In Québec, the case of
Shawinigan is interesting: a tri-city area that has grown tremendously in the first half of the 20th century, becoming one of the provinces's main urban areas, and then plateauing / slightly declining until today. It resulted in a city with 3 downtown cores, lots of "dense" urban neighbourhoods made of brick walk-ups or apartment buildings... Nice bones, as we know, small Quebec towns tend to look like overgrown villages, in comparison to their ontarian counterparts that were developed later on. It has been documented here by Rico Rommheim and Masoliantekw.
See the post from Rico Rommheim
See the post from Masoliantekw
Another interesting city to look at is
Saint-Hyacinthe, in Montérégie. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, it was in the top 5 / top 7 main urban agglomerations of the province. The city had impressive institutions for its size, acting as a regional capital: 2 important colleges and smaller ones, 7 or more religious congregations and convents, hospitals, provincial agricultural schools, a catholic bishopric and cathedral, important industries, etc. Its consistent downtown is built around a market hall and place. Cascades street is lively. Uptown, you will find the city hall, central square, the courthouse, the main hospital (Hotel-Dieu), the cathedral, etc. There are also a good number of working-class brick/wood apartment buildings areas.
Street View / rue des Cascades
Of course, I will always praise my hometown,
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, another monteregian city, whose downtown is impressive, located on both sides of Richelieu river, but less well-preserved than Saint-Hyacinthe's, though there is an important renovation ongoing.
See my past photo threads about Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu