Timber, Farm and Dairy Industries

Timber Industry: Overview of situation, continuities and changes

In the 1800s there were a few key timber industry regions in Quebec, and these were also new areas of colonization. One area was north of the St. Lawrence River in the Mauricie, and another around Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. To the west in the Outaouais, that is the Ottawa Valley area, the timber industry also dominated the economy, especially where that larger river (also called Outaouais river) and the smaller Gatineau river met, in Hull (present-day city of Gatineau).

The developments that occurred in the timber industry show elements of both continuity and change. An example of an element of continuity (things staying the same) was the life of the men who worked in the logging camps, namely in the lumber shanties, or “jobber” shanties managed by the small subcontractors where the living conditions were poor. Just like in the early 1800's they worked in the wintertime and much of the process of cutting and felling the trees and bringing the logs down the river maintained its traditional aspect - they still use axes, they used hand saws, they used carts to pull the logs and they floated the logs down the river in the springtime.

However, there was also change that was occuring in the timber industry. The Ottawa River area was an industrialized river on both sides of the provincial border. Sawmills and later pulp and paper factories, all linked to the timber industry, dotted the riverbanks around Hull and Ottawa. The location of the Outaouais area was very important because it was a place where logs could be floated down from the uncharted areas and distant forests. Also, it was a source for hydraulic power, and later hydroelectric power, which could be used to power the mills, in particular at the Chaudière Falls.

Later on, came steam power. This sort of “heavy industrialization of the river” extended the timber industry. To the west, there were now sawmills at Deschênes and then around Aylmer, but also east towards Montreal, where you could find many more sawmills sprouting up, and even more pulp and paper plants.

Pulp and paper did not replace the sawmill process, or the sawmill industry. Instead, it augmented it. This was due to an increase in demand for paper products both in Canada and the United States. One of the benefits of locating mills and plants in this area was the transportation networks that were being expanded or newly created at this time. Apart from the obvious presence of waterways and canals, railways were now being built that linked regions like Ottawa to markets in the United States, which allowed for the various products to be exported there cheaply and easily.

Farming

One of the final areas of industrialization occurred on farms. The agricultural situation in Lower Canada was not very good during this time period. (See Demographic Situation in L.C.). There was over farming of the land, which in turn became less and less fertile. Another issue was that the seigneurial system remained, and the actual farmers or censitaire did not have ownership of the farms; they merely rented it from the Seigneurs.

However, beginning even as early as the 1840s (note that the seigneurial system was abolished only in 1854), seigneurs with large seigneuries, and who were linked to the Catholic Church, began to give their renters (i.e. the censitaires) the ability to be freeholders. In other words, many habitants were given title to their own land, allowing them to buy and even sell it.

Dairy

As well, there was a shift in the types of products that were being grown on the farms. There was a shift away from wheat farming and towards dairy farming, and people also began to raise other forms of livestock.

Especially in the Eastern Townships area, the dairy industry really started to grow. Not only were milk products being made there, but cheese became one of the largest agricultural exports from Quebec. And butter was made, sold and shipped too. And just like with the timber industry, this was largely due to the proximity to the American market and the ability to easily ship goods on the railway. In fact, by the turn of the 19th century, the dairy industry had become the most important agricultural endeavour in the greater economy of Quebec.

These changes also went hand in hand with the beginnings of mechanization on farms. So, while in some of the northern areas of colonization a lot of the farming was still done in a very traditional way, in the south and on the old seigneuries more and more people began to use new machines, and a more industrial process for farming had taken root.