Le Plateau-Mont-Royal () is a
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle A ...
(''
arrondissement
An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands.
Europe
France
The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...
'') of the city of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
,
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.
The Plateau-Mont-Royal takes its name from its location on a
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...
, on the eastern side of
Mont-Royal and overlooking downtown Montreal, across its southern border. The borough is bordered to the south by Sherbrooke Street; to the north and north-east by the
Canadian Pacific Railway tracks; and to the west by Hutchison (north of
Mount Royal Avenue
Mount Royal Avenue (officially in french: avenue du Mont-Royal), once named Tannery Road (french: chemin des Tanneries), is a street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The main part of the street transects the borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, from Par ...
),
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Av ...
(between Mount Royal and
Pine Avenue
Pine Avenue (french: avenue des Pins) is an east–west street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This street serves as the dividing line between the downtown Ville-Marie borough and borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, and also serves as the northern ...
) and
University Street
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
(south of Pine Avenue). It is the most densely populated borough in Canada, with 101,054 people living in an 8.1 square kilometre (3¼ sq. mi.) area.
There is a difference between the borough, Plateau-Mont-Royal—a political division of the City of Montreal—and the neighbourhood referred to as "the Plateau". The borough includes not only the Plateau proper, but also the neighbourhoods of
Mile End
Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...
(bounded by
Avenue du Mont-Royal to the south and the Avenue Henri-Julien to the east) and
Milton Park
Milton Park is a mixed use business and technology park in Oxfordshire, England, operated by MEPC plc.
It is just south of the village of Milton, about west of Didcot. It is on the site of a former Ministry of Defence depot between the A ...
(bounded by University, Sherbrooke, Saint-Laurent and Pine). Both neighbourhoods are generally considered distinct from the Plateau.
The Plateau is famous for being a major centre for the arts, with a large concentration of artists, musicians, and creative organizations. Many artistic institutions are established in the Plateau such as the National Theatre School of Canada, the Quebec Conservatory of Music in Montreal, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and many theater such as le Rideau vert, le Théâtre de Quat'Sous, La Licorne and le Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui. The Plateau has many Parcs such as Jeanne-Mance park, La Fontaine park, Sir-Wilfrid-Laurier park, Saint-Louis Square, and Gérald-Godin plaza. The Mont-Royal parc is also accessible from the Plateau-Mont-Royal.
Due to its large concentration of French
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
who arrived in the early twenty first century, the neighbourhood has been named "Le Petit Paris", la Petite-France, or ironically « La Nouvelle-France ».
History
Starting in 1745, the urbanized area of Montreal began to extend beyond its
fortifications
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
. The Plateau-Mont-Royal was born when the Faubourg Saint-Laurent to the north became the main area of development. In 1792, Montreal expanded, with new official limits about two kilometres (1¼ miles) beyond the original fortifications.
Mount Royal
Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the ...
and
Duluth Street formed its new boundaries. Farther from the centre, especially to the west,
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 ...
families of the era owned large houses surrounded by gardens, and the
Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph owned a large field which would later become the site of the future
Hôtel-Dieu. Even further from the city were large country estates whose farms were owned by the Montreal bourgeoisie.
In 1850, a
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
was installed in what is today the location of
Saint-Louis Square
, photo = Square Saint-Louis3.JPG
, photo_width =
, photo_caption = Saint Louis Square, looking east from Laval Street, fountain in the distance, 2005.
, map = Canada Montreal
, map_width =
, type = Town square
, location = Le Plateau-Mon ...
. Its function was to supply water to Côte-à-Baron residents, who lived on the downward slope below
Sherbrooke Street
Sherbrooke Street (officially in french: rue Sherbrooke) is a major east–west artery and at in length, is the second longest street on the Island of Montreal. The street begins in the town of Montreal West and ends on the extreme tip of ...
. At that time, a farm on the site of the current
La Fontaine Park
La Fontaine Park (french: Parc La Fontaine) is a urban park located in the borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Named in honour of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, The park's features include two linked ponds with a fountain ...
was converted into grounds for military exercises. To the north, other cities were formed following new economic activity, giving rise to the village of Coteau-Saint-Louis in 1846. A chapel was built two years later, then replaced in 1857 by the
Church of Saint-Enfant-Jésus du Mile-End. Nowadays, the
Mile End
Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...
is a neighbourhood adjacent to the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, but it was only in 1878 that the village of Saint-Louis-du-Mile-End was born. By the end of the century, the mountain was purchased by the City of Montreal and developed into Mount-Royal Park. La Fontaine Park took the place of the military field and the reservoir Côte-à-Baron became the Saint-Louis Square.
The village of Saint-Jean-Baptiste took shape circa 1861. Its central point was also the location of its market (the first market was built in 1870 and replaced by a more modern market in 1933, which was demolished in 1966). The civic centre was located at the intersection of
Saint Lawrence Street (later Saint Laurent Boulevard) and Rachel Street. The villages of Coteau-Saint-Louis and Saint-Jean-Baptiste merged into Montreal in 1893 and 1886 respectively. As for Saint-Louis-du-Mile-End and DeLorimier, they would be annexed to Montreal in 1910 and 1909 respectively. At that time, the population of Montreal spilled over east of Papineau Road (today
Papineau Avenue
Papineau Avenue (officially in french: avenue Papineau) is the longest north–south street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The part of the street between Henri Bourassa Boulevard and Quebec Autoroute 40 is the Montreal portion of Quebec Autoroute 1 ...
), where elegant houses and avenues were located.
In the early twentieth century, it was a
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...
neighbourhood. Over the years, spurred by economic growth, the working class population gradually deserted the area. By 1900, Coteau-Saint-Louis had become very cosmopolitan, and included several
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
churches and
synagogues. Several Protestant traders opened shop on St. Lawrence Street (renamed St. Lawrence Boulevard in 1905). St. Lawrence was the linguistic border between the French-speaking east, and English-speaking west. At that time,
Saint Joseph Boulevard
Saint Joseph Boulevard (official in french: boulevard Saint-Joseph) is a major boulevard located east of Mount Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Although it is mainly residential, it is a major east–west artery in the Plateau Mont-Royal and th ...
became the first tree-lined street in the city.
In the 1930s, the
Great Depression slowed construction in the district, although some work resulted in the funding for the landscaping of
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park (french: Parc Sir-Wilfrid-Laurier) is an urban park in the Le Plateau-Mont-Royal borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is bordered by Laurier Avenue East to the south, De Brébeuf Street to the east, Saint Grégoire S ...
. The
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...
moved to the northern slope of Mount Royal in 1943, resulting in the relocation of both the English and French bourgeoisie to this neighbourhood. Immigrants settled increasingly in the neighbourhood in the post-war period.
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
operated several boutiques on St. Lawrence Boulevard and moved into the adjacent neighbourhoods to the west.
Schwartz's Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen, established in 1928, is still one of the most famous shops in Montreal, renowned for its
Montreal-style smoked meat
Montreal-style smoked meat, Montreal smoked meat or simply smoked meat in Quebec (French: ''smoked-meat''; sometimes ''viande fumée'' or even ''bœuf mariné'': Literally “marinated beef”) is a type of kosher-style deli meat product made ...
sandwiches.
Greek Canadian
Greek Canadians ( el, Ελληνοκαναδοί) are Canadian citizens who have full or partial Greek heritage or people who emigrated from Greece and reside in Canada. According to the 2021 Census, there were 262,140 Canadians who claimed Gre ...
s set up many businesses in the decades that followed, particularly along
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Av ...
and contributed to the local art of baking and pastry. More recently, Vietnamese and Portuguese settled in the area, as evidenced, for the latter, by
Little Portugal.
Since the 1980s, the area's bohemian aura and proximity to
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...
attracted young professionals, artists, and students. As rents increased, many of its traditional residents and businesses were dispersed to other parts of the city. The neighbourhood continues to gentrify, and it is now home to many upscale restaurants and nightclubs, and several trendy clothing stores are located along Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Saint-Denis Street.
Geography
The borough is located northeast of downtown, and was part of the City of Montreal prior to the 2002
municipal mergers.
It is bordered to the south by
Ville-Marie, to the west by
Outremont
Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by fran ...
