Dorval () is an on-island suburban

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

on the

island of Montreal The Island of Montreal (french: Île de Montréal) is a large island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, that is the site of a number of municipalities including most of the city of Montreal and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main ...

in southwestern

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has the largest surface area in Montréal’s west side, it is among the least densely populated. Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport constitutes about 60% of the city's land, forcing all of Dorval's population to be concentrated in the southern part of the city. Dorval is the oldest city in the west side of Montréal, having been founded in 1667, and one of the oldest in

and North America.

History

The history of Dorval dates back more than 350 years to 1665 when Sulpician priests established a mission on the outskirts of Ville-Marie, a French settlement which later became known as

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. Dorval was originally named Gentilly. It was later renamed La Présentation-de-la-Vierge-Marie. In 1691, the domain of La Présentation, originally owned by Pierre Le Gardeur de Repentigny, was acquired by Jean-Baptiste Bouchard dit d'Orval. "d'Orval" (French for "of Orval") was added to Bouchard's name by his father Claude in reference his birthplace Orval in

Montigny-Lengrain Montigny-Lengrain () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population History On Easter day 1945, the castle of Montigny-Lengrain, guarded by the faithful of King Louis IV of France, was taken by He ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It was incorporated as a village in 1892, a town in 1903, and a city in 1956 (in French it was termed a ''cité'', an Old French term from which the English legal term "city" originates). As with many other settlements on the

, the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rai ...

, which came to Dorval in 1855, was highly instrumental in attracting many wealthier families, mostly

English-speaking Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...

, in search of a summer refuge in proximity to their downtown residence and place of work. Access to Dorval from

was also facilitated by the extension of streetcar service to Dorval's eastern city limits in the interwar period. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

many middle-class families migrated to Dorval from the city of

and from other parts of

. This migration was made possible by the widening of

highway 20 Route 20, or Highway 20, may refer to: International * European route E20 Australia * Sturt Highway (NSW/VIC/SA) * Yarra Bank Highway Brazil * BR-020 Canada * Alberta Highway 20 * British Columbia Highway 20 * Manitoba Highway 20 *New B ...

and by the large-scale construction of new dwellings. This new housing consisted mostly of single family homes with some townhouses and low-rise apartment buildings, built on lands previously used for agriculture and recreational activities. The post-war period also saw the construction of

Dorval Gardens This is a list of small shopping centres in the island of Montreal. Baie d'Urfé Plaza Baie d'Urfé Plaza Baie d'Urfé is a small strip mall located in Baie d'Urfé, Quebec, Canada on 90 Morgan Street across from Quebec Autoroute 20. The shopp ...

shopping centre in 1954, one of

Greater Montreal Greater Montreal (french: Grand Montréal) is the most populous metropolitan area in Quebec and the second most populous in Canada after Greater Toronto. In 2015, Statistics Canada identified Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as with ...

's first mall-style shopping centres. Today the shopping centre remains the city's principal centre of retail trade. The island named

Dorval Island Dorval () is an on-island suburban city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has the largest surface area in Montr� ...

, settled in 1860 and located less than one kilometre offshore from Dorval, constitutes the separate city of

L'Île-Dorval L'Île-Dorval () is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is coterminous with Dorval Island (french: Île Dorval), an island in Lake Saint-Louis off the Island of Montreal. It lies a short distance offshore from the city of Dorval and is conn ...

despite being a summer cottage community with only five permanent residents as of the Canada 2011 Census. The island is connected to the city of Dorval by a private ferry service. On 1 January 2002, as part of the

2002–2006 municipal reorganization of Montreal Montreal was one of the cities in Quebec affected by the 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec. On January 1, 2002, all the municipalities on the island of Montreal were merged into the city of Montreal. However, following a change of ...

, Dorval was merged into the city of

, being combined with L'Île-Dorval to form the

Dorval–L'Île-Dorval Dorval–L'Île-Dorval was a former borough in the West Island area of Montreal, Quebec. It was composed of the former municipalities of Dorval and L'Île-Dorval. The municipalities were merged into the city of Montreal by the provincial governm ...

borough of

. After a change of government and a 2004 referendum, Dorval was reconstituted as a city on 1 January 2006. Although Dorval had the legal status of ''cité'' prior to the merger, the reconstituted city has the status of ''ville'' (see

Types of municipalities in Quebec The following is a list of the types of local and supralocal territorial units in Quebec, including those used solely for statistical purposes, as defined by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy and compiled by the Ins ...

). Nevertheless, the municipal government refers to itself as the "''Cité de Dorval''".

