Boucherville

Boucherville
City
Ville de Boucherville
Seal Coat of arms
Motto(s):  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′N 73°27′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Montérégie
RCM	None
Agglomeration	Longueuil
Settled	1667
Constituted	January 1, 2006
Government [2][3]
• Mayor	Jean Martel
• Federal riding	Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères
• Prov. riding	Montarville
Area [2][4]
• Total	81.10 km^2 (31.31 sq mi)
• Land	71.02 km^2 (27.42 sq mi)
Population  (2021)
• Total	41,743
• Density	587.8/km^2 (1,522/sq mi)
• Dwellings	17,733
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J4B
Area code(s)	450 and 579
Highways A-20 (TCH) A-30	R-132
Website	www.boucherville.ca

Boucherville (French pronunciation: [buʃɛʁvil] ^ⓘ) is a city in the Montérégie region in Quebec, Canada. It is a suburb of Montreal on the South shore of the Saint Lawrence River.

Boucherville is part of both the urban agglomeration of Longueuil and Montreal Metropolitan Community regional government.

History

Early history

Boucherville was founded as a seigneurial parish in 1667 by Pierre Boucher, for whom the city was later named. Pierre Boucher came from Mortagne-au-Perche, Normandy, France. After having lived in Quebec City and Trois-Rivières, Boucher moved to the Percées Islands by the southern shores of Saint Lawrence River, where he founded Boucherville.

The first Catholic church of 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 of Sainte-Julie and Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville.

1843 Fire and its aftermath

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 and 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]

Evolution in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

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 after World War II. This expansion was confirmed by the construction of the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel.

The parish Sainte-Famille de Boucherville ceded portions of its territory to Saint-Hubert in 1877, to Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville in 1950 and to the village of Boucherville in 1956.

Post-war to today

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 current city 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 minister Pierre 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 the January 1998 North American ice storm. Due to the loss of power, a Canadian National Railway M420W was intentionally derailed and brought to the city hall to serve as an emergency generator.^[6]

As part of the 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec, Boucherville ceased to exist as an independent city on January 1, 2002 and became a borough of Longueuil. However, after a 2004 referendum, it de-merged and was reconstituted as an independent city on January 1, 2006. However, it remains part of the urban 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 the Séminaire Saint-Joseph and a statue erected at the National Assembly of Quebec, in addition to a monument on the Boucherville's waterfront.

Geography

Sainte-Famille Church

Statue of Pierre Boucher at the National Assembly

The Harmonie 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.

The Quartier 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 after provinces of France. The neighbourhood is essentially composed of separate or semi-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.

The industrial section of Boucherville covers the western part of the city; from Autoroute 20 all the way to Longueuil. 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. The Boisé du Tremblay Wildlife Reserve is located within this section.

The Seigneurie 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 a Dominion supermarket, a branch of the Canadian 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 the Carrefour de la Rive Sud. The neighbourhood is served by two francophone 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).

The Le 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.

The Faubourg 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 the Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières.^[5]

Demographics

Historical populations

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%
[8][9][10]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Boucherville had a population of 41,743 living in 17,291 of its 17,733 total private dwellings, a change of 0.2% from its 2016 population of 41,671. With a land area of 71.02 km² (27.42 sq mi), it had a population density of 587.8/km² (1,522.3/sq mi) in 2021.^[11]

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]

• 1 physician
• 4 windmills (3 operative)
• 6 merchants
• 6 blacksmiths
• 5 weavers
• 2 coopers
• 8 cabinetmakers (of which 2 also were carpenters)
• 5 butchers
• 1 wheelwright
• 2 masons
• 2 bakers
• 6 shoemakers (of which one also was a saddlemaker)
• 3 innkeepers
• 2 schools
• 91 houses (25 made of stone)

Languages of Boucherville Citizens ^[12]

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%

First language of Boucherville's Citizens (2021)^[13]

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%

Economy

Boucherville's industrial park, located near Highway 20 expanded considerably in the 1980s. In an area covering roughly 7 km², 575 businesses now provide employment to 23 000 people.^[14]

Since 1974, the head office of Rona, a Canadian distributor and retailer in hardware, home improvement and gardening products, has been located in Boucherville.^[15]

"Têtes à claques", a French language internet phenomenon, is also based in the city of Boucherville.