, and to the north and east by
Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie
Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie is a borough (''arrondissement'') in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located in the centre-east of the city.
Geography
The borough is bordered to the northwest by Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension ...
. Clockwise from the south, it is bounded by Sherbrooke St., University St., Pine Ave. (av. des Pins), Park Ave. (
Avenue du Parc), the southward projection of Hutchison St., Hutchison St., and the
CP railway tracks.
Arts and culture
The Plateau began as a bourgeois community with parts of its extensions as working-class developing around the beginning of the 20th century; the Eastern part being largely
Québécois, and the Western part primarily
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
an with a total
visible minority
A visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada, in connect ...
estimated at 17%. The neighbourhood was the childhood home of Quebec writers
Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay (born 25 June 1942) is a French-Canadian novelist and playwright.
Tremblay was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he grew up in the French-speaking neighbourhood of Plateau Mont-Royal; at the time of his birth, a neighbourhood wit ...
and
Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are '' The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and '' Barney's Version'' (1997). His 1970 novel '' St. Urbain's Horseman'' and 1989 novel ...
and both have set many stories in the Plateau of the 1950s and 60s. The Plateau is currently a creative family oriented upper-middle-class neighbourhood. Although the Eastern part is still largely
Québécois, the Plateau (now nicknamed "La Nouvelle-France") is emerging as a French enclave of those fleeing Paris' transitioning cultural climate.
The Plateau is characterized by brightly coloured houses, cafés, book shops, and a
laissez-faire
''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups ...
attitude that embraces its bohemian nature over the commercialized hipster culture of its Mile-End counterpart.
It's the location of some famous attractions on
Saint Lawrence Boulevard, including
Schwartz's
Schwartz's (French: ''Chez Schwartz''), also known as the Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen (French: ''Charcuterie Hébraïque de Montréal, Inc.''), is a Jewish delicatessen restaurant and take-out, located at 3895 Saint-Laurent Boulevard in Montre ...
Deli (famous for its
Montreal smoked meat), and a weekend street fair during the summer that sees extremely crowded streets. In 1997, ''
Utne Reader
''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne'') ( ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...
'' rated it one of the 15 "
hippest" neighbourhoods in North America.
Demographics
Le Plateau has the highest concentration of youths in Montreal and overall average age range of 25–34 years old.
In the 21st century, the large number of French-born residents of the neighbourhood has earned it the nicknames of "le Petit-Paris" and "la Petite-France".
Government
Borough council
Following the November 5, 2017
Montreal municipal election and an October 6, 2019 by-election for borough mayor, the current borough council consists of the following councillors:
Federal and provincial
The borough is divided among the following federal ridings:
*
Outremont
Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by fran ...
*
Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs
Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. It encompasses a portion of Quebec formerly included in the electoral distr ...
*
Laurier—Sainte-Marie
It is divided among the following provincial electoral districts:
*
Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
Hochelaga-Maisonneuve () is a neighbourhood in Montreal, Canada, situated in the east end of the island, generally to the south of the city's Olympic Stadium and east of downtown.
Historically a poor neighbourhood, it has experienced significant ...
*
Mont-Royal–Outremont
Mont-Royal–Outremont is a provincial electoral district in Quebec. It was created from parts of Mont-Royal and Outremont districts. It was first contested in the 2018 Quebec general election
The 2018 Quebec general election was held on Octo ...
*
Mercier
Mercier is French for ''notions dealer'' or ''haberdasher'', and may refer to:
People
* Agnès Mercier, French curler and coach
*Annick Mercier (born 1964), French curler
*Amanda H. Mercier (born 1975), American Judge
* Armand Mercier, (1933–20 ...
*
Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques
Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques is a provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It comprises part of the borough of Ville-Marie and part of the borough of Le Plateau ...
*
Westmount–Saint-Louis
Westmount–Saint-Louis is a provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It comprises the city of Westmount as well as parts of the Le Plateau-Mont-Royal and V ...
Education
![Bibliotheque du Mile End 07](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Bibliotheque_du_Mile_End_07.jpg)
The
Commission scolaire de Montréal
The Commission scolaire de Montréal (CSM ''Montreal school board''), was a board from 1998 until 2020, as a result of a law passed by the Quebec government that changed the school board system from religious denomination to linguistic denominatio ...
