| Riviere-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles | |
|---|---|
| — Borough of Montreal — | |
| Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles's location in Montreal | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| City | Montreal |
| Region | Montréal |
| Merge into Montreal |
January 1, 2002 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Borough |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC−5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) |
| Area code(s) | Area code 514/438 |
| Access Routes[1] | A-40 / TCH |
Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles is a suburban borough (arrondissement) on the eastern tip of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the farthest borough in the eastern end of the island of Montreal.
Contents |
The borough is located at the eastern tip of the Island of Montreal. It is composed of the districts of Rivière-des-Prairies and Pointe-aux-Trembles and also the Pointe-aux-Prairies, which were part of the City of Montreal prior to the 2002 municipal mergers. From January 1, 2002 to January 1, 2006, the borough included the town of Montreal East, which has now demerged from Montreal.
The borough's name lists the two neighbourhoods according to their date of annexation to Montreal (Rivière-des-Prairies joined in 1963 and Pointe-aux-Trembles in 1982). It has a population of 102,457.
Rivière-des-Prairies is mainly composed of suburbs, as well as multiple forested areas and fields. Pointe-aux-trembles is more urban and dense but remains suburban in nature. The third district, Pointe-aux-prairies, is a typical suburb composed of townhouses, condos and single family dwellings witch makes it a destination of choice for young families that wish to remain on the island of Montréal. The Saint Lawrence River flows at the southerly border of Montreal, while the Rivière des Prairies River forms Montreal Island's northerly boundary with Laval.
The Rivière-des-Prairies part of the borough is known for its high concentration of Italians in most of the neighborhoods, and Haitians in the others. On July 9, 2006, after Italy won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Maurice Duplessis Boulevard was closed to traffic due to the great number of fans celebrating in the street. Pointe-aux-Trembles remains predominantly French-Canadian. Rivière-des-Prairies is for the most part federalist and Liberal, while Pointe-aux-Trembles is sovereigntist and had consistently voted for the Parti and Bloc Québécois over the last fifteen years, until the recent elections.
These linguistic, political and demographic differences, coupled with geographical isolation, have led to a tense climate of opposition between Rivière-des-Prairies and Pointe-aux-Trembles, exacerbated by the recent decision to build a new borough hall on a park in a distant section of RDP.
The borough is divided into three districts—La Pointe-aux-Prairies, Pointe-aux-Trembles and Rivière-des-Prairies—and has seven elected representatives since the November 2005 municipal election: one borough mayor, three city councillors, and three borough councillors.
As of the 2009 Montreal municipal election, and the special election for borough mayor on June 13, 2010, triggered by the resignation of Joe Magri, the current borough council consists of the following councillors:
| District | Position | Name | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Borough mayor City councillor |
Chantal Rouleau | Vision Montreal | |
| La Pointe-aux-Prairies | City councillor | Caroline Bourgeois | Vision Montréal | |
| Borough councillor | Mario Blanchet | Vision Montréal | ||
| Pointe-aux-Trembles | City councillor | Suzanne Décarie | Vision Montréal | |
| Borough councillor | Gilles Déziel | Vision Montréal | ||
| Rivière-des-Prairies | City councillor | Maria Calderone | Union Montréal | |
| Borough councillor | Giovanni Rapanà | Union Montréal |
The borough's elected officials from January 1, 2006 to October 31, 2009 were:
On Wednesday, November 22, 2006, councillor Montmorency announced he was leaving Vision Montreal to sit as an independent. On Monday, November 27, Vision Montreal announced it was kicking councillor Bélisle out of its ranks due to Bélisle's allegedly stating his intention to leave the party.
From November 2001 to November 2005, the borough was divided into four districts and their representatives were: