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LaFontaine’s house, which he bought in 1849, was central to that story.

“The planning, the putting together of how Canada would become a democracy, took place to a great extent in that house,” Saul said in an interview.

Twice in 1849 it was attacked by anti-democratic forces that had burned the parliament building in Old Montreal, but the democrats resisted.

“Of all the buildings that are central to Canada becoming a democracy, it’s the only important one left,” Saul said.

Today, there is a major park and an expressway tunnel named after LaFontaine in Montreal, but historian Jacques Monet said he merits greater recognition.

“LaFontaine is arguably — and one would win the argument — the first prime minister of Canada,” said Monet, director of the Canadian Institute of Jesuit Studies and author of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography entry on LaFontaine.

“We usually say (John A.) Macdonald because he’s after Confederation, but the first one who got responsible government — that is, that the governor agrees that he has to take the advice of whoever has the majority in the House — was LaFontaine.”

The LaFontaine House almost fell to the wrecking ball in the 1980s, but the city stepped in at the last minute to protect it with a heritage designation. Since then, it has been the subject of recurring debate as conservationists called on various levels of government to intervene to prevent it from falling further into ruin.

Hopes were raised when the Brivia Group bought the property in 2011, part of its purchase of an entire downtown block bordered by René Lévesque Boulevard to the north and Overdale to the south. As part of its project, which includes townhouses along Overdale and two 38-storey condo towers on René-Lévesque, the developer agreed to restore the exterior of LaFontaine House to its original condition as faithfully as possible.