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Montreal, or Montréal in French, (pronounced in Canadian English, in International French, and in some varieties of Quebec French) is the second largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. It's the largest French speaking city in the Western Hemisphere, and is the French language hub outside of France. At the 2001 Canadian Census, 1,588,590 people lived on the current territory of the city of Montreal proper (new 2006 demerged territory/the island of Montreal is about 1,900,000). The population of the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (also known as Greater Montreal Area) is estimated at 3,720,000 in 2006, however the Montreal-Ottawa Corridor has around 5.7 million people. Montreal is ranked as the 15th-largest metropolitan area in Northern America and 77th in the world. In 2006, both Traveler's Digest and AskMen.com ranked Montreal as the number one city in the world to live in for its culture, architecture, history and ambience.
History French rule Huron, Algonquin, and Iroquois have inhabited the Montreal area for some eight thousand years. The first European to reach the area was Jacques Cartier, when he entered the village of Hochelaga on the Island of Montreal on October 2, 1535. Seventy years later, Samuel de Champlain arrived on the island but the village of Hochelaga no longer existed. In 1611 he established La Place Royale, a fur trading post on the Island of Montreal, but the local Iroquois successfully defended their land. The first permanent European settlement on the Island of Montreal was created in 1639 by a French tax collector named Jérôme Le Royer. Missionaries Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, Jeanne Mance and a few French colonists founded the Ville Marie Catholic mission on May 17, 1642. Ville Marie became a centre for the fur trade and a base for further exploration into New France. The Iroquois continued their attacks on the settlement until a peace treaty was signed in 1701. The town remained French until 1760, when Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal surrendered it to the British army under Jeffrey Amherst. Fire destroyed one quarter of the town on May 18, 1765. British rule The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ended the Seven Years' War and ceded New France to the Kingdom of Great Britain. American Revolutionists briefly held the city in 1775 but soon left. By this time, now named Montreal, the city started to grow from British immigration. The golden era of fur trading began in the city with the advent of the locally owned North West Company, the main rival to the primarily British Hudson's Bay Company. Montreal was incorporated as a city in 1832. The city's growth was spurred by the opening of the Lachine Canal, which permitted ships to bypass the unnavigable Lachine Rapids south (upstream) of the island. Montreal was the capital of the United Province of Canada from 1844 to 1849, which attracted more English-speakers (or Anglophones) to the city, making the two linguistic groups roughly equal in size. The resulting increased Anglophone community built one of Canada's first universities, McGill, and the wealthy merchant classes began building large mansions at the foot of Mont Royal. After Confederation (1867)
Post-war After Montreal's population surpassed one million in the early 1950s, Mayor Jean Drapeau laid down plans for the future development of the city. These plans included a new metro system and an underground city, the expansion of Montreal's harbour, and the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. New buildings were built on top of old ones in this time period, including Montreal's two tallest skyscrapers up to then: the 43-storey Place Ville-Marie and the 47-storey Tour de la Bourse. Two new museums were also built, and finally in 1966, the metro opened, along with several new expressways. The city's international status was cemented by Expo '67 and the Summer Olympics in 1976. In the mid-1970s, following the October Crisis and also due to economic and political shifts after the election of the soverignist Parti Québécois, Montreal's linguistic and ethnic composition underwent a period of transition greater than the norm for urban centres, as many (mostly Anglophone) Montrealers migrated to other provinces. Bill 101 was passed in 1977 and gave primacy to French as Quebec's (and Montreal's) main language of business and culture, and enforces the use of French for public signage and business communication. Throughout the recessions of the 1980s and well into the 1990s, Montreal experienced a relatively slow rate of job growth compared to other major Canadian cities. By the mid 90s, though, Montreal's economy stabilized, and new companies and institutions have risen to fill the usual business and financial niches. As the city celebrated its 350th anniversary in 1992, two constructions of new skyscrapers: 1000 de La Gauchetière and 1250 René-Lévesque were elevated. Montreal's favourable economic conditions allowed further improvements in infrastructure, with the expansion of the metro system, construction of new skyscrapers and the development of a ring road around the island. Montreal was merged with the 27 surrounding municipalities on the Island of Montreal on 1 January 2002. The merger created a unified city of Montreal which covered the entire Island of Montreal. This move proved to be unpopular, and several former municipalities totalling 13% of the population of the Island of Montreal voted to leave the newly unified city in separate referendums which took place on 20 June 2004. The demerger took place on 1 January 2006, leaving 16 municipalities on the Island of Montreal, including Montreal. See Montreal merger and demerger Overview Montreal is located in the southwest of the province of Quebec, approximately 270 kilometres (168 miles) southwest of Quebec City, the provincial capital, and 190 kilometres (118 mi) east of Ottawa, the federal capital. It also lies 539 kilometres (335 mi) northeast of Toronto,and 610 kilometres (380 mi) north of New York City. The city rests on the Island of Montreal at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. The port of Montreal lies at one end of the St. Lawrence Seaway, which is the river gateway that stretches from the Great Lakes into the Atlantic Ocean. Montreal is bordered by the St. Lawrence river on its south side, and by the Rivière des Prairies on the north. The city is named after the most prominent geographical feature on the island, a three-head hill called Mount Royal. Climate
