Verdun (; , ) 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 Ag ...
(''
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 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 ...
,
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 ...
, located in the southwestern part of the island.
Long known as 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 colou ...
neighbourhood, it has experienced significant
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
and
social change
Social change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations.
Definition
Social change may not refer to the notion of social progress or sociocult ...
in the 21st century.
Etymology
The borough's name is a shortening of
Saverdun
Saverdun (; Languedocien: ''Savardun'') is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France.
Population
Inhabitants of Saverdun are called ''Saverdunois'' in French.
Name
Saverdun gave its name to the former city of Verdun, Quebec ...
, in France, the hometown of its early settler
Zacharie Dupuy
Zacharie Dupuy (1608 or 1610 – 1676) was a soldier and seigneur in New France. He served as acting governor of Montreal in 1662, from 1665 to 1666 and from 1667 to 1668. He was sometimes called sieur de Verdun. His surname sometimes appears ...
. It is not derived from the
Battle of Verdun in World War I, predating the battle by centuries.
History
Early History
![Maison Nivard-De Saint-Dizier 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Maison_Nivard-De_Saint-Dizier_1.jpg)
There is archaeological evidence of
indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
in the area as early as 5,500 years ago.
A
portage
Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...
along what is now the boulevard LaSalle was used to pass the
Lachine Rapids.
A
trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...
was established at nearby
Fort Ville-Marie in 1611 and colonization of 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 ...
began in 1642. In 1664 the ÃŽle-Saint-Paul (now Nun's Island) became a seigneury.
The first colonial settlers were
militiamen
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
granted
concessions in 1665 in exchange for defence against the
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
. Afterwards, the area was known as ''Côte-des-Argoulets'' (Sharpshooter's Ridge), in reference to the
arquebus, an infantry gun.
The settlement was where the
grande Saint-Pierre river drained Lac à la Loutre into the
St. 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, connecting ...
. The lake has since been filled to create the Turcot
rail yard
A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...
, and the St. Pierre partly covered over and partly integrated with canals.
In 1671 the
Fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...
of Verdun is created when land is granted to
Zacharie Dupuy
Zacharie Dupuy (1608 or 1610 – 1676) was a soldier and seigneur in New France. He served as acting governor of Montreal in 1662, from 1665 to 1666 and from 1667 to 1668. He was sometimes called sieur de Verdun. His surname sometimes appears ...
, who derived the name Verdun from his native village of Saverdun in France.
Two years later he donated the land to the
Congrégation de Notre-Dame
The Congrégation de Notre Dame (CND) is a religious community for women founded in 1658 in Ville Marie (Montreal), in the colony of New France, now part of Canada. It was established by Marguerite Bourgeoys, who was recruited in France to create ...
,
who in 1710 built the building now preserved as the Maison Nivard-De Saint-Dizier. This house is named for
Étienne Nivard Saint-Dizier, whose father bought the lands from the nuns in 1769.
["Le voisinage Crawford."](_blank)
Grand répertoire du patrimoine bâti de Montréal. Accessed 1 July 2011.
Following the
Great Peace of Montreal in 1701, farmers settled along Lower Lachine Road (now boulevard LaSalle), which connected Fort Ville-Marie with
Lachine.
Around 1800, Chemin de la Rivière-Saint-Pierre (now rue de l'Église) was opened.
["Le noyau institutionnel et commerçant de Verdun."](_blank)
Grand répertoire du patrimoine bâti de Montréal. Accessed 1 July 2011. The
Canal de l'Aqueduc The Canal de l'Aqueduc is an open-air aqueduct canal on the Island of Montreal in Quebec, Canada, serving part of the drinking water needs of the city of Montreal.
The canal was built in 1853 by a commission headed by City Councillor Edwin Atwate ...
, now Verdun's northwestern boundary, was dug in 1854 to furnish Montreal with drinking water from the St. Lawrence.
["Secteur du canal de l'aqueduc."](_blank)
Grand répertoire du patrimoine bâti de Montréal. Accessed 1 July 2011.
