Montreal West (French: Montréal-Ouest) is an on-island suburb 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 ...

, 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 ...

. Montreal West is a small, close-knit community made up primarily of single-family dwellings. The town is largely composed of families, with 77% of the population speaking

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as their primary language at home, the highest percentage on the island.

History

In 1897, the Town of Montreal West was created when it separated from the Village Municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Ouest. It had 50 houses and a population of 350 persons at that time. Its town hall was built in 1910. On January 1, 2002, as part of the

2002–2006 municipal reorganization in Montreal The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the Baseline (typography), baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally lo ...

, Montreal West and the neighbouring suburbs of Côte-Saint-Luc and

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

were merged into the City of

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 ...

and became the borough of

Côte-Saint-Luc–Hampstead–Montreal West Côte Saint-Luc–Hampstead–Montreal West was a borough in the western part of Montreal, Quebec. It was composed of the former municipalities of Côte Saint-Luc, Hampstead, and Montreal West. On January 1, 2002, all three municipalities were ...

. Following a change of government and a 2004 referendum in which the population voted to de-merge by a wide margin, Montreal West was reconstituted as an independent city on January 1, 2006.

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 ...

, Montréal-Ouest 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. Montreal West - United Church

Montreal West includes three medium-sized churches. One is

United United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

(Montreal West United Churc

, one is Anglicanism, Anglican (St. Philip's Church), and the final is

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

(Montreal West Presbyterian Church). The Montreal West United Church also rents space to a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

service (Overcomers Assembly). St. Philip's Anglican Church rents space to the New Life Korean

Church.

Politics and government

Municipal Council

In terms of services, the town has its own Public Works Department, Public Security Department, a fire station, a community centre (named after former town mayor John A. Simms), and a

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

Law enforcement

The town's various codes and ordinances are upheld by its Public Security Department, consisting of a lieutenant with a team of "By-Law Enforcement Constables" under his supervision.

List of mayors

List of former mayors: *1897 - William Smithson Lingley *1898 - Charles McClatchie *1899 - B.W. Grigg *1900 - J.J. Kirkpatrick *1901 - Walter C. Flyfe *1902 - Edward J. Bedbrook *1903 - C.C. Ballantyne *1904 - Edward J. Bedbrook *1905 - William Smithson Lingley *1906 - J.J. Kirkpatrick *1908 - Edward J. Bedbrook *1909–1910 - C.J. Davies *1911–1927 - James Ballantyne *1927–1935 - Harry Aird *1935–1943 - James R. Pearson *1943–1948 - Robert Hope Ross *1948–1954 - George W. Hodgson *1954–1963 - Forest Norman Wiggins *1963–1965 - Everett Charles Kirkpatrick *1965–1973 - Robert Arthur McQueen *1973–1977 - Alistair Reekie *1977–1989 - Roy D. Locke *1989–2001 - John A. Simms * (2002–2005 - part of the city of

) *2006–2009 - Campbell Stuart *2009–present - Beny Masella

Federal and provincial politics

The Town of Montreal West is located in the federal riding of

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount is a federal electoral district in Quebec. It encompasses areas formerly included in the electoral districts of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine (40%), Westmount—Ville-Marie (59%) and Outremont (1%). Notre-Dame ...

, represented by

Marc Garneau Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau (born February 23, 1949) is a Canadian politician, retired Royal Canadian Navy officer and former astronaut who served as a Cabinet minister from 2015 to 2021. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Par ...

, and the provincial riding of

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Notre-Dame-de-Grâce ( en, Our Lady of Grace), also nicknamed NDG, is a residential neighbourhood of Montreal in the city's West End, with a population of 166,520 (2016). An independent municipality until annexed by the City of Montreal in 1910, ...

, represented by

Désirée McGraw Désirée McGraw is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2022 Quebec general election. She represents the riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce as a member of the Quebec Liberal Party.Susan Schwartz"Liberals ...

Events

Canada Day

Canada Day is the largest community event of the year in Montreal West. Residents organize a parade route that mainly runs down the main street of Westminster and ends at Strathern Park. Floats represented in the parade include organizations and clubs located in town, as well as some created personally by residents. In some years, there have been water fights between sidelined residents and members of the parade (mainly the swimming pool float). Water fights during these years have seen

water balloon A water balloon or water bomb is a balloon, often made of latex rubber, filled with water. Water balloons are used in a summer pastime of cooling off through water balloon fights. Water balloons are also popular for celebrations, including celebr ...

s and

super soaker Super Soaker is an American brand of recreational water gun that uses manually-pressurized air to shoot water with greater power, range, and accuracy than conventional squirt pistols. The Super Soaker was invented in 1989 by engineer Lonnie Joh ...

water guns, as well as the odd hose drawn from a house. Organizers have tried to minimize these activities in recent years so as not to detract from the parade itself, with varying success. Following the parade, residents converge on Strathern Park for a giant picnic/BBQ. Many children's games and activities go on at the park, as well as in the nearby Percival park. The final event of the evening is the fireworks, which take place around 10pm at Hodgson Field.

