GRAND-PRÉ, NOVA SCOTIA, July 28, 2005 -- Parks Canada is today commemorating the national historical significance of the expulsion of the Acadians (1755-1762) at the Grand-Pré National Historic Site of Canada. The Honourable Scott Brison, Minister of Public Works and Government Services unveiled a plaque at the site on behalf of the Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Parks Canada.
"Today, on this first national day commemorating the "Great Upheaval" - the Deportation of the Acadians that began 250 years ago - it is fitting to place a commemorative plaque at a site where this tragic event began, so that we and future generations remember what happened here," said Minister Dion. "This plaque also speaks to the perseverance of the Acadian people, who made their way back to Canada after the Deportation and together with the Acadians who escaped this heart-breaking event established a new Acadia."
Over 10,000 people, or 75 per cent of the Acadian population who lived in what are now Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick, were deported to other Anglo-American colonies between 1755 and 1762. They were caught-up in the Anglo-French struggle for North America, and their fate was sealed when the French Fort Beauséjour fell to the British. On July 28, 1755, shortly after the Acadians refused to take an unqualified oath of allegiance to the British, the Nova Scotia Council decided to disperse them among the Anglo-American Colonies, where it was anticipated that they would be assimilated. Many Acadians died due to overcrowding and disease en route to the colonies or after their arrival in destination seaports.
Beginning in 1764, with the end of the Seven Years War, many surviving Acadians began to move back to what are today the Maritime Provinces.
"This new site will now join Canada's family of national historic sites that commemorate people, places and events of national historic significance to all Canadians," said Minister Brison. "It will stand as a testament to the perseverance and ingenuity of the Acadian people."
Minister Brison also celebrated yesterday's announcement by Minister Dion that the former Acadian village of Beaubassin has been designated as a national historic site of Canada. Beaubassin was a major Acadian settlement founded between 1671 and 1672 on the Isthmus of Chignecto, a pivotal place in the 17th- and 18th-century North American geopolitical struggle between the British and French empires. Like Grand-Pré, this settlement was also directly associated with the Deportation of the Acadians, and it was acquired by Parks Canada in 2004.
Created in 1919, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada advises the Minister of the Environment about the national historic significance of places, people and events that have marked Canada's history. The placement of a commemorative plaque represents an official recognition of their historic value. It is one means of educating the public about the richness of our cultural heritage, which must be preserved for present and future generations.
Information:
André Lamarre
Director of Communications
Office of the Ministerof the Environment
(819) 997-1441
Renée David
Press Secretary
Office of Minister Brison
(819) 997-5421
Claude DeGrâce
Senior Advisor, Historic Sites
Northern New BrunswickParks Canada
(506) 851-3084
Backgrounder associated with this News Release.
The Expulsion of the Acadians
