St. Leonard, Quebec
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saint Leonard is a former city on the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was amalgamated into the city of Montreal in 2002 and became a borough of the new mega-city. Population (2001): 69,604.
The city, which was originally called St. Léonard de Port Maurice after Leonard of Port Maurice, lies in the east end of the Island of Montreal, and as such was traditionally francophone. However, several decades of recent demographics indicate that the city is largely composed of Italian immigrants and their children. Many services are offered in Italian in addition to English and French. The community newspaper, Progrès Saint-Léonard, is offered in French.
It is divided into two municipal electoral districts:
- Saint-Léonard-Est
- Saint-Léonard-Ouest
Saint Leonard contains underground caves, located at Pie XII Park. These caves are a popular tourist attraction.
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[edit] Sports and recreation
Skate parks
Skaters can skate safely in one of the two skate parks located in the city of Saint Leonard. Admission to these parks is free, and they are open to the public May through October.
Cycling paths
Saint Leonard has 10 KM of bike paths around the city, that connect various parks, pools and city structures.
Hockey
The city of Saint Leonard has two hockey arenas. Aréna Martin Brodeur, located on 5300 boulevard Robert, and Aréna Hébert, located on 7755 Rue Colbert. These arenas host many local hockey games, and they offer food services, locker rooms, sports stores, showers and public free-skating.
The city of Saint Leonard also has many outdoor hockey rinks in the Winter. There are seven rinks set up before the winter, then they are iced when the temperature is appropriate. There was a delay for the ice making in the year of 2007, because the weather was above normal, and below freezing-point temperatures were rarely met.
Soccer
Soccer is a very popular sport for the youth in Saint Leonard. Nearly every public park in Saint Leonard has a soccer field open to the public. Thses fields are used for soccer games in the summer, but anyone is welcome to play when the fields are free.
Other activities
The city of Saint Leonard also offers many other acivities for everyone, young and old. For the young there is basketball, sledding, tennis, playgrounds and swimming pools, both outdoors and indoors. The city also has a small football stadium, Stade Hébert. For the retired citizens, there are bocce courts located at almost every public park.
[edit] Demographics
[edit] Ethnicity
Source: [1]
| Ethnic Origin | Population | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Italian | 27,590 | 39.69% |
| Canadian | 18,915 | 27.21% |
| French | 9,290 | 13.36% |
| Haitian | 3,815 | 5.5% |
| Lebanese | 2,005 | 2.88% |
| Irish | 1,360 | 1.96% |
| Spanish | 1,190 | 1.71% |
| Algerian | 1,155 | 1.66% |
| Arab | 1,155 | 1.66% |
| Portuguese | 1,070 | 1.54% |
[edit] Italian community
Saint Leonard was the site of the dispute which led to the creation of Quebec's first language legislation. Italian immigrants wished to send their children to English schools, while the local school board refused and tried to force them into French-language education. At the time, there was no legislation on schooling and language, and the dispute was settled with the creation of Bill 63, Bill 22 and finally Bill 101. Their effect is that only students with a parent who was schooled in English in Canada may attend an English school, otherwise education in French is mandatory.
The Leonardo Da Vinci Centre is located in Saint Leonard. Its services are offered in English, French and Italian. This cultural building contains theaters, gyms, bocce playing areas, and a café.
Because this area of town has such a prominent Italian Canadian community, it is nicknamed Città Italiana.
[edit] Parks and green space
| Park | Basketball | Soccer | Bocce | Sledding | Play fountain | Playground | Ice rink | Pavillon | Tennis | Swimming pool | Skate Park | Baseball | Shuffleboard | Pétanque | Cave Site | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coubertin Park | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |||||||
| Pie XII Park | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||||
| Ladauversiere Park | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||||||
| St. Leonard Park | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||||||
| Delorme Park | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
[edit] Mayors of the former city of Saint Leonard
- 1886-1901 Louis Sicard
- 1901-1903 Gustave Pépin
- 1903-1905 Léon Léonard
- 1905-1906 Jean-Baptiste Jodoin
- 1906-1907 Joseph Léonard
- 1907-1910 Louis-O. Roy
- 1910-1929 Wilfrid Bastien
- 1929-1935 Pascal Gagnon
- 1935-1939 Philias Gagnon
- 1939-1957 Alphonse Pesant
- 1957-1962 Antonio Dagenais
- 1962-1967 Paul-Émile Petit
- 1967-1974 Léo Ouellet
- 1974-1978 Jean Di Zazzo
- 1978-1981 Michel Bissonnet
- 1981-1984 Antonio Di Ciocco
- 1984-1990 Raymond Renaud
- 1990-2001 Frank Zampino
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Borough website (French)
- Leonardo Da Vinci Center
- City of Montreal. Borrough of St. Leonard (French)
