La Prairie | |
|---|---|
 Old La Prairie in 2025 | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto(s): Victor Hostium et Sui (Latin for "Master of our Enemies and Oneself") | |
 Location within Roussillon RCM | |
  La Prairie Location in southern Quebec | |
| Coordinates:45°25′N73°30′W / 45.42°N 73.5°W /45.42; -73.5[1] | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Quebec |
| Region | Montérégie |
| RCM | Roussillon |
| Constituted | March 30, 1846 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Frédéric Galantai |
| • Federal riding | La Prairie |
| • Prov. riding | La Prairie |
| Area | |
• Total | 54.80 km2 (21.16 sq mi) |
| • Land | 43.47 km2 (16.78 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[4] | |
• Total | 26,406 |
| • Density | 607.4/km2 (1,573/sq mi) |
| • Pop 2016–2021 |  9.5% |
| • Dwellings | 11,309 |
| Demonym(s) | Laprairien,(ienne) (French) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area codes | 450 and 579 |
Highways A-15 A-30 |  R-104 R-132 R-134 R-217 |
| Website | www |
La Prairie (French pronunciation:[lapʁɛʁi]) is anoff-island suburb (south shore) ofMontreal, in southwesternQuebec, Canada, at the confluence of theSaint-Jacques River and theSaint Lawrence River in theRegional County Municipality of Roussillon. The population as of theCanada 2021 Census was 26,406.
FrenchJesuits were the first Europeans to occupy the area, which was named La Prairie de la Magdelaine but was also called François-Xavier-des-Prés. The land was given to the Jesuits by Jacques de La Ferté and theCompany of One Hundred Associates in 1647. It is in La Prairie that the storyKateri Tekakwitha took place.
In 1668, the site was named Kentaké, theIroquois name for "at the prairie". In the beginning of modern Quebec history, the territory of La Prairie would be visited on numerous occasions by Iroquois andEnglish settlers fromNew York, among others at the time of the Anglo-Iroquois expedition ofPieter Schuyler in 1691, who commandedtwo battles on August 11, 1691.
The close of theSeven Years' War led to the 1763 treaty ending theFrench and Indian War.New France, sparsely populated byindigenous peoples and descendants ofFrench colonists, was ceded byFrance and divided intoBritish colonies. The territory of La Prairie became part of theProvince of Quebec (1763–1791) within theBritish Empire.
In 1845, the village of La Prairie was established. One year later, La Prairie-de-la-Magdelaine was established. La Prairie was the seat ofLaprairie County (1855-1980s),[5] which included the parishes of La Prairie, Notre-Dame, Ste-Catherine, St-Constant, St-Isidore, St-Jacques-le-Mineur, St-Mathieu and St-Philippe. In 1909, La Prairie obtained official city status.
Historically, the city has been an important transportation hub, as it was the point of transfer between Montreal ferries and the land route toSaint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, gateway toLake Champlain and theHudson River. The first railway line in British North America, theChamplain and St. Lawrence Railroad, connected it with Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu on July 21, 1836;[6] the railway ran over 16 miles (26 km). The construction of a rail line between La Prairie and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu would greatly accelerate the commercial development of the village. River transport equally played an important role in La Prairie's history.
Like the rest of southwestern Quebec, La Prairie has hot summers and cold winters, for a generally temperate climate. Winters are cold and sometimes long (snow is usually present from mid-November to mid-April), with temperatures occasionally dipping below -30 °C, not counting thewindchill. During snowstorms, snowfall frequently surpasses 40 centimeters. In the summer, temperatures sometimes exceed 30 °C.
