Montreal

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City of Montreal
(Ville de Montréal)
Skyline of City of Montreal
Official flag of City of Montreal
Flag
Coat of arms of City of Montreal
Coat of arms
Nickname: "City of Mary (Ville-Marie)"
Motto: Concordia Salus ("salvation through harmony")
City of Montreal and enclave municipalities
Coordinates: 45°30′N 73°40′W
Country Canada
Province Quebec
Founded 1642
Established 1832
Government
 - Mayor Gérald Tremblay
Area [1] [2] [3]
 - City 365.13 km²  (140.98 sq mi)
 - Urban 1,677 km² (647 sq mi)
 - Metro 4,259 km² (1,644 sq mi)
Population (2006)[1] [2] [3]
 - City 1,620,693 (Ranked 2nd)
 - Density 4,439/km² (11,496/sq mi)
 - Urban 3,316,615
 - Metro 3,635,571
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Postal code span H
Area code(s) (514) and (438)
Website: Ville de Montréal

Montreal, or Montréal in French,[4] (pronounced /ˌmʌntɹiˈɑːl/ in Canadian English,/mɔ̃ʀeal/ in International French, and /mɒ̃ʀeal/ in Quebec French) is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie ("Mary City"), the city had come to be known as Montréal by the 18th century, a name derived from the French Mont Royal ("Mount Royal"), the name of the three-head hill at the heart of the city.

Formerly the largest metropolis of Canada (a distinction since acquired by Toronto), it is the second-largest French-speaking city in the Western world, after Paris. As of the 2006 Canadian Census, 1,620,693 people resided in the city of Montreal proper.[1] The population of the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (also known as Greater Montreal Area) was 3,635,571 at the same 2006 census.[3] Montreal is ranked as the 15th-largest metropolitan area in Northern America[5][6] and 74th-largest in the world.

Contents

[edit] History

Main article: History of Montreal

[edit] First Nations settlements

The archeological evidence testify to at least 2,000 years of human occupation of the island of Montreal by various nomadic native people.[7] With the development of the maize horticulture, the St. Lawrence Iroquoians settled themselves in small villages, and one village, Hochelaga is established on the island, on the foothill of the Mount Royal.[8] The French explorer Jacques Cartier, suggested to be the first known European explorer to reach the area, arrived at Hochelaga on October 2, 1535.[9] He estimated the population of Hochelaga to be "over a thousand". However, when, seventy years later, another French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, arrived on the island, the village of Hochelaga no longer existed. The St. Lawrence Iroquoians disappeared altogether from the St. Lawrence valley, likely as a result of inter-tribe wars and population emigrations.[10]

[edit] French Governance

In 1611 Champlain established La Place Royale, a fur trading post on the Island of Montreal, but other Iroquoian-speaking people, the Iroquois, successfully attacked the new intruders. The first permanent European settlement on the Island of Montreal was created in 1639 by French tax collector Jérôme Le Royer. His implication helped Paul Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve, to establish and found a village, Ville-Marie. 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 (the Great Peace, see French and Iroquois Wars and[11]) was signed in 1701. With the Great Peace, the French had neutralized the last Amerindian threat to their settlements. Montreal and the seigneuries nearby (Terrebonne, Lachenaie, Boucherville, Lachine, Longueuil, ...) could continue to develop without the fear of Iroquois raids.[12]

The region was subsequently part of the theatre of the French and Indian War. Ville-Marie remained French until 1760, when Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal surrendered it to the British army under Jeffrey Amherst.

[edit] British Governance

The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ended the Seven Years' War and ceded New France to the Kingdom of Great Britain. Except for a short stint, when American Revolutionists captured the city on November 13, only to retreat in July 1776[13], the city, now named Montreal, was under British rule until the formation of Canada. American and Scottish immigrants would establish the golden era of fur trading centered in the city with the advent of the locally owned North West Company, the main rival of the primarily British Hudson's Bay Company.[citation needed] The English-speaking community built one of Canada's first universities, McGill, and the wealthy merchant classes began building large mansions at the foot of Mount Royal in an area known as the Golden Square Mile.[citation needed]

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. The construction of the Victoria Bridge also established Montreal as a major continental railway hub. Montreal was the capital of the United Province of Canada from 1844 to 1849, but lost its status when a Tory mob burnt down the Parliament building to protest passage of the Rebellion Losses Bill. The economic boom attracted Irish immigrants to move to the city into tough working class neighborhoods such as Point Saint Charles and Griffintown, making English and French linguistic groups roughly equal in size.

