Minister François-Phillippe Champagne – Samuel de Champlain Bridge Time Capsule Video

Hello, everyone, my name is François-Philippe Champagne, and I'm your Canadian Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.

Today I am very excited to provide you with the first look at an exciting project we have been working on with organizations and individuals from across Montreal, to mark the historic opening of the Samuel De Champlain Bridge in June.

This contemporary new bridge spanning the St. Lawrence will most definitely become a landmark for Montreal and the surrounding region and will contribute to the long-term economic and sustainable development of the city.

And this would never have been possible without the true heroes of the story; the more than 1600 construction workers, who worked day in and out to make it happen.

And this is the time capsule that will be sealed into the structure of the new bridge.

The capsule itself was custom-designed and 3-D printed at the Université de Sherbrooke.

Just like Samuel-De-Champlain, a brave man who crossed the Atlantic at least 27 times, a visionary who believed in the immense potential of our land and a humanist that marked his time.

With this capsule, we also want to mark our time.

Like the bridge, it has been designed to endure for 125 years or longer using innovative materials and completely sealing the box around its contents.

This means I cannot show you today what is inside.

What I will tell you is that each item has been specially -selected to tell the story of the Samuel De Champlain Bridge and the City of Montreal and capture the spirit of the community.

In the coming days it will placed in the bridge structure and instructions will be left for future generations about where to find it.

When the time comes to open it, our hope is that each item in capsule will provide a window into the legacy of the Samuel De Champlain Bridge by connecting the next century of Montrealers through time to all of us right here, right now.

Are you curious to know what is inside?

Starting today, Infrastructure Canada will reveal each of the objects in the time capsule on our social media platforms—

Twitter, Facebook and Instagram—using the hashtag #BridgingCenturies.

I invite you to follow along to find out what surprises we have packed in this small box. Join us in this great adventure!