Ontario was at the head of automobile production. Since shipping by boat and train was becoming less in demand, Montreal's economy suffered, as they were one of the leaders in manufacturing railway equipment. American and international investment firms began to favour Toronto, which soon replaced Montreal as Canada's financial capital. All of these factors contributed to Montreal's economic issues in the late 1950s. Jean Drapeau — mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and again from 1960 to 1986 — made it his mission to raise Montreal to its previous status as one of North America's leading cities and make it a "world-renowned modern metropolis." He believed he could do so by boosting Montreal's international reputation through promoting mega-projects and endorsing world-stage events. Some of these mega-projects included building better traffic routes in order to support the popularization of the automobile, constructing public and private highrises, establishing parking lots and creating the subway system. Some of the world-stage events Drapeau would endorse included Expo 67 (the 1967 World's Fair) and the 1976 Summer Olympics. The mega-project which required the destruction of the Faubourg à m'lasse was Maison Radio-Canada. Television and broadcasting was becoming ever more popular and Radio-Canada, the French language arm of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, wanted to centralize its location and create a building that would suit technologically up-to-date equipment. Jean Drapeau was a supporter of the project, as he envisioned the creation of a Cité des ondes (Media City), which would house all major French-language broadcasting corporations. In order to realize this project, 5000 residents were evicted; in addition, 12 grocery stores, 13 restaurants, about 20 factories and many suitable lodgings were destroyed. See also The Quiet Revolution and the Modernization of Montreal Municipal Politics during the Quiet Revolution Present Day Neighborhoods in Montreal History of Montreal References Former populated places in Quebec History of Montreal Neighbourhoods in Montreal Centre-Sud External links Walking in Faubourg à m'lasse