During British rule Montreal surpassed Quebec City as the seat of financial and political power for both English and French speaking communities of Canada, a position it held for many years.[citation needed]

[edit] After Confederation (1867)

In 1852, Montreal had 60,000 inhabitants; by 1860, it was the largest city in British North America and the undisputed economic and cultural centre of Canada. After the annexation of neighbouring towns between 1883 and 1918, francophones outnumbered anglophones again.

The Montreal courthouse in 1880.
The Montreal courthouse in 1880.

After World War I, the Prohibition movement in the United States turned Montreal into a haven for Americans looking for alcohol.[14] Unemployment remained high in the city, and was exacerbated by the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. Canada began to recover from the Great Depression in the mid-1930s, when skyscrapers such as the Sun Life Building began to appear.

During World War II, Mayor Camillien Houde protested against conscription and urged Montrealers to ignore the federal government's registry of all men and women. Ottawa was furious over Houde's insubordination and held him in a prison camp until 1944, when the government was forced to institute conscription (see Conscription Crisis of 1944).

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 public-transit 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 Montreal Metro system opened, along with several new expressways.

The city's international status was cemented by Expo '67 and the Summer Olympics in 1976.

The mid-1970's ushered in a period of wide-ranging social and political changes, stemming in large part from the concerns of the French-Canadian majority about the conservation of their culture and language, given the traditional predominance of the English-Canadian minority in the business arena. The October Crisis and the election of the separatist political party, the Parti Québécois, resulted in major political, ethnic and linguistic shifts. The extent of the transition was greater than the norm for major urban centres, with social and economic impacts, as a significant number of (mostly anglophone) Montrealers, as well as businesses, migrated to other provinces, away from an uncertain political climate. The Bill 101 was passed in 1977 and gave primacy to French as Quebec's (and Montreal's) only official language for government, the main language of business and culture, and enforced the exclusive use of French for public signage and business communication.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Montreal experienced a slower rate of economic growth than many other major Canadian cities. By the late 1990s, however, Montreal's economic climate had improved, as new firms and institutions began to fill the traditional business and financial niches. As the city celebrated its 350th anniversary in 1992, construction began on two new skyscrapers : 1000 de La Gauchetière and 1250 René-Lévesque. Montreal's improving economic conditions allowed further enhancements of the city infrastructure, with the expansion of the metro system, construction of new skyscrapers and the development of new highways including 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 unpopular, and several former municipalities, totalling 13% of the population of the island, voted to leave the newly unified city in separate referenda in June 2004. The demerger took place on 1 January 2006, leaving 15 municipalities on the island, including Montreal.

[edit] Geography

Montreal is located in the southwest of the province of Quebec, approximately 275 kilometres (168 miles) southwest of Quebec City, the provincial capital, and 190 kilometres (118 mi) east of Ottawa, the federal capital. It also lies 550 kilometres (335 mi) northeast of Toronto,and 625 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.

Winter in Montreal sometimes brings large amounts of snow.
Winter in Montreal sometimes brings large amounts of snow.
McTavish Street on a foggy day
McTavish Street on a foggy day

Montreal lies at the confluence of several climatic regions and thus the climate in Montreal varies greatly. In general, the climate is humid continental (Koppen climate classification Dfb).

Precipitation is abundant with an average snowfall of 2.25 metres (84 in) per year in the winter. It snows on average more in Montreal, than Moscow, Russia. Regular rainfall throughout the year averages 900 millimetres (35.3 in). Each year the city government spends more than C$100 million on snow removal[citation needed]. Summer is the wettest season statistically, but it is also the sunniest.

