The Quebec History Federation calls for a national museum that includes all Quebecers

Quebec Premier François Legault at the press conference to announce the creation of the National Museum of Quebec History at the Quebec City Seminary on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Specific consultations on Bill 64, which aims to create the museum, begin on Tuesday. (The Canadian Press/Francis Vachon)

The Quebec History Federation is calling for the National Museum of Quebec History to include all groups in Quebec society, including anglophones, Indigenous peoples, immigrants, and women, among others.

"We need to tell the history of all Quebecers. (...) The museum must reflect what Quebec is and bring public debates, controversial periods, and subjects to light," explained the federation's Director-General, Jean Rey-Regazzi, on Tuesday during the consultations on Bill 64, which aims to establish the museum.

They are also requesting that the museum be "apolitical."

Minister of Culture Mathieu Lacombe expressed his full agreement, saying that the museum must "tell the history of all Quebecers."

"The Quebec nation was born from many encounters," he said.

Even before the start of the consultations at the National Assembly, concerns had been raised about the government's museum project, suggesting it might present too narrow a vision of Quebec identity and history.

During the announcement of the project, Premier François Legault said that he wanted the museum to tell Quebec's history starting from Champlain.

These remarks were criticized by the Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL), Ghislain Picard.

"We are inseparable from the history of this land, and the arrival of Champlain does not define Quebec. The First Nations have been present here for millennia and are deeply connected to this territory they inhabit," he said in a statement in May.

Legault had to defend his museum project, assuring that Indigenous communities would have a place in it.

The national museum project follows the CAQ government's abandonment of its network of 'blue spaces' due to skyrocketing costs approaching one billion dollars.

In 2021, the Legault government had planned to build 18 new museums called "blue spaces" that would have been dedicated to Quebec culture.

An initial construction budget of $259 million has been allocated. The new museum will be located in the Camille-Roy pavilion of the Quebec Seminary. It is scheduled to open in spring 2026 at a cost of $92 million.

-This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 17, 2024.