Talks by Louisa Blair and David Mendel
Join us in celebrating the 40th anniversary of Old Quebec’s designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site by attending the talks by writer Louisa Blair and by David Mendel, co-founder of Mendel Tours.
As part of Quebec City’s program to mark the 40th anniversary of Old Quebec’s designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Morrin Centre offers a talk series and other activities related to the history of our heritage site and the events that have taken place at and around 44 Chaussée des Écossais throughout the years.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
With Louisa Blair
If These Walls Could Talk: Telling Stories on the Presidents
With David Mendel
The English-Speaking Community and Old Quebec’s Development
Biographies
Louisa Blair is a translator and writer who was born in Quebec City, Canada, raised in the UK, and returned to live in Quebec 25 years ago. She has translated numerous books and museum exhibitions about history, culture, and politics in Quebec. She has also written short stories and dozens of articles about religion, health care, and Indigenous land rights in Canada.
Her books in English include The Anglos: The Hidden Face of Quebec City (éditions Sylvain Harvey, 2005), Iron Bars and Bookshelves: A History of the Morrin Centre (Baraka Books, 2016), The Calf with Two Heads: Transatlantic Natural History in the Canadas (Baraka Books, 2023), and her translation of Robert Lepage’s 887 (House of Anansi Press, 2019). Blossoms, Beetles, and Birds, her interactive exhibition on natural history in 19th-century Quebec, was presented at the Morrin Centre in 2019. On Sundays she sings in the church choir and on Tuesdays she plays piano at the pub.
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David Mendel, who retired as President of Mendel Tours in 2019, studied at York University in Toronto and at the University of Paris, before moving to Quebec City in 1976. After completing a master’s thesis in Art History and undertaking doctoral studies at Université Laval, he became co-founder of Mendel Tours (previously Canadian Cultural Landscapes) in 1984. He is often called upon to give talks about the history of Quebec at international conferences and has given numerous tours of the city for visiting dignitaries.
A resident of Quebec’s historic district since 1976, he is very involved in preservation issues. He is President of the Foundation of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity ─ the first Anglican Cathedral to have been built outside the British Isles. He is the author of a best-selling series of guidebooks devoted to Quebec City and its surrounding region: Quebec: World Heritage City (2009); Quebec, Birthplace of New France (2012); The Seminary of Quebec, A Living Heritage (2013); Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (2015); Le Château Frontenac, in the Heart of Old Quebec (2018); and co-author, with François Tremblay and Judy Bross, of Charlevoix, a Tradition of Hospitality (2018).
In 2014, David Mendel was honoured as Tourism Personality of the Year at the annual awards gala of the Quebec City Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In 2015, he was awarded the Medal of the Historical Society of Quebec.
In 2016, his book, Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, was awarded the Mise en valeur prize of the Conseil du patrimoine religieux.
In 2025, he was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal.
He serves on the Board of Directors of the Foundation of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Musée de la civilisation, and Pôle culturel du Monastère des Ursulines.
Click here to view the full programming of the On the Cobblestones project.