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Dorval had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Economy

Air Inuit Air Inuit ( Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᖃᖓᑦᑕᔪᖏᑦ) is an airline based in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada. It operates domestic passenger services and charter and cargo services in Nunavik, Labrador a ...

and

La Senza La Senza Corporation is a Canadian fashion retailer that sells women's lingerie and intimate apparel. The La Senza brand is currently owned by Regent which operates and owns La Senza stores in Canada and the United States and uses a franchise mo ...

have their headquarters in Dorval. Bombardier Inc. houses the headquarters of its

Bombardier Aerospace Bombardier Aviation is a division of Bombardier Inc. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada. Its most popular aircraft included the Dash 8 Series 400, CRJ100/200/440, and CRJ700/900/1000 lines of regional airliners, and the newer CS ...

division in Dorval. Previously

Inter-Canadien Inter-Canadien was a Canadian airline headquartered in Dorval, Quebec."World Airline Directory." ''Flight International''. 25–31 March 1998p. 75 "795 Stuart Graham Boulevard North, Dorval, H4Y1E4, Quebec, Canada" History Inter-Canadien tr ...

had its headquarters in Dorval. Air Canada Centre, the headquarters of

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...

, are located on the grounds of Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and in Saint-Laurent,

,Investors Contacts
." Air Canada. Retrieved 4 December 2010. "Air Canada Centre, 7373 Côte-Vertu Blvd. West Saint-Laurent, Quebec H4S 1Z3 ." near

Dorval Dorval () is an on-island suburban city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has the largest surface area in Montré ...

Local government

List of former mayors: * Désiré H. Girouard (1892–1893) * James B. Allan (1893–1894) * Benjamin Décarie (1894–1895) * Hartland St. Clair MacDougall (1895) * Charles Décarie (1895–1896) * Robert FitzGibbon (1896–1897) * Joseph Dosithée Legault Deslauriés (1897–1899) * William de Montmolin Marler (1899–1901) * Jean-Baptiste Meloche (1901–1903) * Harry Markland Molson (1903–1905) * Amable Lallemand (1905–1907) * Anthony Haig Sims (1907–1909) * Benjamin Décarie (1909–1911) * William A. C. Hamilton (1911–1913) * Joseph Leroux (1913–1915) * Charles-C. Décarie (1915–1923) * Harvey Thompson (1923–1925) * Avila Décarie (1925–1927) * E.-Raphaël Chadillon (1927–1933) * Arthur Cecil Comber (1933–1937, 1941–1943) * J. Arthur Lajoie (1937–1939) * Ernest H. Décarie (1939–1941) * Joseph Ovila Adrien Valois (1943–1947) * Stanley Mason Elliot (1947–1948) * Oliva Cardinal (1948–1955) * Robert John Pratt (1955–1964) * Sarto Desnoyers (1964–1982) * Peter Blyth Yeomans (1982–2002) * Edgar Rouleau (2002–2021) * Marc Doret (2021–present)

Infrastructure

Aéroports de Montréal, the

airport authority, has its headquarters in Leigh-Capreol Place (French: place Leigh-Capreol) in Dorval.

Trudeau Airport

Most of Montreal's principal airport,

Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

(previously known as ''Dorval Airport''), is in Dorval.Detailed Map of Dorval
." Dorval. Retrieved 4 November 2010. Originally a military airfield used mainly to refuel new fighters and bombers being flown to Great Britain during the Second World War, Trudeau Airport today serves over 18 million passengers annually.

Education

The ''

Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys The Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys is an autonomous school service centre on Montreal Island, Quebec, Canada, appointed by the Ministry of Education. Its headquarters is in the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal. Its education ...

'' operates Francophone public schools, but were previously operated by the ''

Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys The Marguerite-Bourgeoys School Board (') was a French language public School Board on Montreal Island, Quebec, Canada. Its headquarters was in the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal. Its education centre was in LaSalle, also in Montreal. It wa ...

'' until 15 June 2020. The change was a result of a law passed by the Quebec government that changed the school board system from

denominational A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name and tradition among other activities. The term refers to the various Christian denominations (for example, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and the many variet ...

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

. Schools include: * ''Centre d'éducation des adultes Jeanne-Sauvé'' (adult school) * ''

École secondaire Dorval-Jean-XXIII École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Sav ...

'' (secondary school) * ''École primaire Gentilly'' (primary school) The

Lester B. Pearson School Board The Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB, french: Commission scolaire Lester-B.-Pearson, CSLBP) is one of the largest school boards on the island of Montreal and one of the nine English school boards in the province of Quebec. It is headquartere ...

(LBPSB) operates Anglophone public schools. * Dorval Elementary School, formerly known as Courtland Park Elementary School until 2006.

Notable residents

Jason Demers Jason Demers (born June 9, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract with the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey Leagu ...

(born 1988), NHL ice hockey player

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Quebec populated places on the Saint Lawrence River 1667 establishments in the French colonial empire Populated places established in 1667