The coldest month of the year is January which has a daily average temperature of −10.4 °C (13 °F) — averaging a daily low of −14.9 °C (5.2 °F), colder than either Moscow (-10 ºC) or Saint Petersburg (-6 ºC). Due to wind chill, the perceived temperature can be much lower than the actual temperature and wind chill factor is often included in Montreal weather forecasts. The warmest month is July which has an average daily high of 26.3 °C (79.3 °F); lower nighttime temperatures make an average of 20.9 °C (69.6 °F) thus air exchangers often achieve the same result as air conditioners. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −37.8 °C (−36.0 °F) on 15 January 1957 and the highest temperature ever was 37.6 °C (99.7 °F) on 1 August 1975.[15] High humidity is common in the summer. In spring and autumn, rainfall averages between 55 and 94 millimetres (2.2 and 3.7 in) a month. Some snow in spring and autumn is normal. Similarly, late heat waves as well as "Indian summers" are a regular feature of the climate.[16]

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.[17]

Weather averages for Montreal, Quebec
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Avg high °C -5.7 -3.9 2.2 10.7 19.0 23.6 26.2 24.8 19.7 12.7 5.3 -2.2 11.1
Avg low °C -14.7 -12.9 -6.7 0.6 7.7 12.7 15.6 14.3 9.4 3.4 -2.1 -10.4 1.4
Avg high °F 21.7 25.0 36.0 51.3 66.2 74.5 79.2 76.6 67.5 54.9 41.5 28.0 52.0
Avg low °F 5.5 8.8 19.9 33.1 45.9 54.9 60.1 57.7 48.9 38.1 28.2 13.3 34.5
Precipitation (mm) 78.3 61.5 73.6 78.0 76.3 83.1 91.3 92.7 92.6 77.8 92.6 81.3 978.9
Precipitation (in) 3.1 2.4 2.9 3.1 3.0 3.3 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.1 3.6 3.2 38.5
Source: Environment Canada[15] Dec. 18, 2006


[edit] Demographics

Island of Montreal
Population by year

1931 - 1 003 868
1941 - 1 116 800
1951 - 1 329 232
1961 - 1 747 696
1971 - 1 959 140
1976 - 1 869 585
1981 - 1 760 122
1986 - 1 819 670
1991 - 1 815 202
1996 - 1 775 846[18]
2001 - 1 812 723[19]
2006 - 1 854 442[19]

According to Statscan, at the 2006 Canadian census the city of Montreal proper had 1,620,693 inhabitants.[1] However, 3,635,571 lived in the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) at the same 2006 census, up from 3,451,027 at the 2001 census (within 2006 CMA boundaries), which means a population growth of +1.05% per year between 2001 and 2006.[3] 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 percent of the population are member of a visible minority (non-white) group. Blacks contribute to the largest minority group, numbering some 160,000 (5.16% 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[20]

Language most spoken at home
in the Montreal metropolitan area (CMA)
  1996 [21]   2001 [22]
French 71.2% 72.1%
English 19.4% 18.5%
Other language 13.4% 13.1%
Note that percentages add up to more than 100% because some people speak two or more languages at home.

In terms of first language learned (in infancy), the 2001 census reported that on the island of Montreal itself, 53% spoke French as a first language, followed by English at 18%. The remaining 29% percentage is made up of many languages including Italian (3.6%), Arabic (2.1%), Spanish (1.9%), Chinese (1.24%), Greek (1.21%), Creole (predominantly of Haitian origin) (1.02%), Portuguese (0.86%), and Vietnamese (0.60%). In terms of additional languages spoken, a unique feature of Montreal throughout Canada, noted by Statistics Canada, is the working knowledge of both French and English by most of its residents.[23] The predominant language in Montreal is French, although many other languages are spoken by residents. Also, more immigrants speak French than ever, a trend that started after the introduction of the French language legislation during the 1970s.

Ethnic origin Population Percent
Canadian 1,885,085 51.15%
French 900,485 24.43%
Italian 224,460 6.09%
Irish 161,235 4.37%
English 134,115 3.64%
Scottish 94,705 2.57%
Jewish 80,390 2.18%
Haitian 69,945 1.90%
Greek 55,865 1.52%
German 53,850 1.46%
Romanian 32,540 0,91%
Armenian 25,439 0.69%

The city of Montreal is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, however, church attendance is among the lowest in Canada.[24] Montreal society is one of the most secular in North America[citation needed]. Some 84.56 percent of the total population is Christian,[25] 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.[26] In some neighbourhoods of Montreal such as Cote St. Luc, Hampstead, and Dollard des Ormeaux, Jewish people constitute the majority,[27] or a substantial part of the population. As recently as the 1960s the Jewish community was 2-3 times as large, however, many moved to Toronto and other parts of Canada along with other non-French "white ethnic" Montrealers.