Botanics Despite its widely varying climate, the Montreal region supports a diverse array of plants and wildlife. The maple is one of the most common trees and the sugar maple in particular is an enduring symbol of Montreal and Quebec, thanks to the production of maple syrup. Demographics Origins According to Statcan, in 2001*, the city of Montreal had 1,583,590 inhabitants. However, 3,635,700 live in the metropolitan area as of 2005 up from 3,426,350, reflecting an annual growth of 1.1 percent. Montreal has been growing more slowly than many other Canadian cities. In the 2001 census, children under 14 years of age (618,855) constituted 18.06 percent, while inhabitants over 65 years of age (442,720) numbered 12.92 percent of the total population. Some 13.55 perent of the population are member of a visible minority (non-white) group. Blacks contribute to the largest minority group, numbering some 140,000 (4.12% of Montreal inhabitants), which is the second largest community of Blacks in Canada, after Toronto. Other groups, such as Arabs (now estimated at 100,000 people), Latin American, South Asian, and Chinese are also large in number. (Chart on ethnicity on the left includes multiple responses.* Religions The city of Montreal is overwhelmingly Catholic, which is unusual for many North American cities of its size. However, this is merely due to the fact that many people associate with Catholicism as part of their cultural heritage; in reality, church attendance is the lowest in Canada. Montreal society is one of the most secular in North America. Some 84.56* percent of the total population is Christian, largely Roman Catholic (74.51%), which is largely due to French, Italian and Irish origins. Protestants which include Anglican, United Church, Lutheran and other number 7.02%, while the remaining 3.03% consists mostly of Orthodox Christians, fuelled by a large Greek population. Due to the large number of non-European cultures, there is a diversity of non-Christian religions. Islam is the largest non-Christian group with some 100,000 members, the second largest concentration of Muslims in Canada, constituting 2.96%. The Jewish community in Montreal has a population of 90,000 *. In some neighbourhoods of Montreal such as Cote St. Luc, Hampstead, and Dollard des Ormeaux, Jewish people consitute the majority *, or a substantial part of the population. Other religions such as Buddhism, and Hinduism are present, but much smaller. Languages Because the city of Montreal is very diverse, there is a plethora of languages spoken. In 2001, 67.29% spoke French as a first language, followed by English speakers numbering 12.07%. The remaining percentage (20.64%) is made up mostly of other Indo-European languages such as Italian speakers (100,000), Portuguese, Greek, and German. Other languages include Arabic, Armenian, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Romanian, Hindi and Chinese (note that many of these speakers speak French as a second language). On the island of Montreal itself, these numbers change and Francophones constitute only 53% of the population, with the balance of 18% Anglophones and 29% allophones. A remarkable and unique feature of Montreal throughout Canada, as noticed by Statistics Canada, is the working knowledge of both French and English by a majority of its residents *. Also, more immigrants speak French than ever, a trend that started after the introduction of the French language legislation during the 1970s. Administration
Culture Main article: Montreal culture Arts The cultural heart of classical art and the epicenter of many summer festivals, the Place-des-Arts is a complex of different concert and theater halls surrounding a large open-spaced square in downtown. The Place-des-Arts harbors the headquarters of Montreal Symphony Orchestra (MSO), which perform in its halls regularly. The MSO is one of the top performance troops in North America, most remembered for the quality performance of the repertoire of Maurice Ravel. Since 2006, the MSO has a new conductor, the American Kent Nagano. L'orchestre metropolitain and the chamber orchestra I Musici de Montréal are two other well-regarded Montreal orchestras. Also performing home at Place-des-Arts is The Opéra de Montréal, the most prestigious opera company in Montreal, and the city’s chief ballet company Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. In contemporary dance, Montreal has been a leading turning plate, particularly in the 80s. Internationally recognized avant-garde dance troupes such as La La La Human Steps, O Vertigo, and the Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault have toured the world and worked with international popular artists during videos and concerts. The intelligent integration of multi-discipline arts in choreography of these troops has paved the way to the success of the Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil. Montreal is the cultural centre of the Quebec nation, and of French-speaking North America as a whole. The city is hub for French language television productions, radio, theater, film, multimedia and print publishing. It is therefore