Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension 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 ...

'') in the city of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

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 ...

. It had a population of 143,853 according to the 2016 Census and a land area of . The borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension was created on January 1, 2002, following the municipal reorganization of Montreal. The borough includes the neighbourhoods of

Villeray Villeray is a neighbourhood in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough and is situated in the north-central part of the Island of Montreal. Origin of the name The village of Villeray took its ...

, Saint-Michel, and

Parc-Extension Park Extension (french: Links=no, Parc-Extension) is a neighbourhood in the city of Montreal, Montréal, Quebec, Québec. It is located in the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension and has a population of 33,800 and an area of 1.6&nb ...

History

Until the late Nineteenth century, the area that today comprises the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension was predominantly rural and dotted with farms. The inauguration of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

in 1878 and the arrival of electric streetcars in 1892 permitted the growth of

. It was also in this era that the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

immigrant community chose the neighbourhood as their preferred location. In the early Twentieth century,

Park Extension Park Extension (french: Links=no, Parc-Extension) is a neighbourhood in the city of Montréal, Québec. It is located in the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension and has a population of 33,800 and an area of 1.6 km² (400 acres ...

became

industrialized Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

, and a dozen

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

opened which led to the economic development of the area. Beginning in the 1940s, the exploitation of the Miron and Francon quarries attracted workers to Saint Michel and Park Extension. Construction of the

Metropolitan Expressway is a network of toll expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the . Most routes are grade-separated (elevated roads or tunnels) and central routes have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges that requ ...

was completed in 1959. It cut the area in two, but also attracted multiple industries, which opened along the expressway. In less than twenty years, the population of Saint Michel increased from 6,000 to 68,000 inhabitants. Jobs derived from competing industries along with the efficient transportation infrastructure resulted in strong demographic growth. The growth of the

manufacturing sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructio ...

, notably the

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry process Cotton manufacturi ...

, were incentives for new immigrants to settle in the borough. The borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension was created on January 1, 2002, following the municipal reorganization of Montreal. The borough includes three neighbourhoods that were part of Montreal before the reorganization:

, Saint-Michel, and

. The Saint-Michel neighbourhood was formerly an independent city known as

Saint-Michel-de-Laval Saint-Michel is a neighbourhood in the Montreal borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension. It is named for a colonial-era road in the neighbourhood. Its boundaries correspond to the former city of Ville Saint Michel, which was annexe ...

which was annexed to Montreal in 1968. Villeray was once also an autonomous municipality but has been part of the city of Montreal since 1905. Parc Extension left the parish of St-Laurent to join the city of Montreal in 1910.

Geography

Located in north central Montreal, the pipe-shaped borough is bordered by

Ahuntsic-Cartierville Ahuntsic-Cartierville ( (local accent)) is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The borough was created following the 2002 municipal reorganization of Montreal. It comprises two main neighbourhoods, Ahuntsic, ...

to the northwest,

Montreal North Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

to the northeast, Saint Leonard to the east,

Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie (formerly known as Rosemont and Rosemont—Petite-Patrie) is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979. Geography The district includes ...

to the southeast,

Outremont Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by fran ...

to the southwest, and

Mount Royal Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the ...

to the west. Saint-Michel is the easternmost neighbourhood of the borough, Park Extension is the westernmost neighbourhood and Villeray is in the centre.

Government

Municipal

The current borough mayor is Laurence Lavigne Lalonde of

Projet Montréal Projet Montréal (officially Projet Montréal - Équipe Valérie Plante) is a progressive, environmentalist municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 2004, it is led by Valérie Plante, and holds a majority of seats on M ...

. The borough is divided into four districts located in three different neighborhoods. The districts bear the same name as their respective neighborhood with the exception of François-Perreault which is part of the Saint-Michel and Villeray neighborhoods. * Saint-Michel * François-Perreault *

Borough council

Federal and provincial

The borough is divided among the following federal ridings: * Papineau *

Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel (formerly Saint-Léonard) is a federal electoral district within the City of Montreal in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988. Its population during the 2011 el ...

It is divided among the following provincial electoral districts: *

Laurier-Dorion Laurier-Dorion is a provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It consists of the neighbourhoods of Villeray and Park Extension in the city of Montreal. It was c ...

Viau Viau is a provincial electoral district in the city of Montreal in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It consists of the Districts of Saint-Michel and François-Perrault (east of Papineau Avenue) in the Bor ...

Demographics

The 2016 census found that 88% of the population only spoke one language at home. The five most common of these languages were French (57%),

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 ...

(10%),

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

(5.9%),

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

(3.25%) and

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

(2.9%). According to 2016 census, 48% of residents grew up learning a language other than French and English. Of these other languages, the most common are Spanish (8.5%), Arabic (6.35%), Creole languages (4.23%), Italian (4.1%) and Greek (3.25%).

Features

It is served by the

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

and

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

lines 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, ...

. It is traversed and partly delimited by Autoroute 40 (Metropolitan Aut.) and Autoroute 19 (Papineau Ave.) Attractions in the area include the old Park Avenue train station (now containing Parc Metro station and near the Parc commuter train station), Jarry Park, and TOHU, La Cité des arts du cirque (including the

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

and the École nationale du cirque). The former Miron and Francon

are also located here. The former studios of

CTV Montreal CFCF-DT (channel 12) is a television station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside Noovo flagship CFJP-DT (channel 35). Both stations share studios at ...

TQS Noovo is a Canadian French-language terrestrial television network owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The network has five owned-and-operated and three affiliated stations throughout Quebec, although it can also be seen over-the-air ...

, CFCF radio & CFQR-FM (now CKBE-FM) were located in the Parc Extension section of the borough. Today, the borough hall is at the former studios of those stations on 405 Ogilvy Avenue.

Education

The ''

Commission scolaire de Montréal The Commission scolaire de Montréal (CSM ''Montreal school board''), was a board from 1998 until 2020, as a result of a law passed by the Quebec government that changed the school board system from religious denomination to linguistic denominatio ...

'' (CSDM) operates French-language public schools. 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 ...

(EMSB) operates English-language schools. 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 A ...

operates the Le Prévost, Parc-Extension, and Saint-Michel libraries.

References

External links

Borough website
(in French)
Historical building of borough Villeray

Villeray Saint-Michel Parcextension
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension Boroughs of Montreal 2002 establishments in Quebec