Historically, in the New France era, destitute people who had no home were called vagabonds.
Already in the first years of French colonization in America we noticed the presence of these vagabonds in cities like Quebec and Montreal.
The colonial authorities at the time viewed these vagabonds as vermin to be combated. We fear that their lifestyle will infect the healthy population. For this reason, begging was heavily suppressed for more than 200 years and there was no hesitation in inflicting violent corporal punishment on these people. For example, to punish those vagabonds who are guilty of begging, they are exposed in the public square for several hours and their necks are encircled with an iron collar firmly fastened to a post. If they do it again they will be whipped.
We also impose fines on those who offered them money.
The punishment for beggars is often prison. This sentence is accompanied by a sign indicating the nature of the offense. Vagabonds are subjected to humiliation in public places, such as the market. Photo provided by Martin Landry
Poverty office
In 1688, the colonial authorities established an Office of the Poor. The institution helps the poor by giving them jobs. However, the office’s ultimate goal is to identify the good poor and the bad poor and offer assistance based on their merits.
“ […] Several scoundrels and slackers, under the pretext of poverty, harass the bourgeoisie and residents of this city by continually begging from door to door instead of working as many could easily do. […] This office will consist of the priest who will take care of warning the shameful and miserable poor who come to his attention […]. »
scandalous life
In the 18th century, repression seemed to be the best way to eliminate homelessness. On December 17, 1740, a sentence for vagrancy was passed against François Morisset, Nicolas Coutant and Élisabeth Coutant. They are sentenced to imprisonment in public places with a sign reading: “Vagabonds, people of no faith who lead scandalous lives.”
Additionally, both men will be sent to prison for two months at the end of this sentence. Behind bars they only get bread and water.
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Scarcity and famine
Nowadays, access to housing is becoming increasingly difficult for some people, but this situation is not new. In the past, food shortages and famines have repeatedly affected residents and exacerbated the phenomenon of homelessness. For example, in 1742, the Bishop of Quebec was shocked to see beggars coming to Quebec from all over the world. He attributes this migration of poverty not to the difficult agricultural reality of his region, but rather to the negligence of the people begging. Since many people reported thefts, attacks on the streets and even rapes, the director Hocquart decided to take tough action at the end of the summer:
“Orders to captains and officers of the coastal militia from Quebec to Montreal to arrest vagabonds and people without confession […]. »
On August 29, 1742, the intendant Hocquart had the vagabonds arrested en masse. Library and National Archives of Quebec
Poverty certificate
To ensure that charity goes to what we think are the right people, for hundreds of years we have issued a poverty certificate certifying that we deserve public charity in order to be able to beg. This certificate is issued either by a member of the clergy or by justices of the peace. However, you must live in the town or village where you are asking for alms. In order to receive and, above all, keep this certificate, you must constantly prove your poverty and, above all, you must never be on the street.
In the 19th century, the phenomenon of homelessness increased despite repression, mainly due to industrialization. Poverty certificates were abolished in 1954.
Montreal, 1935 Photo: Frank Randall Clarke, McCord Museum
criminal code
The Vagabonds Act and the Canadian Criminal Code, passed in the late 19th century, quickly became a tool of repression against idle people. The legislature draws up a list of criminal behavior and identifies the people who must bear the label “vagrant”. Society equips itself with tools to accuse these people for all sorts of reasons, such as being drunk in public, asking for money without a certificate, breaking things (vandalism), obstructing traffic or to use swear words. Any excuse is good to quell the disorder caused by these hikers. In this list of criminal behavior we also find prostitution. In Quebec we have for a long time created this conflation of wandering, begging and prostitution.
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Homeless people are not born on the streets
The multiple causes that lead to this state of vulnerability are nonetheless troubling and overwhelming. The path, which is riddled with pitfalls, often leads some people onto the streets against their will. In the entire history of contemporary begging in Quebec, the life of Grand Antonio is probably the life that has most impressed the collective imagination.
The Great Antonio McCord Museum
Anton Barichievich was born in 1925 in Zagreb, Kingdom of the Serbs. Almost nothing is known about his childhood, but it is known that he had supernatural powers. It is said that at the age of 12 he was able to uproot trees using just the strength of his arms.
Thanks to his refugee status at the end of World War II, he came to Montreal. Barichievich is in his early twenties and, like most other refugees, has nothing except his impressive physique. He is 1.93 meters tall, weighs more than 225 kilos and wears size 28 shoes. He attracted the attention of the international community in 1952 with his entry in the Guinness Book of Records because he managed to pull a 433-ton train over a distance of a railway track of almost 20 m. Four years later, the now tall Antonio achieved another feat by pulling a car with his hair. The strongman outdid himself again in 1960, breaking another record by pulling four buses full of passengers down Sainte-Catherine Street. The great Antonio, who declares himself the strongest man in the world, will also be a professional wrestler and star in films and television shows. At the height of his career, the gentle giant with a shaggy beard and long hair attracted attention and became an internationally known superstar.
The Great Antonio McCord Archives
The Great Antonio McCord Archives
But in the 90s he marginalized himself and was quietly forgotten. Then we see him wandering around Montreal. You often see him in subway stations on the Orange Line. He wanders the streets of the Rosemont neighborhood at any time of day. With his imposing stature he never goes unnoticed, people recognize him. The great Antonio is a legend in the metropolis, but he also embodies the decline, that of a former star who turns into a tramp. He sells postcards (photomontages) of his old exploits to raise a few dollars. In the last years of his life, his photos even caught the attention of the artistic community. The great Antonio died of a heart attack in 2003, at the age of 77, lying alone, in utter indifference, on a park bench in Montreal. This very lonely man with no known family and no money was given a decent burial thanks to the intervention of Sun Youth.
The path of this former world star, who was relegated to the stage of a marginalized figure, clearly shows how important aid organizations that work for the underprivileged are.
Today, a large number of Quebecers continue to experience homelessness. Despite the wealth of the society in which we live, it is estimated that around 10,000 people have become homeless and homeless by the fall of 2022.
Le Grand Antonio Archives / Le Journal de Montréal
Reference: Homelessness and the Law – Research report on homelessness in Quebec from New France to the present. Research and writing: Frédérick Carrier, editing: Sébastien Harvey