Terrebonne () 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 ...

, in southwestern

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. It is located in the North Shore region of the Montreal area, north of Laval across the Rivière des Mille-Îles. This city is divided in three sectors, namely Lachenaie, La Plaine and Terrebonne. In the past, these sectors were distinct cities. However, on 22 August 2001, they merged under the name of ''Terrebonne''. According to the

2021 Canadian 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 ...

Terrebonne has a population of 119,944, making it Montreal's third largest suburb and the largest city on the North Shore.

History

The town of Lachenaie, which was founded in 1683 by Lord Charles Aubert de Lachenaye, is the oldest of the three towns that were merged. Some natives were already present on this territory at the time. The colonisation really started in 1647 when Lachenaie was merged with the Repentigny Seigniory. Louis Lepage de Ste-Claire, priest, canon, and the son of René Lepage de Sainte-Claire, acquired the Seigniory of Terrebonne on 2 September 1720. Abbot Louis Lepage de Ste-Claire built the first church in 1734 and the first manor in 1735. A few years later, Abbot Lepage equipped the town with both a saw mill and a flour mill. The philanthropist

Sophie Masson Sophie Masson is a French-Australian fantasy and children's author. Early life and education Sophie Masson was born in Indonesia of French parents who are of mixed ancestry (French, Basque, Spanish and Portuguese). Masson, the third in a f ...

was seigneuress of Terrebonne from 1847 to 1883. The town of La Plaine was founded in 1830 on fragments of other towns, namely

Mascouche Mascouche (; ) is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southern Quebec, Canada. The city is located on the Mascouche River within the Les Moulins Regional County Municipality and has a population of 51,183, ranking 20th among Quebec municipali ...

, Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Saint-Lin, and Terrebonne. At that time, the lords of Terrebonne and Lachenaie built the road named "chemin de la Grande Ligne" to join the two towns. It is now called the boulevard Laurier. In 1877, the rail system was developed and stimulated the economic growth. The village of Saint-Joachim was founded during that time, which was later, in 1920, to be renamed La Plaine. The first lord of Terrebonne was André Daulier-Deslandes, who was granted his title in 1673. Following the construction of the first wooden bridge in 1834, two main areas emerged. The commercial area was Terrebonne, while the agricultural one was Saint-Louis de Terrebonne. Terrebonne became incorporated as a city in 1860 and again in 1985 after the merger with the parish of Saint-Louis de Terrebonne. At the time of the municipal merger in late August 2001, Lachenaie had over 20,000 residents, La Plaine had 17,000 residents, and Terrebonne had almost 46,000 residents. This merger made Terrebonne the 10th largest city in

. Ten years later, the city had around 106,322 citizens on of land, according to the 2011 Canadian Census.

Geography

Terrebonne, like nearby Montréal city, has the same

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

( warm summer subtype,

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfb''), with warm or hot humid summers and cold winters. Temperature ranges in terrebone on average range from as low as -30°C (-23°F) and as high as 35°C (95°F) but those extremes are rare, the high of in August 1 1975, and a low of in January 15 1957 were recorded in Terrebonne

Climate

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population 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 ...

, Terrebonne 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.

Ethnicity

*Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses.

Language

Attractions

''Île-des-moulins''

The pre-industrial complex of the ''Île-des-moulins'' was amongst the most important ones in the province of Quebec during the 19th century. Although several infrastructures have degraded, a total of five buildings remain. The fourth lord of Terrebonne, Abbot Louis Lepage, had ordered the construction of the first flour mill in 1721 as well as the first saw mill around 1725. In 1803, the bakery was built and established in the village. The current saw and flour mills were built in 1804 and 1846, respectively. Four years following the construction of the flour mill that is currently standing at the ''Île-des-moulins'' to this day, the ''Moulin neuf'' (New Mill) was built in 1850. In addition, around the same time in 1850, the seigniory office was established. In 1973, the ''Île-des-moulins'' was classified as a historic site of national interest by 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 ...

''Moulin-Neuf'' dam

The ''Moulin-Neuf'' dam allows for the flow regulation of the

Rivière des Mille Îles The Rivière des Mille Îles (, "Thousand Islands River") is a channel of the Ottawa River in southwestern Quebec, Canada and runs into the Rivière des Prairies. It is long. It divides Île Jésus (the city of Laval) from the North Shore, ...

