Nazaire Dugas
 | New Brunswick’s first professional Acadian architect

Born in Caraquet, New Brunswick, Nazaire Dugas (1864-1942) was the first Acadian architect to make a living from his profession. He created plans for many prominent buildings in the region, as well as a number of private residences and businesses. His conceptual, technical and practical know-how has had a major influence on the development of the entire Acadian Peninsula. Despite this, much of his work is not well-known and is at risk for demolition or disrepair.

Nazaire Dugas, 1864-1942 | New Brunswick’s first professional Acadian architect

The Acadian town of Caraquet is known for its magnificent view of Chaleur Bay. But along the town’s main boulevard, a visitor’s eyes are also drawn to the understated beauty of several buildings. There are cozy, wood-clad heritage homes decorated with detailed mouldings; a busy café whose elegant front window hints at its hundred-year history; the stone remains of a former convent, whose façade now serves as a backdrop for outdoor cultural events; and an artists’ workshop bursting with colour. These buildings share a common origin: an architect who inspired the people of the Acadian Peninsula with his quest for beauty, Nazaire Dugas.

From Caraquet to Montreal

Born in Caraquet on July 26, 1864, Nazaire Dugas was one of New Brunswick’s architectural pioneers. In the early 1880s he moved to Montreal, where two of his sisters had entered religious orders. There he trained as a carpenter in the workshop of Itzweire et Sarrazin, which belonged to the uncle of his wife, Rose Moreau. During his twenty years of residence in the city, Dugas also studied architecture under F. Bourgeault. Over this period, he directed several construction projects in the Montreal region and worked with prominent architectural contemporaries including Joseph-Honoré MacDuff, who lived from 1868 to 1918, and Louis-Roch Montbriand, who lived from 1860 to 1923.

From Montreal to Caraquet

In 1896, while still living in Montreal, he began designing houses on the Acadian Peninsula and partnered with his brother Henri to purchase a sawmill and shingle mill in Caraquet. The brothers added a flour mill, a woodworking shop, and a door, window, and moulding factory, all operating together under the company name H. & N. Dugas. Unfortunately, the entire complex would go up in flames in the summer of 1946, four years after Nazaire Dugas’s death.

In 1902, Dugas moved back to his hometown of Caraquet with his wife and their two children. The couple had six children in all — Philibert, Oscar, Yvon, Édouard, Albert, and Adrienne — before Rose fell victim to tuberculosis in 1910. Three years after her death, Dugas married Rose Haché, with whom he had a daughter, Julienne.

He remained in Caraquet for the rest of his life and was the master builder in charge of  several important construction projects in the region. In addition to exercising his talents as an architect, he supplied building materials and practical knowledge through his firm, H. & N. Dugas, and likely also performed hands-on work.

An organized and meticulous man, Dugas kept an almost daily record of the goings-on in his community, including births, notable visitors, weather events, and more. He got involved in politics and maintained an excellent relationship with the local clergy. He took part in a pilgrimage to Rome in 1925, where he met Pope Pius XI. Sporting a distinctive moustache, he was also known for his gifts as a storyteller.

The Architectural Heritage of Nazaire Dugas: Its importance and fragility

Dugas left an important architectural legacy in communities across northeast New Brunswick, where the fruits of his labour can be seen in several iconic buildings that form part of the local collective identity: churches, colleges, convents, schools, businesses, and hotels. Most of his main works were constructed in the first decade of the twentieth century. These include the church in Bas-Caraquet (1904), the expansions of the Collège de Caraquet (1903 and 1907), and the convent of the Sœurs de la Congrégation Notre-Dame (1905), among others. A multi-talented architect, he also drew up the plans and blueprints for several presbyteries, parish halls, and private residences. In addition, he designed furniture, sleds, barrels, and various pieces of technical equipment.

His buildings were always at the centre of local community life, adapted to a wide variety of uses including a general store, a bed and breakfast, a hotel, a place of worship, an educational facility, a telephone exchange, an eco-museum, a café-bakery, and an artist’s residence.

Dugas died in 1942; today, only about ten buildings remain that he is known to have designed or built. Most recently, the church in Bas-Caraquet church was, unfortunately, destroyed by fire in 2018. The non-profit organization Nordais Collectif is sponsoring a research/new works project that aims to highlight this unique individual’s work and archives.