Expo 67

Expo 67, international exposition held in 1967 in Montréal, Québec, to celebrate Canada’s centennial. Senator Mark Drouin of Québec first developed the idea of a world exhibition in Montréal to serve as a focal point for Canada’s celebrations of its 100th birthday. Drouin and senator Sarto Fournier, former mayor of Montréal, first presented the idea to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris, but that body initially decided that the 1967 world exhibition should be held in Moscow. In late 1962, however, the Soviet Union cancelled its plans. Montréal’s mayor, Jean Drapeau, made a fresh presentation to the BIE, and the exhibition was awarded to Canada. That Expo 67 was sanctioned by the BIE virtually assured participation by many countries. The BIE also designated it as an exhibition of the “first category,” the first to be held in North America. The most important aspect of this “first category” classification is that the exposition must cover the full range of activities of contemporary humanity.

Choice of the theme and the site of the exhibition

Legislation passed by the House of Commons in late 1962 established a crown company, the Canadian Corporation for the 1967 World Exhibition, to build and run the exposition. Expo 67 was to be a three-way partnership, with 50 percent participation by the federal government, 37.5 percent by the Québec government, and 12.5 percent by the city of Montréal. With time pressing, the three governments called a conference of educators, literary figures, and intellectuals at Montebello, Québec, to choose a central theme and evolve a philosophy for the exhibition. “Man and His World,” the theme chosen at the Montebello conference, derived from the title of a book by the French author, poet, and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Terre des Hommes. The master plan was completed and submitted to Parliament on schedule in late 1963. By late 1966 the corporation listed approximately $320 million as capital-incurred costs of Expo 67 and $138 million as anticipated revenue, yielding an expected deficit of $82 million.

The choice of a site for the exhibition presented many difficulties, not the least of which was the shortage of time. Many proposals were studied, but it was finally decided that Île Ste-Hélène, a park in the centre of the St. Lawrence River linked to Montréal by the Jacques Cartier Bridge, would be expanded using silt and rock dredged from the bottom of the river. A new island, Île Notre-Dame, would also be created adjoining Île Ste-Hélène and alongside the St. Lawrence Seaway. River bottom sources of landfill proved insufficient, and for months parades of dump trucks bringing landfill moved to the site on a 24-hour-a-day basis. The cost of building the site rose from the original estimate of $10 million to $40 million.

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Despite all the problems, the site was formally turned over to the exhibition corporation on July 1, 1964. As finally developed, it was divided into four main areas. The entrance at Cité du Havre was formerly known as Mackay Pier, a part of the port of Montréal. From the Cité du Havre, the new Concordia Bridge across the St. Lawrence led to the first exhibition area on the western section of Île Ste-Hélène. The third area was the Île Notre-Dame. The fourth, La Ronde, at the eastern end of Île Ste-Hélène, contained most of the amusement activities.

Buildings and exhibitions

The theme program was divided into five main groups: Man the Creator, Man the Explorer, Man the Producer, Man the Provider, and Man and the Community. These, in turn, were divided into subgroups. To implement the theme, the exhibition corporation invested almost $40 million in buildings strategically located around the site for the theme groups. For example, illustrating Man the Creator was an exhibit of approximately 160 paintings borrowed from museums and individuals worldwide and exhibitions of sculpture, photography, and industrial design. The social sciences and humanities were grouped under Man and the Community.

Pavilions

The nations that agreed to participate in Expo 67 either built their own pavilions or combined with other nations in regional pavilions. Among them, the Soviet Union spent approximately $15 million; Czechoslovakia, $10 million; and the United States, more than $9 million. The approaches taken by some of the world’s greatest architects in designing the theme buildings and the national pavilions were varied and frequently breathtaking. Arthur Erickson’s pyramidal Man in His Community was built from hexagonal frames of Douglas fir. Frei Otto and Rolf Gutbrod’s German pavilion, a 15-story, multi-peaked tent of plastic, indicated how concept and materials might radically alter the design of buildings such as auditoriums. Buckminster Fuller’s United States pavilion helped popularize the geodesic dome. The interiors of the pavilions also varied greatly. Some presented prosaic displays of consumer goods and machinery, while others imaginatively depicted their countries’ history and cultural traditions. Montréal architect Moshe Safdie’s revolutionary Habitat ’67 was a graphic demonstration that by industrializing the building process, there are better and cheaper ways to house people. Expo 67 also witnessed the development of new approaches to viewing film. The multiscreen technique was omnipresent, transforming everyday sights and sounds into more vital images.

Expo 67 also encouraged participation by private industry and by special groups. In the latter category, seven Christian churches combined to present a Christian pavilion; others included the United Nations Association, the European Economic Community, the House of Judaism (sponsored by the Canadian Jewish community), and the Youth Pavilion.

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Under BIE rules, each country taking part in the exhibition may send performing artists as a part of its participation. The World Arts Festival was thus able to include on its schedule such internationally known groups as the La Scala Opera Company from Milan, Sir Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre from Great Britain, the New York Philharmonic, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and classical theatre from Greece. Expo 67 and the Montréal International Film Festival combined to present a festival of more than 30 feature films during August. Sports events included an international soccer tournament, a lacrosse tournament, and a European-American track meet. Spectacles such as a western rodeo and the first North American appearance of the Gendarmerie française rounded out the festivities at this, the crowning event of Canada’s birthday celebration.

Impact

Some 120 governments were present at Expo 67 in 60 pavilions, and thousands of private exhibitors and sponsors participated in 53 private pavilions and through various facilities on the site. The exhibition site was planned to accommodate 26 million individual visits over a 183-day period. In fact, there were over 50 million paid admissions recorded from April 28 to October 27, not counting over 5 million admissions by performers, the press, official visitors, and employees. Expo 67 cost Canada, Québec, and Montréal $283 million to put together and to run. Independent economic studies indicated that the return to federal, provincial, and municipal taxpayers was almost double that amount. The increase in tourist revenues in 1967 directly related to Expo 67 was calculated at $480 million.

An earlier version of this entry was published by The Canadian Encyclopedia .