Côte-des-Neiges (, ) is a
neighbourhood
A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...
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 ...
, Quebec, Canada. It is located at the geographic centre of 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 ...
on the western slope of
Mount Royal
Mount Royal (, ) is a mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The city's name is derived from the mountain's name.
The mountain is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentian M ...
and is part of the borough of
Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (, ) is a Montreal borough, borough (''arrondissement'') of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The borough was created following the 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec, 2002 municipal reorganization of M ...
.
History
Historically, the original settlement, the Village of Côte-des-Neiges, was founded in 1862 and annexed by Montreal in two parts in 1908 and 1910.
In 1876, land owner and farmer
James Swail began residential subdivisions on the eastern side of Decelles Avenue. In 1906, a large housing development was started in the area, called Northmount Heights, built by developer Northmount Land Company. Much of this area has been expropriated by the
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...
.
Geographically it was bordered by Decelles Avenue to the north east and the
Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery
Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery (, ) is a rural cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which was founded in 1854. The entrance and the grounds run along a part of Côte-des-Neiges Ro ...
to the south east,
Westmount
Westmount () is a city on the Island of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is an enclave of the city of Montreal, with a population of 19,658 as of the 2021 Canadian census.
Westmount is home to schools, an arena, a pool, a public li ...
to the southwest and situated on the confluence of
Côte-des-Neiges Road
Côte-des-Neiges Road (officially in ) is a street in Montreal, home to Plaza Côte-des-Neiges. It is served by Métro Côte-des-Neiges and two bus lanes. BIXI Montréal, BIXI bike rental is also available. It extends from the intersection of She ...
and
Queen Mary Road. It was one of the last areas of the city of Montreal to be developed and urbanized. Up until
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
it remained a village surrounded by working farms to the north and west. A ski hill to the south near present-day Ridgewood Avenue at the foot of the mountain and present day
Saint Joseph's Oratory, was once used regularly by the Montreal Ski Club into the 1940s.
Demographics
Today, the neighbourhood has a large immigrant and student population, and is one of the most densely populated and ethnically diverse neighbourhoods in Canada. With over 100 different ethnic communities, predominantly:
Québécois, Filipino,
West Indian (
Black Canadians
Black Canadians () are Canadians of full or partial Afro-Caribbean or sub-Saharan African descent.
Black Canadian settlement and immigration patterns can be categorized into two distinct groups. The majority of Black Canadians are descendants ...
), South Asian (
Tamils
The Tamils ( ), also known by their endonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian peoples, Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil language is o ...
and
Bengalis
Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym and exonym, endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divi ...
), Jewish, Latin American, Iranian, Chinese, Arab, Vietnamese and most recently Eastern European and African. It is one of the few Montreal neighbourhoods where neither the French nor English language dominate. Both national languages are spoken equally, along with many others by a high number of multilingual speakers.
Education

The ''
Centre de services scolaire de Montréal'' (CSSDM) operates Francophone public schools. For instance:
* École primaire des Nations
* École primaire Félix-Leclerc
* École primaire Iona
The
English Montreal School Board
The English Montreal School Board (official name: Commission scolaire English-Montréal English-Montréal School Board; CSEM or EMSB) is one of five public school boards and one of two English-language school boards on the island of Montreal in Q ...
(EMSB) operates Anglophone public 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 ...
operates the Côte-des-Neiges library and the ''Bibliothèque interculturelle''.
The main campus of
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...
and its two schools
HÉC Montréal and
Polytechnique Montréal are located within the neighbourhood.
Points of interest
The most notable institutions in Côte-des-Neiges are
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...
,
Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf,
Saint-Justine's Hospital, the
Jewish General Hospital,
St. Mary's Hospital,
Plaza Côte-des-Neiges
This is a list of small shopping centres (mostly neighbourhood shopping centres) in the island of Montreal.
*A neighbourhood shopping centre is an industry term in North America for a shopping centre with of gross leasable area, typically anch ...
, and
Saint Joseph's Oratory (the large domed basilica, perched above the neighbourhood, which is by far its most important tourist attraction).
Metro stations
*
Orange Line
**
Snowdon
Snowdon (), or (), is a mountain in Snowdonia in North Wales. It has an elevation of above sea level, which makes it both the highest mountain in Wales and the highest in the British Isles south of the Scottish Highlands. Snowdon i ...
**
Côte-Sainte-Catherine
**
Plamondon
**
Namur
Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration.
Namur stands at the confl ...
**
De La Savane
*
Blue Line
**
Snowdon
Snowdon (), or (), is a mountain in Snowdonia in North Wales. It has an elevation of above sea level, which makes it both the highest mountain in Wales and the highest in the British Isles south of the Scottish Highlands. Snowdon i ...
**
Côte-des-Neiges
**
Université-de-Montréal
**
Édouard-Montpetit
Notable people
*
André Bouchard - environmentalist, grew up in Côte-des-Neiges
*
Normand Brathwaite - actor and comedian, born in Côte-des-Neiges
*
Napoléon Charbonneau - lawyer, lived in Côte-des-Neiges
*
John Hamilton Fulton - banker, born in Côte-des-Neiges
*
Kris Joseph - basketball player, grew up in Côte-des-Neiges
*
Alexander Julien - musician, member of
Vision Eternel, born in Côte-des-Neiges
*
Marie-Anne-Marcelle Mallet - nun, born in Côte-des-Neiges
*
David Ross McCord - lawyer, lived in Côte-des-Neiges
*
Pierre Nadeau
Pierre Nadeau (; 19 December 1936 – 3 September 2019) was a Canadian journalist, television presenter and producer. He began in journalism as a radio reporter in 1956, inspired by his father's work with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Rad ...
- journalist, grew up in Côte-des-Neiges
*
Léa Roback - trade unionist, died in Côte-des-Neiges
*
Sugar Sammy - comedian and actor, grew up in Côte-des-Neiges
*
Justin Trudeau - politician, owned a home in Côte-des-Neiges until 2013
*
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau - television host, owned a home in Côte-des-Neiges until 2013
*
Xue Yiwei - writer, resident in Côte-des-Neiges
*
Arthur Yale, politician, cofounder of
Plateau-Mount RoyalLa presse
, 8 mars 1917, jeudi 8 mars 1917, p. 14
References
External links
Town of Montreal, Statistics 2006
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cote-Des-Neiges
Neighbourhoods in Montreal
Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce