Sun Life Building

Just across from Dorchester Square stands one of Montreal’s most imposing—and perhaps most jaw-dropping—buildings. If you feel tempted to call it a behemoth, you’re absolutely right: it’s made up of 60,200 granite blocks, each weighing between 2 and 17 tonnes, for a grand total of 43,000 tonnes. That’s a lot of rock. It was inaugurated in 1918 and was, for a time, the largest building in the entire British Empire. During World War II, it even served as a secure vault for the gold reserves of several European countries. It was commissioned by Sun Life, one of Canada’s biggest insurance companies, which remained the owner until 1946. Now here’s a little story for you: in 1978, Sun Life moved its headquarters to Toronto because of Bill 101. Never heard of it? Well, even if the name doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve probably felt its effects since you arrived in Quebec. You know those STOP signs that say ARRÊT? Or the fact that Kentucky Fried Chicken becomes PFK here—Poulet Frit du Kentucky? Yep, that’s Bill 101 in action. Passed in 1977, it made French the only official language of the province, requiring it in public signage and commercial advertising. Ironically, Quebec often goes further in protecting the French language than France itself—where you’ll still find STOP signs and KFCs everywhere. The president of Sun Life apparently found it all a bit too much. Maybe “Soleil Vie Assurance” didn’t sound quite as catchy… and honestly, can you blame him? Still, Montrealers continue to call this place the Sun Life Building to this day. And just to wrap up this little detour into Quebec’s language laws: in 1993, new legislation allowed bilingual signage—as long as French remains dominant. That’s why locals still shop at Canadian Tire, not Le Pneu Canadien… which, let’s be honest, might be a bit of a tongue-twister anyway.