[edit] Administration

The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the City Council. The mayor is Gérald Tremblay, who is a member of the Union des citoyens et des citoyennes de l'Île de Montréal (English: Montreal Island Citizens Union). The city council is a democratically elected institution and is the primary decision-making authority in the city. It consists of 73 members from all boroughs of the city. The Council has jurisdiction over many matters, including public security, agreements with other governments, subsidy programs, the environment, urban planning, and a three-year capital expenditure program. The City Council is also required to supervise, standardize or approve certain decisions made by the borough councils.

Reporting directly to the City Council, the executive committee exercises the decision-making powers appropriate to it and is responsible for preparing various documents including budgets and by-laws, submitted by the City Council for approval. The decision-making powers of the executive committee cover, in particular, the awarding of contracts or grants, the management of human and financial resources, supplies and buildings. It may also be assigned further powers by the City Council.

Standing committees are the council's instruments for public consultations. They are responsible for the public study of pending matters and for making the appropriate recommendations to the council. and its five constituent parts. They also review the annual budget forecasts for departments under their jurisdiction. A public notice of meeting is published in both French and English daily newspapers at least seven days before each meeting. All meetings include a public question period. The standing committees, of which there are seven, have terms lasting two years. In addition, the City Council may decide to create special committees at any time. Each standing committee is made up of seven to nine members, including a chairman and a vice-chairman. The members are all elected municipal officers, with the exception of a representative of the government of Quebec on the public security committee.

The city of Montreal is only one component of the larger Communauté Métropolitaine de Montréal (English: Montreal Metropolitan Community or MMC), which is in charge of planning, coordinating, and financing economic development, public transportation, garbage collection, etc., across the metropolitan area of Montreal. The president of the CMM is the mayor of Montreal. The CMM covers 3,839 square kilometres (1,482 sq mi), with 3,635,700 inhabitants in 2005.

Montreal now constitutes its own region of Quebec.

See also: Districts of Montreal and Montreal borough

[edit] Culture

Main article: Montreal culture See Festivals and parades in Montreal

View of Montreal from McGill
View of Montreal from McGill

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 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 world's foremost orchestras, most remembered for the quality of its performance of the repertoire of Maurice Ravel under conductor Charles Dutoit. Since 2006, the MSO has a new conductor, the American Kent Nagano. L'orchestre métropolitain 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 and the city’s chief ballet company Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. In contemporary dance, Montreal has been active, particularly since 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 on 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 Quebec, and of French-speaking North America as a whole. The city is Canada's centre for French language television productions, radio, theater, film, multimedia and print publishing. 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. 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. In the late 90s, Montreal started becoming a veritable hotspot for low-budget independent English Theatre with companies such as MainLine Theatre, Gravy Bath Theatre, Sa Booge, Persephone, Pumpkin Productions, and Tableau D'Hôte Theatre warming up the once lackluster scene.

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. Other festivals in Montreal include Pop Montreal, The Fringe festival and Nujaz.

Montreal's night life is particularly dynamic. The most active neighborhoods then are rue St-Laurent, Downtown (Crescent Street, Sainte-Catherine Street), Quartier Latin (Saint Denis Street), and Plateau Mont-Royal. The city is increasingly becoming known for its mainstream rave festivals such as the Black and Blue Festival attracting thousands of ravers to the city every Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, as well as the Bal en Blanc held every Easter Sunday, also attracting over 15,000 attendees every year.

Restaurants in Montreal are particularly rich of the contributions from the different cultural communities that live in the city. Jewish culture has contributed two of Montreal's most distinctive dishes, smoked meat sandwiches and Montreal style bagels.

[edit] Economy

Montreal is an important centre of commerce, industry, culture, finance, and world affairs.