In 1874, a group of local land-owners met in a farmhouse called Le Pavillon, located at the corner of Lower Lachine Road and Chemin de la Rivière-Saint-Pierre, and decided to found the village of Rivière-Saint-Pierre. Chartered by the government of Quebec, it became the municipality of Verdun the following year. Settlement had been hampered due to frequent flooding, but a dyke was built starting in 1896; its completion resulted in a population boom. The dyke itself became host to Verdun's popular Boardwalk, before land reclamation in the 70s led to the expansion of the waterfront park along the whole length of Verdun's riverbank.
The first Église Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs (now part of the school of the same name) was built in 1899, followed by a combined town hall, fire hall, and police station in 1908. The tramway also arrived in 1899, connecting Verdun to downtown. A larger Église Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs was built in 1914.
20th Century
![Moving Day](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Moving_Day._4th_Ave._Verdun_BAnQ_P48S1P02642.jpg)
In 1881, the Montreal Hospital for the Insane was founded as a Protestant counterpart to the Catholic Hôpital Saint-Jean-de-Dieu (now Hôpital Louis-H.-Lafontaine) east of the city. It would be built on two farms, purchased in 1887 and 1907, in the western end of Verdun. Affiliated with
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
in 1946, it was renamed the Douglas Hospital in 1965.
Today, not only is it one of Verdun's largest public institutions, but its campus is one of the borough's most important greenspaces.
Verdun became a town in 1907 and a city in 1912. Between 1911 and 1924 the population tripled and urbanization expanded rapidly "westward" (according to
"Montreal directions" - actually due southward), and the farms were divided for residential use. The Moffat area west of rue Desmarchais was built in with "plexes"—the typical Montreal layered apartment—between 1920 and 1930, and the Crawford Park area in the far west of the town was built starting in 1945, in a more suburban style unlike the orthogonal grid used in the rest of Verdun.
The
Verdun Natatorium
The Verdun Natatorium is an Art Deco natatorium in Verdun, Quebec.
Origins
While the City of Montreal's official website states that the facility was built in 1930, the ''Verdun Guardian'' newspaper reported on the official opening on July 12, 19 ...
was built in 1930, the Verdun Hospital in 1932, and the
Verdun Auditorium
The Verdun Auditorium is an arena located in the borough of Verdun, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The building was constructed in 1938 and holds 4,114 seats. The largest arena in the west end of Montreal, the complex is also home to Arena Denis Sa ...
in 1938.
The municipality of ÃŽle-Saint-Paul, occupying what was by then universally known as
Nuns' Island or ÃŽle des SÅ“urs, was annexed to Verdun in 1956. Then a chiefly agricultural area, it was rapidly urbanized following the opening of the
Champlain Bridge in 1962, with development including contributions by the famous Modernist architect
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...
. Rapid development would continue to the present day, with the erosion of the sensitive natural woodland of the Domaine Saint-Pierre becoming an increasingly pressing concern.
![Bureau d'arrondissement de Verdun](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Bureau_d%27arrondissement_de_Verdun.jpg)
Back in Verdun proper, in the post-war period, the area around the church, along rue Wellington and rue de l'Église, became the nucleus of commercial development. A new city hall was built on Rue de Verdun in 1958. The Green Line of the
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, ...
was extended into Verdun in 1978, its construction delayed due to a collapse in rue Wellington during the construction of
De L'Église station. Besides De l'Église in downtown Verdun and
Verdun
Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department.
Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...
station in front of the town hall,
LaSalle station was built in vacant land in a former industrial area in the east of the borough, left vacant by the demolition of the vast British Munitions Supply Co. facilities; the Metro station would become the heart of a new residential area called La Poudrière after the munitions factories.
However, improved access to downtown Montreal meant a decline in local commerce. A program of subsidies and revitalization starting in the 1990s reinvigorated the rue Wellington commercial corridor.
Verduners voted 68% "no" in the
1980 sovereignty referendum and 59.6% "no" in the
1995 referendum. In 1992, Verduners voted 53.66% in favour of the
Charlottetown Accord
The Charlottetown Accord (french: Accord de Charlottetown) was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendum on October ...
