{"id":659307,"date":"2026-05-22T22:36:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T22:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/659307\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T22:36:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T22:36:21","slug":"which-quebec-city-is-the-worlds-true-maple-capital-a-sticky-battle-is-afoot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/659307\/","title":{"rendered":"Which Quebec city is the world\u2019s true maple capital? A sticky battle is afoot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A maple leaf is mounted on a pole in Plessisville, one of two Quebec cities that have styled themselves as the world’s top provider of maple syrup.Renaud Philippe\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Inside a bottling plant in a small city in central Quebec stands a life-size statue of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus. In one tiny hand, the infant bears a maple leaf, held aloft to summon the faithful. <\/p>\n

If maple syrup is not quite a religion in these parts, it certainly inspires fervour. Families in Plessisville have tapped the same trees for generations, harvesting sap to be transformed into liquid gold and shipped around the globe. <\/p>\n

For 50 years, this place has called itself the Capitale mondiale de l\u2019\u00c9rable \u2013 the maple capital of the world. It was made official in 1993, when the city registered the title as a trademark. <\/p>\n

So it was with great irritation that Marc Morin, the mayor of Plessisville, learned earlier this year that another city not even 200 kilometres away had registered its own trademark. The Montreal suburb of Mirabel is now, officially, the Capitale internationale de l\u2019\u00c9rable \u2013 the international maple capital.<\/p>\n

The depth of Mr. Morin\u2019s displeasure is not easy to translate. \u201cJ\u2019\u00e9tais en tabarnak,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

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Plessisville Mayor Marc Morin walks in the woods near the sugar bush of Pierre Fortier, a fifth-generation owner of the family-run operation.Renaud Philippe\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Last month, Plessisville sent a strongly worded letter to Mirabel demanding that it give up its \u201cvirtually identical\u201d trademark. Mirabel says it won\u2019t. <\/p>\n

For a community that helped turn Quebec into the world\u2019s dominant maple syrup producer, Mirabel\u2019s new title is a slap in the face. It\u2019s not that anything concrete is at stake \u2013 Mirabel is quick to say it\u2019s not trying to compete. But to Plessisville, this is akin to a case of stolen identity. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve been robbed,\u201d said Pierre Fortier, fifth-generation owner of a family sugar bush near Plessisville. \u201cWe\u2019re the ones who did it all.\u201d <\/p>\n

With 9,500 residents, Plessisville might seem like a small town with a small-town quibble. But in truth, it has a strong claim to being the maple capital of the world. <\/p>\n

The plant where the statue of Notre-Dame des \u00c9rables stands watch is Citadelle, a producers\u2019 cooperative formed a century ago to improve the quality of maple sugar and syrup and to boost prices. Today, Citadelle exports syrup to more than 45 countries. <\/p>\n

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A view of the historic Citadelle syrup producers’ cooperative, which exports the good to more than 45 countries.Renaud Philippe\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Pope Pius XII sanctioned the Notre-Dame des \u00c9rables as an object of devotion in 1957, when a Quebec cardinal travelled to Rome to make the request on behalf of syrup producers. Five thousand replicas were then distributed to sugar shacks. <\/p>\n

Plessisville is also home to one of three warehouses that make up the world\u2019s only maple syrup reserve. It can hold up to 95,000 barrels of the stuff \u2013 or about 52 million pounds. <\/p>\n

The city hosts an annual maple festival, which celebrated its 68th year this spring. And when Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen flew around the moon earlier this year, he had with him a supply of maple syrup from \u2013 well, you get the picture. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe could have called ourselves the interstellar capital,\u201d Mr. Morin said. <\/p>\n

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A couple shares maple taffy at a gathering in Plessisville in 1940.Supplied<\/p>\n

Mirabel and its 68,000 residents have their own bragging rights, of course. The city\u2019s tourism agency, which registered the offending trademark in January, advertises around 30 sugar shacks and syrup boutiques. They include the renowned Au pied de cochon, where the menu is heavy on foie gras and reservations are near-impossible to nab.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s just it, according to Mr. Morin. Mirabel may have its flashy hotspots, but the hardworking folks of Plessisville have maple syrup running through their veins. \u201cIt\u2019s disrespectful,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

For anyone swayed only by cold, hard numbers, those also work in Plessisville\u2019s favour. According to the industry group representing Quebec maple syrup producers, the central Quebec region that includes Plessisville produces 23.7 million pounds of syrup annually, compared to a piddling 8.8 million pounds coming out of the western region that includes Mirabel. So there\u2019s that. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Mirabel has met Plessisville\u2019s ire with a sort of bemused shrug. In an interview, Mayor Roxanne Therrien responded to the conflict with the air of a weary parent dealing with a petulant child. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have other fish to fry,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

One of three warehouses that make up the world\u2019s only maple syrup reserve is located in Plessisville.Renaud Philippe\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Mirabel doesn\u2019t dispute Plessisville\u2019s heritage, and Ms. Therrien said she was taken aback by Mr. Morin\u2019s two-and-a-half-page letter. The two mayors had met twice earlier in the year \u2013 once at Au pied de cochon, no less. Ms. Therrien said her counterpart mentioned the new title was an \u201cirritant,\u201d but didn\u2019t make more of it than that. <\/p>\n

St\u00e9phane Michaud, founding president of Mirabel\u2019s tourism agency, said both cities had planned to work together to showcase Quebec\u2019s maple industry before everything went sideways. He said he doesn\u2019t understand what happened. \u201cThis is by no means meant to overshadow anyone \u2013 not at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Mirabel won\u2019t back down. The tourism agency has already spent a bunch of money on new branding, Ms. Therrien said. And anyway, why should they?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t take anything away from a city\u2019s history, heritage or identity if another city decides to highlight maple as well,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Despite Plessisville\u2019s swagger, its options are limited. Mr. Morin doesn\u2019t plan to take further action if Mirabel stands its ground. He just hopes the rival city will see the light.<\/p>\n

If it doesn\u2019t, probably nothing material will change. \u201cIt\u2019s a tempest in a sap pot,\u201d said Peter Kuitenbrouwer, a journalist and forester who published a recent book on the history of maple syrup. <\/p>\n

Peter Kuitenbrouwer: My trip to the Georgian Bay, where an Anishinaabe maple syrup operation carries on a sweet tradition<\/a><\/p>\n

But called on to take sides, he didn\u2019t hesitate. Plessisville is the \u201cnerve centre\u201d of the maple syrup industry, Mr. Kuitenbrouwer said, calling Mirabel\u2019s claim \u201cabsurd.\u201d His book includes a map of maple syrup country, stretching from Michigan to Nova Scotia. Plessisville is featured. Mirabel is not. <\/p>\n

Mr. Morin said he tried to avoid conflict with Mirabel. He even suggested alternate titles, such as the Perle de l\u2019\u00c9rable \u2013 the maple pearl. But now, the mayor who carries around maple candies in his pocket can\u2019t avoid a hint of bitterness. \u201cIt\u2019s just a marketing ploy. There\u2019s nothing international about them,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cMaple is in our genes.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: A maple leaf is mounted on a pole in Plessisville, one of two…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":659308,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[2428,2416,2429,4,2408,2430,103,2407,2422,2423,2418,2409,2406,101,526,192,2421,2414,2441,2410,2411,2420,2417,149,983,2431,2413,2436,2437,2439,2434,2438,2432,2435,2412,2425,2426,111,2424,2433,79,2415,74,2427,2419,194,965,2440],"class_list":["post-659307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-science","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=659307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/659308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=659307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=659307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=659307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}