Institut canadien de Montréal

The Institut canadien de Montréal was founded on December 17, 1844 by a group of 200 young liberal professionals in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The institute was a public library and debate room for the literary and scientific society that would later come into conflict with the Roman Catholic Church.

The institut was the source of the ideas defended by the Parti rouge. Its moto was: Justice pour nous, justice pour tous; Raison et liberté pour nous, raison et liberté pour tous (Justice for us, justice for all; Reason and liberty for us, reason and liberty for all).

It will be the unique source of literay works by French authors such as Victor Hugo and Alphonse de Lamartine or Enlightenment authors whose writings were judged immoral by the Catholic Church.

The library of the Institut canadien de Montréal will suffer the censorship of the Catholic clergy of Quebec in 1868. In 1869, a person that is member of the institute can be excommunicated. The institute will close the doors of its debate room in 1871, and the library will close in 1880.

Members

• Marc-Aurèle Plamondon
• Francis Cassidy
• Jean-Baptiste-Éric Dorion
• François-Xavier Garneau
• Antoine-Gérin-Lajoie
• Joseph Doutre
• Louis-Antoine Dessaulles
• Arthur Buies
• Napoléon Aubin
• Victor Hugo (external member)

See also:

• Institut canadien de Québec
• History of Quebec
• Timeline of Quebec history
• History of Canada