The French Connection

The relationship St. Dunstan’s University had with the Province of Quebec goes back a long time beginning with the Diocese of Quebec having ecclesiastical jurisdiction over much of what we know now as the Maritime Provinces. As St. Dunstan’s grew from its beginnings in 1855 (and that of its precursor St. Andrew’s College in 1831) it strengthened its relationship with Quebec and Laval University through a variety of professors who ventured forth from Quebec to teach at the small island college.

Students fi'om SDU who wished to study for the priesthood invariably were sent to Grand Seminaire in Quebec and the Scots-Irish mix from Prince Edward Island was attuned to Quebec’s aspirations in political and ecclesiastical matters. It was the affiliation of St. Dunstan’s College with Laval University in 1892 however that propelled the small Island college forward in educational circles since a degree from Laval at that time was a signal accomplishment indeed.

This does not in itself explain the later developments that saw nearly 25 percent of the SDU student body in the last few years of the turn of the century originating from the eastern section of the Province of Quebec. The larger part of this group of young French-Canadians came to SDU to take a high school commercial diploma that was not easily accessible to them in their home province. A smaller group came to SDU to complete the last few years of their Laval degree and at the same time hopefully to become

proficient in English. St. Dunstan’s was happy enough to follow the course structure as set

out by Laval because the purpose of the Island college in the beginning was to produce candidates for the priesthood and for other professions requiring a classical education. As the years progressed, St. Dunstan’s began to listen to Islanders who asked for a variety of programs ; one of which was the high

school commercial diploma. Gradually, with permission from Laval, St. Dunstan’s courses moved

toward the sciences and greater emphasis was placed on commercial training. It was during the rectorship of Father James Murphy (uncle to Dunstan Murphy- a SDU ‘51 graduate) that the greatest strides were made in moving away from complete emphasis on the classical, to a broader educational system incorporating a liberal education with science and commerce. St. Dunstan’s owes a great debt to Laval for accepting the small college as an affiliate, and then agreeing to let it chart its own course as it responded to the educational aspirations of the Island people. Affiliation came to an end in 1956, St.Dunstan’s having activated its university charter

in 1941.