People’s History of English-Speaking Quebec
This “People’s History of English-Speaking Quebec” project looks at English-speaking Quebecers from the 1600s to the present. It highlights underrepresented groups—both in and outside Montreal—including ethnocultural communities, workers, and women. It focuses on how these groups organized and engaged in collective action for positive social change. The project shows that English-speaking Quebec organizations have been sites of inclusion, diversity, and debate that contributed to Quebec and Canada. It challenges simplistic narratives that depict Quebec’s English speakers as a wealthy, dominant elite.
For more details about the ongoing project, which includes oral history videos, an upcoming book, and other products, see our working paper.
The Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network (QUESCREN) at Concordia University, Montreal, runs this project.
Oral History Videos
This oral history video series is a component of the People’s History project. It showcases interviews with community leaders and influential figures, offering valuable firsthand accounts that will serve as primary source material for the upcoming book. The videos are available for viewing below.
Sam Boskey
Sam Boskey spent most of his life in Montreal’s Notre Dame de Grâce (NDG) neighbourhood. A McGill University social sciences and law graduate, he reflects on 1960s student politics and frustration with conventional politics under Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau. He discusses the rise of Montreal municipal political parties, namely Front d'action politique des salariés (FRAP) and the Montreal Citizens’ Movement (MCM). A municipal councillor from 1982 to 1998, Boskey grew disillusioned with MCM. From 1979 to 2016, he also worked in Quebec’s civil service, eventually focusing on English-language education for the Ministère de l’Éducation. He explores contrasts between the English- and French-speaking left, then and now.
Recorded on June 11, 2024
Kevin Callahan
Kevin Callahan, born in the USA, moved to Toronto at 17 before settling in Montreal. A retired English as a second or foreign language (ESL) teacher, he was also active in unions and the Quebec-Ireland Committee. His organizing work led to involvement in the Verdun, Quebec-based Black Rock group, which focused on working-class Irish Quebec history, culture and politics. The group’s activities included putting on plays and inviting Irish speakers to Montreal. Callahan says it transitioned into the Cultural Workers’ Alliance. He highlights key figures in Black Rock, particularly David Fennario.
Recorded on May 29, 2024
Joan Carr
Joan Carr, formerly Joan Richards, was born in Prince Edward Island and has lived across North America including the Magdalen Islands and Gaspé. In 1975, she became involved with the Committee for Anglophone Social Action (CASA), initially formed to produce the newspaper "The Spec" in the Gaspé. Carr joined CASA's board in 1980 and worked for them from 1981 to 2000. CASA evolved from focusing on the newspaper to addressing political issues and community services. Carr discusses Alliance Quebec and other community organizations, Quebec referenda, and her role in uniting the English-speaking community and advocating for its needs.
Recorded on May 27, 2024
Linton Garner
Linton Garner, raised in Montclair, New Jersey, moved to Montreal in the 1960s. He began working with English-speaking youth at the Federation of Catholic Charities, later with the YMCA, and eventually as a community organizer for Alliance Quebec. Garner discusses connecting community groups across Montreal and Quebec, noting challenges in uniting minority groups under a broader English-speaking community and addressing the tendency to exclude non-white minorities’ interests. He eventually served as Executive Director of the Regional Association of West Quebecers in the Outaouais and discusses some of the issues there.
Recorded on May 30, 2024
Marjorie Goodfellow
Marjorie Goodfellow, born in Sherbrooke, trained in Library Science and worked as a librarian in Ottawa and Montreal before returning to her home town in 1971. A founding member and early president of Townshippers’ Association, she recounts its beginnings and contrasts its organizational culture with Montreal-based Alliance Quebec. She later volunteered in Sherbrooke’s hospitals and served on the Comité provincial pour la prestation de services en langue anglaise, addressing health service issues for English speakers. Goodfellow passed away at her home in Sherbrooke on October 26, 2024, at age 86.
Recorded on June 10, 2024
Ralph Mastromonaco
Ralph Mastromonaco, born in Montreal, is a longtime advocate for education and community rights. A former school commissioner and provisional chair of the Lester B. Pearson School Board, his involvement stemmed from his own positive experiences in English Catholic schools. Because he and others experienced exclusion from Montreal’s French-language schools due to their Italian heritage, he is now advocating for a public apology. Mastromonaco views school board involvement as community organizing and believes Quebec's history curriculum should reflect minority realities. He also addresses Quebec language and education policy and the Italian community’s role in education.
Recorded on May 29, 2024
Royal Orr
Royal Orr grew up on a farm in the Eastern Townships and became a sheep farmer before transitioning into community organizing and radio journalism. He was an early executive director of the Townshippers’ Association. Later he was president of Alliance Quebec during a turbulent time in the 1980s: his office was firebombed and he was falsely accused of the attack. In this interview, Orr reflects on the political climate of the era and Alliance Quebec’s work building up the English-speaking community in a spirit of cooperation with Francophone Quebec.
Recorded on May 30, 2024
Ruth Pelletier
Ruth Pelletier was raised in the Lower Laurentians. She worked in health, advocacy and media and then, between 1987 and 1999, at Alliance Quebec, where she rose to the role of Executive Director. She explains how the organization addressed priorities in Quebec regions outside Montreal. She also explains the 1990s leadership struggles and tensions which eventually led to Alliance Quebec’s dissolution. She later worked with the Quebec Community Groups Network and founded Seniors Action Quebec.
Recorded on May 28, 2024
Sharleen Sullivan
Sharleen Sullivan, from Rouyn-Noranda in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, has been active in English-language community organizing since the late 1970s. At Alliance Quebec, she started as a youth delegate and later took a leading role in its regional Abitibi-Temiscamingue chapter, which evolved into Neighbours Regional Association. As Executive Director of Neighbours in 2024, Sullivan discusses the English-speaking population in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, its relationship with the Francophone majority, and ongoing challenges.
Recorded on May 30, 2024
Keith Wilcox
Keith Wilcox was born in Verdun, Quebec, and lived there until he was 24. He worked as a high school teacher and later taught student teachers until 2018. Wilcox was active in the Provincial Association of Protestant Teachers (PAPT), now the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (QPAT). In the 1980s, he became involved with the Verdun, Quebec-based Black Rock group through his awareness of David Fennario’s plays. He discusses the group’s composition, politics, activities, and mission of preserving the history and culture of Verdun's working-class community. Wilcox also discusses Alliance Quebec and its relationship to PAPT and the Quebec-Ireland Committee.
Recorded on May 28, 2024
Credits
Lorraine O’Donnell, PhD
Associate Professor, Senior Research Manager, QUESCREN
Patrick Donovan, PhD
Associate Professor, Research Associate and Advisor, QUESCREN
Anita Aloisio, MA
Research Associate, QUESCREN
