Charron Island () is an island in the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

, the westernmost of the Îles de Boucherville archipelago, near Îles-de-Boucherville National Park to the northeast of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. It is part of the city of

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie, Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the South Shore (Montreal), south shore o ...

, and is connected to the mainland and the

Island of Montreal The Island of Montreal (, ) is an island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, which 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 island of the Hochelag ...

by the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge–Tunnel which carries

Quebec Autoroute 25 Autoroute 25 (or A-25, also called Autoroute Louis-H.-La Fontaine in Montreal) is an Autoroute (Quebec), Autoroute in the Lanaudière region of Quebec. It is currently long and services the direct north of Montreal's Metropolitan Area. A-25 has o ...

and the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

History

In 1672,

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

ceded Charron Island (then called "Île Notre-Dame") to governor of

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

René Gaultier, who became ''

seigneur A seigneur () or lord 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. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

'' of Varennes. When signing the concession act,

intendant An intendant (; ; ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Success ...

Jean Talon annexed the island to the fief Du Tremblay. In 1689, Gaultier's wife (the daughter of Pierre Boucher) ceded the island to their daughter Madeleine Le-Villier, and the island came to be called Île Madeleine. From 1690 to 1753, the island changed hands several times. First sold to Louis Lamoureux, it was then acquired three years later by Prudent Bougret dit Dufort, causing the name to change to Île Dufort. Then, by marrying Marie-Joseph Lamoureux, daughter of Louis Lamoureux, François Charron inherited half the island, and the western part went to the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

s. In 1815, the

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

general surveyor Joseph Bouchette listed the island on one of his maps as Île Charron, but the name became official only in 1950, being interchangeably called Île Dufort and Île Charron before that. On March 11, 1967, the opening of

Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel Louis-Hippolyte may refer to: * Joseph Louis Hippolyte Bellangé (1800–1866), French painter * Louis-Hippolyte Boileau (1878–1948), French architect * Louis Hippolyte Bouteille (1804–1881), French ornithologist * Louis Hippolyte Gache, 19th c ...

took the island out of its isolation by providing a direct link to the cities of

and

, and a four-star hotel was subsequently built. Charron Island also became the main access road to the Îles de Boucherville archipelago. The earthwork involved in building the bridge resulted in Charron and nearby Sainte-Marguerite Island becoming virtually a single island. In 1984, Îles-de-Boucherville National Park was created to encompass most of the archipelago, stopping at the former Sainte-Marguerite Island channel. Five years later the

Government of Quebec The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to refer to the executive of the day (i.e. Minister of the Crown, mini ...

bought from the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

the rest of the Island that they still owned for dollars, and later ceded the island to the city of

for the purpose of creating a park and green space.

Controversy

In 1988, Desjardins Financial Security acquired a substantial portion of Charron Island. The next year, the city of Longueuil signed an agreement with the financial group to build a housing project of 2,500 units; the construction would be performed by a subsidiary of Lavalin. The project involved the construction of buildings on an area of 22 hectares, much of which is covered by a forest of cottonwood, red ash, black willow and

American elm ''Ulmus americana'', generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America. The trees can live for several hundred years. It is a very hardy species that can ...

. In response to this project, an association of citizens was formed to protect the island and managed to stop the progress of the project. Only three buildings currently exist on Île Charron, the Hôtel Gouverneur, St-Laurent water treatment plant, and a summer theatre. According to André Porlier, Director General of the Conseil régional de l'environnement de Montréal, "the scarcity of forested areas in the St. Lawrence corridor, Charron Island provides a great potential as a haven for migratory and nesting birds". The current owner of the land coveted by developers is Luc Poirier, but there are ongoing talks between the Government of Quebec and the Desjardins Group.

Notes

{{Reflist Hochelaga Archipelago Longueuil Landforms of Montérégie River islands of Quebec Islands of the Saint Lawrence River

History

Controversy

See also

Notes