The Saved Army Invades Ottawa

6 April 1884

The nineteenth century was a time of incredible change in Europe and North America. The industrial revolution was upending the existing economic and social order. A cultural renaissance, which drew inspiration from the past, was revolutionizing the arts. Meanwhile, evangelical preachers whose aim was to revive traditional Christian values were attracting thousands of converts, and in so doing threatening long-established churches. This religious revival was intertwined with other social crusades, including the temperance and abolitionist movements.

^{Rev. William Booth, c. 1862, Wikipedia}

Among these evangelical preachers were William Booth and his wife Catharine who in 1865 began bringing the word of God to the destitute and marginalized of London’s poor East End. Booth had been a minister of the Methodist Reform Church but grew frustrated with constraints placed upon his ability to preach. Consequently, he struck out on his own, bringing the message of Christian love and redemption to parts of society that had been neglected by mainstream churches. Realizing that it is difficult to save souls if the physical body is in need, the Booths started to provide food and other essentials at their gatherings. 

Not surprisingly, this new, vigorous, evangelical movement, initially called the “Christian Mission,” irritated many. Mainstream churches were hostile. The Booths’ brash, loud approach to reaching people, via parades, public hymn singing, drums and tambourines, was viewed by some as inconsistent with the biblical admonition Let all things be done decently and in order (I Corinthians, 14:40). The parades and loud music created disturbances. Bystanders mocked adherents and sometimes threw stones causing riots. This led to members getting into trouble with the law for disturbing the peace and other offences. Some went to jail. The Booths’ opposition to the consumption of alcohol also led to enemies. Organized on military lines, with officers (i.e., ministers) and soldiers, members of this new movement called themselves the “Saved Army.” In 1878, the new movement became known as the “Salvation Army.” William Booth was its “General,” with Catharine Booth becoming the “Army Mother.” Despite opposition, the Salvation Army quickly spread through Great Britain and continental Europe. It jumped the Atlantic to the United States in 1880 and to Canada in 1882 with an open-air meeting first held in Toronto in January 1882. Units of the Army were quickly established in other cities, including London and Kingston. They were often led by British immigrants who had been Salvationists in the old country.

^{The Ottawa campaign underway, War Cry, 4 April 1885.}

The first references to the Salvation Army in the Ottawa Citizen occurred in the late 1870s and early 1880s. Most were not complementary. An 1879 editorial stated that “One of the latest outbreaks of fanaticism among the lower classes in England is a society, calling itself the ‘Salvation Army,” which marches in procession, and gets up an excitement and causes riots.” An 1882 editorial claimed that the “ravings of the Salvation Army ‘soldiers’ [brought] religion into contempt.” In 1883, the newspaper reported that the Salvation Army had become such an “intolerable nuisance” in Toronto that legal action was planned by neighbours of the Army’s Queen Street “barracks.” However, these views mellowed over time, especially after the Army came to Ottawa and its works became better known.

The first report of the Salvation Army reaching Ottawa, was a news item that appeared in the spring of 1884 reporting that a meeting connected with the Salvation Army had been held on 6 April at a private home on Duke Street in LeBreton Flats. The purpose of the meeting was to lead an assault the capital. A few weeks later, the Citizen reported that the Saved Army had commenced the religious crusade and was drawing large crowds, owing to its “novelty.” The people behind the crusade appeared to have come from Portsmouth, a small village on the outskirts of Kingston. The Citizen noted several prominent Kingston supporters of the Army, including the chaplain of the Kingston Penitentiary, and the brother of Sir Richard Cartwright, a native of Kingston who had been Minister of Finance in the government of Alexander Mackenzie.

While still cool towards the new religious organization, the Citizen said that members had conducted themselves on Ottawa streets in a “ladylike and gentlemanly manner.” If people objected to the Army’s practices, it said that they should stay away; there was no requirement to attend Salvationist meetings. The newspaper added that “nobody but a biped destitute of all feelings of decency or manhood would go into any building where a so-called sacred service was being carried on and act in a manner to hurt the feelings of those taking part in it. A gentleman…would be careful to do nothing to offend the worshippers at any shrine, in the mosque, padoga (sic), Anglican High Church or Low Church, within the walls of the Roman Catholic Church, or even among the pestilent Mormons [!].”  The newspaper later opined that the Salvation Army reached people whom the mainline churches “either wholly neglect or seem indifferent to their fates.”

