Boucherville | |
|---|---|
| Ville de Boucherville | |
 Boucherville in 2025 | |
 Seal  Coat of arms | |
| Motto: Nature, patrimoine et art de vivre (French for "Nature, heritage and the art of life") | |
 Location within Urban Agglomeration of Longueuil. | |
  Boucherville Location in southern Quebec. | |
| Coordinates:45°36′N73°27′W / 45.600°N 73.450°W /45.600; -73.450[1] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Montérégie |
| RCM | None |
| Agglomeration | Longueuil |
| Settled | 1667 |
| Constituted | January 1, 2006 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Jean Martel |
| • Federal riding | Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères |
| • Prov. riding | Montarville |
| Area | |
• Total | 81.10 km2 (31.31 sq mi) |
| • Land | 71.02 km2 (27.42 sq mi) |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 41,743 |
| • Density | 587.8/km2 (1,522/sq mi) |
| • Dwellings | 17,733 |
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area codes | 450 and 579 |
Highways  A-20 (TCH) A-30 |  R-132 |
| Website | www |
Boucherville (French pronunciation:[buʃɛʁvil]ⓘ) is acity in theMontérégie region inQuebec, Canada. It is a suburb ofMontreal on thesouth shore of theSaint Lawrence River.
Boucherville is part of both theurban agglomeration of Longueuil and theMontreal Metropolitan Community regional government.
Boucherville was founded as aseigneurial parish in 1667 byPierre Boucher, for whom the city was later named. Pierre Boucher came fromMortagne-au-Perche,Normandy, France. After having lived inQuebec City andTrois-Rivières, Boucher moved to the Percées Islands by the southern shores ofSaint Lawrence River, where he founded Boucherville.
The first Catholic church in the village of Boucherville was built in 1670. This church, made of wood, was eventually replaced in 1712 by a building made of brick. It was replaced in 1801 by the current Sainte-Famille Church.
Several families left Boucherville in the 18th century to found the communities ofSainte-Julie andSaint-Bruno-de-Montarville.
In July 1843 fire destroyed much of the village. Sparks blowing from a steamer ignited a wooden building owned by Mr. Weilbrenner (lot 112). The fire spread and soon most of the village was on fire. In the end, the church, the chapel, two schools, 51 homes, pastures, and 92 other buildings were destroyed.[5]
The village was progressively rebuilt. A new church was built on the site of the old one over the course of the following two years. Parts of the walls and front were reused. A stone school was built in 1851 at the intersection of Notre-Dame and Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine streets.[5]
The municipality of the parish Sainte-Famille de Boucherville was established in 1845. This large territory included the village of Boucherville. In 1856, Sainte-Famille de Boucherville was divided into two separate municipalities: the parish Sainte-Famille de Boucherville and the village of Boucherville.
In 1854, seigneurial tenure was abolished. Pierre-Amable Boucher de Boucherville, last seigneur of Boucherville, died three years later.
The village Boucherville was to become an important vacation resort by the end of the 19th century and early 20th century. People from Montreal could access the village by train or ferry.
Boucherville experienced significant growth afterWorld War II. This expansion was confirmed by the construction of theLouis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel.
The parish Sainte-Famille de Boucherville ceded portions of its territory toSaint-Hubert in 1877, toSaint-Bruno-de-Montarville in 1950 and to the village of Boucherville in 1956.
The village of Boucherville gained the status of city in 1957.
In 1963, the city of Boucherville merged with the Sainte-Famille de Boucherville parish. This brought Boucherville to its currentcity limits.
Boucherville opened a new 'civic centre', including an indoor and outdoor pool, municipal offices and indoor arena in 1966. The centre was later renamed in memory of the murdered cabinet ministerPierre Laporte. In August 2015, the Centre was closed as part of a three-year, $27 million refurbishment project. The shell of the old building will be blended into the new facility. Some of the equipment, such as the skating rink boards and glass will be reused in the Gilles-Chabot arena.
Boucherville was heavily affected by theJanuary 1998 North American ice storm. Due to the loss of power, aCanadian National RailwayM420W was intentionally derailed and brought to the city hall to serve as an emergency generator.[6]
As part of the2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec, Boucherville ceased to exist as an independent city on January 1, 2002 and became a borough ofLongueuil. However, after a2004 referendum, it de-merged and was reconstituted as an independent city on January 1, 2006. However, it remains part of theurban agglomeration of Longueuil.
Today, Boucherville is home to more than 40,000 inhabitants and a large industrial park.
Founder Pierre Boucher is commemorated by a museum in his name at theSéminaire Saint-Joseph and a statue erected at theNational Assembly of Quebec, in addition to a monument on the Boucherville's waterfront.
TheHarmonie neighbourhood is located between the boulevards de Mortagne, de Montarville, de Montbrun and de Normandie. Its development is fairly recent and is essentially residential with many upscale houses. Many park and green spaces decorate the neighbourhood. The multifunctional centre of Boucherville is also there.
