Beaconsfield is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

on 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 ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada, part of the

Greater Montreal Greater Montreal (, ) is the most populous metropolitan area in Quebec and the second most populous in Canada after Greater Toronto. In 2015, Statistics Canada identified Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as with a population of 4,02 ...

region locally referred to as the

West Island The West Island (, ) is the unofficial name given to the city, towns and boroughs at the western end of the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. It is generally considered to consist of the Lakeshore municipalities of Lachine (specific ...

. It is a residential community located on the north shore of

Lac Saint-Louis Lake Saint-Louis (, ) is a lake in southwestern Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence and Ottawa River, Ottawa rivers. The Saint Lawrence Seaway passes through the lake. Lake St. Louis is a widening of th ...

, bordered on the west by

Baie-D'Urfé Baie-D'Urfé (, ; previously spelled Baie d'Urfé or Baie d'Urfee) is an Greater Montreal, on-island suburb of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is part of the West Island area of the Island of Montreal. As part of the 2002–2006 municipal reorganiz ...

, north by Kirkland and east by

Pointe-Claire Pointe-Claire (, ) is a Quebec local municipality within the Urban agglomeration of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in Canada. It is entirely developed, and land use includes residential, light manufacturing, and retail. As of the 2021 cen ...

. Incorporated in 1910, named in honour of

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

, Earl of Beaconsfield, Prime Minister of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and close confidant of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, the city's historical roots go back as far as 1698. Beaconsfield, in its current form, was developed as a cottage community by affluent Montreal residents. Over the decades, the city has transformed from summer homes, to year-round residents, and has flourished. The population of Beaconsfield, as of the

Canada 2021 Census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

, is 19,277. While the population is predominantly

anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

, 77% of residents speak both

official languages of Canada The official languages of Canada are English and French, which "have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada," according to Canada's constitution. "Offici ...

. Most residents live in

single-family home A single-family detached home, also called a single-detached dwelling, single-family residence (SFR) or separate house is a free-standing residential building. It is defined in opposition to a multi-family residential dwelling. Definitions ...

s, though there are residents of

townhouses A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residenc ...

and apartment buildings.

History

In 1678, the

Sulpician Order The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (; PSS), also known as the Sulpicians, is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, where it was founded. The members of the Society add t ...

, who owned the Island of Montreal at the time, granted the first concession in this area to Jean Guenet, one of the main merchants of Ville-Marie and tax collector for the island's Seigneurs. Guenet named his concession, located at Pointe Beaurepaire or Thompson Point but now known as Pointe à Quenet, "Beau Repaire". Following the

Great Peace of Montreal The Great Peace of Montreal () was a peace treaty between New France and 39 First Nations of North America that ended the Beaver Wars. It was signed on August 4, 1701, by Louis-Hector de Callière, governor of New France, and 1300 representati ...

Treaty in 1701, permanent settlement began that led to farming communities along

Lake Saint-Louis Lake Saint-Louis (, ) is a lake in southwestern Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa rivers. The Saint Lawrence Seaway passes through the lake. Lake St. Louis is a widening of the St. Lawrence River in the Hochela ...

. In 1713, the Parish of St-Joachim de la Pointe Claire was created, which included the present territory of the cities of Beaconsfield, Kirkland and

. In 1855, the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...

was built through the area, and the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

in the 1880s. These brought summer residents from Montreal and the pioneer farming settlement began to transform to a summer cottage resort. The name Beaconsfield is first attributed to John Henry Menzies who in 1870 bought a country estate then known as "Le Bocage" (originally built by Paul Urgèle Gabriel Valois in 1810). He renamed it in 1877 after Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, who was his friend. In time, this name was also used for its train station (which opened in 1879), golf club (opened in 1902), and the Post Office (opened in 1904). The City (''

Ville ''Ville'' is a French word meaning "city" or "town", but its meaning in the Middle Ages was "farm" (from Gallo-Romance VILLA < Latin '' villa rustica'') ...

'') of Beaconsfield was formed on June 30, 1910, when it split off from the Parish of Saint-Joachim de la Pointe-Claire. In the census of 1911, it had 375 persons, 60 families living in 60 houses. It grew slowly to 990 inhabitants by 1951. During the 1950s and 1960s, Beaconsfield rapidly developed as a residential suburb. By 1966, the last original farm concession began to be developed for residences. On March 19, 1966, Beaconsfield changed statutes from ''Ville'' to ''Cité'' ("city"), but on September 18, 1982, this was reverted. As part of the

2002–2006 municipal reorganization of Montreal Montreal was one of the cities in Quebec affected by the 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec. On January 1, 2002, all the municipalities on the island of Montreal were merged into the city of Montreal. However, following a change of ...