Fête Nationale du Québec

Annually on June 23 (the day before the actual holiday) there is a picnic at Davies Park, featuring music performed by Québécois musicians. In the late evening, a large bonfire is held in the centre of the park.

Garbage Bowl

The Garbage Bowl is a yearly tradition held every January 1 since 1950, where men from Montreal West separate into two teams, the Northern Combines in red longjohns and the Southern Bombers in green longjohns, and play a football game in the frigid weather with proceeds from donations, food, and commemorative pins going to charity.

Parks and recreation

The town of Montreal West has a large number of neighbourhood parks and public spaces. They include: Dave Reid Park, Davies Park, George Booth Park, Hodgson Park, John A. Simms Park, Kirkpatrick Park, Memorial Park, Percival Park, Ronald Park, Roy D. Locke Park, Rugby Park, Sheraton Park, Strathearn Park and Toe Blake Park (which was named after former

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

head coach

Toe Blake Toes are the digits (fingers) of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plant ...

). The town also has an indoor ice skating rink, clay tennis courts, and a public swimming pool. The core business area of Montreal West is located on Westminster Avenue between Sherbrooke and Curzon. Until 2010, it consisted exclusively of small, non-franchised businesses, but in a controversial decision, the

Pharmaprix Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. (named Pharmaprix in Quebec) is a Canadian retail pharmacy chain based in Toronto, Ontario. It has more than 1,300 stores in nine provinces and two territories. The company was founded by pharmacist Murray Koffler in 19 ...

drugstore chain was allowed to open a large outlet on the corner of Westminster and Sherbrooke Street.

Public transportation

Montreal West is serviced by six

Société de transport de Montréal The Société de transport de Montréal (STM; en, Montreal Transit Corporation) is a public transport agency that operates transit bus and rapid transit services in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Established in 1861 as the "Montreal City Passenger Ra ...

bus lines. Each of these connects to a corresponding

Montreal Metro The Montreal Metro (french: Métro de Montréal) 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, ...

(subway) station. The Montréal-Ouest Train Station also services the area. Trains that run through this station connect passengers to downtown Montreal on one end, and three different routes heading away from the city at the other end.

Education

Montreal West is notable for having Quebec's highest rated

Anglophone 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 language ...

public high school,

Royal West Academy Royal West Academy (commonly referred to as Royal West or RWA; french: Académie Royal West) is a public alternative English-speaking Quebecker, anglophone secondary school in Montreal West, Quebec. Royal West has limited enrollment, and prospec ...

(ranked 39th overall in 2005 by the

Fraser Institute The Fraser Institute is a libertarian-conservative Canadian public policy think tank and registered charity. The institute describes itself as independent and non-partisan. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, Tor ...

). It also has two Anglophone elementary schools, Elizabeth Ballantyne Elementary School and Edinburgh Elementary School which offers

French immersion French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which students who do not speak French as a first language will receive instruction in French. In most French-immersion schools, students will learn to speak French and learn most subjects s ...

. These schools are part of 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 ...

. The town has a public children's library located in Elizabeth Ballantyne school. A library for all age groups is located on Westminster Avenue.

Media

The Town of Montreal West prints a newspaper called ''The Informer'' on a monthly basis, excluding the summer. There are 9 editions of ''The Informer'' published per year. This newspaper is meant to foster a small-town atmosphere and to keep Montreal West citizens up to date on town information. ''The Informer'' was initially published under the name ''The Citizen's Viewspaper'' in 1973 by a group of Montreal West citizens before being changed to its current name. The Town of Montreal West has agreed to subsidize this paper to date.

Notable people

Stuart McLean Andrew Stuart McLean, (April 19, 1948 – February 15, 2017) was a Canadian radio broadcaster, humorist, monologist, and author, best known as the host of the CBC Radio program ''The Vinyl Cafe''.Doug and

Dorothy Yeats Dorothy Yeats (born 29 July 1993) is a Canadian wrestler and Commonwealth Games champion. She won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She also wrestled at Vanier College in Montreal, where she is on the school's Wall of Fame. She once said ab ...

, Olympic wrestlers

References

External links

*
Montreal West History
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Bilingual cities and towns in Quebec