Écouter la causerie de l'auteur Gaétan Nadeau donnée à la librairie Olivieri.

Un livre pour tous les citoyens qui savent que leur grand-père, leur père, leur mère ou encore leurs oncles ont un jour travaillé aux Shops Angus.

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Ten years at work

Technopôle Angus celebrated its tenth anniversary in November 2006. Here are the greatest milestones of this decade of development:

1992 – Complete closing of the Angus Shops. 1,000 jobs lost. Disused buildings, contaminated land.

1995 – Agreement between CDEC Rosemont-Petite-Patrie and Canadian Pacific, landowner, to negotiate a purchase option.

1995 – Creation of the Angus Development Corporation.

1996 – Starting date of the first employees of the Angus Development Corporation, which will develop Technopôle Angus.

1998 – Agreement between CP and Angus Development Corporation on a purchase option over half the site and acquisition of Locoshop Angus by ADC.

1998-1999 – Phase 1 – Restoration of Locoshop Angus, a $5M project.

1999 – Creation of Insertech Angus, an occupational integration business for troubled youth, in the field of computers. Insertech was the first tenant of Technopôle Angus.

1999 – First jobs at Angus.

2001-2002 – Phase II – Construction of a building dedicated to high technology businesses ($9M).

2001 – $20M capitalization of ADC, by the federal and Quebec governments, taking the form of loans.

2003 – Phase III – Construction of the Centre de Biotechnologies Angus.

2004 – Phase IV – Call centers, including that of SAQ.com.

2004 – Phase V – Construction of the Carrefour de l'économie sociale Angus.

2004 – Partnership sealed between Angus Development Corporation and Fondaction (CSN).

2004 – Celebration of Angus’ centennial: celebration and shows, attended by nearly 10,000 people.

2005 – Phase VI – Construction of an office building to welcome, among others, the Centre financier aux entreprises Desjardins.

2006 – Installation of the research platforms of the CHUM Research Centre.

2006 – Phase VII – Construction of the first multitenant Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification building, welcoming among others the coordination center of the Montreal Heart Institute.

2005-2006 – Go Green environmental certification for commercial buildings obtained for 5 Technopôle Angus buildings.

2006 – Implementation of the sustainable transport plan and of the waste-management plan.


Shops Angus History

1901 - Rosemont is a rural territory adjoining the city of Montreal and known as “village de la Côte-Visitation”. Mr. Ucal Dandurand partners with banker Holt to buy the lands located to the North of the future Angus Shops, which will become the working-class neighbourhood of Rosemont.

1902-1904 - Shortage of rolling stock to ensure the development of the Canadian West. Canadian Pacific Railway has to answer a huge demand for the transport of passengers and grain to and from the Canadian West. Building new locomotives and wagons for passengers and especially for merchandise becomes urgent.

1904 - Opening of the Angus Shops in the Hochelaga neighbourhood: the buildings are gigantic. Steel comes in, and a locomotive or a wagon comes out. The plant is fully autonomous. Land: 10 million square feet. Investment: over $3 million.

1908 - A work conflict in the Canadian West triggers a strike at Angus Shops. More than 400 strikebreakers are housed onsite to keep the work going. The union loses its battle.

1910 - Rosemont becomes a Montreal neighbourhood.

1914-1918 - Interruption of locomotive production: the Shops are converted to manufacture shells for the war. To make this ammunition, women are hired.

1929 - The economic crisis forces the Shops to slow down.

1939-1944 - At Angus Shops, the production of locomotives is interrupted in favour of Valentine tanks. 1,700 tanks are built and sent to Russia’s Red Army. Up to 12,000 people work at the Angus Shops. June 1944 marks the end of steam locomotive production.

1960-1970 - Numerous technological innovations modify the production mode of locomotives and wagons, which gradually reduces the number of jobs. In early 1970, CP ends its passenger service. At around the same time, the lands now east of Saint-Michel Boulevard, going west to Bourbonnière Street, become available for a new project: a shopping mall.

1977 - Community organizations, local officials and store-owners from Masson and Ontario Street mobilize to stop the project. Upon finishing a tour of the Angus Shops, Prime Minister of Quebec René Lévesque announces: “It will become social housing!”. To this day, the site remains the largest social housing park in Canada.

1992 - On January 31, 1992, the last locomotive repaired at Angus Shops exits. As soon as the closing is announced, members of the Corporation de développement économique communautaire Rosemont-Petite-Patrie (CDEC) rally to revive the site. CP intends to build housing, mostly in the shape of condos, on the entire land where Technopôle Angus is now located.

1994 - CDEC manages to negotiate an agreement with CP, granting it an exclusive purchase option over half of the available land. The municipal administration (RCM) and the local population support CDEC. After demanding housing, the neighbourhood residents now demand jobs. In Rosemont, the unemployment rate reaches 20%.

1995 - CDEC, which has a more global mandate, launches the Angus Development Corporation (ADC) and gives it the mandate to purchase and develop the Angus site, using the principles of community economic development to create jobs for the neighbourhood’s residents. The industrial vocation is preserved. The Shops are born anew.

1996 - Launch of Technopôle Angus: The ADC sets up its first permanent work team. These developers will work flat out to tie all the strings required for the creation of a business park.

The ADC presents its development plan for what will become Technopôle Angus to nearly 350 people during a public consultation. The project is adopted unanimously.

1997 - After 18 months of work, the Labour Adaptation Committee, presided by Mr. Marcel Pépin, unveils its strategic plan for the Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie borough. Seven recommendations are directly linked to the Angus project, notably as relates to work integration, training and the promotion of local hiring within businesses.

1998 - The Molson Street project is announced as a structuring project for the Rosemont riding. Acquisition of the Locoshop Angus, which will be entirely leased before the completion of its renovation.

1999 - Arrival of the first business: Insertech Angus, an occupational integration business for troubled youth. Up until now, 300 youths have successfully navigated through the company’s integration process, and they have assembled 27,000 computers.

2000 - Effective date of the labour agreement with Emploi-Québec, allowing ADC to create its own staffing service. Up until now, this service has recruited more than 300 people for the businesses of Technopôle Angus, 80% of whom lived in Eastern Montreal.

2001 - Arrival of a first company, Octasic, at 4100 Molson, a building dedicated to high technology.

2002 - Opening of the Centre des biotechnologies Angus, a building for businesses dedicated to human health research and development.

2004 - Opening of a service centre operated exclusively by social economy businesses, the Carrefour de l’économie sociale Angus. A first in Quebec.

2005 - The Centre hospitaliser de l’Université de Montréal places researchers at the Centre des biotechnologies Angus.

2006 - Inauguration of Jean-Duceppe park, a park shared by the residents of the new Angus sector and the employees of Technopôle Angus. Construction of the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building and of Le Phare, a rest home that will provide accommodation for children suffering from a fatal illness.