Beaconsfield and neighbouring Baie-D'Urfé became the borough of

Beaconsfield–Baie-D'Urfé Beaconsfield–Baie-D'Urfé is a former borough in the West Island area of Montreal, Quebec. It was composed of the municipalities of Beaconsfield and Baie-D'Urfé through a forced merger on January 1, 2002. On June 20, 2004, both Beaconsfield ...

and were merged into the city of Montreal. After a change of government, and the 2004 referendum, both Baie-D'Urfé and Beaconsfield voted to de-merge from Montreal. On January 1, 2006, they were reconstituted as independent municipalities. They still remain part of the

urban agglomeration of Montreal The urban agglomeration of Montreal (, ) is an Urban agglomerations of Quebec, urban agglomeration in Quebec, Canada. Coextensive with the List of regions of Quebec, administrative region of Montreal, it is a territory equivalent to a regional c ...

Demographics

According to the

Office québécois de la langue française The (, OQLF; ) is an agency of the Quebec provincial government charged with ensuring legislative requirements with respect to the right to use French are respected. Established on 24 March 1961 by the Liberal government of Jean Lesage, the ...

, Beaconsfield has been officially recognized as a bilingual municipality since 2005-11-02. In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Beaconsfield had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of −0.2% from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Economy

Local businesses: * Centre commercial Beaconsfield * Plaza Beaconsfield * Beaurepaire Village * Plaza Elm

Local government

Beaconsfield's local government consists of a mayor and six city councillors, each elected to represent one of the city's wards. The current mayor of Beaconsfield is Georges Bourelle, who has held the office since

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. Following the city's 2021 Municipal Election, the council consists of Bourelle and the following six councillors: *District 1 - Dominique Godin *District 2 - Martin St-Jean *District 3 - Robert Mercuri *District 4 - David Newell *District 5 - Roger Moss *District 6 - Peggy Alexopoulos

List of former mayors

List of former mayors: * Joseph Léonide Perron (1910–1916) * George W. Crowdy (1916–1918) * James S. Brierley (1918–1928) * James William Shaw (1928–1936) * Hugh Charles Hillrich (1936–1940) * Stanislauz Z.-J. Paquin (1940–1942) * Louis Émile Côté (1942–1948) * John E. H. Stethem (1948–1950, 1952–1956) * Llewelyn Paerry (1950–1952) * R. S. Turnham (1956–1959) * R. M. Gibb (1959–1960) * Edwin M. Briggs (1960–1982) * Patricia M. Rustad (1982–1990) * Roy Kemp (1990–2003) * Anne-Marie Parent (2003) * Ann Myles (2003–2005) * Bob Benedetti (2005–2009) * David Pollock (2009–2013) * Georges Bourelle (2013–present)

Sports and recreation

Beaconsfield has a number of parks and athletic facilities * The Recreation Centre, an indoor recreation complex, with a full-sized ice rink, semi-Olympic pool, gymnasium and youth centre. It is home to the Beaconsfield Bluefins, a competitive swim club that has trained athletes from beginner to national competition levels. It is also home to the Lakeshore Panthers, a Quebec minor hockey league, and the Beaconsfield Oldtimers Hockey Association. * Two private

yacht club A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...

s on municipal land: Beaconsfield Yacht Club and Lord Reading Yacht Club. * A number of neighbourhood parks, playgrounds, and playing fields, including numerous soccer fields, outdoor

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...

s, and

baseball field A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refer ...

s. Beaconsfield is part of the Lakeshore league, which has

sports team A sports team is a group of individuals who play a team sport together. The number of players in the group depends on the sport. The highest level of a sports team is a professional sports team. In professional sports, the athletes are very t ...

s that include

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

. * The Beaconsfield Rugby Football Club which is a member of the Fédération de Rugby du Québec (FRQ). * Four community pools that offer swim lessons and public swimming. * West Island Heritage Bicycle Trail * Elm Ave Bike Path *

Skate park A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, quarter pipe ...

located at the Beaconsfield Recreation Centre *A lawn bowling green behind Herb Linder Annex.

Parks and open spaces

* Beaconsfield Dog Park, near Angell Woods. * Angell Woods, a large old growth forest. * Christmas Park: baseball, tennis, and basketball during the summer and a hockey rink in the winter. * Windermere Park: Soccer, baseball, tennis, and basketball during the summer and a skating rink in the winter. * Centennial Beach: dog friendly * Centennial Park * Mouse Park * Saint James Park * Drummond * Beacon Hill Park: baseball, tennis, and swimming during the summer and a hockey rink and sledding hill in the winter. * City Lane Park * Heights Park

Local landmarks

* Village Beaurepaire, a commercial development in the heart of Beaconsfield which began in 1925 with the opening of a general store by Sidney Cunningham, the first president of the Beaconsfield Citizen's Association. Home to local bakeries, pubs, Marche Beaurepaire (a weekly farmers market), and shops. * The historic cultural centre, Centennial Hall, where exhibitions and concerts take place. * La Palette Art Gallery & Art School * Beaconsfield United Church, the heart of Beaconsfield’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community. * The Beaconsfield Library, with an extensive digital and print collection and excellent reference services. Established in 1951, the library was housed in a broom closet and bookmobile. Only in 1968 did it move to its present location thanks to the financial aid of City Council. *Herb Linder Annex, a community centre and rental space attached to the library and City Hall. *Heroes Park, honouring those who served.

