Greater Montreal (french: Grand Montréal) is the most populous
metropolitan area in
Quebec and the second most populous in
Canada after
Greater Toronto
The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater ...
. In 2015,
Statistics Canada identified
Montreal's
Census Metropolitan Area
The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of st ...
(CMA) as with a population of 4,027,100, almost half that of the province.
A smaller area of is governed by the Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC) (french: Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal, CMM). This level of government is headed by a president (currently Montreal mayor
Valérie Plante
Valérie Plante (born June 14, 1974) is a Canadian politician serving as the 45th and current mayor of Montreal since 2017. ).
The inner ring is composed of densely populated municipalities located in close proximity to
Downtown Montreal
Downtown Montreal ( French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal, and occupies the western portion of the borough of Vill ...
. It includes the entire
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 ...
,
Laval, and the Urban Agglomeration of
Longueuil
Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly acr ...
. Due to their proximity to Montreal's downtown core, some additional suburbs on the
South Shore (
Brossard
Brossard (, , ) is a municipality in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada and is part of the Greater Montreal area. According to the 2021 census, Brossard's population was 91,525. It shares powers with the urban agglomeration of Longueuil a ...
,
Saint-Lambert, and
Boucherville
Boucherville is a city in the Montérégie region in Quebec, Canada. It is a suburb of Montreal on the South shore of the Saint Lawrence River.
Boucherville is part of both the urban agglomeration of Longueuil and Montreal Metropolitan Commun ...
) are usually included in the inner ring, despite their location on the mainland.
The outer ring is composed of low-density municipalities located on the fringe of Metropolitan Montreal. Most of these cities and towns are semi-rural. Specifically, the term ''off-island suburbs'' refers to those suburbs that are located on the
North Shore of the
Mille-Îles River, those on the
South Shore that were never included in the megacity of
Longueuil
Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly acr ...
, and those on the
Vaudreuil-Soulanges Peninsula.
Largest cities
Cities and towns
File:Montreal-canada-parc-urban.jpg, Montreal
File:Tour Triomphe II, Laval, Québec.jpg, Laval
File:Longueuil centre-ville - 010.jpg, Longueuil
Only a portion of the municipalities and MRC's located in geographical entities highlighted in light gray are part of the CMM/CMA.
There are 82 municipalities that are part of the MMC and 91 municipalities that are part of the CMA.
There are 79 municipalities that overlap between the two, with 3 municipalities being part of the MMC but not the CMA, and 12 municipalities being part of the CMA but not the MMC.
Kanesatake
Kanesatake (''Kanehsatà:ke'' in Mohawk) is a Mohawk (''Kanien'kéha:ka'' in Mohawk) settlement on the shore of the Lake of Two Mountains in southwestern Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Ottawa and Saint Lawrence rivers and about west o ...
and
Kahnawake
The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (french: Territoire Mohawk de Kahnawake, in the Mohawk language, ''Kahnawáˀkye'' in Tuscarora) is a First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawá:ke on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, ...
are not included in the previous counts.
Demographics
Transportation
Exo operates the region's commuter rail and metropolitan bus services, and is the second busiest such system in Canada after Toronto's GO Transit. Established in June 2007, Exo's
commuter rail system has six lines linking the downtown core with communities as far west as
Hudson, as Far south as
Mont-Saint-Hilaire, as far east as
Mascouche
Mascouche () is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southern Quebec, Canada. The city is located on the Mascouche River within the Les Moulins Regional County Municipality and has a population of 51,183, ranking 20th among Quebec municipaliti ...
, and as far north as
Saint-Jérôme
Saint-Jérôme () ( 2021 population 80,213) is a suburban city located about northwest of Montreal on the Rivière du Nord. It is part of the Montreal of Greater Montreal. It is a gateway to the Laurentian Mountains and its resorts via the ...
.
Along with Exo, a sister agency, the
Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain
The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM; en, Metropolitan Regional Transportation Authority) is an umbrella organization that manages and integrates road transport and public transport in Greater Montreal in Quebec, Canada. ...
(ARTM) plans, integrates, and coordinates
public transport across Greater Montreal, including 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 ...
,
Laval (
Île Jésus
Île Jésus (, ''Jesus Island'') is a river island in southwestern Quebec, separated from the mainland to the north by the Rivière des Mille Îles, and from the Island of Montreal to the south by the Rivière des Prairies. It is the second-lar ...
), and communities along both the
north shore of the
Rivière des Mille-Îles
Rivière, La Rivière, or Les Rivières (French for "river") may refer to:
Places Belgium
* Rivière, Profondeville, a village
Canada
* La Rivière, Manitoba, a community
* Les Rivières (Quebec City), a borough
France
* La Rivière, Gironde ...
and the
south shore of the
Saint Lawrence River. The ARTM's mandate also includes the management of reserved
High-occupancy vehicle lanes, metropolitan bus terminuses, park-and-ride lots, and a budget of $163 million, which is shared amongst the transit corporations and inter-municipal public transit organizations.
The Exo/ARTM's territory spans 63 municipalities and one native reserve, 13 regional county municipalities, and 21 transit authorities. It serves a population of approximately 3.7 million people who make more than 750,000 trips daily.
The major transit commissions under the ARTM are:
*
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 Passenge ...
( en, Montreal Transit Corporation), serving the Island of Montreal
*
Société de transport de Laval
Société de transport de Laval (STL) is the public transit system in the city of Laval, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in June 1971 as the ''Commission de transport de la Ville de Laval (CTL)''. STL came about in 1984.
It serves the growing sub ...
( en, Laval Transit Corporation), serving the city of Laval
*
Réseau de transport de Longueuil
Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) ( en, Longueuil Transit Network) is a public transit system in the city of Longueuil, Quebec, Canada, and nearby communities on the South Shore of Montreal. The RTL had an annual ridership of 34,447,686 in ...
( en, Longueuil Transit Network), serving the
Urban agglomeration of Longueuil
The urban agglomeration of Longueuil was created on January 1, 2006 as a result of the de-amalgamation process brought upon by the Charest government. It encompasses all the boroughs that were merged into the previous city of Longueuil and sti ...
Education
(In Montreal, except where otherwise noted.)
See also
*
Montreal Urban Community
The Montreal Urban Community (MUC) (''Communauté Urbaine de Montréal'' – ''CUM'') was a regional government in Quebec, Canada, that covered all municipalities located on the Island of Montreal and the islands of L'Île-Dorval and Î ...
Notes
;Group 1
;Group 2
;Group 3
References
External links
*
Metropolitan Community of Montreal websiteAct respecting the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal(provincial statute)
Greater Montreal Area Restaurants*
Greater Montreal Area mapin .pdf
{{coord, 45.56, N, 73.66, W, display=title
Municipal government of Montreal
Metropolitan areas of Quebec