École Guigues
159 Murray Street
Written by Bytown Museum
on
03/Dec/2009
Named for the first Roman Catholic bishop of Ottawa, Joseph-Bruno Guigues, the École Guigues was erected between 1904 and 1905. The site had been home to previous Roman Catholic schools dating back to 1864, when public education was first introduced in Bytown.
In 1912, when the provincial government issued a directive restricting French-language education to the primary grades, heated controversy resulted. Opposition to the directive, commonly called Regulation 17, was widespread and was particularly intense in Ottawa. The most serious and dramatic confrontation between French-speaking citizens and government officials occurred on the front steps of this building. Funds were withheld from the city's separate school board and in 1915 the board was replaced by a government-appointed commission. Openly defiant, the disenfranchised board fought back and regained control of École Guiges in 1916. In the face of mounting protests, the provincial government reinstated the board and finally recognized bilingual schools in 1927.
In the 1990s, the building was restored and now operates as the Centre de services Guigues.
Neighbourhood
From its very beginnings in 1826, Bytown (early Ottawa) was divided geographically, with Uppertown to the west of the Rideau Canal and Lowertown to the east. Lowertown, then ... read more
