I'm from the UK but studied in Canada for a year. Lit wasn't my major but I made sure I got on a Can Lit course.
I had a great teacher and discovered many fine authors. Ostenso, Laurence, Atwood, Ondaatje etc. I also loved the earlier stuff, the explorer and settler accounts, pre and post confederation, right up to the (post) moderns.
Unfortunately I couldn't take all these great books home with me, because I couldn't fit them in my suitcase, and was too broke to pay the extra baggage allowance.
And to make things worse, I lost my reading list from the Can Lit course. Most of the books I have since tracked down, but some of the more obscure ones I cannot, despite my best efforts on Amazon/google/wikipedia.
Can you name this book? Sorry for the terribly vague description, but here goes...it was set late 19th/early 20th century, and described a family dynasty in an industrial town that started small but grew larger as the years passed. It was definitely British Canadian rather than French Canadian. I remember very vividly descriptions of the town and the social customs. Almost like Jane Austen, but far up north.
Sorry I can't be more specific. But if anyone can put me out of my misery I will be very grateful.