.
21st Century
In 2002, the municipal
reorganization of Montreal
A corporate action is an event initiated by a public company that brings or could bring an actual change to the securities—equity or debt—issued by the company. Corporate actions are typically agreed upon by a company's board of directors ...
saw the city of Verdun become a borough of Montreal.
The majority of Verduners chose not to hold a demerger referendum in 2004-2006.
Earlier in the 20th century, Verdun was a partially
dry community
Dry or dryness most often refers to:
* Lack of rainfall, which may refer to
**Arid regions
**Drought
* Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages
* Dry humor, deadpan
* Dryness (medical)
* ...
, with taverns, night clubs and cabarets banned since 1965, and alcohol sales restricted to restaurants with liquor licences, grocery stores and the
SAQ. In December 2010, the borough announced that it was planning to allow some microbreweries or performance spaces to sell alcohol.
The ban was eventually lifted entirely in 2013, and today Verdun is home to many thriving
microbreweries and bars.
In recent years, Verdun, along with the neighbouring
Le Sud-Ouest borough, have experienced rapid
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
and social change. Long considered to be one of the city's poorer neighbourhoods, it's today one Montreal's most desirable areas to live, with a large influx of students and professionals arriving in the last decade.
In 2019, Verdun hosted a part of the
Jazz Fest
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of vi ...
on
Wellington Street, to much praise from the public and critics.
In 2020, it was even listed as the eleventh "coolest" neighbourhood in the world by
Time Out
Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to:
Time
* Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team
* Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken
* Timeout (computing), an enginee ...
magazine, in stark contrast to its twentieth century self.
Geography
The borough of Verdun is partly located 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 ...
, as well as including all of
Nuns' Island.
The Montreal Island part of the borough is defined on its eastern side by the
St. 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, connecting ...
, and on the west by the
Canal de l'Aqueduc The Canal de l'Aqueduc is an open-air aqueduct canal on the Island of Montreal in Quebec, Canada, serving part of the drinking water needs of the city of Montreal.
The canal was built in 1853 by a commission headed by City Councillor Edwin Atwate ...
. Several bridges cross the canal to connect Verdun with
Ville-Émard
Ville-Émard is a neighbourhood located in the Sud-Ouest borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Overview
Geography
This neighbourhood is bordered by the Aqueduct Canal to the east as far north as Desmarchais Boulevard where it meets Côte-Saint- ...
and
Côte-Saint-Paul
Côte-Saint-Paul is a neighbourhood located in the Southwest Borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
History
The concession of côte Saint-Paul was granted by the Sulpician Order, seigneurs of the Island of Montreal, in 1662. It extended northwa ...
. To the south it extends to Avenue Gérald and
LaSalle. To the north it extends to
Pointe-Saint-Charles and the
Quebec Autoroute 15 which connects it to Nun's Island.
Neighbourhoods within Verdun include;
*Desmarchais-Crawford (also called West Verdun), which includes dense early 20th-century residential development, the sprawling Douglas Hospital campus, and the post-war suburban area of Crawford Park
*Wellington-De l'Église, the borough's commercial and institutional downtown surrounded with historically working-class blocks of two- and three-story "plexes" (duplexes, 3-, 4-, 5- and 6-plexes) with their characteristic winding staircases and balconies
*L'ÃŽle-des-SÅ“urs (Nuns' Island), located offshore, home to upscale condo developments and BCE's headquarters
Demographics
Demographics of Verdun:
[http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/MTL_STATS_FR/MEDIA/DOCUMENTS/PROFIL_SOCIOD%C9MO_VERDUN%202016.PDF ]
![Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs-Verdun](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs-Verdun.jpg)
In the early part of the 20th century, Verdun had a majority
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 language ...
population and until 1954 — when the 80,000 residents made Verdun the third largest city in Quebec— the anglophone and francophone populations were roughly equal. It is now about two-thirds
French-speaking
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
.
Economy
![Bell Campus Montreal 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Bell_Campus_Montreal_01.jpg)
Verdun was historically a chiefly residential area, however, the late 1990s and 2000s saw a gradual revival of the
Wellington Street commercial artery, with several shops, restaurants, and cafés opening.