In 2013, Grand Boisé conservation park is planned to be created and orchestrated by Nature-Action. The park would include Smithers' swamp, as well as, Hydro-Quebec's servitude area in which thewestern chorus frog, a vulnerable species in Quebec, is found in greatest numbers. There is a controversy involving the city housing development in that area which was supposed to be conserved integrally with high priority according to RCM of Roussillon 1990s' maps. Local environmental organisms, such as Vigile verte and Projet Rescousse, are denouncing the choice of that land for housing development. The debate is ongoing.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1851 | 814 | — |
| 1861 | 1,523 | +87.1% |
| 1871 | 1,259 | −17.3% |
| 1881 | 1,340 | +6.4% |
| 1891 | 1,246 | −7.0% |
| 1901 | 1,451 | +16.5% |
| 1911 | 2,388 | +64.6% |
| 1921 | 2,158 | −9.6% |
| 1931 | 2,774 | +28.5% |
| 1941 | 2,936 | +5.8% |
| 1951 | 4,058 | +38.2% |
| 1956 | 5,372 | +32.4% |
| 1961 | 7,328 | +36.4% |
| 1966 | 8,122 | +10.8% |
| 1971 | 8,309 | +2.3% |
| 1976 | 9,173 | +10.4% |
| 1981 | 10,627 | +15.9% |
| 1986 | 11,072 | +4.2% |
| 1991 | 15,237 | +37.6% |
| 1996 | 17,128 | +12.4% |
| 2001 | 18,896 | +10.3% |
| 2006 | 21,763 | +15.2% |
| 2011 | 23,357 | +7.3% |
| 2016 | 24,110 | +3.2% |
| 2021 | 26,406 | +9.5% |
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, La Prairie had a population of26,406 living in11,049 of its11,309 total private dwellings, a change of9.5% from its 2016 population of24,110. With a land area of 43.47 km2 (16.78 sq mi), it had a population density of607.5/km2 (1,573.3/sq mi) in 2021.[8]
| 2021 | 2016 | 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 26,406 (+9.5% from 2016) | 24,110 (+3.2% from 2011) | 23,357 (+7.3% from 2006) |
| Land area | 43.47 km2 (16.78 sq mi) | 43.68 km2 (16.86 sq mi) | 43.28 km2 (16.71 sq mi) |
| Population density | 607.4/km2 (1,573/sq mi) | 552/km2 (1,430/sq mi) | 539.7/km2 (1,398/sq mi) |
| Median age | 42.8 (M: 42.4, F: 43.6) | 41.4 (M: 41, F: 41.9) | 39.2 (M: 38.5, F: 39.7) |
| Private dwellings | 11,309 (total) 11,049 (occupied) | 9,947 (total) | 9,346 (total) |
| Median household income | $91,000 | $79,881 | $74,167 |
| Canada Census Mother Tongue – La Prairie, Quebec[7] | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Total | French | English | French & English | Other | |||||||||||||
| Year | Responses | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | |||||
2021 | 25,285 | 19,540 |  1.6% | 74.4% | 1,260 | 27.3% | 4.8% | 465 | 66.1% | 1.8% | 4,490 | 72.0% | 17.1% | |||||
2016 | 23,985 | 19,860 | 0.4% | 82.8% | 990 | 7.0% | 4.1% | 280 | 14.3% | 1.2% | 2,610 | 34.2% | 10.9% | |||||
2011 | 22,895 | 19,780 | 4.1% | 86.4% | 925 | 25.0% | 4.0% | 245 | 113.0% | 1.1% | 1,945 | 17.5% | 8.5% | |||||
2006 | 21,520 | 19,010 | 13.5% | 88.3% | 740 | 2.1% | 3.4% | 115 | 25.8% | 0.5% | 1,655 | 89.1% | 7.7% | |||||
2001 | 18,500 | 16,745 | 12.6% | 90.5% | 725 | 26.1% | 3.9% | 155 | 13.9% | 0.8% | 875 | 18.6% | 4.7% | |||||
1996 | 16,700 | 14,870 | n/a | 89.0% | 575 | n/a | 3.4% | 180 | n/a | 1.1% | 1,075 | n/a | 6.4% | |||||
| Native language | Population | Pct (%) |
|---|---|---|
| French | 19,540 | 74.4% |
| English | 1,260 | 4.8% |
| Both English and French | 465 | 1.8% |
| French and a non-official language | 290 | 1.1% |
| Spanish | 785 | 3.0% |
| Mandarin | 770 | 2.9% |
| Arabic | 465 | 1.8% |
| Romanian | 340 | 1.3% |
| Yue | 295 | 1.1% |
| Portuguese | 270 | 1.0% |
TheCIT Le Richelain provides commuter and local bus services.
The town has three high schools: l'École de la Magdeleine, a public French school which offers theInternational Baccalaureate (IB) Programme,Collège Jean de la Mennais, a private mixed French school and Saint-François-Xavier, a public French school.
TheSouth Shore Protestant Regional School Board previously served the municipality.[12]
Adjacent Municipal Subdivisions | |
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| Subdivisions ofRoussillon Regional County Municipality | |
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| Cities | |
| Municipalities | |
| Parishes | |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
