Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve () is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada located in the southeastern end of the island.

History

''See Mercier and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve articles for a more detailed histories of respective areas'' Hochelaga was founded as a village in 1870, and annexed to Montreal in 1883. In response, dissatisfied landowners founded the village of Maisonneuve to the east. Maisonneuve grew rapidly and became known as ''the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

of Canada'' for its heavy industry, before finally being annexed to Montreal in 1918. These factories hired many workers, including immigrants and people from the surrounding countryside. They worked in the

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

, tanning,

slaughterhouse In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a mea ...

, tobacco, food, and

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

industries. In 1920, many factories closed and moved east to Mercier. Mercier was an agglomeration of old villages: Beau-Rivage,

Longue-Pointe Longue-Pointe () was a Montreal List of neighbourhoods in Montreal, neighbourhood now located in the borough of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. The neighborhood was permanently divided by the construction of the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge-Tu ...

and Tétreaultville. It was previously annexed to Montreal in 1910, before Maisonneuve. In 1960, the construction of the Autoroute 25 saw the demolition of many residential buildings in Mercier and divided it into two districts: Mercier-Ouest and Mercier-Est. Starting in the 1980s, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve suffered significant economic and social decline, gaining a bad reputation for poverty,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

and organized crime. In recent years, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, and to a much lesser extent Mercier, has experienced significant change and

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

Geography

Located in the east end of the

Island of Montreal The Island of Montreal (, ) is an island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, which 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 island of the Hochelag ...

, it was part of the City of Montreal prior to the 2002 municipal mergers. It is composed of the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Mercier-Ouest (Longue-Pointe) and Mercier-Est (Tétraultville) areas. Each area has roughly the same population, but they differ in their commercial and social characteristics. The largely oblong borough is bordered to the west by Ville-Marie ( Centre-Sud), northwest by the borough of Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, on the northeast by Saint Leonard and Anjou, and to the east by

Montréal-Est Montreal East (, ) is an on-island suburb in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the island of Montreal. Montreal-Est has been home to many large oil refineries since 1915. History The formation of Montréal-Est as a municipality was initiated in ...

. To the south is the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

. Its main arteries running east to west are Rue Notre-Dame, Rue Sainte-Catherine Est,

Rue Ontario Ontario Street (officially in ) is an east-west artery in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It crosses the boroughs of Ville-Marie, Montreal, Ville-Marie and Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. In the latter borough, the street becomes a mix of residenti ...

, Rue Hochelaga, Avenue Pierre De Coubertin and Rue Sherbrooke. It has an area of 25,4 km² and the evolution of industry and transportation has profoundly transformed the borough.

Demographics

Source:

Employment

The borough is often cast in a negative light, mainly due to its economic planning and high poverty rate. However, it is often neglected to mention that the borough, despite a descriptive accent on its poverty, has large industrial zones and is commercially dynamic. It is often considered 'up and coming' with new revitalization plans for its residential zones. According to 'Recensement des établissements et de l'emploi à Montréal (REEM 2000)' there's been an increase of 95% in professional and technical jobs in the borough. However, this can be attributed to

in the area, specifically in the Hochelaga district. The average family income in Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve is $48,544 and personal income of $29,919 are considerably below the

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

average. Nearly 19% of the borough's population is considered low-income, and there are patches of poverty scattered throughout the borough and heavily concentrated in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district.

Government

Borough council

Federal and provincial

The borough is divided among the following federal ridings: * Hochelaga * Honoré-Mercier *

La Pointe-de-l'Île La Pointe-de-l'Île () is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. Its population in 2001 was 98,878. The riding was created in 2003 from parts of Anjou—Rivière ...

It is divided among the following provincial electoral districts: * Hochelaga-Maisonneuve * Camille-Laurin * Anjou–Louis-Riel

Features

The borough is bisected by Autoroute 25 and contains the Montreal entrance to the Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine Tunnel. It is served by the eastern end of the green line of the

Montreal metro The Montreal Metro (, ) is a rubber-tired underground rapid transit system serving Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The metro, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), was inaugurated on October 14, 1966, during the tenure ...