Across the country, the Salvation Army began to attract adherents, particularly among working people, the unemployed, and the destitute. In November 1884, the Army started publishing a weekly Canadian edition of the War Cry, the official gazette of the Salvation Army. The newspaper featured prominent Salvationists and discussed “war news” i.e., how the Salvation Army was faring across the country.

^{Unidentified Salvation Army soldiers, Salvation Army Archives.}

One May 1885 story prominent in both in the Citizen and in the War Cry was the donation of a drum to the Ottawa corps. Henceforth, Ottawa’s officers and soldiers paraded to the beat of a bass drum, as well as tambourines. A few months later, a concertina was added. These parades, while successful in attracting a lot of attention, were not always welcome. In June 1886, regular Sunday services at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church were disrupted as Salvationists noisily sang while parading down Wellington Street to and from their barracks at 309 Sparks Street (a former livery stable). On one Sunday, Rev. W.T. Herridge, the minister, had to stop his sermon twice as he could not be heard over the din.

While the Salvation Army gained converts as it “attacked” Ottawa, it found progress slow going. In an 1885 report on Ottawa in the War Cry, Captain Hind and Lieutenant Dalmage said that their meetings were being upset by young men led by the devil. They said that “It is surprising that in this 19^th century and especially in the Capital of Canada, to find the devil has men and women so completely in his clutches that he leads them to hoot, shout, and howl, while people are on their knees. God help Ottawa!  For with all the education, society, etc., the devil has entirely his own way so far.”

^{General Booth, 1907, postcard, Salvation Army Archives.}

Salvation came the following year when the General himself stopped in Ottawa while on a North America tour. General William Booth arrived in the capital on Friday 15 October 1886 on a CPR train from Montreal, disembarking at the Union Depot at 12:35pm. Every member of the Ottawa corps was there to cheer him when he stepped off the platform. He was accompanied by Col. Dowdie and Staff-Capt. Vint from England and Commissioner Coombs who headed up the Canadian branch of the Army. During his short visit to Ottawa, Booth stayed at the residence of John M. Mosgrove at 266 Lisgar Avenue.

On his arrival, a procession formed from the train station. Led by a brass band provided by the Kingston corps of the Army, the Ottawa corps conveyed the General to their Sparks Street barracks. That afternoon, a “holiness meeting” was held in the Grand Opera House for the area’s Salvation Army officers and soldiers, giving them an opportunity to meet the General in person. At 5pm, a banquet for 500 persons was held at the barracks, hosted by the women of the Army. The Ottawa Journal reported that long tables groaned “beneath appetizing delicacies.”  The General and the Army returned to the Opera House for an evening meeting open to all. The price of admission was 15 cents. The Citizen said that the General’s address was “most pointed and convincing.” It also “sparkled with humour, shone with earnestness and conviction and scintillated with dramatic power.” He told the audience that if people saw for themselves and examined the Salvation Army’s methods, they would have a better appreciation of the Salvation Army. Booth challenged any bishop or leading man of any known denomination to spend twenty-four hours with him, or even a Sabbath. If, after that time, the person did not support the work of the Army, Booth would donate $250 to any orphan asylum. Suffice to say, the General’s money was safe.

The following morning, General Booth left Ottawa for Western Canada on the continuation of his North American tour. A few weeks later, the Ottawa division moved into larger quarters at Victoria Hall at the corner of O’Connor and Queen Streets.

In March1907, General Booth, now 78 years old, returned to Ottawa in the context of a round-the-world tour, with stops across North America and Japan, before returning to England via India—a journey of more than 25,000 miles, a huge undertaking for a man of his age. His reception was far different from the one he received twenty-one years earlier. This time, he was a guest of Lord Grey, the Governor General, staying at Rideau Hall. His first public appearance was as the speaker at a Canadian Club luncheon held at Harmony Hall in front of 300 guests. Among them, were Lord Grey, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Robert Borden, and Ottawa’s Mayor D’Arcy Scott.

The General spoke on the objectives of the Army, specifically the raising of men and women “out of despair and misery, from vice and drunkenness, and from harlotry and debauchery.” The Army taught them that “life was beautiful and good if only the love of their Maker was implanted in their hearts.” He told the Canadian Club that the Salvation Army had succeeded beyond his own dreams, and that it had become a force in the world for uplifting mankind.

That evening, at the Russell Theatre, the General expanded on this theme in front of a sold-out house. He noted that the Salvation Army flag flew over fifty-two countries. There were twenty-five different editions of the War Cry, translated into seventeen languages, with a weekly circulation of more than 1 million copies. The Salvation Army provided a host of social services including rescue homes, refuges, maternity houses, emigration and colonization services, as well as food and shelter for the homeless. The reasons for its success were the open declaration of its aims, the self-sacrifice of its officers and soldiers, and its confidence in the possibility of converting anybody.

