Proximity to the port gave the area a new lease of life . In 1833 , the '' marché Sainte-Anne '' was built to accommodate the fruit and vegetable sellers . The Georgian building consisted for two long wings , a Portico entrance on one end and a central section topped with a smalle steeple . The '' marché Sainte-Anne '' was so attractive that the Parliament of the Province of Canada moved into it in 1844 , where the representatives of Upper and Lower Canada sat ( present-day south Ontario and Quebec ) ; a second market building built in 1844 behind the new Parliament building ( and later demolished in 1860 ) substituted the original role of the old market . It was burned down on April 25 , 1849 , when English-speaking demonstrators drove the representatives out and set fire to the building because they opposed the Rebellion Losses Bill , pardoning those who had been involved in the Lower Canada Rebellion . Montreal thus lost its status as capital city
burned down
Burning of the Parliament Buildings in Montreal
Place d'Youville