By 2020, Wellington was considered one of the city's trendiest streets, comparable to
Mount Royal Avenue in the
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 ha ...
,
and hosted part of the
Jazz Fest
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of vi ...
in 2019.
Bell Canada
Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in t ...
is also headquartered in Verdun, on the northern tip of Nuns' Island.
Other commercial areas include Verdun Street, Church Street (rue de l'Eglise) and Commerce Place (Place du Commerce) on Nuns' Island.
Infrastructure
Transport
Verdun is served by Quebec Autoroutes
15 and
20, which skirt the northern and eastern edges of its mainland portion and merge with
Autoroute 10 on Nuns' Island. The island is connected to the Island of Montreal and the South Shore via the
Champlain Bridge.
The borough is contemplating the possibility of building a service bridge between the Island of Montreal and Nuns' Island. The bridge would connect Boul. Marguerite-Bourgeoys on Nuns' Island with Rue Galt in mainland Verdun. It would be accessible only to city services, public transit, cyclists, and pedestrians.
The borough is served by the
Green Line
Green Line may refer to:
Places Military and political
* Green Line (France), the German occupation line in France during World War II
* Green Line (Israel), the 1949 armistice line established between Israel and its neighbours
** City Line ( ...
of the Montreal Metro:
Verdun
Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department.
Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...
,
De l'Église, and
LaSalle stations, along with
Jolicoeur station immediately across the aqueduct in
Ville-Émard
Ville-Émard is a neighbourhood located in the Sud-Ouest borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Overview
Geography
This neighbourhood is bordered by the Aqueduct Canal to the east as far north as Desmarchais Boulevard where it meets Côte-Saint- ...
. All of these stations have been in service since 1978. Other than the metro, there is also the bus.
The following bus routes pass through Verdun: 12 Ile Des Soeurs, 21 Place Du Commerce (runs AM rush only),37 Jolicoeur, 58 Wellington, 61 Wellington, 71 Du Centre, 107 Verdun, 108 Bannantyne and 112 Airlie.
Health
Significant medical facilities in the borough include the
Douglas Mental Health University Institute
The Douglas Mental Health University Institute (french: Institut universitaire en santé mentale Douglas; formerly the Douglas Hospital and originally the Protestant Hospital for the Insane) is a Canadian psychiatric hospital located in the borou ...
(commonly known as "the Douglas"), a
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
psychiatric hospital.
The francophone
Hôpital de Verdun, affiliated with the
Université de Montréal Faculty of Medicine, is also in the borough.
Recreation
Recreational facilities include the
Verdun Auditorium
The Verdun Auditorium is an arena located in the borough of Verdun, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The building was constructed in 1938 and holds 4,114 seats. The largest arena in the west end of Montreal, the complex is also home to Arena Denis Sa ...
, a hockey arena and concert hall, the home of the now defunct
Junior de Montréal team.
Expansive parks (L'Honorable-George-O'Reilly, Mgr-J-A-Richard, and Arthur-Therrien) with bike paths line the banks of the St. Lawrence River, making Verdun one of the few parts of the Island of Montreal to open onto the whole length of its waterfront, a legacy of the flooding that once impeded settlement. The waterfront also features the Verdun Natatorium, public-access docks and a marina, an open-air dancing shell, a
lawn bowling green, and football, baseball, and soccer fields. In 2019, a public beach was opened behind the Auditorium.
Cycling is also available along the Canal de l'Aqueduc on the opposite edge of the borough; on rue de Verdun; and around and through Nuns' Island, including the cycle-accessible Champlain Bridge ice structure connecting to
ÃŽle Notre-Dame and the south shore.
Another of the borough's major green spaces, the Domaine Saint-Paul (Boisé de l'Île-des-Sœurs), preserves the natural woodland of Nuns' Island, home to more than a hundred species of birds as well as the scarce
brown snake. Trails lead through the woodland. The campus of the Douglas Hospital is also a major green space open to the public.
