The last of the Maliseet

The last of the Maliseet

The Maliseet call this region Kakoua-Nak, or “land of the porcupine.” Cacouna (established in 1891) is the smallest Native reserve in Canada (barely 1,860 m2 or 2,225 sq. yd.). The last Maliseet died in 1972, leaving the reserve bereft. In 1996, the Maliseet Nation opened an administrative office on the municipal territory.

Cacouna was once a popular seaside resort for wealthy Americans and English Canadians. Several superb examples of bourgeois architecture remain today, including the magnificent Montrose manor (pictured), built in the early 20th century by Sir Montagu Allan, a rich Scottish financier and owner of the Allan Line of steamships. The Allan family summered in Cacouna until 1915; after the Great War, they came more sporadically until 1939.