A Story That Speaks Volumes!
1671
At the Request of Intendant Jean Talon, the first courses in hydrography and navigation are dispensed at the Collège de Québec.
1717
The right to issue certificates to pilots in the colony of New France granted to the Jesuits by the king.
The Pilotage Act establishes two neighbouring sectors with boundaries: between Île du Bic and Quebec (lower pilots) and between Quebec and Montreal (upper pilots).
1730
Creation of the Bic pilot station.
1731
Creation of the Île Verte pilot station.
Relocation of the Île Verte pilot station to Isle-aux-Coudres.
1762
Compulsory pilot’s certificate to operate a ship on the St. Lawrence
1805
The Parliament of Lower Canada forms the Trinity House of Quebec
Creation of a Disabled Pilots Fund.
1809
Launch of the Accommodation from the Logan shipyard located near the Molson brewery, the first mechanically propelled vessel to navigate the St. Lawrence River.
1812
Creation of Disabled Pilots Fund of Montreal.
1825
Opening of the Lachine Canal.
1832
Dividing of the Trinity House of Quebec into two, Quebec City and Montreal, by the Parliament of Lower Canada.
1833
Notary Louis Panet drafts the legal text that serves as the basic document for the “Branch Pilots for and above the Harbour of Quebec”, an external and independent entity of Trinity House.
Trinity House’s rejection to the request to create this association.
1839
Expansion of the limits of Trinity House jurisdiction in Montreal: from the Portneuf Basin to the Port of Montreal, including the harbours of Trois-Rivières and Sorel.
1849
The western limit of the pilotage district between Portneuf and the Port of Montreal is extended to Pointe-Saint-Charles.
1850
On May 21, a petition was tabled in the House of Assembly of Lower Canada calling for the creation of a pilot corporation.
On August 10, the Act to incorporate the pilots for the Havre de Québec and above was signed.
1854
Dredging of the shipping channel between Quebec City and Montreal was completed: 4.9 m deep and 76.2 m wide. Four years of work enabled the passage of steamships with a draft that sometimes exceeded 4 metres.
1860
The end of free competition where the “first come, first on board” rule prevails.
1864
Mandatory pilotage between Quebec City and Montreal for vessels over 125 tons from a port outside the province of Quebec.
1867
Record of 500 ships calling at the Port of Montreal.
1873
Adoption of the Pilotage Act in the Canadian Parliament.
Creation of the Montreal Harbour Commission on July 1st.
Creation of the Commitee on Pilots, Buoys and Beacons, an integral part of the Havre Commission.
Official creation of the Association du tour de rôle, in Deschambault, at the origin of the current Corporation des pilotes du Saint-Laurent central
Creation of the first committee of pilots, stemming from the Association du tour de rôle, representing the pilots of this group with the Harbour Commission.
1883
New dredging works on the entire length of the navigation channel from Quebec City to Montreal. Its depth reaches 7.5 m and its width 90 m.
1884
Request for incorporation filed in Parliament by the Association du tour de role and rejected by the Senate.
1896
Second request for incorporation filed in Parliament by the Association du tour de role and again rejected by the Senate.
1897
June 18 to 26, 52 pilots from the Quebec-Montreal district are on strike.
Following the major strike of 1897, Cléophas Auger submitted a brief presenting the pilots’ demands concerning both working conditions and the general maintenance of the navigation channel.
1903
Dissolution of the Montreal Harbour Commission.
Responsibility for pilotage between Quebec City and Montreal is entrusted to the Ministry of the Navy.
1918
On December 27, the Association des Pilotes Unis de Québec à Montréal (United Quebec to Montreal Pilots) was founded in Deschambault.
1944
On May 24, inauguration of the École de marine de Rimouski, known since 1958 as the Institut maritime de Rimouski.
1958
The Corporation des pilotes du Saint-Laurent central is created.
An ice jam forms between Sorel and Montreal. Caught short by this ice, the crews of 43 ships anchor in the Lanoraie sector.
1959
On June 26, inauguration of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
1960-1980
More efficient and accurate navigation radars are used on board ships.
1962
Following unanswered demands, a pilots’ strike was called that paralyzed traffic on the river. Representatives of the St. Lawrence pilots and shipowners at the negotiating table.
1962-1971
Royal Commission of Inquiry following the 1962 strike.
1964
In January, arrival of the first ship in the middle of winter at the Port of Montreal, the Helga Dan, flying the Danish flag. First steps towards opening the Port of Montreal 365 days a year.
1968
End of activities for the Association des Pilotes Unis de Québec à Montréal.
1971
The Pilotage Act stipulates that the pilot must be the person who has conduct of the ship.
1990s
Addition of the satellite positioning system (GPS) to the existing technology in the wheelhouse.
Arrival of the electronic chart, a tool to validate the positions obtained by observing the vessel’s GPS position.
1992
New dredging works in the navigation channel between Quebec and Montreal. The depth reaches 11.3 m.
1993
On February 13, formation of a major ice jam on the St. Lawrence River, between Contrecoeur and Trois-Rivières.
2005
Beginning of two-way vessel traffic, day and night.
2008
Use of the portable pilot unit (PPU) on board ships, an indispensable tool for the pilot. An electronic information system—to which the PPU is connected—was implemented and allows for increased safety of the transit to Montreal.
2010
On September 23, the cruise ship AIDA Luna docked for the first time at the Alexandra Pierin the Port of Montreal. With 2,100 passengers on board, it is the largest cruise ship to travel this far up the river.
2013
The Port of Montreal is allowing post-Panamax ships which are up to 44 metres wide to enter the port.
2017
In May, beginning of a review of the Pilotage Act to modernize it.
More than 110 million tonnes of various goods are transported annually on the St. Lawrence River.
Almost 80% of all essential and consumer goods are delivered by ship.
Between 2020 and 2021: Pilots from the Corporation des pilotes du Saint-Laurent central boarded 26,050 ships between Quebec City and Montreal