Bois-des-Filion () is an off-island suburb 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 ...

, located in

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, to the

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

of Montreal. Historically, hundreds of families annually travelled to this region seasonally to experience the

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

forests; however, the

tourist industry Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

is currently a minor source of income for the city. The primary language spoken by its citizens is French, and the primary source of employment is general

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

Origin of the name

The name ''Filion'' is derived from the

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

of Antoine Feuillon, a local carpenter who could neither read nor write, and thus was unable to correct any errors in the spelling of his name as the first records were kept. Antoine Feuillion was the son of Michel Feuillon, a captain of the

Musketeers of the Guard The Musketeers of the military household of the King of France ( or ''compagnie des mousquetaires du roi''), also known as the Musketeers of the Guard () or King's Musketeers (), were an elite fighting company of the military branch of the Maiso ...

s during the reign of the "Sun King",

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 ...

before his immigration to

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, 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 Kingdom of Great Br ...

. This town is named ''Bois'' des Filion because of the beautiful maple woods bordering it; ''le bois'' being French for "the woods". When the city was newly founded, one had to follow a path through these woods and ford a small river to enter the city.

History

This small town has a rich cultural history rooted in the legend of the lords,

Céloron de Blainville Céloron de Blainville is a French family of officers and colonial administrators, who notably played a role in New France beginning in the 17th century. One member, Pierre Joseph Céloron de Blainville, is the subject of a folk song by Robert Sc ...

and Lepage of Holy-Claire. Below are some important dates. *1684 - The first Filion migrates to Canada *1913 - The arrival of the Parish from the Abbot De Bray *1945 - An association of citizens is formed and the process of becoming an official city is begun *1949 - Bois-des-Filion becomes officially recognized as a city of Quebec and the first mayor is named, Joseph Germain. *1955 - The second largest

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

in the province is erected on Notre-Dame hill to celebrate the 10 year anniversary since the first association of citizens was formed. *1980 - It became a municipality called ''Ville de Bois-des-Filion'' (City of Bois-des-Filion)

Demographics

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 ...

, Bois-des-Filion 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.

Government

Education

The

Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie-des-Mille-Îles The Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie-des-Mille-Îles (CSSMI) is a former francophone school district in the Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. It comprises several primary schools and high schools across municipalities in the Laurentides reg ...

(CSSMI) operates Francophone public schools. The territory has the following schools: *

École secondaire Rive-Nord École or Ecole 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 * Éco ...

* École Le Rucher pavillon Félix-Leclerc Most students are zoned to Le Rucher, secondaire Hubert-Maisonneuve in

Rosemère Rosemère () is an affluent suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the north shore of the Rivière des Mille Îles in the Thérèse-De Blainville Regional County Municipality. The town is noted for its green look, due to the high ...

(for lower secondary), and Rive-Nord (for upper secondary). Some are zoned to École Marie-Soleil-Tougas in Terrebonne, École Le Carrefour in

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

, and

École secondaire du Harfang École or Ecole 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 * Éco ...

Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines () is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, northwest of the city of Montreal in the Thérèse-De Blainville Regional County Municipality, in the region of Laurentides. Its population was 14,990 during the census of 201 ...

Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board The Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board (SWLSB, , CSSWL) is a school board headquartered in Rosemère, Quebec in Greater Montreal. It officially came into existence in July 1998 when English-language schools from eight former school boards were amalg ...

operates Anglophone public schools: * McCaig Elementary School in

Rosemère High School Rosemere High School (RHS) was built in 1962 of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board is a high school located in the town of Rosemère, Québec, Rosemère, Québec, Canada. It is housed in a two-story structure with enrollment of approximately 1,2 ...

in RosemèreRosemere High School Zone
."

. Retrieved on December 8, 2014.

Notable residents

Terry Farnsworth Terry Farnsworth (born 27 August 1942) is a Canadian former Olympic judoka. Born in Portland, Maine, he represented Canada in international judo competitions. He won the Canadian under-93 kg national championship in both 1972 and 1973, and compe ...

(born 1942), Olympic judoka * Isabelle Hayeur (born 1969), visual artist * Serge Ménard (born 1941), politician

References

External links

Ville de Bois-des-Filion ''(French)''

{{authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Incorporated places in Laurentides Greater Montreal