Montreal industries include aerospace, electronic goods, pharmaceuticals, printed goods, software engineering, telecommunications, textile and apparel manufacturing, tobacco and transportation. The service sector is also strong and includes civil, mechanical and process engineering, finance, higher education, and research and development. In 2002, Montreal ranked as 4th largest centre in North America in terms of aerospace jobs.[28]

Montreal is a major port city along the Seaway, a deep-draft inland waterway links it to the industrial centres of the Great Lakes. It is still the largest inland port in the world. As one of the most important ports in Canada, it remains a trans-shipment point for grain, sugar, petroleum products, machinery, and consumer goods. For this reason, it is the railway hub of Canada and has always been an extremely important rail city; it is the eastern terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway and home to the headquarters of the Canadian National Railway.

The headquarters of the Canadian Space Agency are located in Longueuil, southeast of Montreal. Montreal also hosts the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, a United Nations body); the World Anti-Doping Agency (an Olympic body); and the International Air Transport Association (IATA); as well as some 60 other international organizations in various fields. It is also the leading Canadian city for its research output, fuelled in part by Montreal's four urban universities and numerous scientific research centres.

Montreal is also a centre of film and television production, primarily but not exclusively for French Canadian productions. The headquarters and five studios of the Academy Award-winning documentary producer National Film Board of Canada can be found here, as well as the head offices of Telefilm Canada, the national feature-length film and television funding agency. Given its eclectic architecture and broad availability of film services and crew members, Montreal is a popular filming location for feature-length films, and sometimes stands in for European locations. The city is also home to many recognized cultural, film and music festivals (Just For Laughs, Montreal Jazz Festival, e.g), which contribute significantly to its economy. It is also home to one of the world's largest cultural performance enterprise, the Cirque du Soleil.

The video game industry is also booming in Montreal since 1997, coinciding with the opening of Ubisoft's studio in the area. As of today (2007), the city has attracted world leading game developers and publishers studios such as Ubisoft, EA, Eidos Interactive, Artificial Mind and Movement, Strategy First and many more. Every year, this industry is generating billions of dollars and thousands of jobs in the Montreal area only.

Alcan, Bombardier, CGI Group, Air Canada, CAE, Saputo, Cirque du Soleil, Quebecor, Power Corporation, Bell Canada, SNC-Lavalin, Hydro-Quebec, Abitibi-Consolidated and many other corporations are headquartered in the Greater Montreal Area.

[edit] Sports

Main article: Sport in Montreal
See also: List of Montreal parks

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. The only other team in the four major North American sports leagues to have this many championships is the 26 titles of baseball's New York Yankees.

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 December 2006, NASCAR is in talks with city officials and the track promoter about a possible racedate for the Busch Series in August 2007.[29]

The Montreal Alouettes of the CFL draw packed crowds at the small but picturesque Molson Stadium. University football receives increasing support, with the McGill Redmen, Concordia Stingers, and Université de Montréal's Carabins playing in Montreal. The city's USL First Division soccer team is called the Montreal Impact. Montreal has also been slated to have a Can-Am League team beginning in 2008. Montreal was home to the major league baseball team, the Expos, until they were transferred to Washington, DC in 2005 and rebranded themselves as the Washington Nationals.[30] They played their home games at the Olympic Stadium.

Montreal hosted the first ever World Outgames in the summer of 2006, attracting over 16,000 particiants engaged in 35 sporting activities. They were the biggest sporting event in the city since the Summer Olympics of 1976.

The Montreal games of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 will be held at the Olympic Stadium.[31]

Sports teams of Montreal
Club League Sport Venue Established Championships
Montreal Canadiens NHL Hockey Bell Centre 1909 24
Montreal Alouettes CFL Football Percival Molson Memorial Stadium

Olympic Stadium

1946-87 1996-today
7
Montreal Impact USL Soccer Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard 1993 2
Montreal Royal ABA Basketball Centre Pierre Charbonneau 2005 0
Montreal Mission NRL Ringette Various 2004 0

Montreal has a well developed network of bicycle paths.[32] Bike rentals are available at the Old Port of Montreal, as well as quadricycles, inline skates, children trailers, and segways. Five beaches around the island, in addition to a network of parks that include one on the Mont Royal, offer a set of recreational activities enjoyed by the local population.

