Victor-Alphonse Huard - Influence and Legacy

Influence and Legacy

Amongst various awards, Huard became a member of the scientific section of the Royal Society of Canada in 1913. In 1916, he was awarded a D.Sc. honoris causa degree from Université Laval. He was also granted the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice cross (1903) and became an honorary canon in 1915. Pope Pius XI granted him a special apostolic blessing in 1924; news of his appointment as domestic prelate of the pope was received the day after his death. A modern provincial wildlife sanctuary, Victor-A.-Huard Ecological Reserve, was created in 1990 near Kenogami Lake and is named after him. A lake and river in Côte-Nord are also named after him.

In 2003, his entomological collections were acquired by Laval University from the Séminaire, and had to be thoroughly restored for the second time (the first time was in 1960). They contain approximatively 8 000 specimens representing 3 000 species, mostly from Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and the area around Quebec City.

Huard acted as a link between the 19th century scientific period and the scientific revival of early 20th century Quebec, and was a model for those of his days. His major contribution was the publication of his natural history books, who were needed to replace the existing ones who, imported from France, adapted poorly for Canadian realities. He was also instrumental in keeping the work of Provancher from being too harshly misjudged. No biography of Huard has been published, although Conrad Laforte's MLSc Thesis, a bio-bibliography of him, come close.