the Université de Montréal. He has been doing research on the history of the arts sector in English Montreal since he retired from active teaching at Cégep Édouard-Montpetit in 2010. In addition to the book he co-authored with Marie-Thérèse Lefebvre on the Montreal musicologist, George M. Brewer, he has also written articles on the Art Association, and on Samuel Morgan-Powell, art and drama critic at the Montreal Daily Star (1913-1953).

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