He left the next day bound for Winnipeg abord a private train carriage. General Booth died in 1912 at 83 years of age.

Fast forward to today, the Salvation Army remains true to General Booth’s objectives and vision. It currently operates in 133 countries. In Canada, it is active in 400 communities, providing hope and support to vulnerable people without discrimination. In 2022, it dished out close to 4 million meals, helped 1.5 million people with food, clothing or other assistance, provided 1.2 million days worth of beds, and fed 115,000 children through school meals programs. During emergencies, the Salvation Army is there providing immediate assistance, as well as longer-term physical, emotional, and spiritual aid to victims and responders. For more information about the host of services offered by the Army and how you can help, see Salvation Army.

Sources:

Ottawa Citizen, 1879. “Editorial Briefs,” 26 September.

——————, 1881. “Editorial Notes,” 7 April.

——————, 1882. “Editorial Notes,” 23 December.

——————, 1882. “Toronto,” 20 November.

——————, 1883. “Salvation Army,” 2 April 1883.

——————, 1883. “Latest News in a Nutshell,” 14 April.

——————, 1884. “Salvation Army,” 7 April.

——————, 1884. “The ‘Saved Army,’ 19 April.

——————, 1884. “Saved Army,” 7 May.

——————, 1884. “Editorial Notes, 31 May.

——————, 1885. “A Drum For The Salvation Army,” 4 May.

——————, 1885. “An Innovation,” 13 July.

——————, 1886. “General Booth,” 16 October.

——————-, 1907. “General William Booth,” 16 March.

——————-, 1907. “Gen. Booth At The Russell,” 21 March.

Ottawa Journal, 1886. “The Salvation Army Nuisance,” 7 June.

——————-, 1886. “Salvation Army Notes,” 29 November.

——————-, 1886. “Salvation Army Notes,” 13 December.

——————-, 1907. “Founder Tells of Army Work,” 21 March.

Salvation Army, 2024. Salvation Army.

[The] Salvation War, 1883, under the Generalship of William Booth, London, Salvation Army Book Depot, 8 & 9 Paternoster Square.

[The] Salvation War, 1884, under the Generalship of William Booth, London, Salvation Army Book Depot, 8 & 9 Paternoster Square.

War Cry, 1885. “Ottawa,” 11 April.

———-, 1885. “Ottawa,” 25 April.

———-, 1885. “Ottawa,” 30 May.

———-, 1886. “The General’s Tour,” 6 November.

———-, 1886. “Montreal and Ottawa,” 13 November.

The OC Transpo Massacre

6 April, 1999

Of all of the events that have occurred through Ottawa’s history, one of the most tragic is the OC Transpo Massacre. For many Ottawa residents, the terrible events of 6 April 1999 are seared into their memory. They will always remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. While time heals, the scars remain both for the families directly affected, as well for Ottawa more generally. In a way, the city lost its innocence that day. We discovered that the mass shootings that we associate with places far away can happen in peaceful, law-abiding Ottawa.

Pierre Lebrun, Murderopedia

It began on a normal, early spring, Tuesday afternoon. At about 2.30 pm, Pierre Lebrun, a shy, 40-year old man who had left OC Transpo’s employ the previous January, pulled into the bus company’s garage at 1500 St. Laurent Boulevard in the city’s east end. He parked his 1997 Pontiac Sunfire a few yards away from a supervisor’s office. After getting out of his car, he pulled out a high-powered, Remington, pump-action rifle capable of killing a moose from a mile away. Entering the building, Lebrun shouted out a line from the movie The Terminator—It’s Judgement Day!

Lebrun quickly fired his first shot that reportedly hit a steel drum before going through a metal locker and lodging in a computer monitor. Fragments struck two men, Richard Guertin and Joe Casagrande, injuring them, fortunately not seriously. Both fled down a hall, shouting for someone to call 911. A message quickly went out over the PA system that there was a man in the garage with a loaded gun. The more than 150 occupants of the building tried to get out of the building or hid in lockers or under tables.

