| Boucherville | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — City — | |||
| Ville de Boucherville | |||
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| Motto: Nature, patrimoine et art de vivre (French for "Nature, heritage and the art of life") |
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| Location within the Urban Agglomeration of Longueuil. | |||
| Coordinates (500, rue de la Rivière-aux-Pins [1]): | |||
| Country | Canada | ||
| Province | Quebec | ||
| Region | Montérégie (16) | ||
| RCM or TE | Urban agglomeration of Longueuil (TE 58) | ||
| Founded | 1667 | ||
| Electoral Districts Federal |
Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher Verchères—Les Patriotes |
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| Provincial | Marguerite-D'Youville | ||
| Government[1][2][3] | |||
| • Mayor | Jean Martel | ||
| • Federal MP(s) | Jean Dorion (BQ) Luc Malo (BQ) |
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| • Quebec MNA(s) | Monique Richard (PQ) | ||
| Area[4] | |||
| • Total | 70.81 km2 (27.3 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2006 Census)[4] | |||
| • Total | 39,062 (ranked 114th) | ||
| • Density | 551.7/km2 (1,428.9/sq mi) | ||
| • Change (2001-06) | 7.7% | ||
| • Dwellings | 15,179 | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| Postal code(s) | J4B | ||
| Area code(s) | 450 | ||
| Access Routes[5] A-20 / TCH A-30 |
Route 132 |
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| Website | www.ville.boucherville.qc.ca | ||
Boucherville is a city in the Montérégie region in Quebec, Canada. It is a suburb of Montreal on the South shore of the Saint Lawrence River.
Boucherville is part of both the urban agglomeration of Longueuil and Montreal Metropolitan Community regional government.
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Boucherville was originally founded as a seigneurial parish in 1667 by Pierre Boucher, for whom the city was later named. Pierre Boucher came from Mortagne-au-Perche, France. After having lived in Quebec City and Trois-Rivières, Boucher moved to the Percées Islands by the shores of Saint Lawrence River, where he founded Boucherville.
The first church of the village of Boucherville was built in 1670. This church, made of wood, was eventually replaced in 1712 by a building made of brick, which was in turn replaced by the current Sainte-Famille Church in 1801.
Many families would leave Boucherville in the 18th century to found the communities of Sainte-Julie and Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville.
The village was severely damaged by a fire in 1843.
The municipality of the parish Sainte-Famille de Boucherville was established in 1845. This large territory included the village of Boucherville. In 1856, Sainte-Famille de Boucherville was divided into two separate municipalities: the parish Sainte-Famille de Boucherville and the village of Boucherville.
The village Boucherville was to become an important vacation resort by the end of the 19th century and early 20th century. People from Montreal could access the village by train or ferry. Boucherville experienced signicant growth after World War II. This expansion was confirmed by the construction of the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel.
The parish Sainte-Famille de Boucherville ceded portions of its territory to Saint-Hubert in 1877, to Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville in 1950 and to the village of Boucherville in 1956.
The village of Boucherville gained the status of city in 1957.
In 1963, the city of Boucherville amalgamated the parish Sainte-Famille de Boucherville. This brought Boucherville to its current city limits .
After the 2002 municipal mergers, Boucherville ceased to exist as a municipality and became a borough of Longueuil. It has since then demerged on January 1, 2006 after a referendum was held on June 20, 2004.
Today, Boucherville has more than 40,000 inhabitants and a big industrial park. In Trois-Rivieres, there is museum named after Pierre Boucher at the Séminaire Saint-Joseph.
The Harmonie neighborhood is located between the boulevards de Mortagne, de Montarville, de Montbrun and de Normandie. Its development is fairly recent and is essentially residential with many upscale houses. Many park and green spaces decorate the neighborhood. The multifunctional centre of Boucherville is also there.
The Quartier des villes et provinces de France neighbourhood is located between the streets de Normandie, Gay-Lussac, Ampère and boulevard Montarville. All the streets and parks in this neighborhood are named after provinces of France. The neighboorhood is essentially composed of separate or semi-detached houses.
Old Boucherville is the original section of the city that contains the former village and Sainte-Famille Church. The neighborhood is located between Saint-Lawrence River, the boulevards du Fort Saint-Louis, de Montarville et de Montbrun. Many of the buildings there are officially classified as historic momuments.
The industrial section of Boucherville covers the western part of the city; from Autoroute 20 all the way to Longueuil. This section is divided into 3 industrial parks. Although these parks were inaugurated in the 1960s, it was during the last two decades that their expansion has been the greatest. In the early 1980s, they were little more 100 companies and 6 000 jobs scattered in the industrial section. Today, they are 600 companies and 15 000 jobs in various sectors. Additionally, the industrial section is home to 2 research centres.
The Seigneurie is a residential neighbourhood It is located south of Fort Saint-Louis boulevard, north of de Mortagne boulevard, to the west of de Brouage street and east of the Industriel boulevard. The neighborhood was built in the early 1960s. The Carrefour de la Seigneurie shopping mall acted as a commercial anchor to the area, hosting a Dominion supermarket, a branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a convenience store, a pharmacy and a medical clinic. A Texaco gas station stood in its parking lot. All these businesses have since moved on or disappeared and today the mall has been eclipsed by more modern malls such as the Carrefour de la Rive Sud. The neighborhood is served by two francophone primary schools: De la Broquerie and Pierre-Boucher. There were no Engish-language schools in the neighbourhood. Students were bussed to either the Boucherville Elementary School (Protestant) or Marguerite Bourgeois (Catholic).
The Le domaine Sabrevois neighbourhood was built in the early 1970s. It is located east of de Montarville boul., between the streets Samuel de Champlain and Jacques-Cartier.
Boucherville is the headquarters of Rona, a Canadian distributor and retailer in hardware, home improvement and gardening products, founded in the town in 1939.
"Têtes à claques", a French language internet phenomenon, is also based in the city of Boucherville.
Population trend[6]
| Census | Population | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 39,062 | 7.7% |
| 2001 | 36,253 | 3.6% |
| 1996 | 34,989 | 3.5% |
| 1991 | 33,796 | N/A |
With the increasing price of houses, upscale residences have become less and less affordable in Boucherville in recent years. As such, Boucherville has begun to experience a slowdown in its population growth.
Boucherville is one of the most homogeneous cities in the Greater Montreal Area. 94% of its residents speak French as their first language. Less than 2% of the entire population is not white, and almost 94% of the population is Roman Catholic.
Mother tongue language (2006)[4]
| Language | Population | Percentage (%) |
|---|---|---|
| French | 36,040 | 93.6% |
| English | 765 | 2.0% |
| Both English and French | 120 | 0.3% |
| French and a non-official language | 80 | 0.2% |
| English and a non-official language | 15 | ~ |
| English, French and a non-official language | ~ | ~ |
| Italian | 455 | 1.2% |
| Arabic | 170 | 0.4% |
| Spanish | 135 | 0.4% |
| Portuguese | 115 | 0.3% |
| German | 80 | 0.2% |
| Chinese, n.o.s. | 75 | 0.2% |
| Creole | 70 | 0.2% |
| Greek | 70 | 0.2% |
The Îles-de-Boucherville National Park on the Boucherville Islands is a Quebec National Park located in the Saint Lawrence River facing the rest of the city. They are uninhabited but serve as a natural/recreational area for residents and tourists.
| Varennes | ||||
| Saint Lawrence River Montréal-Est |
Sainte-Julie | |||
| Boucherville | ||||
| Vieux-Longueuil (Longueuil) | Saint-Hubert (Longueuil) | Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville |
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