Our history
The founding of Forges de Montréal
After spending 4 years in France as an apprentice to master blacksmiths Serge Carvalho (ironworker), Henri Sabatier (cutlery and harquebusier) and André Maltaverne (taillandier and mechanical blacksmith), Mathieu Collette returned to Quebec with the idea of founding Les Forges de Montréal, with the help of his father, Pierre Collette. Mathieu wanted to pass on his vanishing trade by creating a blacksmithing school and a place to preserve intangible heritage. So they completely restored and refurbished the old Riverside pumping station, and in 2000, the organization was founded.
Over the years, the Forges family has grown to include craftsmen and women, volunteers, blacksmiths, employees and a board of directors. In addition to being a museum,shop, which is constantly evolving, serves as a school, a place for sharing, a research center for traditional blacksmithing andshop for the creation of sustainable, authentic and eco-responsible objects and tools.
Our battle
In 2016, Les Forges de Montréal received an eviction notice asking them to cease operations at the Riverside pumping station. They thus began a mobilization campaign with the support of Montreal citizens. After a petition and 40 letters of international support, the Forges won their fight against the eviction notice.
The documentary Foundations by Olivier D. Asselin, filmed over 4 years and premiered in 2019, recounts the ups and downs of the organization's battle with the City. By 2019, however, the story wasn't over. The development of the Bridge-Bonaventure sector and the idea of Stephen Bronfman's stadium threatened Riverside station. A second mobilization campaign was thus launched, and the sector's stakeholders joined forces to draft a public consultation, which indicated to Mayor Valérie Plante the needs of the artisans and businesses established in the sector. The "Sign for the Forge" petition was also launched, leading the public to support les Forges de Montréal in their second battle to remain in Riverside Station. In 2020, the mayor is asking Mr. Bronfman to rethink his stadium so that it meets the needs of local players and does not threaten them, should he wish to locate it there.
After many years of struggle to carry out our mission of perpetuating the intangible heritage of the forge, we became the owners of the Riverside Pumping Station in 2023, under an agreement with the Ville de Montréal.. Click here to watch an excerpt from the press conference held to mark the announcement.
Price and special mentions
2017 : The Grand Price Savoir-faire was awarded to Forges de Montréal for their mastery of the practice of traditional blacksmithing, the "implementation of a shop highlighting an ancestral craft in an emblematic Montreal location", and for their workshops offered to the public to retransmit this heritage.
2019 : Montreal City Council declares traditional blacksmithing as Montreal's intangible cultural heritage. Read the declaration
2019: Official accreditation as a training organization by the French Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Solidarity. To find out more
2020: accreditation of Forges de Montréal as an NGO by UNESCO. We can now be consulted and give our opinion on applications for intangible heritage status in the field of blacksmithing!
Les Forges de Montréala family affair
For Mathieu Collette, blacksmithing wasn't just a passion or a craft: it represented the intangible heritage of our ancestors, an eco-responsible and sustainable means of production, and a legacy to future generations. Indeed, traditional blacksmithing has been an integral part of Mathieu's family, as he descends from a line of blacksmiths and craftsmen.
His father
Pierre Collette, architect with the Ordre des architectes du Québec, restored the historic Notre-Dame du Très Saint-Sacrament church in the 1980s, with architect Paul Goyer. Built in 1892 and burnt down in 1982, the church was restored with ingenuity and great respect for its built heritage. The two architects used only traditional techniques, as in the creation of new handmade stained glass windows, using the same techniques as in the 19 ͤ century. In fact, they won the Price Habitas award for the quality of the renovation and restoration of the historic building.
Pierre's grandfather, Adélard Collette (1893-1975), was a weaver and union representative based on Alexandre Street in Sherbrooke. He founded the Collette House Construction Cooperative to provide each of his eight children with a home of their own. He built eight houses, accompanied by his six sons and two sons-in-law. These construction sites not only acted as workshops to teach the trades of carpenter, joiner and mason to the workers, but also served to demonstrate that it was possible for a community to produce and own its own property. Today, the street on which he lived is called Rue Adélard-Collette.
Being sensitive to the cause of Quebec artisans, Pierre Collette co-founded Les Forges de Montréal with Mathieu, handling the architectural side of the Riverside Pumping Station restoration. He is now Vice-Chairman of the organization's Board of Directors.
His mother
Mathieu's mother, Lyne Goyer, is descended from a long line of blacksmiths. While her father Paul Goyer was an architect, it was her mother, Aline Robichon, who belonged to the family of blacksmiths who built and worked at the Forges du Saint-Maurice. Descendants of the Robichon family of Burgundy, they immigrated to New France to forge and repair the tools needed to settle the French colonists. This long line of blacksmiths greatly influenced Mathieu, who felt a strong sense of belonging to the trade.
His children
Mathieu Collette's two children, Maya and Samy Labrie-Collette, also work at Les Forges de Montréal. Since their childhood, Mathieu Collette has taught them the rudiments of the trade, whether by imitating the creation of damascus with fimo clay, or by taking them, a little older, to forge their first knives atshop. They quickly understood the importance of the Forges' mission, and are involved in it today, Maya as administrative assistant and communications manager, and Samy as photographer and creator of audiovisual content.