Walking down a hallway, Lebrun claimed his first victim, shipper Brian Guay, 46, shooting him in the chest. Stepping over Guay’s prostrate body, Lebrun continued into the interior of the garage where a group of people were taking a coffee break at the back of a bus. The workers watched in horror as Lebrun fired a third time, killing mechanic Harry Schoenmakers, 44, before entering the bus where the terrified workers were standing. With his gun across his shoulder, he swore at them and snarled You think it’s funny now. Lebrun did not shoot but instead left the garage bay, set a small fire in a chemical room, and proceeded to a store room where four men were sitting. There, Lebrun claimed his third and fourth victims, Clare Davidson, 52, and David Lemay, 35.

Leaving the store room, Lebrun walked upstairs to a loft that overlooked the engine room. A few seconds later, another shot rang out. Lebrun had killed himself. His pockets were full of ammunition. From the time, he entered the garage to the time he took his only life was only a matter of minutes.

Outside the garage, the emergency 911 system receive a call at 2.39 pm that there was a shooter at the OC Transpo garage. The first police arrived at 2.44 pm, with the heavily armed tactical unit arriving on the scene at 2.55 pm. But they didn’t know what they were dealing with. They moved cautiously. Police entered the building at 3.47 pm and began to methodically comb the rooms and buses in the garage. Meanwhile, OC Transpo workers and onlookers waited outside, fearful of the fate of their colleagues and friends. By 6 pm, the police had found Pierre Lebrun’s body in a pool of blood and could begin to stand down.

Information about Pierre Lebrun quickly surfaced. He had been born in Northern Ontario in the small town of Moonbeam located south-east of Kapuskasing. A quiet child with a stammer, he had been teased by other children throughout his childhood. His mother said he had been a “good son.” He had started working for OC Transpo in the mid-1980s, but had quit his job as an audit clerk in January 1999. He had no criminal record.

Originally hired as a bus driver, he had been transferred to jobs that did not require as much interaction with people. A quiet man, who struggled with depression, he had been at the receiving end of jabs and taunts about his speech impediment from certain co-workers. Some said that the harassment got worse after a 1996 transit strike during which Lebrun had gone on sick leave on the advice of a doctor rather than joining the picket line with his striking colleagues. In 1997, Lebrun was fired after he hit a co-worker for allegedly making fun of his stammer. After the union intervened in his support, management rehired Lebrun on the proviso that he attend anger management counselling. But problems continued. Lebrun actually approached Al Loney, the chairman of the OC Transit Commission, to complain about two colleagues. However, Lebrun did not provide details and asked Loney not to intervene. Instead, Lebrun said would go to his supervisor.

After leaving the employ of OC Transpo early in 1999, Lebrun travelled by car across Canada, spending time in British Columbia before heading south to Las Vegas. After losing his money gambling, he drove directly back to Ottawa, arriving in the capital shortly before his assault on the OC Transpo garage. He left a suicide note for his parents. In it, he said that he knew that he was “going to commit an unforgiveable act,” but that he had “no choice.” He said he feared for his life and that people from the union had followed him out west and that they had “destroyed his life.” He added that OC Transpo and the union “can’t hid from what they do to me,” that he was “not crazy, but very intelligent, too intelligent.” He also listed the names of four co-workers who he didn’t like, and three who had tried to help him. None of Lebrun’s victims’ names appeared on his “hate list;” they were simply bystanders who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Over the days that followed the tragic event, grieving families, OC Transpo employees, and the broader community tried to come to terms with what had happened. An impromptu memorial of flowers and black ribbons appeared in front of the bus company’s head office on St. Laurent Boulevard. Among the tributes was a poem by Stacey Lemay, the daughter of David Lemay, entitled “My Dad, My Friend.” The poem was also read out over the intercom at Stacey’s high school. Three days after the shootings, buses across North America pulled over at 2.45 pm to observe a minute of silence as a tribute to their fallen comrades.

Later, an official five-member Coroner’s jury sat down to hear the evidence about what happened that fateful day and what might have provoked Pierre Lebrun’s actions. On their first day on the job, members of the jury along with the general public were shocked to learn that the events of 6 April 1999 had claimed another life. A co-worker of Lebrun had hanged himself out of remorse. In a suicide note, he wrote that Lebrun had talked to him about shooting his managers but the co-worker had said nothing. He thought it had been a dark fantasy, not something Lebrun would ever do.

For eight weeks, the jury listened to testimony of OC Transpo management and workers, police, doctors, family members and other witnesses. Portions of the 911 call were played out, and jury members were taken on a tour of the crime scene. Time was spent examining how long it took for the police to respond, and how Lebrun had obtained ammunition for his rifle despite his firearm licence having expired. A detailed step-by-step analysis was made of Lebrun’s movements and actions from the moment he arrived at the OC Transpo garage until he killed himself. Much attention was also placed on the work environment at the OC Transpo garage. It was very clear that management-worker relations had been poor for some time. One witness claimed that some managers didn’t treated their employees as human beings.  Worker morale was described as being low prior to the shooting.

