A J Boire

With Hearts and Minds A J Boire

In 1907, A. D McRae, a wealthy businessman and entrepreneur, has come to the west coast of British Columbia to build the Fraser River Lumber Company into one of the largest operations in the British Commonwealth. But McRae has a problem. At a time when anti-Asian sentiment is at fever pitch in Vancouver, his mill is populated with Chinese, Japanese and East Indian workers. Determined to correct this "intolerable" situation he sends two recruiters, a Catholic priest and a night-watchman, to Ontario and Quebec to lure French Canadian lumbermen to his mill to displace the Asians. Promised higher wages, land and lumber for house and church the first contingent arrives at Millside station in September, 1909. The great experiment to displace the Asian labour force begins. It is an experiment watched closely by the provincial government, the Catholic Church and the entire lumber industry in BC and across the nation. Will McRae be successful? Will the French Canadians prosper in their new English world? This is the exciting story of Canada's two founding nations in the far west of the country coming together to form the quintessential Canadian experience in the early twentieth century. Set against the backdrop of many of the major events of the times, this epic 100 year history is sweeping in its scope as it examines racism and multiculturalism, the growth of the lumber industry, grass roots union movement, communism and the Catholic Church. Above all, the history of Maillardville, BC is a bright illustration of that elusive and sometimes tragic Canadian ideal of "two founding nations".