[edit] Transportation

See also: Montreal roads

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.

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 2006, Montreal-Trudeau was the third busiest airport in Canada. It handled 11,408,804 passengers and 213,403 aircraft movements in 2006. Trudeau airport serves 100+ destinations worldwide making it one of the most connected airports in North America. Airlines servicing Trudeau offer flights to Africa, Asia, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, the United States, Mexico and other destinations within Canada. It is the only Canadian airport that offers non-stop service to Africa and it also contains the largest duty free shop in North America. It is also a primary hub for Air Canada and Air Transat.

Other airports in the Montreal area serve military and regional use.

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. Most trains operate out of Gare Centrale.

Montreal's McGill Metro Station.
Montreal's McGill Metro Station.

Public local transport is served by a network of buses, subway circuits, and commuter trains that extend across and off the island. The subway and bus system is operated by the Société de transport de Montréal, and buses off-island are operated by the Société de transport de Laval and the Réseau de transport de Longueuil in their respective territories. The commuter rail system is managed and operated by the Agence métropolitaine de transport, and extends across several municipalities.

The STM bus network consists of 169 daytime and 20 night-time service routes, and provides adapted transport and limited wheelchair-accessible buses.

Metropolitain entrance to Square-Victoria station by Hector Guimard.
Metropolitain entrance to Square-Victoria station by Hector Guimard.

Each station of the Montreal Metro was designed by different architects with individual themes and features original artwork, and the trains themselves run on rubber tires, making the system quieter than most. It has 65 stations spread out along four lines. It was inaugurated in 1966 and completed in time for Expo 67. The project was initiated by Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau, who also brought the Olympics to Montreal in 1976. The metro system has long had a station on the South Shore in Longueuil, and is being extended into Laval, north of Montreal. Three new stations are scheduled to be opened in 2007, several months late and several hundred million dollars over budget.

Ville-Marie Highway, near Old Montreal
Ville-Marie Highway, near Old Montreal

Like many major cities, Montreal has a problem with vehicular traffic congestion, especially from off-island suburbs such as Laval on Île Jésus, and Longueuil on the southeastern shore. The width of the Saint Lawrence River has made the construction of fixed links to the southeastern shore expensive and difficult. Accordingly, there are only four road bridges (plus one road tunnel, two railway bridges, and a metro line), whereas the far narrower Rivière des Prairies is spanned by eight road bridges (six to Laval and two to the north shore).

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. However, in recent years, the government has acknowledged this problem and is working on long-term solutions to alleviate the congestion, such as re-routing traffic and expanding lanes. (Osirus Azer, "Montreal's Traffic Problems", 2006)

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.

[edit] Education

Main article: Education in Montreal

With access to six universities and twelve junior colleges in an 8 kilometer (5 mi) radius, Montreal has the highest concentration of post-secondary students of all major cities in North America (4.8 students per 100 residents, followed by Boston at 4.7 students per 100 residents).

English-language elementary and secondary public schools in the Greater Metropolitan Montréal Area are operated by the English Montreal School Board[33] and the Lester B. Pearson School Board.[34] French-language elementary and secondary public schools in Montreal are operated by the Commission scolaire de Montréal (CSDM),[35] Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys (CSMB)[36] and the Commission scolaire Pointe-de-l'Île (CSPI).[37]

The education system in the province of Quebec is slightly different from other systems in North America. Between the High School and University levels, there is an additional college level called "Cégep". It is at the same time a preparatory school (preparing students for admission at the University) and a technical school (offering courses which lead to technical diplomas and specializations). In Montréal, there are 17 Cégeps offering courses in French and 5 in English.

See also: List of Cégeps

Francophone universities

English-language universities

Université de Montréal, Roger-Gaudry pavilion
Université de Montréal, Roger-Gaudry pavilion
McGill University, Arts Building
McGill University, Arts Building

[edit] Places in Montreal

Main article: Places in Montreal
A panorama taken from the Chalet du Mont Royal at the top of Mount Royal.
A panorama taken from the Chalet du Mont Royal at the top of Mount Royal.
Evening Skyline
Evening Skyline
A view of McGill College Street in December.
A view of McGill College Street in December.

