The Influence Of The Montreal Winter Carnival On The Canadian Identity

Amid the second Industrial revolution, the Montreal Winter Carnivals were a pivotal point in history for establishing Canada’s national identity. The winter carnivals took place in the years 1883, 1884, 1885, 1887, and 1889 and were six-day long events held during the last week of January or the first week of February. Through showcasing winter sports, Montreal used their uniqueness to gain a national sports presence that attracted visitors to the city in a season that tourists often avoided.

The sports and displays of these carnivals were not only used to bring recognition to Canadian sports and Canada as a country, but were also used to create greater recreational, economic and touristic growth for Montreal. Throughout this reflection, I will be investigating the ways in which the Montreal Winter Carnivals achieved these goals through; showcasing Canadian sports that were unique to Montreal, the creation and commercialization of Ice Palaces and other social festivities as carnival attractions, and by lastly providing an opportunity for visitors to understand and experience the enjoyment of Montreal as a winter destination for themselves.

Firstly, I investigated the critical role that the sports of the Montreal Winter Carnival had in forming national status for Canada. In the 1880s, Montreal’s winter sports were not played or known by most of the world and were intriguing to spectators all over. Accordingly, the commencement of the Montreal Winter Carnival allowed for many of Canada’s winter sports to be participated in, observed, and enjoyed by spectators from all around the world. These carnivals were centered around showcasing ice skating, tobogganing, hockey, curling, and snowshoeing.

Although Hockey as a term has been used for approximately 500 years, modern organized Ice Hockey really took root here (Young, 2016). The Montreal Winter Carnival of 1883 is historically known to be the commencement of league play for hockey, as the carnival hosted the first organized tournament played on the St. Lawrence River. Visitors gathered at the carnival to watch the tournaments which in the first year consisted of three teams; the Montreal Victorias, the Quebec HC, and McGill University, challenging each other in one game each to determine a winner.

The 1883 winning team was McGill University which were the first team to be awarded with the Ice Hockey trophy known as the Carnival Cup (Young, 2016). The hockey tournaments of the carnival lead to the formation of the first ice hockey league, known as the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC). Accordingly, the showcasing of Montreal’s outdoor sports, particularly ice hockey, at the winter carnivals lead to the expansion of winter sports in Canada as it was the breeding ground for ice hockey nationally. Year after year, more teams would form and enroll in the tournaments and thousands of visitors would gather at the carnivals to watch. This became one of the carnival’s most successful attractions and created a national identity for Montreal.

Furthermore, the Montreal Winter Carnival’s annual Ice Palaces were a yearly attraction that brought popularity, tourism and economic growth to Montreal. The massive Ice Palaces were built in Montreal’s Dominion Square and were constructed with over 10,000 blocks of ice, forming a 150 foot long ice castle (Poulter, 2009). Due to popularity, they quickly became a key selling point that put Montreal’s winter carnivals on the map. “Photographers such as William Notman, a member of the Ice Palace Committee, sold photographs of the Ice Palace and other attractions, as well as souvenir portraits of visitors in “Canadian” winter costume” (Poulter, 2009, p. 177).

That being said, with Quebec being snow and ice bound for much of the year, Ice Palaces became a prominent attraction in commercializing the carnivals. The city’s sporting clubs, which were primarily responsible for organizing the carnivals, created other festivities surrounding the Ice Palaces that helped to draw attraction to them and contributed overall to establishing a greater Canadian identity at the time. These festivities consisted of a battle that would occur at the ice palaces known as “the attack and defense of the ice palace” (Poulter, 2009).

Tourists not only gathered to witness the great battle but would particularly wait to watch the torch-lit snowshoe walk of both armies up Mount Royal. In addition to these festivities, fireworks would be launched by both armies to begin the battle and would continue to launch throughout the night. This became a very popular light show amongst spectators and would be described as a “fairy land”. The battle, the subsequent walk, and the night long fireworks became the climax of the Winter Carnival and drove much of the carnival’s attention. Consequently, spectators came from all over to take part in the Ice Palace festivities and for that reason, they became a landmark of the carnival by locals and tourists alike.

Lastly, the Montreal Winter Carnivals provided an opportunity for visitors to discover the enjoyment of winter for themselves, resulting in the remodeling of negative ideologies of winter being a season to endure rather than to celebrate. Presenting opportunities for visitors to take part in the winter activities themselves contributed greatly to overcoming the negative stereotypes of Canadian climate. By offering an opportunity for visitors to submerge themselves in the Canadian culture through trying out their unique winter sports such as tobogganing, curling, snowshoeing, and ice skating, this turned Montreal into a winter resort and therefore transformed tourism for the city.

Approximately 50,000 spectators would arrive annually in Montreal from the United States, Europe, and throughout Canada to experience, observe, and participate in Montreal’s winter activity (Poulter, 2009). Advertisements were targeted especially to American tourists that were unfamiliar with Canadian sports, with the goal of glorifying them as essential in Canada’s outdoor life. Souvenir programs and special carnival numbers printed by local newspapers became a major selling point as the designs advertised how central winter sports were to Canadian identity (Poulter, 2009). All in all, offering an opportunity for visitors to take part in the sports within the Montreal Winter Carnivals helped to establish Montreal as a winter attraction during the nineteenth century and was a pivotal point for expanding Canada’s national identity.

To conclude, the Montreal Winter Carnivals played a critical role in establishing a national image for Canada and creating greater recreational, economic and touristic growth for Montreal. As previously investigated, Montreal attracted visitors by filling their carnivals with unique sports and winter attractions that brought thousands of tourists to the city, all wanting to take pleasure in the winter festivities themselves.

The Montreal Winter Carnivals were responsible for bringing national recognition to Canada and increased tourism to Montreal through the showcasing of winter sports; particularly modern organized ice hockey, the creation and commercialization of Ice Palaces and other social festivities as carnival attractions, and by providing an opportunity for visitors to submerge themselves in Canadian culture to experience the enjoyments of Montreal as a winter destination in the nineteenth century.