TheQuartier des villes et provinces de France neighbourhood is located between the streets de Normandie, Gay-Lussac, Ampère and boulevard Montarville. All the streets and parks in this neighbourhood are named afterprovinces of France. The neighbourhood is essentially composed ofseparate orsemi-detached houses.
Old Boucherville is the original section of the city that contains the former village and Sainte-Famille Church. The neighbourhood is located between Saint-Lawrence River, the boulevards du Fort Saint-Louis, de Montarville et de Montbrun. Many of the buildings there are officially classified as historic monuments.
Theindustrial section of Boucherville covers the western part of the city; fromAutoroute 20 all the way toLongueuil. This section is divided into 3 industrial parks. Although these parks were inaugurated in the 1960s, it was during the last two decades that their expansion has been the greatest. In the early 1980s, they were little more 100 companies and 6 000 jobs scattered in the industrial section. Today, they are 600 companies and 15 000 jobs in various sectors. Additionally, the industrial section is home to 2 research centres. TheBoisé du Tremblay Wildlife Reserve is located within this section.
TheSeigneurie is a residential neighbourhood. It is located south of Fort Saint-Louis boulevard, north of de Mortagne boulevard, to the west of de Brouage street and east of the Industriel boulevard. The neighbourhood was built in the early 1960s. The Carrefour de la Seigneurie shopping mall acted as a commercial anchor to the area, hosting aDominion supermarket, a branch of theCanadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a convenience store, a pharmacy and a medical clinic. A Texaco gas station stood in its parking lot. All these businesses have since moved on or disappeared and today the mall has been eclipsed by more modern shopping centres such as theCarrefour de la Rive Sud. The neighbourhood is served by twofrancophone primary schools: De la Broquerie and Pierre-Boucher. There were no English-language schools in the neighbourhood. Students were bussed to either the Boucherville Elementary School (Protestant) or Marguerite Bourgeois (Catholic).
TheLe domaine Sabrevois neighbourhood was built in the early 1970s. It is located east of de Montarville boul., between the streets Samuel de Champlain and Jacques-Cartier.
TheFaubourg Sainte-Anne was a neighbourhood located at the south-western edge of the village, at the intersection of what are now the Montarville and Marie-Victorin boulevards (then known as "chemin de la Savanne" and "rue Sainte-Famille" respectively).[7] Including lots 153 to 159 and serviced by several small streets, the district was last mentioned in notarized records in 1875. A plan of the neighbourhood survives in the archives of theSéminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières.[5]
Boucherville has ahumid continental climate (Köppen:Dfb).
| Climate data for Boucherville | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −4.9 (23.2) | −3.0 (26.6) | 3.1 (37.6) | 11.5 (52.7) | 19.3 (66.7) | 23.8 (74.8) | 26.3 (79.3) | 25.4 (77.7) | 21.3 (70.3) | 13.6 (56.5) | 6.1 (43.0) | −1.3 (29.7) | 11.8 (53.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −8.6 (16.5) | −7.2 (19.0) | −1.2 (29.8) | 6.6 (43.9) | 14.1 (57.4) | 19.0 (66.2) | 21.6 (70.9) | 20.5 (68.9) | 16.1 (61.0) | 9.4 (48.9) | 2.6 (36.7) | −4.3 (24.3) | 7.4 (45.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −12.9 (8.8) | −12.1 (10.2) | −5.8 (21.6) | 1.7 (35.1) | 8.6 (47.5) | 13.8 (56.8) | 16.7 (62.1) | 15.7 (60.3) | 11.4 (52.5) | 5.4 (41.7) | −1.1 (30.0) | −7.9 (17.8) | 2.8 (37.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 59.8 (2.35) | 56.9 (2.24) | 61.4 (2.42) | 74.4 (2.93) | 68.5 (2.70) | 91.5 (3.60) | 88.7 (3.49) | 90.8 (3.57) | 69.2 (2.72) | 73.8 (2.91) | 62.6 (2.46) | 77.3 (3.04) | 874.9 (34.43) |
| Source: Weather.Directory[8] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1861 | 882 | — |
| 1871 | 767 | −13.0% |
| 1881 | 1,165 | +51.9% |
| 1891 | 821 | −29.5% |
| 1901 | 940 | +14.5% |
| 1911 | 1,097 | +16.7% |
| 1921 | 934 | −14.9% |
| 1931 | 883 | −5.5% |
| 1941 | 1,047 | +18.6% |
| 1951 | 1,583 | +51.2% |
| 1956 | 3,911 | +147.1% |
| 1961 | 7,403 | +89.3% |
| 1966 | 15,338 | +107.2% |
| 1971 | 19,997 | +30.4% |
| 1976 | 25,530 | +27.7% |
| 1981 | 29,704 | +16.3% |
| 1986 | 31,116 | +4.8% |
| 1991 | 33,796 | +8.6% |
| 1996 | 34,989 | +3.5% |
| 2001 | 36,253 | +3.6% |
| 2006 | 39,062 | +7.7% |
| 2011 | 40,753 | +4.3% |