Downtown Montreal lies at the foot of Mount Royal, which is designated as a major urban park, and extends toward the St Lawrence River. The Downtown area contains dozens of notable skyscrapers — which, by law, cannot be higher than Mount Royal — including the aforementioned 1000 de La Gauchetière and 1250 René-Lévesque. The Tour de la Bourse (Stock Exchange Tower) is also a significant building in Montreal, and is home to the Montreal Exchange, that trades in derivatives such as futures contracts and options. The Montreal Exchange was the first stock exchange in Canada. In 1999 all stock trades were transferred to Toronto in exchange for an exclusivity in derivatives trading.

Place Ville-Marie, an I. M. Pei-designed cruciform office tower built in 1962, sits atop an underground shopping mall that forms the nexus of Montreal's underground city, the world's largest, with indoor access to over 1,600 shops, restaurants, offices, businesses, museums and universities, as well as metro stations, train stations, bus terminals, and tunnels extending all over downtown. The central axis for downtown is Saint Catherine Street, Canada's busiest commercial avenue. Other major streets include Sherbrooke, Peel, de la Montagne, de Maisonneuve and Crescent. The Montreal Skyline panorama includes two islands, Île Ste. Hélène and Ile Notre-Dame. The Notre Dame island hosts the Canadian Grand Prix and Formula One car races, as well as the Champ Car tournament. La Ronde is the biggest amusement park in Montreal and is located on Île Ste. Hélène. The Montreal Fireworks Festival is held there every summer.

The basic Skyline view may be seen from one of two lookouts on Mount Royal. The lookout at the Belevedere takes in downtown, the river, and the Montérégien Hills, and on clear days the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York or the Green Mountains of Vermont are visible. The view of eastern lookout on Remembrance Rd. sweeps out toward the Olympic Stadium, and beyond. Many tourists visit these lookouts.

Extending all over downtown is Montreal's Underground City (French: La ville souterraine), a set of pedestrian levels built to cross under streets, thereby connecting buildings to each other. It is also known as the indoor city (ville intérieure), as not all of it is underground. The connections are considered tunnels architecutrally and technically, but have conditioned air and good lighting as any building's liveable space does. Many tunnels are large enough to have shops on both sides of the passage. With over 32 kilometres (20 mi) of tunnels spread over more than twelve square kilometres (5 sq mi), connected areas include shopping malls, hotels, banks, offices, museums, universities, seven metro stations, two commuter train stations, a regional bus terminal and the Bell Centre amphitheatre and arena. There are more than 120 exterior access points to the underground city. Each access point is an entry point to one of 60 residential or commercial complexes comprising 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. In winter, some 500,000 people use the underground city every day. Because of its Underground City, Montreal is often referred to as "Two Cities in One."

Old Montreal
Old Montreal

Just southeast of downtown is Old Montreal (French: Vieux-Montréal), an historic area with such attractions as the Old Port, Place Jacques-Cartier, City Hall, the Marché Bonsecours, Place d'Armes, Pointe-à-Callière Museum, and the Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica.

Montreal is known for contrast between old and new architecture. Architecture and cobbled streets in Old Montreal have been maintained or restored to keep the look of the city in its earliest days as a settlement, and horse-drawn calèches help maintain that image. Old Montreal is accessible from the downtown core via the underground city and is served by several STM bus routes and metro stations, ferries to the South Shore and a network of bicycle paths.

Old Montreal was a worldwide port, but shipping has been moved further east to the Port de Montreal site, leaving the Old Port/Vieux-Port as an historical area. The riverside area of Old Port (French: Vieux-Port) adjacent to Old Montreal is now a recreational and historical area now maintained by Parks Canada.