Witnesses also testified that Lebrun had been a “loner” who had been repeatedly teased because of his stammer. A forensic psychiatrist argued that workplace harassment and what he called “a poisoned work environment” were factors in the tragedy. The 1997 incident when Lebrun had gone “berserk” and slapped a co-worker was also scrutinized. Testimony revealed that after the incident Lebrun had not reached “set goals” in his required anger management training. As well, co-worker concerns about Lebrun’s behaviour had been behind his transfer to the audit position.

After eight weeks of testimony, the coroner’s jury came out with 77 recommendations of which 51 applied directly to OC Transpo. Sixteen recommendations addressed workplace harassment issues, including the development and implementation of workplace violence and harassment prevention policies and procedures by OC Transpo, and the delivery of a respectful workplace training program to all employees. The jury demanded zero tolerance for harassment and violence in the workplace. A further twelve recommendations were directed at workplace safety and security concerns, including such things as the establishment of emergency escape plans, the installation of emergency “pick-up” phones similar to ones in place at transit stops, and the accessibility of maps and blueprints of all buildings to police and other emergency workers.  Other recommendations were given to the police and government.

Most of the recommendations were quickly adopted. However, it took many years for the provinces to update their legislation to require employers to take preventative measures against workplace harassment and violence.  Quebec was the first, amending in 2004 its Act Respecting Labour Standards to ensure employees have the right to a working environment that is free from psychological harassment. Employers were also required to introduce measures to prevent such harassment. Manitoba and Saskatchewan followed in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Ontario’s Bill 168, which was an amendment to the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, came into force in 2010. Under the legislation, employers are, among other things, required to determine the risks of workplace harassment and violence, and develop policies for investigating employee complaints and incidents. In 2016, Bill 132, otherwise known as the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act, came into force. The new legislation expanded the definition of workplace harassment to include sexual harassment. It also broadened employer responsibilities to conduct investigations into incidents and complaints of workplace harassment. The Occupational Health and Safety Act was additionally amended to empower inspectors to require an employer to commission a report made by an unbiased person into a harassment incident or complaint. As well, the Limitations Act was amended to permit the prosecution of cases that occurred prior to the introduction of the Act.

With the laws and regulations in place, implementation is now key. We can only hope that instances of workplace violence and harassment are addressed early enough that similar future tragedies are averted.

Sources:

Bawden, Sean, 2015. “Bill 132… Picking up where Bill 168 left off?”  Labour Pains, 7 November.

Branswell, Brenda, 200. “Pierre Lebrun and his bloody rampage through an OC Transpo building,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 28 April.

CBC News, 2000. “OC Transpo Inquest rocked by revelation,” 10 January.

————–, 2000. “List of recommendation after OC Transpo inquiry,” 29 February.

City of Ottawa, 2001. “Report to Transportation and Transit Committee and Council,” 18 April.

Globe and Mail (The), 2000. “Shooting rampage had deadly echo,” 7 January.

Miniken Employment Lawyers, 2010. “Bill  168 – Ontario’s Law on Workplace Violence and Harassment,” https://www.minkenemploymentlawyers.com/employment-law-issues/bill-168-ontarios-law-on-workplace-violence-and-harassment/.

Murderpedia, 2000(?) “Pierre Lebrun,” http://murderpedia.org/male.L/l/lebrun-pierre.htm.

Ottawa Citizen (The), 1999. “Scene ‘frantic’ after carnage,” 7 April.

————————-, 1999. “Massacre at OC Transpo,” 7 April.

————————-, 1999. “A reminder of what really matters,” 8 April

————————-, 1999. “Impromptu memorial,” 9 April.

————————-, 1999. “Transit services to pause in continent-wide tribute.” 9 April.

————————-, 1999. “Ridicule made ‘good son’ a mass killer.” 9 April.

————————-, 2000. “Jury’s still out on OC Transpo,” 1 March.

————————-, 2000. “OC Transpo Inquest Chronology,” 1 March.

Ottawa Sun (The|), 2013. “OC Transpo driver remembers deadly 1999 shooting,” 19 September.

RH Proactive Inc. 2016. “Bill 132: Prevent Sexual Violence and Harassment in the Workplace,” http://bill132.ca/.