| 2016 | 41,595 | +2.1% |
| 2021 | 41,743 | +0.4% |
| [9][10][11] | ||
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Boucherville had a population of41,743 living in17,291 of its17,733 total private dwellings, a change of0.2% from its 2016 population of41,671. With a land area of 71.02 km2 (27.42 sq mi), it had a population density of587.8/km2 (1,522.3/sq mi) in 2021.[12]
In 1681, the village included 179 inhabitants that was distributed into 39 families, living on 320 acres of cultivated land.[5]
In an 1811 report by Jacques Viger, the village included:[5]
| Canada Census Mother Tongue - Boucherville, Quebec | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Total | French | English | French & English | Other | |||||||||||||
| Year | Responses | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | |||||
2021 | 41,145 | 36,215 |  4.6% | 88.01% | 1,000 |  13.6% | 2.4% | 495 | 73.7% | 1.2% | 2,990 | 36.5% | 7.26% | |||||
2016 | 41,595 | 37,970 | 1.11% | 91.28% | 880 | 6.8% | 2.11% | 285 | 9.6% | 0.68% | 2,190 | 26.96% | 5,26% | |||||
2011 | 40,655 | 37,550 | 4.19% | 92.36% | 945 | 23.52% | 2.32% | 260 | 117% | 0.63% | 1,725 | 9.18% | 4.24% | |||||
2006 | 38,505 | 36,040 | 7.28% | 93.59% | 765 | 5.5% | 1.98% | 120 | 47.82% | 0.31% | 1,580 | 483.36% | 4.1% | |||||
2001 | 35,700 | 33,595 | 3.23% | 94.1% | 810 | 0.12% | 2.27% | 230 | 39.39% | 0.64% | 1,065 | 12.10% | 2.98% | |||||
1996 | 34,535 | 32,545 | n/a | 94.24% | 800 | n/a | 2.31% | 165 | n/a | 0.5% | 950 | n/a | 2.75% | |||||
| Language | Population | Percentage (%) |
|---|---|---|
| French | 36,215 | 88.0% |
| English | 1,000 | 2.4% |
| Both English and French | 495 | 1.2% |
| French and a non-official language | 290 | 0.7% |
| English and a non-official language | 65 | 0.2% |
| English, French and a non-official language | 60 | 0.1% |
| Spanish | 770 | 1.9% |
| Arabic | 395 | 1.0% |
| Italian | 300 | 0.7% |
| Portuguese | 255 | 0.6% |
| Mandarin | 200 | 0.5% |
| Russian | 140 | 0.3% |
| Romanian | 115 | 0.3% |
Boucherville's industrial park, located nearHighway 20 expanded considerably in the 1980s. In an area covering roughly 7 km2, 575 businesses now provide employment to 23 000 people.[15]
Since 1974, thehead office ofRona, a Canadian distributor and retailer in hardware, home improvement and gardening products, has been located in Boucherville.[16] Other companies that are or were based in Boucherville includeCampagna Motors,St. Just Aviation,Noveko International,Dana TM4 andProxim.
"Têtes à claques", aFrench languageinternet phenomenon, is also based in the city of Boucherville.
Quebec internet comedy websiteTêtes à claques is based in Boucherville.
In 1973, a youth drop-in centre, theMaison des Jeunes was opened at 78 boulevard Marie-Victorin. From March 30, 1974 to late June 1974, the Maison enjoyed financial support from the localClub Richelieu.
On November 19, 1975, theMaison then moved to the old town hall, at 20 rue Pierre-Boucher.[17] It remained there for over a quarter century, with the exception of three months in 1982 when it was relocated to theBoucherville Elementary School while the building was being renovated.
In 2001, theMaison des jeunes la Piaule moved into its new purpose-built facilities on chemin du Lac.[18]
TheÎles-de-Boucherville National Park on theBoucherville Islands is aQuebec National Park located in theSaint Lawrence River facing the rest of the city. They are uninhabited but serve as a natural/recreational area for residents and tourists.
There are two main multifunctional sports facilities in the city of Boucherville.
On September 9, 2017 the Complexe aquatique Laurie-Eve-Cormier officially replaced the Centre sportif Pierre-Laporte.[19]
Located on Lionel-Daunais road, the centre offers cultural and sporting spaces.[20]
In 2013, Boucherville's disc golf course became the first course in the Greater Montreal area to be fully publicly funded.[21]
As of 2015, there are seven French-language public primary schools, one French-language private primary school and one English-language public primary school.
Boucherville's only high school, the French-language public École secondaire de Mortagne[23] was built in 1968.[24] A dress code including a uniform was introduced in 2012.[25]
There has never been an English-language high school in Boucherville.
TheSouth Shore Protestant Regional School Board previously served the municipality.[26]
Currently, English-language public education is provided by theRiverside School Board.
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