Varennes is an off-island suburb 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 ...

, 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, on the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

in the

Marguerite-D'Youville Regional County Municipality Marguerite-D'Youville is a regional county municipality located in the Montérégie region of southwestern Quebec, Canada. The seat is in Verchères. The RCM was formerly named Lajemmerais Regional County Municipality, after Christophe du Fros ...

. The city is approximately from

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 Vil ...

. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 20,994. In 2015, the population is listed at 24,000.

History

The history of Varennes starts with the arrival of the ''Régiment de Carignan-Salières'' in

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

. René Gaultier, ''sieur de Varennes'', was given three concessions by intendant Jean Talon in 1672, le Tremblay, la Gabelle and Varennes. Jaques-René, one of his sons, was the second

seigneur ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (or ...

of Varennes. Five seignories later composed the Varennes parish. They were the seignories ''du Cap de Varennes, de l'île Sainte Thérese, de Grand Maison, du Cap de la trinité'' and ''du Cap Saint-Michel''. The town was captured by the British in 1760 during the

Montreal Campaign The Montreal Campaign, also known as the Fall of Montreal, was a British three-pronged offensive against Montreal which took place from July 2 to 8 September 1760 during the French and Indian War as part of the global Seven Years' War. The campai ...

. It was part of the

Province of Quebec (1763–1791) The Province of Quebec (french: Province de Québec) was a colony in British North America which comprised the former French colony of Canada (New France), Canada. It was established by the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1763, following the conqu ...

, then of

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

, before it returned to being part of Quebec again in 1867 due to

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...

. Varennes gained the status of city in 1972.

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 ...

, Varennes 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.

Prominent citizens

Gilles Courteau Gilles Courteau (born October 7, 1957) is a Canadian ice hockey administrator who has served as the president of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) since 1986, and is also a vice-president of the Canadian Hockey League. During his te ...

Christophe-Alphonse Geoffrion Christophe-Alphonse Geoffrion, (November 23, 1843 – July 18, 1899) was a Canadian lawyer, professor, and politician. Born in Varennes, Canada East, the son of Félix Geoffrion and Catherine Brodeur, he was the brother of Félix Geoffri ...

Félix Geoffrion Félix Geoffrion, (October 3, 1832 – August 7, 1894) was a Canadian notary and politician. Born in Varennes, Lower Canada, the son of Félix Geoffrion and Catherine Brodeur, he was trained and practised as a notary. He was elected to t ...

Marc-Amable Girard Marc-Amable Girard (April 25, 1822 – September 12, 1892) was the second premier of Manitoba, and the first Franco-Manitoban to hold that post. The ''Canadian Parliamentary Guide'' lists Girard as having been Premier (or ''Chief Minister'' ...

Sylvain Grenier Sylvain Grenier (born March 26, 1977) is a Canadian TV host and semi-retired professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE as a producer since 2020. He is best known for his time wrestling for WWE between 2002 and 2007 where he was part of L ...

Marie-Mai Marie-Mai (born Marie-Mai Bouchard on July 7, 1984, in Varennes, Quebec) is a Canadian singer from Quebec. She was initially known as one of the finalists of the first season of the Quebec reality show '' Star Académie''. Background Marie-M ...

* Louis Massue * Philippe-François de Rastel de Rocheblave *

Théodore Robitaille Théodore Robitaille, (29 January 1834 – 17 August 1897) was a Canadian physician, politician, and the fourth Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. Born in Varennes, Lower Canada, the son of Louis-Adolphe Robitaille (pronounced "ro-bee-tie") a ...

* Louis-Adélard Sénécal *

Marie-Marguerite d'Youville Marguerite d'Youville, SGM (; October 15, 1701 – December 23, 1771) was a French Canadian Catholic widow who founded the Order of Sisters of Charity of Montreal, commonly known as the Grey Nuns. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1990 ...

References

External links

Official website

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Quebec populated places on the Saint Lawrence River 1672 establishments in the French colonial empire Incorporated places in Marguerite-D'Youville Regional County Municipality Canada geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia

History

Demographics

Prominent citizens

See also

References

External links