Kirkland, Quebec
Kirkland is a city in the southwest of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is located on the Île de Montréal west of Montreal. The city has an area of 9.64 km ² and has 21,253 inhabitants ( 2011).
Geography
Kirkland is located in the west of the Île de Montréal, in the region of West Iceland. The municipality is bordered to the north by the Montreal borough of Pierrefonds - Roxboro, on the west by Sainte -Anne -de- Bellevue, on the southwest by Baie- d'Urfe, to the south Beaconsfield, on the east by Pointe- Claire and on the northeast by Dollard- Des Ormeaux. The city center of Montreal is about 22 kilometers away.
History
The foundation of the town took place in 1722 as a parish of Saint -Joachim -de- Pointe -Claire, by a decree of the French king Louis XV. 1845 followed by the establishment of the civil parish. This was on March 24, 1961, city status and was renamed in Kirkland, in honor of the politician Charles -Aimé Kirkland, who was represented from 1939 until his death in 1961 at the provincial legislature. As a result, began a marked population growth, with the settlement area was cut by the construction of the Trans-Canada highways into two parts.
On 1 January 2002 27 municipalities were merged on the island of Montreal. Especially in communities with a high proportion of English speakers was stirring resistance, since this measure was ordered by the provincial government of the separatist Parti Québécois. As of 2003, the Parti libéral du Québec, the government and promised to make the municipal mergers reversed. On 20 July 2004 referendums were held in 22 former municipalities. In Kirkland, 87.6 % of eligible participants were in favor of the separation. The community was re-established on 1 January 2006, but was forced to cede to the Association of Municipalities numerous competencies.
Population
According to the 2011 census counted 21,253 inhabitants Kirkland, which corresponds to a population density of 2204.7 inh. / Km ². 42.8 % of the population reported English as the main language, the proportion of French was 21.0 %. As a bilingual ( French and English) is designated 2.0%, to other languages and multiple responses accounted for 34.2 %. Among the most important non-official main languages were Italian ( 8.1% ), Arabic (3.1% ), Chinese (2.9%), Greek ( 2.3%), Spanish ( 1.7%) and Persian ( 1, 4%). Strictly speaking English 18.5%, French only 2.9%. In 2001, 61.5 % of the population were Roman Catholic, 14.3 % Protestant, 7.6 % Orthodox, 3.0% Muslim, and 7.8% non-denominational.
Traffic
The Autoroute 40 between Montreal and Ottawa, divides the city into two halves. Another highway Autoroute 20 towards Toronto, a few kilometers south runs. An important cross-connection is the Boulevard Saint -Charles between Beaconsfield and Sainte -Geneviève. Several bus lines of the Société de transport de Montréal establish connections with neighboring communities.