La Société historique du Cap-Rouge

Recipient of the 2014 Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Community Programming 

November 3, 2014
The Société historique du Cap-Rouge accepting their award at Rideau Hall, 2014.

Quebec City (Quebec)

The Cap-Rouge Trestle (Tracel de Cap-Rouge) allowed Wilfrid Laurier to realize his 1896 project of building a second coast-to-coast railroad.

The trestle, one of Canada’s most impressive railway viaducts, was commemorated in 2013 thanks to the efforts of the Cap-Rouge Historical Society (Société historique du Cap-Rouge), which highlighted the hundredth anniversary of its commissioning by launching different projects and organizing a variety of public events.

These included: conferences; testimonials; booths; rail and archaeological exhibitions; creation of a commemorative plaque; publication of brochures and special sections in newspapers; thematic exhibitions; exhibitions of student projects; a reunion of the Cap-Rouge Trestle workers’ descendants; historical tours; cultural events; and, finally, production of a DVD and a paper souvenir album. For a full year, large numbers of Quebec citizens and visitors participated in one or more of this program’s celebratory, artistic, and heritage activities.

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