not surprising that the local musical, literature, and theater scenes in Montreal are dominated by French-speaking artists. The Quartier Latin is a neighborhood crowded of cafés animated by this literary and musical activity. The local English-speaking artistic community nevertheless contributes dynamically to the culture of Montreal, and intense collaborations exist between all Montreal communities. The result is a dynamic musical scene, ignited by the presence of numerous musical festivals, that melts different musical styles and traditions, of which Arcade Fire is a good example. English theatre struggled but survived with the Centaur Theater. Ethnic theatre, by the 70s, began to be a force with the Black Theatre Workshop, the Yiddish Theatre established at the Saidye Bronfman Centre and the Teesri Duniya Theatre. Festivals See Festivals and parades in Montreal The plaza on Place-des-Arts is the home of the most important events during several musical festivals, including the Montreal International Jazz Festival and Montreal Francofolies, a festival of French-speaking song artists. During the seven-to-ten days that last each of the two festivals, shows are held in a wide variety of venues, from relatively small clubs to the large halls of Place des Arts. Some of the outdoor shows are held on cordoned-off streets while others are on terraced parks. The most popular festival, in terms of attendance, is the Just For Laughs Festival. A comedy festival held in both languages, it features comedians, humorists, and stand-ups from all over the world. The Montreal Fireworks Festival also attracts a lot of attention. On the evenings of competition, tens of thousands of people watch the fireworks for free on their roofs or from locations nearby the competition. Night life and restaurants Montreal's night life is particularly dynamic. The most active neighborhoods then are Montreal Downtown (Crescent Street, Sainte-Catherine Street) and Quartier Latin (Saint Denis Street). Restaurants in Montreal are particulary rich of the contributions from the different cultural communities that live in the city. Jewish culinary contributions extended to two of the world-renowned smoked meat sandwiches and Montreal style bagels. Lebanese falafels and Japanese sushi have become appreciated plates. General description
The Quebec sovereignty movement and the Montreal economy The relationship of the rise of sovereignty politics and Montreal's economic decline is not simply one of cause and effect. According to Canadian historians John Dickerson and Brian Young •, Toronto economical activity surpassed Montreal before 1960. They argue that, in 1934, the Toronto TSX Stock Exchange already surpassed Montreal's as Canada's largest stock exchange, and that Toronto was outracing Montreal in the tertiary sector of industry as soon as after WWII. The rise of the automobile industry during the 50s in southern Ontario boosted Toronto's economic activity as well. And the completion of the St Lawrence Seaway in 1960 decreased the economic importance of Montreal because it wasn't necessary to stop by Montreal to get to the Great Lakes region. Thus, for Dickerson and Young, the rise of Quebec nationalism and the following October Crisis in 1970 only accentuated a process that favor Toronto which could have not been possibly reversed. After the election of the PQ in 1976 and the decision of the PQ to enhance a linguistic law promoting French, known as bill 101, approximately 500,000 English-speaking Montrealers as well as several head offices of major national and financial institutions relocated, notably in Toronto. It is beyond doubt that these departures were a severe blow for Montreal's economy. Following these events, Toronto had clearly become Canada's Metropolis. Other reasons than Quebec's sovereignty movement must also be considered to explain the exodus of Montrealers. The 1973 oil crisis badly hurt Montreal petrochemical refinery production. This crisis and the subsequent development of the oil industry in Alberta attracted a great number of workers not only from Montreal, but from the whole of Eastern Canada. This shift of activity was exemplified by the moving of the HQ of Shell Canada from Montreal to Calgary in 1984. Sports The biggest sport following in Montreal clearly belongs to hockey – and the city is famous for its hockey-hungry fans. The Montreal Canadiens are one of the Original Six NHL teams, and boast the greatest number of Stanley Cup championships at 24. Montreal is also the site of two high-profile racing events each year: the Canadian Grand Prix, and the Molson Indy Montreal of the Champcars Series. Both races take place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Île Notre-Dame. As of 2006, NASCAR is also rumoured to be in talks with city officials and the track promoter about a possible racedate, most likely for the Busch Series at first and possibly the Nextel Cup down the road *. The Montreal Alouettes of the CFL draw packed crowds at the small but picturesque Molson Stadium. Although university football has long been popular with Anglo Montrealers, who support the McGill Redmen, Concordia Stingers, and Bishop's Gaters, enthusiastic Francophone crowds also enjoy the University of Montreal's Carabins "en français". The city's current USL First Division soccer team is called the Montreal Impact. In 2006, Montreal was expected to attract some 16,000 LGBT athletes, who will participate in the first-ever GLISA World Outgames. The Outgames are being hailed as the largest international event in the city of Montreal since the 1976 Olympics. The Montreal games of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 will be held at the Olympic Stadium. This will be the 16th edition of the soccer championship *. Montreal was the home of a major league baseball team, the Montreal Expos, named after the 1967 World's Fair, and began playing in Montreal in 1969. However, due to lack of support, dismal attendance and other financial factors, the team moved to Washington, DC in 2005, where it was re-named the Washington Nationals *, *. Montreal has been slated to have a Can-Am League team beginning in 2008. Current professional franchises Former professional franchises Recreational sports Beaches There are five beaches around the island. The Quebec Ministry of Environment tests the beaches for pollutants, Rated “A” to “D”. Current water quality of Montreal beaches (French) Cycling Montreal has an excellent network of bicycle paths. Bike route maps Bike rentals are available at the Old Port of Montreal (also quadricycles, inline skates, children trailers, and segways). Transportation Montreal is a transportation hub for eastern Canada, with well-developed air, road, rail, and maritime links to the rest of Canada, as well as the United States and Europe. Public transit
Passenger rail VIA Rail, which is headquartered in Montreal, provides several rail services to other cities in Canada, particularly to Québec City and Toronto with several trains daily. Amtrak, the U.S. national passenger rail system also provides service to Montreal, operating its Adirondack daily between Montreal and New York City. Airports Montreal has two international airports, one for passenger flights only, and the other for cargo. Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (formerly Dorval Airport, the name still used by locals) in the City of Dorval serves all commercial passenger traffic and is the headquarters for Air Canada and Air Transat. To the north of the city is Montréal-Mirabel International Airport in Mirabel, which was envisioned as Montreal's primary airport but which now serves only cargo flights. In 2005, Montreal-Trudeau was the third busiest airport in Canada. It handled 10.9 million passengers and is expected to handle 11.2 million in 2006. Trudeau airport serves 120+ destinations worldwide making it one of the most connected airports in North America. Montreal-Trudeau is one of the few airports in the world that is prepared to handle the new Airbus A380, which is expected to begin service in 2007. Montreal is expecting to handle two of Air France's A380s and a Air France Boeing 747 every day. The A380 will initially be used on North Atlantic route services from Paris to Montreal. Roads
Limited-access highways (Autoroutes) The island of Montreal is a hub for the Québec Autoroute system, and is served by Québec Autoroutes A-10 (aka the Bonaventure Expressway on the island of Montreal), A-15 (aka the Decarie Expressway south of the A-40 and the Laurentian Autoroute to the north of it), A-13 (aka Autoroute Chomedey), A-20, A-25, A-40 (part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, and known as "The Metropolitan" or simply "The Met" in its elevated mid-town section), A-520, and A-720 (aka the Ville-Marie Autoroute). Many of these Autoroutes are frequently congested at rush hour. Street grid system Since Montreal is on an island, the directions used in the city plan do not precisely correspond with compass directions, as they are oriented to the geography of the island. North and south are defined on an axis roughly perpendicular to the St. Lawrence River and the Rivière des Prairies: North is towards the Rivière des Prairies, and south is towards the St. Lawrence. East and west directions are defined as roughly parallel to the St. Lawrence River (which flows southwest to northeast) and the Rivière des Prairies. East is downstream, and west is upstream. Saint Laurent Boulevard, also known as "The Main," divides Montreal into east and west sectors. Streets that cut across Saint Laurent Boulevard undergo a name change, in that Est (East) or Ouest (West) are appended to their names. Streets that do not cross the Main do not generally contain a cardinal direction at the end of their names. Address numbering begins in either direction at one (1) at Saint Laurent Boulevard, increasing in both directions away from the boulevard. On north-south streets, house numbers begin at the Saint Lawrence River and the Lachine Canal and increase to the north. Odd numbers are on the east or north sides of the street, with even numbers on the west or south sides. Numbered streets generally run north and south, and the street numbers increase to the east. Education
Francophone universities
Anglophone universities English-language secondary public schools in the Greater Metropolitan Montréal Area are operated by the English Montreal School Board *. The Lester B. Pearson School Board, Riverside School Board, Sir Wilfred Laurier School Board, and the New Frontiers School Board. Downtown Montreal
Old Montreal
Underground City Montreal's Underground City (French: La ville souterraine) is the set of underground city complexes in and around downtown. It is also known as the indoor city (ville intérieure), as not all of it is underground. With over 32 kilometres (20 mi) of tunnels spread over an area of twelve square kilometres (4.6 sq mi), the 60 residential and commercial complexes comprise 3.6 square kilometres (1.4 sq mi) of floor space, including 80% of all office space and 35% of all commercial space in downtown Montreal. Services include shopping malls, hotels, banks, offices, museums, universities, seven metro stations, two commuter train stations, a bus terminal and the Bell Centre hockey arena. There are more than 120 exterior access points to the underground city. Some 500,000 people use the underground city every day, especially to escape the traffic and/or Montreal's harsh winter. Because of the Underground City, Montreal is often referred to as "Two Cities in One." Neighbouring municipalities sister cities|Sister cities See also Notes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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