The borough's community centres are the Centre communautaire Marcel-Giroux, near the borough hall; the Centre communautaire Elgar on Nuns' Island; and the Centre culturel de Verdun, in the western part of the borough. The latter two facilities include public libraries and art exhibition spaces.
Government
Municipal
Verdun is governed by a borough council consisting of the borough mayor and of one city councillor and two borough councillors elected by each of two council districts, for a total of seven members. The borough mayor and the two city councillors represent Verdun on
Montreal City Council
The Montreal City Council (french: Conseil municipal de Montréal) is the governing body in the mayor–council government in the city of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the ...
.
As of the
November 7, 2021 Montreal municipal election, the current borough council consists of the following councillors:
Federal and provincial
The borough is part of the federal ridings of
LaSalle—Émard—Verdun
LaSalle—Émard—Verdun is a federal electoral district in Montreal, Quebec. It was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally defined in the 2013 representation order. It came into effect upon the call o ...
and
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 ...
and is coextensive with the provincial riding of
Verdun
Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department.
Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...
.
Education
Primary and secondary schools
![Beurling Academy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Beurling_Academy.jpg)
The ''
Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys
The Marguerite-Bourgeoys School Board (') was a French language public School Board on Montreal Island, Quebec, Canada. Its headquarters was in the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal. Its education centre was in LaSalle, also in Montreal. It was ...
'' (CSMB) operates Francophone public schools.
Adult education centres include:
* ''Centre d'éducation des adultes Champlain''
Professional development centres include:
* ''Centre de formation professionnelle de Verdun''
* ''Collège d’informatique et d’administration Verdun-LaSalle''
Secondary schools include:
* ''
École secondaire Monseigneur-Richard
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
''
Primary schools include:
* ''Chanoine-Joseph-Théorêt''
* ''ÃŽle-des-Soeurs''
* ''Lévis-Sauvé''
* ''Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde''
* ''Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix''
* ''Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes''
* ''Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs''
The
Lester B. Pearson School Board
The Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB, french: Commission scolaire Lester-B.-Pearson, CSLBP) is one of the largest school boards on the island of Montreal and one of the nine English school boards in the province of Quebec. It is headquartere ...
(LBPSB) operates Anglophone public schools.
*
Beurling Academy (secondary school)
* Verdun Elementary School and Riverview Elementary School (share the same attendance zone)
Prior to 1998
Commission des écoles catholiques de Verdun Commission des écoles catholiques de Verdun was a Roman Catholic school district headquartered in Verdun, Quebec.
It was dissolved after 1998. Currently Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys operates secular Francophone schools in Verdun, while ...
operated Roman Catholic schools of all language backgrounds.
Public libraries
The
Montreal Public Libraries Network operates the ÃŽle des SÅ“urs Branch and the Verdun Branch in Verdun.
Notable people
*
Jim Bartlett, hockey player, born in Verdun in 1932
*
George Frederick Beurling, Canada's most decorated and successful WW2 fighter ace, born in Verdun in 1921
*
Mike Bossy
Michael Dean Bossy (January 22, 1957April 15, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. He spent his entire NHL career, which lasted from 1977 to 1987, with the Islanders, and ...
, hockey player, born in Verdun in 1957
*
Scotty Bowman, hockey coach, born in Verdun in 1933
*
Frederick "Skippy" Burchell hockey player, born in Verdun 1933
*
Ian Clyde
Ian Clyde (born May 15, 1956 in Verdun, Quebec) is a retired boxer from Canada, who represented his native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics. After defeating Charlie Magri of Great Britain, he was defeated in the quarterfinals of the men's flywe ...
, boxer, born in Verdun in 1956
*
Norman Dawe
Robert Norman Dawe (October 18, 1898January 4, 1948) was a Canadian sports executive. He originated as an ice hockey referee for minor ice hockey games in Verdun, Quebec, before becoming involved in the administrative aspect of sports. He was ...
(1898–1948), Canadian sports executive
*
John Dunning, film producer, born in Verdun in 1927
*
David Fennario
David William Fennario, (born David Wiper, 26 April 1947) is a Canadian playwright best known for '' Balconville'' (1979), his bilingual dramatization of life in working-class Montreal, for which he won the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award. A ...