Arts and culture

Internet

Quebec internet comedy website Têtes à claques is based in Boucherville.

Youth centre

In 1973, a youth drop-in centre, the Maison des Jeunes was opened at 78 boulevard Marie-Victorin. From March 30, 1974 to late June 1974, the Maison enjoyed financial support from the local Club Richelieu.

On November 19, 1975, the Maison then moved to the old town hall, at 20 rue Pierre-Boucher.^[16] It remained there for over a quarter century, with the exception of three months in 1982 when it was relocated to the Boucherville Elementary School while the building was being renovated.

In 2001, the Maison des jeunes la Piaule moved into its new purpose-built facilities on chemin du Lac.^[17]

Attractions

The Îles-de-Boucherville National Park on the Boucherville Islands is a Quebec National Park located in the Saint Lawrence River facing the rest of the city. They are uninhabited but serve as a natural/recreational area for residents and tourists.

Sports

There are two main multifunctional sports facilities in the city of Boucherville.

Complexe aquatique Laurie-Eve-Cormier

On September 9, 2017 the Complexe aquatique Laurie-Eve-Cormier officially replaced the Centre sportif Pierre-Laporte.^[18]

Centre multifonctionnel Francine-Gadbois

Located on Lionel-Daunais road, the centre offers cultural and sporting spaces.^[19]

Outdoor sports

In 2013, Boucherville's disc golf course became the first course in the Montreal area to be fully publicly funded.^[20]

Education

Primary

As of 2015, there are seven French-language public primary schools, one French-language private primary school and one English-language public primary school.

• École Père-Marquette
• École Louis-H-Lafontaine
• École Paul VI
• École Antoine-Girouard
• École De la Broquerie
• École Les Jeunes Découvreurs
• École Pierre Boucher
• École les Trois Saisons (Private)
• Boucherville Elementary School (English Public, originally the Boucherville Protestant School^[21])

Secondary

Boucherville's only high school, the French-language public École secondaire de Mortagne^[22] was built in 1968.^[23] A dress code including a uniform was introduced in 2012.^[24]

There has never been an English-language high school in Boucherville.

English language education

The South Shore Protestant Regional School Board previously served the municipality.^[25]

Currently, English-language public education is provided by the Riverside School Board.

Sister cities

• Mortagne-au-Perche, France since 1966
• Les Abymes, France since 1988
• Kingston, Canada

^[26]

Notable people

Statue of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine in Boucherville

• Marien Tailhandier (1665-1738) surgeon and judge
• Antoine Ménard, dit Lafontaine (1744–1825), building contractor, political figure and grandfather of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine
• Toussaint Charbonneau (1767-1843), member of the American Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific Ocean, and husband of Lemhi Shoshone guide Sacagawea
• Étienne Desmarteau (1873–1905), policeman and first Olympic medalist from Quebec (1904 Olympics)
• François-Louis Tremblay, short track speed skater and Olympic medalist
• Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine (1807–1864), former premier of the Province of Canada
• Louis Lacoste (1798–1878), notary and politician
• Michel Beaudet, creator of Les Têtes à Claques
• Pierre Boucher (1622–1717), founder of Boucherville
• Stéphane Quintal, former ice hockey player
• Ginette Reno, Singer and actress
• Jonathan Duhamel, winner of the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event
• Marcel Danis, former Cabinet minister under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
• Pierre-Luc Gagnon, professional vert skateboarder
• Sebastien Lareau, professional tennis player
• Rita Baga, drag queen and runner-up of Season 1 of Canada's Drag Race
• Gisèle Lullaby, drag queen and winner of Season 3 of Canada's Drag Race