[edit] Neighbouring municipalities

Montreal East, Laval, Repentigny
Vaudreuil-Dorion, L'Île-Perrot

North
West  Montreal  East
South

Longueuil, Saint-Lambert
Kahnawake, Brossard, Ste-Catherine, St-Constant


[edit] Gallery

[edit] Partner cities

[edit] See also

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[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data. Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population (2007-03-13). Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
  2. ^ a b Population and dwelling counts, for urban areas, 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data. Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population (2007-03-13). Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
  3. ^ a b c d Population and dwelling counts, for census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data. Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population (2007-03-13). Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
  4. ^ It is most common to omit the acute accent in English-language usage (Montreal), unless one is using a proper name where the context requires the use of the accent (e.g. Le Journal de Montréal, as compared to Montreal Gazette), and to keep the accent in French-language usage (Montréal). This is also the approach favoured by The Canadian Press Style Book (ISBN 0-920009-32-8, at p. 234) and the Globe and Mail Style Book (ISBN 0-7710-5685-0, at p. 249). According to The Canadian Style (ISBN 1-55002-276-8, at pp. 263–4), the official style guide of the Canadian government, the name of the city is to be written with an accent in all government materials.
  5. ^
  6. ^ Census 2000 - Metropolitan Areas
  7. ^ http://www.vieux.montreal.qc.ca/tour/etape9/eng/9text3a.htm, retrieved on 2007-03-09.
  8. ^ Roland Tremblay. (2006). The Saint Lawrence Iroquoians. Corn People. Montréal, Qc, Les Éditions de l'Homme
  9. ^ Jacues Cartier: New Land for the French King. Pathfinders & Passageways. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  10. ^ Roland Tremblay. (2006). The Saint Lawrence Iroquoians. Corn People. Montréal, Qc, Les Éditions de l'Homme
  11. ^ Canadian Military Heritage - The Exhaustion Of The Iroquois
  12. ^ The Shock Of The Attack On Lachine. The Compagnies Franches de la Marine of Canada. Department of National Defence, Canada. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
  13. ^ http://www.americanrevolution.com/his_first_phase_invasion.html
  14. ^ Lonely Planet Montreal Guide - Modern History
  15. ^ a b Canadian Climate Normals 1971-2000 (English). Retrieved on December 18, 2006.
  16. ^ Weather.com - Indian Summer
  17. ^ http://www.onlinemontrealguide.com/
  18. ^ Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Divisions, 2001 and 1996 Censuses - 100% Data. Statistics Canada, 2001 Census of Population. Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
  19. ^ a b Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census divisions, 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data. Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population (2007-03-13). Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
  20. ^ Census Subdivisions - Montreal, Statistics Canada. Last accessed November 23, 2006.
  21. ^ (French) Institut de la statistique du Québec. Tableau 2 - Langue maternelle et langues parlées à la maison, connaissance des langues officielles, 1996, 1991 et 1986 - Régions métropolitaines de recensement (PDF). Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  22. ^ Language Spoken Most Often at Home (8), Language Spoken at Home on a Regular Basis (9), Sex (3) and Age Groups (15) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas 1 and Census Agglomerations, 2001 Census - 20% Sample Data. Statistics Canada, 2001 Census of Population. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  23. ^ Population by knowledge of official language, by census metropolitan areas (1996 Census), Statistics Canada, Last accessed November 23, 2006.
  24. ^ CBC Article - Church attendance declining in Canada
  25. ^
  26. ^
  27. ^ Community Highlights for Hampstead, Statistics Canada, Last accessed November 23, 2006.
  28. ^ (2003). "AEROSPACE: Metro Montreal 2003, Strategic Profile" (PDF). Montreal International. Retrieved on 2007-0103.
  29. ^ Montreal Gazette Article - Start your engines: NASCAR on way to Montreal
  30. ^ ESPN - Expo's move to Washington
  31. ^ Canada Soccer - Olympic Stadium – Montreal’s FIFA U-20 World Cup Venue
  32. ^ Montreal Bike route maps
  33. ^ English Montreal School Board
  34. ^ Lester B. Pearson School Board
  35. ^ Commission scolaire de Montréal
  36. ^ Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys
  37. ^ Commission scolaire Pointe-de-l'Île
  38. ^ Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ)
  • Statistics Canada (2004). 2001 Census of Canada. Retrieved Aug. 29, 2005.
  • Natural Resources Canada (2005). Canadian Geographical Names: Island of Montreal. Retrieved Aug. 29, 2005.
  • Michael Sletcher, 'Montréal', in James Ciment, ed., Colonial America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History, (5 vols., N.Y., 2005).

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Antwerp
World Book Capital
2005
Succeeded by
Turin

Coordinates: 45°30′32″N, 73°33′15″W