Varennes () is an off-island suburb of

Montréal 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, on 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 ...

in the

Marguerite-D'Youville Regional County Municipality Marguerite-D'Youville () is a regional county municipality located in the Montérégie region of southwestern Quebec, Canada. The seat is in Verchères. The RCM was formerly named Lajemmerais Regional County Municipality, after Christophe du Fr ...

. The city is approximately from

Downtown Montreal Downtown Montreal (French language, French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal, and occupies the western portion of the ...

. The population as of the

Canada 2011 Census The 2011 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population on May 10, 2011. Statistics Canada, an agency of the Canadian government, conducts a nationwide census every five years. In 2011, it consisted of a mandatory short for ...

was 20,994. In 2015, the population is listed at 24,000.

History

The history of Varennes starts with the arrival of the ''Régiment de Carignan-Salières'' in

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 ...

. René Gaultier, ''sieur de Varennes'', was given three concessions by intendant

Jean Talon Jean Talon, Count d'Orsainville (; January 8, 1626 – November 23, 1694) was a French colonial administrator who served as the first Intendant of New France. Talon was appointed by King Louis XIV and his minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, t ...

in 1672, le Tremblay, la Gabelle and Varennes. Jaques-René, one of his sons, was the second

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. Five seignories later composed the Varennes parish. They were the seignories ''du Cap de Varennes, de l'île Sainte Thérèse, de Grand Maison, du Cap de la trinité'' and ''du Cap Saint-Michel''. The town was captured by the British in 1760 during the Montreal Campaign. It was part of the

Province of Quebec (1763–1791) The Province of Quebec () was a colony in British North America which comprised the former French colony of Canada. It was established by the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1763, following the conquest of New France by British forces during the ...

, then of

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 ...

, before it returned to being part of Quebec again in 1867 due to

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...

. Varennes gained the status of city in 1972.

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 ...

, Varennes 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.

Notable people

Gilles Courteau Gilles Courteau (born October 7, 1957) is a Canadian former ice hockey administrator. He served as president of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) from 1986 to 2023, and was a vice-president of the Canadian Hockey League. During his ...

Christophe-Alphonse Geoffrion Christophe-Alphonse Geoffrion, (November 23, 1843 – July 18, 1899) was a Canadian lawyer, professor, and politician. Born in Varennes, Canada East, the son of Félix Geoffrion and Catherine Brodeur, he was the brother of Félix Geoffrion ...

Félix Geoffrion Félix Geoffrion, (October 3, 1832 – August 7, 1894) was a Canadian notary and politician. Born in Varennes, Lower Canada, the son of Félix Geoffrion and Catherine Brodeur, he was trained and practised as a notary. He was elected to t ...

Marc-Amable Girard Marc-Amable Girard (April 25, 1822 – September 12, 1892) was the second premier of Manitoba, and the first Franco-Manitoban to hold that post. The ''Canadian Parliamentary Guide'' lists Girard as having been Premier (or ''Chief Minister ...

Sylvain Grenier Sylvain Grenier (born March 26, 1977) is a Canadian retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He is best known for his time wrestling for WWE between 2002 ...

Marie-Mai Marie-Mai (born Marie-Mai Bouchard on July 7, 1984, in Varennes, Quebec) is a Canadian singer from Montreal. She was initially known as one of the finalists of the first season of the Quebec reality show ''Star Académie''. Background Marie-Ma ...

Louis Massue Louis Massue (April 4, 1786 – July 4, 1869) was a businessman and political figure in Canada East. He was born Louis-Joseph Massue in Varennes in 1786, the son of the co-seigneur of Varennes. He became a prosperous merchant in the import and ...

Philippe-François de Rastel de Rocheblave Philippe-François de Rastel de Rocheblave also, known as, Philippe de Rocheblave and the Chevalier de Rocheblave (March 23, 1727 – April 3, 1802), was a soldier and businessman in the Illinois Country, of Upper Louisiana, and later, a po ...

Théodore Robitaille Théodore Robitaille, (; 29 January 1834 – 17 August 1897) was a Canadian physician, politician, and the fourth Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. Biography Born in Varennes, Lower Canada, the son of Louis-Adolphe Robitaille (pronounced ...

* Louis-Adélard Sénécal *

Marie-Marguerite d'Youville Marguerite d'Youville, SGM (; October 15, 1701 – December 23, 1771) was a French Canadian widow who founded the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, commonly known as the "Grey Nuns". She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1990, becoming the f ...

References

External links

Official website

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Quebec populated places on the Saint Lawrence River 1672 establishments in the French colonial empire Incorporated places in Marguerite-D'Youville Regional County Municipality Canada geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia

History

Demographics

Notable people

See also

References

External links