The story of Lorne Cardinal and Monique Hurteau鈥檚 respective move to Squamish is a triple love story. But it鈥檚 not what you think.
Cardinal, best known for his long-running role as Sgt. Davis Quinton on Corner Gas, was first introduced to the area in 2001 when he was in town working on the film Insomnia, starring Robin Williams and Al Pacino.
The actors were being helicoptered up to the peak of the Stawamus Chief, where the Northern Alberta-bred Cardinal couldn鈥檛 help but notice the special beauty of the coastline and mountains.
But he wasn鈥檛 instantly sold.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 care for it too much then because they had the pulp mill still going, then when I came back 10 years ago to look at it, the pulp mill was closed,鈥� Cardinal said, and that鈥檚 when he decided to move to the area permanently.
鈥淚 wanted the peace and quiet, the trees and lakes and rivers. I really needed that, and Squamish was it.鈥�
And Hurteau?
鈥淚 kidnapped her with some butter chicken,鈥� says Cardinal without hesitation.
Hurteau, who in her own right is a writer, director, comedian (on hiatus), artist, and producer, corroborates this claim.
They met at a stand-up comedy show which Cardinal organized and which Hurteau was performing in, and a plate of the fated butter chicken at Pepe鈥檚 Chophouse sealed the deal.
鈥淢y twisted sense of humour didn鈥檛 scare him off, and we got together and I moved up here, and haven鈥檛 looked back. I love it,鈥� said Hurteau. She moved to Squamish in 2008.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 realize how much I needed the quieter, calmer pace. It鈥檚 a lot quieter when we get home but we like that, because of the stark contrast from when we go to events because it鈥檚 so busy, so incredibly busy.鈥�
Hurteau and Cardinal both keep a hectic pace in their respective careers, Cardinal with various acting roles in film, television, and theatre, and Hurteau with an evolving visual art career as well as writing and producing screenplays and other projects.
The two have co-created as well, notably on the documentary Chasing Lear, which follows the progress of Canada鈥檚 first all-Aboriginal production of King Lear, of which Cardinal was assistant director and also played the Duke of Albany. Hurteau and Cardinal co-produced the film which appeared on APTN in 2016.
Cardinal is currently voice acting in Molly of Denali, an animated series starring an Indigenous Alaskan girl. He is also taking part in a theatre production of The Tempest, which is being staged in Edmonton with rehearsals in Banff.
鈥淛ust to sit by the water and listen to the river and hear the wind in the trees, nothing helps me more than that.鈥�
鈥淲e travel for our work a lot, so it鈥檚 such a beautiful place to come back to and decompress,鈥� said Hurteau.
鈥淗aving the beautiful lakes and waters and nature to get out in, a few minutes from our home, I sigh a lot from relief.鈥�
The couple has both lived in many different areas of 小蓝视频 and Canada, Hurteau in Nelson, Prince George, and Vancouver to name a few, and Cardinal moving around a lot with his family growing up and as a tree-planting youth.
They continue to travel regularly for various work projects and auditions but are always glad to return to the peace of Squamish.
鈥淛ust to sit by the water and listen to the river and hear the wind in the trees, nothing helps me more than that, than being grounded and being with family again, taking the dog for a walk,鈥� said Cardinal.
Hurteau is active in the art scene in the Sea to Sky Corridor, showing her eclectic, not-easily-categorized art regularly in Whistler and Squamish.
The couple married in the summer of 2018, and when they鈥檙e not travelling, they can be found around home where Hurteau is busy in her studio and walking their husky-border collie mix Jake around the trails of the area.
鈥淚鈥檝e lived in 小蓝视频 all my life, and I keep getting surprised at how stunning our province is. I like having the small town close to the big city,鈥� says Hurteau, who was living in Vancouver when she met Cardinal. 鈥淭he one thing I miss about living in Vancouver was I would run the seawall, but I would much rather be by the river and the quiet without having to leap over extendable leashes like I鈥檓 doing a steeplechase.鈥�
