Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension () is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

(''

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissem ...

'') in the city 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 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, ...

. It had a population of 143,853 according to the 2016 Census and a land area of . The borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension was created on January 1, 2002, following the municipal reorganization of Montreal. The borough includes the neighbourhoods of Villeray, Saint-Michel, and Parc-Extension.

History

Until the late Nineteenth century, the area that today comprises the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension was predominantly rural and dotted with farms. The inauguration of 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 1878 and the arrival of electric streetcars in 1892 permitted the growth of Villeray. It was also in this era that the Italian immigrant community chose the neighbourhood as their preferred location. In the early Twentieth century, Park Extension became industrialized, and a dozen quarries opened which led to the economic development of the area. Beginning in the 1940s, the exploitation of the Miron and Francon quarries attracted workers to Saint Michel and Park Extension. Construction of the Metropolitan Expressway was completed in 1959. It cut the area in two, but also attracted multiple industries, which opened along the expressway. In less than twenty years, the population of Saint Michel increased from 6,000 to 68,000 inhabitants. Jobs derived from competing industries along with the efficient transportation infrastructure resulted in strong demographic growth. The growth of the manufacturing sector, notably the

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of textiles: yarn, cloth and clothing. Industry process Cotton manufacturing Cotton is the world's most important natural fibre. In the year 2007, th ...

, were incentives for new immigrants to settle in the borough. The borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension was created on January 1, 2002, following the municipal reorganization of Montreal. The borough includes three neighbourhoods that were part of Montreal before the reorganization: Villeray, Saint-Michel, and Park Extension. The Saint-Michel neighbourhood was formerly an independent city known as Saint-Michel-de-Laval which was annexed to Montreal in 1968. Villeray was once also an autonomous municipality but has been part of the city of Montreal since 1905. Parc Extension left the parish of St-Laurent to join the city of Montreal in 1910.

Geography

Located in north central Montreal, the pipe-shaped borough is bordered by

Ahuntsic-Cartierville Ahuntsic-Cartierville ( (local accent)) is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The borough was created following the 2002 municipal reorganization of Montreal. It comprises two main neighbourhoods, Ahuntsic, ...

to the northwest, Montreal North to the northeast, Saint Leonard to the east, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie to the southeast, Outremont to the southwest, and

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 ...

to the west. Saint-Michel is the easternmost neighbourhood of the borough, Park Extension is the westernmost neighbourhood and Villeray is in the centre.

Government

Municipal

The current borough mayor is Laurence Lavigne Lalonde of Projet Montréal. The borough is divided into four districts located in three different neighborhoods. The districts bear the same name as their respective neighborhood with the exception of François-Perreault which is part of the Saint-Michel and Villeray neighborhoods. * Saint-Michel * François-Perreault * Park Extension * Villeray

Borough council

Federal and provincial

The borough is divided among the following federal ridings: * Papineau *

Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel (; known until 1996 as Saint-Léonard) is a federal electoral district within the City of Montreal in Quebec, Canada, which has been represented in the House of Commons since 1988. Its population during the 201 ...

It is divided among the following provincial electoral districts: * Laurier-Dorion * Viau

Demographics

The 2016 census found that 88% of the population only spoke one language at home. The five most common of these languages were French (57%), English (10%), Spanish (5.9%),

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

(3.25%) and Vietnamese (2.9%). According to 2016 census, 48% of residents grew up learning a language other than French and English. Of these other languages, the most common are Spanish (8.5%), Arabic (6.35%), Creole languages (4.23%), Italian (4.1%) and Greek (3.25%).

Features

It is served by the Orange and

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

lines of the

Montreal Metro The Montreal Metro (, ) is a rubber-tired underground rapid transit system serving Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The metro, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), was inaugurated on October 14, 1966, during the tenure ...

. It is traversed and partly delimited by Autoroute 40 (Metropolitan Aut.) and Autoroute 19 (Papineau Ave.)

Transit stations

* Crémazie * Jarry * Jean-Talon * Acadie * Parc metro and train station * De Castelnau * Fabre * D’Iberville * Saint-Michel A future unnamed station on the Blue Line of the Montreal Metro will be built in the borough transferring with the Pie-IX BRT.

Attractions

Attractions in the area include the old Park Avenue train station (now containing Parc Metro station and near the Parc commuter train station), Jarry Park, and TOHU, La Cité des arts du cirque (including the

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

and the École nationale du cirque). The former Miron and Francon quarries are also located here. The former studios of CTV Montreal, TQS, CFCF radio & CFQR-FM (now CKBE-FM) were located in the Parc Extension section of the borough. Today, the borough hall is at the former studios of those stations on 405 Ogilvy Avenue.

Education

The ''

Commission scolaire de Montréal In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

'' (CSDM) operates French-language public schools. 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 English-language 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 Le Prévost, Parc-Extension, and Saint-Michel libraries.

References

External links

Borough website
(in French)
Historical building of borough Villeray

Villeray Saint-Michel Parcextension
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension Boroughs of Montreal 2002 establishments in Quebec