Houses of Worship

*Faith Community Bible Church *Briarwood Presbyterian Church, founded 1963 *Beaconsfield United Church *St. Edmund of Canterbury Church, founded 1956 *Christ Church Beaurepaire *Holy Trinity Ghanaian Methodist Church *Iglesia Ni Christo

Transportation

Beaconsfield is served by the

Réseau de transport métropolitain Exo, stylized as exo and officially known as the (, RTM; ), is a public transport, public transport system in Greater Montreal, including the Island of Montreal, Laval, Quebec, Laval (Île Jésus), and communities along both the North Shore (L ...

(RTM) train system, with two stations,

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...

and Beaurepaire, on the Vaudreuil-Hudson line which ends in downtown

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 ...

. The city is also served by Société de transport de Montréal (STM) bus lines 200, 201, 211, 217, 221, 354, 361, 382, 401, 405, 411, and 425. Beaconsfield is also served directly by one major highway, Highway 20 (Autoroute 20) with two exits in Beaconsfield, exit 45 at Avenue Woodland, and exit 48 at Boulevard St-Charles. Access to Beaconsfield is also possible from the Highway 40 (Autoroute 40), exit Boulevard St-Charles - south (Sud).

Education

Education in Beaconsfield, as common in the Montreal area, is operated by school boards divided linguistically. There is separate boards for instruction in English (Anglophone) and French (Francophone).

Francophone

The '' Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys'' operates Francophone public schools, but were previously operated by the '' Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys'' until June 15, 2020. The change was a result of a law passed by the Quebec government that changed the school board system from denominational to

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

. Francophone primary schools: * École primaire Beaconsfield * École primaire Saint-Rémi Francophone special purpose school: * École primaire et secondaire John F. Kennedy

Anglophone

The Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB) operates Anglophone public schools in Beaconsfield. Anglophone vocational Education: * Gordon Robertson Centre Anglophone adult Education: * Place Cartier Adult Centre Anglophone secondary schools: * Beaconsfield High School Anglophone primary schools: * Beacon Hill Elementary School * Christmas Park Elementary School * St. Edmund Elementary School * Sherbrooke Academy Junior & Senior Schools * Clearpoint Elementary School in

serves some portions

Homicides

Spanning the decade between 1995 and 2006 multiple

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

s and murder-suicides took place inside homes that were all within of each other. * April 1995, Frank Toope, a retired

Anglican minister The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. ''Ministry'' commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the ''threefold order'' of bishops, priests and deacons. Anglican ministry incl ...

, and his wife Jocelyn were bludgeoned to death during a botched robbery by three youths — aged 13, 14 and 15. All three youths have since reoffended as adults. * May 2001, Margareth and Ed Fertuck were killed by their son, who died by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

after the event. * September 2001, John Bauer shot and killed his wife Helen, their three sons, Jonathan, Wesley and Justin, father-in-law Elmer Carroll and business partner Lucio Beccherini, over a three-day span before taking his own life after setting his house on fire. Their home was located on a street bordering Beaconsfield and Kirkland. * October 2006,

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

Dragolub Tzokovitch shot and killed his wife Mila Voynova, and two daughters, Iva and Alice, before taking his own life.

Notable residents

* Madeline-Ann Aksich, philanthropist and Order of Canada recipient * Alex Killorn, NHL player for the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

and 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup Champion, born in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

but raised in Beaconsfield. * Marc-Édouard Vlasic (born 1987), NHL Player for the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

. Born in

. Raised in Beaconsfield.

Animal protection

Beaconsfield Animal Services is enforced by the city's Municipal Patrol. A temporary holding pen is located at 303 A Beaconsfield Boulevard, a storage building behind Herb Linder Annex. Stray dogs are temporary held at 303 A Beaconsfield Boulevard and, if their owner cannot be found, are then brought to SPCA West, a no kill shelter. Beaconsfield was listed as a PETA Certified Compassionate City in 2016 for its animal protection bylaws, and is listed on The FurBearers website as one of the Canadian municipalities that has a trapping-related bylaw.

References and notes

External links

Official site of Beaconsfield
* Fro
collectionscanada.gc.ca
Gordon & Gotch's 1924 Map of the Island of Montreal
Beaconsfield is named on this map.
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Bilingual cities and towns in Quebec Island of Montreal municipalities