1940 - Montreal & Quebec City - Tourist's Silent Home Movie 

glad he did too thanks for sharing

It was the bygone era when Montreal was the metropolis of Canada, the richest city in the country, the most populous, the most elegant, as these scenes filmed from the 1930s and 1940s bear witness to. We can see this by seeing the elegantly dressed men and women in parks, squares and public places or strolling on the busy Sainte-Catherine. There were streetcars at the time, replaced by buses in 1959. The REM, inaugurated on July 31, 2023, is a modern version, perhaps less romantic as in the cities that have kept this means of transport, Toronto, San -Francisco, among others. We also see in these scenes Quebec, the capital, the city also being served at the time by tram trains between the upper and lower towns. The Royal 22e Régiment parading on Dufferin Terrace - Canada being at war when these locations were filmed, as a member of the British Empire. Finally, Sainte-Anne de Beaupré. not yet provided with its arrows, whose construction had begun in 1923 and completed in 1962 and inaugurated in 1976, according to the plans of the architect Maxime Roisin of Paris, in the Neo-Romanesque medieval style with Gothic proportions, classified as a historical monument in 2001. If we pay attention to the places filmed, we can see that the posters, both in Montreal and Quebec, are almost everywhere in English, even if the English-speaking community has always been a minority in Quebec. In the 21st century, this particularity tends to return more and more, French being in decline, revealed by the census of the population of Canada of 2021. Alas, Quebec is becoming Anglicized at high speed, despite the linguistic laws adopted from the Quiet Revolution to the present day, the latest being Law 96, which was supposed to reinforce Law 101 of 1977.

I am from Trois-Rivières (born 1956) but my grandparents arrived ther ein 1929 from Boston. My grandfather worked as a foreman on the hydroelecdtric project in Shawinigan and then established himself in business in T-R. We were the only Italian family for some time. The couple would have taken the old Chemin du Roi to Quebec City that would have taken them through Trois-Rivieres

oh! all these decades already not knowing about train yards the Viger expressway bleeding well replaces..!

Very interesting, especially the soldiers. Thanks.

You can also see soldiers in Quebec City at 14:00

Another great film! Did your dad think that all the 1938-1942 coloured 16's were taken by the same person? I bet the city fathers [and mother] in Montreal and Quebec City would be interested in this rare, and beautifully shot, masterpiece.

The "Golden Chariot Sightseeing Cars" start at 4:08 as it goes along Ste-Catherine St. Fab views. More information here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streetcars_in_Montreal#Golden_Chariot_sightseeing_cars

Thank you so much for sharing these rare movies. Are the source files in AVI format? Would it be possible to get a copy?

C'était l'époque révolue où Montréal était la métropole du Canada, la ville la plus riche du pays, la plus peuplée, la plus élégante, telles ces scènes filmées des années 1930 et 1940 en témoignent. On peut le constater en voyant les hommes, les femmes élégamment vêtus, dans les parcs, squares et places publiques ou déambulant sur la Sainte-Catherine achalandée. Il y avait des tramways à l'époque, remplacés par des autobus en 1959. Le REM inauguré le 31 juillet 2023 en est une version moderne, peut-être moins romantique comme dans les villes qui ont conservé ce moyen de transport, Toronto, San-Francisco, entre autres. On aperçoit aussi dans ces scènes Québec, la capitale, la cité étant aussi desservie à l'époque par des rames de tramways entre la haute et basse-ville. Le Royal 22e Régiment défilant sur la Terrasse Dufferin - le Canada étant en guerre au moment où ces lieux ont été filmés, comme membre de l'Empire britannique. Enfin, Sainte-Anne de Beaupré. pas encore pourvue de ses flèches, dont la construction avait débuté en 1923 et complétée en 1962 et inaugurée en 1976, selon les plans de l'architecte Maxime Roisin de Paris, dans le style médiéval Néo-Roman avec des proportions gothiques, classé monument historique en 2001. Si on est attentif aux lieux filmés, on peut constater que l'affichage, tant à Montréal qu'à Québec, est presque partout en anglais, même si la communauté anglophone a toujours été minoritaire au Québec. Au 21e siècle, cette particularité tend de plus en plus à revenir, le français étant en décroissance, révélée par le recensement de la population du Canada de 2021. Hélas, le Québec s'anglicise à la vitesse grand V, malgré les lois linguistiques adoptées depuis la Révolution tranquille à nos jours, la dernière étant la Loi 96, sensée renforcer la Loi 101 de 1977.