Trophy

The trophy was presented to Montreal mayor Camillien Houde in 1934. It reads: “offered to/his honor the mayor of Montreal/Camillien Houde/by/Edgar Charbonneau/as a token of admiration/for his… triumph…”.

Camillien Houde was involved in provincial politics (Conservative candidate in Sainte-Marie) and federal politics (candidate in Papineau), but it is for his governance as mayor of Montreal that he is best known. Between 1928 and 1954, he served 18 years as mayor, earning him the nickname “Monsieur Montréal”. A populist, he claimed to come from the people, and liked to address crowds directly.

In the 1934 municipal elections, he ran against Salluste Lavery (Christian Socialist Party) and Anatole Plante (supported by the provincial Liberal Party). His victory was overwhelming, and he took over the reins of the metropolis with his predominantly Houdist administration. It was against this backdrop that Edgar Charbonneau, a jeweler and watchmaker by training, presented him with the trophy. A little later, Charbonneau was elected member of parliament (1956) for the Union nationale (provincial politics) in Sainte-Marie, as Camillien Houde had been before.