, Playwright and performer.
*
Maynard Ferguson
Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...
, trumpet player and band leader
*
Denis Juneau
Denis Juneau (September 30, 1925 – October 6, 2014) was a Canadian painter and a leading figure in the Canadian plasticien movement.
Biography
Juneau was born in Verdun, Quebec, Canada in 1925. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts de Montr ...
, artist born in Verdun in 1925
*
Ron Lapointe
Ron Lapointe (November 12, 1949 – March 23, 1992) was a Canadian ice hockey coach.
Lapointe grew up in Verdun, Quebec. He was a product of the junior league QMJHL and served as a head coach of the Shawinigan Cataractes. He later worked as an ...
, hockey player and coach, born in Verdun in 1949
*
Bobby Lee
Robert Lee Jr. (born September 17, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. From 2001 to 2009, Lee was a cast member on ''MADtv'', and he co-starred in the ABC single-camera sitcom series ''Splitting Up Together'' alongside ...
, ice hockey player
*
René Lépine
René G. Lépine (born October 23, 1929 – April 18, 2012) was a Canadian real estate developer and philanthropist. Lépine was the chairman of Groupe Lépine, a real estate development and investment firm he founded in 1953. He is widely consid ...
, real-estate developer & businessman, born in Verdun
*
Rick Martin, hockey player, born 1951 in Verdun
*
Lise Payette, journalist and politician, born in Verdun in 1931
*
Ron Piché
Ronald Jacques Piché (May 22, 1935 – February 3, 2011) was a Canadian professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Braves, Los Angeles Angels and St. Louis Cardinals. A native of Verdun, Quebec, he ...
, baseball player, born in Verdun in 1935
*
Joe Poirier
John Joseph Poirier (born July 30, 1937) was an all-star and Grey Cup champion football player in the Canadian Football League, CFL for twelve years with the Ottawa Rough Riders.
He played as a defensive back for the Riders and was a part of three ...
, football player, born in Verdun in 1937
*
Gilles Proulx
Gilles Proulx (born April 5, 1940) is a Canadian radio and television host in the province of Quebec. His radio career began in 1962, notably working for CHMP-FM and currently for Quebecor and Radio Ville-Marie. A strong Quebec nationalist, know ...
, radio host, born in Verdun in 1940
*
Yvon Robert, professional wrestler, born in Verdun in 1914
*
Denis Savard, hockey player, raised in Verdun
*
Dollard St. Laurent, hockey player, born in Verdun in 1929
*
Gino Soccio, Noted Disco guitarist, and producer, born in Verdun in 1955
*
Daniel Turp
Daniel Turp (born April 30, 1955) is a professor of constitutional and international law at the Université de Montréal in Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He served as a Bloc Québécois Member of Parliament (1997–2000) and as a Parti Quà ...
, politician, member of the National Assembly, born in Verdun in 1955
*
Stéphane Venne
Stéphane Venne (born July 2, 1941 in Verdun, Quebec) is a French-Canadian songwriter and composer. He also worked as head of production for the Canadian arm of Barclay Records and as a radio station executive. He composed music for several film ...
, composer, born in Verdun in 1941
*
Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré, Quebec's first black female judge, born in Verdun in 1942
*
Walter Young, runner, winner of the 1937 Boston marathon. He worked as a firefighter and was a captain with the Verdun fire department until his retirement in 1978
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 de ...
*
Municipal reorganization in Quebec
*''
Where I'm From'', a 2014 documentary film by Claude Demers about his childhood in Verdun
References
External links
Maison Nivard de Saint-Dizier museum and historic site.
{{coord, 45, 27, N, 73, 34, W, region:CA_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title
Boroughs of Montreal
Former municipalities in Quebec
Former cities in Quebec
Populated places established in 1671
Populated places disestablished in 2002
Quebec populated places on the Saint Lawrence River
1671 establishments in the French colonial empire
Irish-Canadian culture in Montreal
Gentrification in Canada
Hipster neighborhoods