; the Honoré-Beaugrand and Radisson stations are connected to important bus termini. Attractions in the area include the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

Saputo Stadium Saputo Stadium (Canadian French, French: ''Stade Saputo'') is a soccer-specific stadium at Olympic Park, Montreal, Olympic Park in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The stadium opened on May 21, 2008, a ...

and

Montreal Biodome The Montreal Biodome () is a museum of enclosed ecosystems located at Olympic Park in the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that allows visitors to walk through replicas of four ecosystems found in the Amer ...

, the

Montreal Botanical Garden The Montreal Botanical Garden (, ) is a large botanical garden in Montreal, Quebec, Canada comprising of thematic gardens and greenhouses. It was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada, National Historic Site of Canada in 2008 as it i ...

, the Château Dufresne,

Collège de Maisonneuve Collège de Maisonneuve (; or Cégep de Maisonneuve) is a francophone public pre-university and technical college located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Partnerships The College is affiliated with the ACCC, and CCAA. History In 1967, several ...

, the Marché Maisonneuve, the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier, the Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, and the Place Versailles shopping centre located at the intersection of Rue Sherbrooke Est and Autoroute 25. The

Canadian Armed Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

also have a base,

CFB Montreal 2nd Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier, Detachment Montreal, formerly known as and commonly referred to as Canadian Forces Base Montreal (also CFB Montreal or Longue-Pointe) is a Canadian Forces base, Canadian Forces Base network located in ...

, in the east of the borough. The borough is home to the Church of Nativité-de-la-Sainte-Vierge-d'Hochelaga. 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 ...

operates the Hochelaga, Langelier, Maisonneuve, and Mercier libraries.

Education

The borough has one French language cégep, College de Maisonneuve. The

Commission scolaire de Montréal In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

(CSDM) operates French-language public schools.

Elementary

*''École Baril'' *''École Notre-Dame-de-L'Assomption'' *''École Maisonneuve'' *''École Saint-Clément'' *''École Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Lasalle'' * ''École Notre-Dame-des-Victoires'' * ''École Saint-Nom-de-Jésus'' * ''École Louis Dupire'' * ''École Saint-Fabien'' * ''École Saint-Donat'' * ''École Boucher-De La Bruère'' * ''École Sainte-Louise-de-Marillac'' * ''École Sainte-Claire'' * ''École Saint-François-d'Assise'' * ''École Saint-Justin'' * ''École La Vérendrye'' * ''École Irénée-Lussier'' * ''École Armand-Lavergne'' * ''École Philippe-Labarre''

High school

*''École Sécondaire Chomedey-De Maisonneuve'' * ''École Sécondaire Marguerite-De Lajemmerais'' * ''École Secondaire Édouard-Montpetit'' * ''École Secondaire Académie Dunton'' * ''École Sécondaire Louise-Trichet''

Specialized

*''École des Métiers de la Construction de Montréal'' * ''École des Métiers de l'aérospatiale de Montréal'' *''École pour Adultes Centre Hochelaga-Maisonneuve'' *''École Eulalie-Durocher'' (for

intellectually disabled Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability (in the United Kingdom), and formerly mental retardation (in the United States), Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010).Archive is a generalized neurodevelopmental ...

) * ''École de la Lancée'' (for boys with behavioural problems and in

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family mem ...

) The

English Montreal School Board The English Montreal School Board (official name: Commission scolaire English-Montréal English-Montréal School Board; CSEM or EMSB) is one of five public school boards and one of two English-language school boards on the island of Montreal in Q ...

(EMSB) operates English-language schools.

Elementary

* ''Edward Murphy Elementary School''

High school

(for high school, students must go to nearby '' Vincent Massey Collegiate'' in Rosemont)

Gallery

References

La ville de Montreal, ''Arrondissement de Mercier-Hochelaga Maisonneuve: Plan strategic de developpement economique 2005-2008 (Plan D'action local pour l'economie et l'emploi)'' Le Groupe DBSF, Corporation de developpement de l'Est, May 2005

External links

Borough website
(in French)
Historical buildings and picture of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve on IMTL.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Boroughs of Montreal Quebec populated places on the Saint Lawrence River Gentrification in Canada

History

Geography

Demographics

Employment

Government

Borough council

Federal and provincial

Features

Education

Elementary

High school

Specialized

Elementary

High school

Gallery

See also

References

External links