Gaspé: a Micmac (Gespeg) word meaning "land's end".

In 1534, the navigator Jacques Cartier from Saint-Malo, then on his first voyage to North America, found a safe harbour in Gaspé Bay and set up a cross there by way of taking possession of the territory in the name of France. That is why Gaspé is called the "Birthplace of Canada".

Later on, English-speaking people joined the Micmacs and the French in Gaspé. In 1765, after the Conquest, demobilized British officers and soldiers were given land gifts in Gaspé, and in 1784, some 315 Loyalists also arrived. The coming of English-speaking people to Gaspé coincided with the founding of fishing empires. In 1833, John LeBoutillier started a cod fishing business, as cod was abundant in Gaspé Bay . In 1838, the LeBoutillier Brothers Company (not to be confused with John LeBoutillier) also set up business along with the other maritime companies. By the mid-nineteenth century, this company had become the main exporter of dried cod in the Gaspé Peninsula , after Charles Robin and Co.

From 1861 to 1866, the port of Gaspé was a duty-free port. Every year, 40 to 50 European ships docked there, and the residents mainly made their living from activities relating to the ships that came to Gaspé. On December 9, 1873, Gaspé was established as a municipality.

In 1911, the railway linked up with the recently renovated port.

Gaspé was also part of the early days of modern aviation, when Count Jacques de Lesseps was mandated by the Quebec government to make a photographic portrait of the Gaspesian forest from the air. In 1926, the pilot set up a first piloting base in Gaspé Bay to fulfill Quebec 's expectations. On October 18, 1927, however, de Lesseps came to an untimely end in the St. Lawrence River . In accordance with his last wishes, he was buried in the Gaspé cemetery.

Gaspé, like many other Quebec regions, was deeply influenced by religious orders. The Diocese of Gaspé was established in 1922, and the first bishop, Monsig. François-Xavier Ross, was an instrumental figure in Gaspé's social development. A number of religious orders also shaped the town's development, namely the Soeurs de Notre-Dame du Saint-Rosaire, the Ursulines, the Jésuites (Jesuits) and the Soeurs de la congrégation de Sainte-Marthe.

Since the Gulf of St. Lawrence was a strategic spot for enemy invasions (German submarines were known to be there starting in 1941), Gaspé became a strategic spot for the Ministry of National Defence. A naval base with 3000 men was built at Sandy Beach in order to patrol the Gulf. Strategic forts were sprinkled over the territory, and vestiges of that time still exist today, such as the Fort Peninsula galleries at the entrance to Forillon National Park , the Fort Ramsay naval base at Sandy Beach, and the shoreline batteries at Cap-aux-Os and Fort- Prével .

On December 24, 1970, Quebec unilaterally decreed the merger of 12 localities, thus creating from Anse-à-Valleau to Fort-Prével one of the most sprawling cities in North America, with 130 kilometers of coastline and 1440 km 2 in terms of area.

he creation of Forillon National Park in 1971 by Ottawa was certainly one of the most important milestones in the history of Gaspé. Recognizing the beauty and splendour of Forillon Peninsula , the federal government authorized numerous expropriations in order to protect this symbolic spot. The broad sweep of expropriations freed up 23,900 hectares of land, and eliminated 350 buildings and 1690 woodlots.