On October 12, 2015, a provincial plaque was unveiled in Honfleur, France to commemorate the 400th anniversary of French presence in Ontario. This provincial plaque shares the history of Samuel de Champlain’s first trip in 1615 to what is now Ontario. It is entitled Champlain in Ontario, 1615.

The provincial plaque was unveiled in Champlain Park – Champlain’s point of departure in 1615 – by the Honourable Madeleine Meilleur, Ontario Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, and by Michel Lamarre, Mayor of Honfleur.

The plaque reads:
Champlain in Ontario, 1615

In April 1615, Samuel de Champlain (c.1574-1635) embarked from Honfleur, upon his seventh voyage to New France. Upon arrival in Quebec, Champlain was informed of increasing tensions with the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) the traditional rival of his Anishinabe (Algonquian) and Wendat (Huron) allies. He travelled west to Huronia on a diplomatic and military expedition where he visited several villages including Cahiagué, a large and important Wendat settlement. With a mixed force of 400-500 First Nations warriors and a few Europeans, Champlain travelled southeast along the Trent River system, crossed Lake Ontario and attacked a fortified Haudenosaunee village in present-day New York State. Lacking reinforcements, facing a formidable enemy and an early winter, the allies withdrew to Cahiagué with the wounded Champlain. During his recovery in Huronia he visited nearby Anishinabe and Tionontati (Petun) settlements. Although later European contact brought epidemics and escalating conflict that had a profound impact on indigenous peoples, the alliances that Champlain helped establish survived. He returned to France the following August and later published important detailed descriptions of the peoples, societies and landscapes of what would become Ontario.

For more information about the plaque and to see 7 photos go to:
http://www.heritagetrust.on.ca/Resources-and-Learning/Champlain-400.aspx?lang=en-CA