A Victim of its Own Success

Now that our province is the only one in Canada to have a radium institute, it is called upon to exert an influence on the whole country’s medical field, unless the universities of other provinces immediately follow suit.

– Le Canada, April 5, 1923

The success of Montréal’s Radium Institute was not limited to strengthening relations between Québec and France. From the moment of its creation, Québec newspapers were highlighting how this institution was the first of its kind in Canada. They overtly promoted the almost miraculous qualities of radium, while portraying Doctor Ernest Gendreau as a scientific genius.

Montage of two pages from a magazine. On the left is the cover, which reads L'action universitaire - Revue des diplômés de l'Université de Montréal. On the right is an article about the Radium Institute, accompanied by photographs of men in lab coats and suits.

L’Action Universitaire: The Radium Institute, 1935

Listen to the audio clip (in French) with the translated transcript : Article by Origène Dufresne in L’Action Universitaire

Paradoxically, the good press surrounding its creation put the Institute in an extremely delicate situation. Early on, a crowd of patients rushed the university, hoping to be admitted. Often destitute, these patients did not have the means to pay for treatment, which had a negative impact on the Institute’s finances. In January 1924, the medical personnel was asked to give up 10% of their salary to pay for the operating costs of the research centre.

Black and white photograph depicting a room filled with equipment and tables set up as hospital beds. The devices are varied, some resembling barrels, others old photographic cameras.

Treatment facilities at the Université de Montréal, between 1922 and 1925

This situation also led to an overcrowding issue. The research institute, then located in the basement of the Université de Montréal on Saint-Denis Street, was not adequate to admit such large numbers. Patients were forced to wait in hallways already crowded with students. Montréal’s Radium Institute, which was initially intended as a specialized research centre, was turning into a bustling medical clinic. In May 1925, the situation had become so unbearable that administrators decided to suspend the centre’s activities in order to find a more sustainable solution to their problems of both funding and space.

Black and white photograph, taken from above, of a five-story building whose top floor is completely destroyed following a fire.

Radiotherapy equipment in the Université de Montréal, between 1922 and 1925

The Radium Institute, a Source of Cultural Pride Moving to Maisonneuve