(CSDM) operates Francophone public schools and the
English Montreal School Board
The English Montreal School Board (EMSB, french: Commission scolaire English-Montréal – CSEM) is one of five public school boards on the island of Montreal.
At 92.4 percent, the English Montreal School Board has the highest rate of students wh ...
(EMSB) operates Anglophone public schools in the borough. The two school boards jointly operate
F.A.C.E. School
F.A.C.E. School (in English, Fine Arts Core Education and in French, Formation Artistique au Cœur de l'Éducation) is a bilingual kindergarten, elementary and high school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is run jointly by the English Montreal Sch ...
, a bilingual art-oriented school located in the
Milton Park
Milton Park is a mixed use business and technology park in Oxfordshire, England, operated by MEPC plc.
It is just south of the village of Milton, about west of Didcot. It is on the site of a former Ministry of Defence depot between the A ...
neighbourhood.
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...
maintains a significant presence in the borough, including four residence halls,
Presbyterian College
Presbyterian College (PC) is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina.
History
Presbyterian College was founded in 1880 by the William Plumer Jacobs. He had served as the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Cl ...
and the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning.
The borough has two libraries of the
Montreal Public Libraries Network
The Montreal Public Libraries Network (, previously ''Réseau des bibliothèques publiques de Montréal'') is the public library system on the Island of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. It is the largest French language public library system in North A ...
: Bibliothèque
Mordecai-Richler (located in Mile End) and Bibliothèque du Plateau-Mont-Royal.
Features
Overlooked by the eastern face of
Mount Royal
Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the ...
, the borough is served by part of the
orange line of the
Montreal metro, including
Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional cou ...
,
Mont-Royal, and
Laurier stations.
Important features of the borough include the hospital
Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal
The Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal (founded in 1645) was the first hospital established in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
''Hôtel-Dieu'', literally translated in English as ''Hotel of God'', is an archaic French term for hospital, referring to the origi ...
,
Lafontaine Park
La Fontaine Park (french: Parc La Fontaine) is a urban park located in the borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Named in honour of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, The park's features include two linked ponds with a fountain ...
, and Jeanne Mance Park.
The borough is largely composed of the well-known
Plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...
neighbourhood, famous for its bohemian reputation and characteristic architecture. The neighbourhoods of
Mile End
Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...
, Côte Saint-Louis, and
Milton-Parc are also located in the borough.
Montreal's
Little Portugal neighbourhood is situated in the western portion of the borough.
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal borough council has undertaken various renaturalisation and traffic-calming projects in recent years under the leadership of borough Mayor Luc Ferrandez. The reconstruction of intersections now usually involves constructing
road-diets (where vehicular traffic space has been reduced) in favour of wider sidewalks and large naturalised areas with grasses, flowers and other indigenous plant species. The renaturalisation of some alleyways has been realised through the removal of asphalt or concrete along the edge of property lines for soil; local residents can plant whatever they choose.
Many streets underwent one-directional reassignments, to the irritation of local and visiting motorists; Ferrandez has faced criticism for what some feel to be drastic changes resulting in decreased vehicular and pedestrian traffic for merchants on main thoroughfares.
See also
*
Boroughs of Montreal
The city of Montreal is divided into 19 boroughs (in French, ''arrondissements''), each with a mayor and council.
Powers
The borough council is responsible for:
*Fire prevention
*Removal of household waste and residual materials
*Funding of co ...
*
Districts of Montreal
This is the list of the neighbourhoods in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are sorted by the borough they are located in.
Ahuntsic-Cartierville
* Ahuntsic
* Nouveau-Bordeaux
* Cartierville
*Saint-Sulpice
* Sault-au-Récollet (Île d ...
*
Municipal reorganization in Quebec
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the g ...
References
External links
Borough website(in
French)
Société d'histoire et de généalogie du Plateau-Mont-RoyalMontréal Le Plateau-Mont-Royal at Google Cultural Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plateau-Mont-Royal, Le
Boroughs of Montreal
Artist colonies
Student quarters
Gentrification in Canada
Canada geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia