Eastern Canada Hockey Association (1928-1932)

For the league that operated from 1905 to 1909 please see the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association.

The Eastern Canada Hockey Association (also known as the Independent Amateur League or the Ligue Provinciale) was a senior amateur hockey league that operated in the province of Quebec from 1928 to 1932. It was independent insofar that it operated outside the jurisdiction of the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association (QAHA) or its parent the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association.

It was set up in the eastern part of Quebec in 1928 after the Quebec Castors of the Canadian American Hockey League were sold to Newark, New Jersey. The senior Quebec Sons of Ireland had folded in 1927 so the departure of the two teams left a void in Quebec City. As well, the QAHA had restricted senior level hockey to Montreal and set up the Montreal Senior Group in that city. For this reason the ECHA operated outside of the QAHA.

In its inaugural season (1928-29) the ECHA had five teams - Quebec Citadels, Grand'Mere Maroons, Trois Rivieres Renards, La Tuque Loups, and Shawinigan Falls Cataractes. In 1929-30 Shawinigan dropped out and Grand'Mere moved to replace them. The Citadels changed their name to the Castors. The lineup remained the same in 1930-31 and in 1931-32 the Shawinigan team moved to become the Chicoutimi Canadiens.

In 1932 the league made an attempt to turn pro. There were to be teams in Quebec City, Trois Rivieres, Montreal, and Hull. That fell through when the proposed Hull franchise fell through due to the opposition of the Ottawa City Senior League teams and the Ottawa Senators who had just come back to the National Hockey League after taking a one-year break. The ECHA now attempted to form a division within the Canadian American Hockey League. That proposal also came to naught when the Montreal Canadiens nixed the idea of a Montreal franchise. Quebec City and Trois Rivieres would not go through with the idea without a Montreal franchise.

The Quebec Castors did enter the Canadian American Hockey League on their own and remained until 1935.

The league was finished.

League Champions

 * 1928-29: La Tuque Loups
 * 1929-30: Quebec Castors
 * 1930-31: La Tuque Loups
 * 1931-32: Quebec Castors