, as well as ice accumulation control in the spring. The first dam at the ''Île-des-moulins'' was built in 1721, following the establishment of the very first flour mill. This dam linked the ''Île-des-moulins'' to the '' Ile Saint-Jean'', passing through the small ''Île aux moutons'', located midway between the two islands in the

. In 1872, the Masson family ordered the construction of a new dam near the location of the current historical one. However, this dam was rebuilt in cement in the year 1890 for reinforcement and increased resilience. Nearly a century later, in 1972, the owner of the ''Île-des-moulins'' decided to destroy the dam with

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

due to

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing risk. As a result, the dam underwent severe damage, prompting the city of Terrebonne to acquire the island and classify it as a protected historical site in 1973. In 1979, the ''Ministère des Richesses naturelles du Québec'' ordered the reconstruction of the ''Moulin-Neuf'' dam, to which a pedestrian walkway was added to allow citizens, visitors, and tourists to walk from the ''Île-des-moulins'' to the larger Ile Saint-Jean. This new dam was built a certain distance away from the small ''Île aux moutons'', making the dam significantly longer than the initial ones. Riviere-des-Mille-Iles

Ecclesiastical architecture

The actual Saint-Louis-de-France Church in Old Terrebonne (''Vieux Terrebonne''), near the historical site of the ''Île-des-moulins'', was established in 1878, while the parish was founded in 1723 by Louis Lepage de Sainte-Claire, priest of the diocese of Quebec, parish priest of the ''Île Jésus'', and lord of the Seigniory of Terrebonne. The parish was part of the diocese of Saint-Jérôme. The current Saint-Louis-de-France Church built around the year 1878, the third since the foundation of the parish, was equipped with a Casavant organ in 1946. In 1880, parish priest Piché, informally known as the ''bon monsieur Piché'' ("Good Mister Piché" in English), exhumed the bodies buried in the basement of the old church in order to place them in the crypt of the new one.

Sports

The

Terrebonne Cobras The Terrebonne Cobras are a junior ice hockey team from Terrebonne, 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 th ...

are part of the QJHL.

Government

The Terrebonne City Council consists of the mayor and 16 councillors. Mathieu Traversy has been the mayor since 2021.

Infrastructure

Terrebonne is connected to Montreal's

Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

by commuter rail via the Terrebonne station of 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) Mascouche line. The city of Terrebonne is also equipped with a bus network, also operated by the RTM, which enables residents to reach several metro stations both in Laval and

, amongst many other locations. Some examples include bus line 30 (or 30G), which brings inhabitants of Terrebonne to the Radisson metro station on

Sherbrooke Street Sherbrooke Street (officially in ) is a major east–west artery and at in length, is the second longest street on the Island of Montreal, Canada. The street begins in the town of Montreal West, Quebec, Montreal West and ends on the extreme ...

East, bus line 19 (or 19G), which reaches Montmorency metro station in Laval, and bus line 25, whose terminal stop is at the Henri-Bourassa metro station.

Education

University

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 ...

has a small campus located near the Pierre Le Gardeur Hospital in the Lachenaie sector of the city of Terrebonne. There are also some courses given by the

Université du Québec à Montréal The (UQAM; ), is a French language, French-language public university, public research university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the system. UQAM was founded on April 9, 1969, by the government o ...

(UQÀM) in the Terrebonne sector, as well as the ''Centre universitaire de Lanaudière à Terrebonne'' affiliated with the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) located within the Cégep régional de Lanaudière à Terrebonne.

Colleges

The '' Cégep régional de Lanaudière'' network has established a collegial institution, namely the ', near , in the Terrebonne sector of the city of Terrebonne.

Vocational studies

The city of Terrebonne counts several vocational education centres. The ''Centre de formation professionnelle des moulins'' is located next to the Cégep régional de Lanaudière à Terrebonne in the Terrebonne sector.

Primary and secondary schools

French-language public schools in ''Terrebonne Ouest'' are operated by 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). Additionally, some schools within and serving the city of Terrebonne are operated by the French Commission scolaire des Affluents and the English

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 ...

. Commission scolaire des Affluents secondary schools include: * École secondaire Armand-Corbeil * École secondaire de l’Odyssée * École secondaire Des Rives * École secondaire des Trois-Saisons CSSMI primary schools: * de l'Espace-Couleurs * Jeunes du monde * Marie-Soleil-Tougas Some CSSMI sections are zoned to École primaire 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 ...

. The CSSMI secondary schools serving Terrebonne are: École secondaire du Harfang in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, École secondaire Hubert-Maisonneuve (lower secondary) in Rosèmere and École secondaire Rive-Nord (upper secondary) in Bois-des-Filion. Private Francophone secondary schools include: * Collège Saint-Sacrement Anglophone public schools serving Terrebonne include: * McCaig Elementary School in Rosemère serves western Terrebonne * Pinewood Elementary School in

serves a central portion * Franklin Hill Elementary School in Repentigny serves an eastern portion * Rosemère High School (all areas) in RosemèreRosemere High School Zone
"

. Retrieved on December 8, 2014.

Sister cities

* Vitré (

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...