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Vanier is a former local municipality that in 2001 was merged into the new city of Ottawa, Ontario. It is most notable for its large francophone population. Vanier has about 18,000 residents. Vanier is located in the east of Ottawa across the Rideau River from the neighbourhoods of Lowertown and Sandy Hill and just to the south of Rockcliffe Park and New Edinburgh. To the east of Vanier are the suburbs of Gloucester. Vanier has a very small area, and a high population density. The communities of Janeville, Clarkstown and Clandeboye were joined to form the village of Eastview in 1908. In 1913, Eastview was incorporated as a town. Originally it was a popular destination for civil servants who wished to live at a distance from downtown. It later saw a large influx of French-Canadians and became the main francophone area in the capital. In 1963 it became a city, and was renamed in 1969 after the recently deceased Governor General of Canada, Georges Vanier. Vanier is considered one of the poorer areas of Ottawa and has an abundance of strip malls, pawnbrokers, bars, lower end retail outlets, and subsidized housing developments. The portion of Montreal Road that is the main thoroughfare of the community was in recent decades notorious as a haven of prostitution and drugs. In contrast, in the Kingsview Park neighbourhood, on the western edge of Vanier, on the tree-lined Rideau River, the population is much more affluent. However, as the last inexpensive Ottawa neighbourhood close in to downtown, Vanier as a whole is increasingly considered a target for gentrification. The area is home to several existing or proposed upscale condominium and infill developments. Like nearby Lowertown, Vanier is home to many French-speaking immigrants from Africa and elsewhere. Vanier is the site of an urban sugar bush and a Sugar Bush Festival is held in the spring. It is also home to an outdoor Catholic shrine, the Grotte des Lourdes. Vanier is part of the federal riding of Ottawa—Vanier, and the Ottawa—Vanier provincial riding. It is one of the most staunchly Liberal ridings in Canada, having voted for that party consistently since the riding's creation. Federally, it is represented by Mauril Belanger, and provincially by Madeleine Meilleur. According to the Canada 2001 Census:
Mayors of Eastview Mayors of Vanier See also | ||||||||
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