See also

• Pierre Boucher, Founder of Boucherville
• Îles-de-Boucherville National Park
• Fleuve Saint-Laurent
• Rivière aux Pins (Boucherville)
• Sabrevois River
• Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel
• List of cities in Quebec

References

1. "Banque de noms de lieux du Québec: Reference number 388452". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec.
2. "Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire: Boucherville". Archived from the original on 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
3. Parliament of Canada Federal Riding History: LONGUEUIL--PIERRE-BOUCHER (Quebec)
   Parliament of Canada Federal Riding History: VERCHÈRES--LES PATRIOTES (Quebec) Archived 2020-07-28 at the Wayback Machine
4. "Census Profile — Boucherville, Ville". Canada 2021 Census. Statistics Canada. 2023-11-15. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
5. Bureau, Pierre; Côté, Renée; Michaud, Claude (1979). Boucherville; Répertoire d'architecture traditionnelle. Québec: Ministère des Affaires culturelles. p. 60. ISBN 2-551-03443-4. {{cite book}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
6. Ago, Kiligirlin #history • 2 Years (2019-01-12). "Remembering Canada's Worst Ice Storm Ever - Part 5/Postscript - what happened in my home town". Steemit. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
7. Plan Officiel du Village de Boucherville, Comté de Chambly. Quebec City, Canada: Département des Terres de la Couronne. 10 January 1878.
8. Pratt, Michel. "Les paroisses au XIXe siècle". Société historique et culturelle du Marigot. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
9. Pratt, Michel. "De la balkanisation des villes à leur fusion". Société historique et culturelle du Marigot. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
10. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016 census
11. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
12. "Boucherville, V". Detailed Mother Tongue (103), Knowledge of Official Languages (5), Age Groups (17A) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data. Statistics Canada. 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
13. 2021 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Boucherville, Quebec
14. "Parc industriel". Ville de Boucherville (in French). Retrieved 16 April 2015.
15. "Rona from 1939 to the present". Rona. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
16. Pratt, Michel. "Chroniques de la Rive-Sud 1947-1997". marigot.ca. Société historique du Marigot. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
17. "Maison des jeunes la piaule histoire". maisondesjeunesdeboucherville.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-02-28. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
18. "Historique | Centre Sportif Boucherville". Espace sportif Boucherville (in French). Retrieved 2020-01-31.
19. "Centre multifonctionnel Francine-Gadbois - Location de salles, spectacles, activités et loisirs (Ville de Boucherville)". www.centremulti.qc.ca. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
20. Gelevan, Douglas (2016-11-26). "Boucherville opens new 9-hole disc golf course in Parc de la Rivière-aux-Pins". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
21. http://services.banq.qc.ca/sdx/cep/document.xsp?app=ca.BAnQ.sdx.cep&db=notice&id=0000310400&n=3&dbrf0=xtgpleintexte_fr_FR&dbrv0=boucherville&sBtn=Lancer&qlang=fr-FR&db=notice&dbrn=1&sortfield=date_publication&order=ascendant&col=*&chpp=20&dbrqp=search_notice&qid=sdx_q0&eview=CARTES_PLANS/310400/310400_3.tif^{[permanent dead link‍]}
22. "Ecole secondaire de Mortagne". demortagne.csp.qc.ca (in French). Archived from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
23. Pratt, Michel. "Chroniques de la Rive-sud 1947-1997". Marigot (in French). Société historique du Marigot. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
24. Daniel Hart (13 March 2012). "Les élèves de l'école de Mortagne auront un uniforme à compter de septembre prochain". www.lareleve.qc.ca. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
25. King, M.J. (Chairperson of the board). "South Shore Protestant Regional School Board" (St. Johns, PQ). The News and Eastern Townships Advocate. Volume 119, No. 5. Thursday December 16, 1965. p. 2. Retrieved from Google News on November 23, 2014.
26. "Villes amies" [Sister cities] (in French). Boucherville. Archived from the original on 2018-01-19. Retrieved 2018-01-19.

External links

• Official website