The perception that our consumption is abnormal is always based on comparisons between ourselves and people around us. However, consumption of goods, products and services depends first on transport and communication infrastructures. These infrastructures were built through the spending of billions of dollars each year, each time by stepping on local communities and ecosystems. It is therefore important to think about the colonization steps of the territory in order to put our consumption into context.
Before 1860, the river: If you take the time to look, most cities and villages built before 1860 were built near a river. The reason is simple: naval transport was the main way to get there. Many villages in northern Quebec are still only connected by boats.
1860, Pony Express: In 1860, the most efficient way to send a letter from Kansas City (Missouri) to Sacramento (California) was to pass it from hand to hand between horsemen, which relayed each 10-16km. It took 10 days to cross this distance.
1886, the Canadian Pacific: After four years of scandals and the destruction of many ecosystems, among them the plains bisons’, in 1886, the first passenger train links Montreal to British Columbia and takes 8 days to cross the country.
1903, first crossing of the United States by car: In 1903, the first car crosses the United States, with a mechanic on board, in 63 days.
1918, Air Mail: The first plane company to transport mail by air is founded in 1918.
1927, the St-Hubert Airport: The first Montreal airport started its operations in 1927. It was replaced in 1941 by the Dorval Airport.
1928, the Loncoln Highway: In 1928, the last 25 kilometers of the Lincoln Highway are paved, finishing the first Transamerica highway which, in theory, made it possible to travel across the continent in 63 hours.
1928, plane of George V: First person to own a private plane.
1950s, the expressways: Expressways started to be built in the 1950s, in Quebec and elsewhere, after the 1930s crisis and the Second World War. Scandals abound, which forced the Quebec government to create the BAPE (public consultation office for the environment) following the building of the Dufferin-Montmorency expressway.
1951, phones: 100,000 phones are now connected to the telephone network in the Quebec region, therefore six digits telephone numbers were added. In 1961, telephone numbers are lengthened to seven digits.
1958, TransCanada pipeline: The first trans Canadian pipeline is built between Alberta and Toronto.
1985, the 40 expressway: The link between Montreal and Quebec City through the north shore is completed by the 40 expressway.
1996, first petabyte: In 1996, for the first time, more than a petabyte (1,000 Tb, or 1,000,000 Gb) of data is transmitted through the Internet in one month. In 2006, the first petabyte is transmitted through mobile devices. In 2017, a total of 122 000 petabytes is transmitted.
2008, ten digit numbers: Three extra numbers were added to phone numbers, a testimony of the larger number of users.