La Prairie, Quebec
La Prairie is a city in the southwest of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is located in the Montérégie administrative region, about 15 km south of the center of Montreal. La Prairie is part of the Regional Municipality Roussillon, has an area of 43.28 km ² and has 23,357 inhabitants ( 2011).
Geography
La Prairie is located in the region Rive- Sud on the southern shore of the St. Lawrence River and is part of the community association Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal. In the municipality there is a section of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Neighboring municipalities are Brossard in the north, Carignan in the Northeast, Saint -Jean -sur -Richelieu in the east, Saint -Philippe in the south and in the west Candiac.
History
Transferred Jacques de La Ferté by the Compagnie de la Nouvelle France in 1647, the current municipal area to the Jesuits. The term Prairie was then a widespread term for a fief. 1667 was built by the Jesuit mission station La Prairie de la Magdelaine to convert the indigenous people living in the region. In 1677 it hosted the flight of the later canonized Kateri Tekakwitha end. The French colonial troops erected in 1687, the Fort Laprairie, to better protect Montreal before English colonists and their allied Iroquois. On August 11, 1691 a British attack was repulsed during the Beaver Wars. The fort was abandoned in 1713 and destroyed in 1775 during the invasion of Canada by the American Continental Army.
1835 saw the establishment of the parish, eleven years later, the civil parish. Underwent significant La Prairie as the starting point of the first railroad on Canadian soil, which opened on July 21, 1836 Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad to Saint -Jean -sur- Richelieu. Until the extension of the line in 1852 provided a ferry connection to Montreal safely. 1909 La Prairie received the city status.
Transport and the economy
By La Prairie leads the Autoroute 15, a highway from Montreal to the border of the U.S. state of New York. South of the town it intersects with Route 30, which travels around the agglomeration of Montreal widely. Other important compounds are the main streets of Route 104 and Route 134 Bus operation CIT Le Richelain operates several lines in the neighboring communities and to Montreal. Due to the favorable location is located in La Prairie, a vast industrial park.
Population
According to the 2011 census counted 23,357 residents, La Prairie, which corresponds to a population density of 539.7 inh. / Km ². 87.3 % of the population reported French as the main language, the proportion of English was 4.1 %. As a bilingual ( French and English) is designated 1.1%, to other languages and multiple responses accounted for 7.5%. Only 43.7 % spoke French. In 2001, 90.5 % of the population were Roman Catholic, 2.5% Protestant, and 4.2% non-denominational.