Description of Historic Place

Sir Wilfrid Laurier National Historic Site of Canada commemorates the birthplace of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, former Prime Minister of Canada. Located on 12th Avenue, Saint-Lin-Laurentides, 60 km north of Montreal, the site has been much changed since Laurier's childhood and now contains a small brick house in the Quebec Vernacular style, set on a landscaped lot.

Heritage Value

Sir Wilfrid Laurier National Historic Site of Canada was designated because:
-as Laurier's birthplace, the site provides a context in which to commemorate the life and work of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister of Canada.

The heritage value of Sir Wilfrid Laurier National Historic Site of Canada resides in its sense of place as the setting of Sir Wilfrid Laurier's childhood formation. Laurier was born in Saint-Lin-Laurentides in 1841, where he maintained a residence until 1865. This property was purchased by Laurier's grandfather at the beginning of the 19th century, and sold out of the family in 1865. The residence it contains today was constructed in 1870. The federal government acquired the two lots that formerly comprised the Laurier property in 1937-38 and demolished all of the buildings except the present house, then believed to be the former Laurier residence. It was relocated centrally on the adjoining lots which were landscaped by Frederick G. Todd, while ethnologist Marius Barbeau furnished the house in a manner which he felt reflected the handicraft tradition of rural Quebec. In its attempts to reflect the humble, rural roots of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Parks Canada created one of its first non-military, interpreted sites and an example of early twentieth-century historic site curatorship.

Sources: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada Minutes, 1969; Commemorative Integrity Statement.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that contribute to the heritage character of the site include:
- the archaeological remains associated with the Laurier family and former home;
- the site's primarily residential, village setting;
- the site's location on the outskirts of Saint-Lin-Laurentides.