Boucherville

Boucherville is a city in the southwest of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is located in the Montérégie administrative region across from Montreal. Boucherville is part of the agglomeration of Longueuil, has an area of ​​70.81 km ² and has 40 753 inhabitants ( 2011). From 2002 to 2006 Boucherville was a district of Longueuil.

Geography

Boucherville is located on the eastern shore of the Saint Lawrence River in the region Rive- Sud, in a largely flat terrain. The city area is part of the past in the current Îles de Boucherville. This island group is part of the Hochelaga Archipelago and consists of about a dozen islands, including Ile Gros Bois, Île de la Commune, the Île Sainte -Marguerite, the Île Saint -Jean and Île Tourte Blanche. The 8.14 km ² Parc national des Îles- de - Boucherville covers most of this island group. Neighboring municipalities are Varennes in the north, Sainte -Julie in the Northeast, Saint- Bruno -de- Montarville the southeast, Longueuil in the south and Montreal and Montréal- Ouest in the west ( on the opposite side of the St. Lawrence River on the Île de Montréal).

History

Pierre Boucher, the French governor of Trois- Rivières, received in 1664 the Seigneurie Îles- percées awarded. When he retired in 1667 from his office, he founded a fortified settlement on the river bank, which was soon called Boucherville. The first wooden church was built in 1670, eight years later, the foundation of the parish of Sainte- Famille. Almost three centuries, agriculture has remained the dominant industry. A major fire destroyed almost all the houses in 1843. In the 1950s, began a marked population growth and Boucherville developed into a suburb of Montreal, and received city status in 1957. But there is more won Boucherville from the mid-1960s after the opening of the highway rapidly in importance.

The Government of the Province of Quebec ordered the merger of several municipalities with the city Longueuil, which entered into force on 1 January 2002. Boucherville now formed a district of Longueuil. This approach met with in parts of the population with strong resistance. In a referendum on 20 January 2004, 63.8 % of voters were in favor of the separation, the required quorum of 35 % of the votes of all voting was clearly exceeded. The community was re-established on 1 January 2006, but was forced to cede some powers to the Association of Municipalities of the agglomeration of Longueuil. Boucherville is a member of the company founded in 2000 Zweckverbandes Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal.

Population

According to the 2011 census counted 40,753 inhabitants Boucherville, which corresponds to a population density of 575.5 inh. / Km ². 92.4 % of the population reported French as the main language, the proportion of English was 2.3 %. As a bilingual ( French and English) is designated 0.6 %, to other languages ​​and multiple responses accounted for 4.7%. Only 58.1 % spoke French. In 2001, 93.7 % of the population were Roman Catholic, 1.1% Protestant, and 4.1% non-denominational.

Transport and the economy

Boucherville is located on Autoroute 20, this highway runs in Montreal and Drummondville Levis according to Rivière -du -Loup. It crosses the Saint Lawrence River by the Pont Louis -Hippolyte Lafontaine -, a combined bridge and tunnel building; the eastern part to Ile Sainte -Marguerite is above ground, the western subterranean. Along the riverside, the highway intersects with the main road Route 132 ( Longueuil - Sorel - Tracy), which is expanded highway-like within the city limits. The Réseau de transport de Longueuil bus companies and CIT Sorel -Varennes are responsible for the public transport system, connect the Boucherville with several neighboring towns and the metro Montreal.

On both sides of the motorway is a 7-km ² large industrial and commercial zone; there are around 600 companies in various industries with more than 23,000 jobs. Most important company headquartered in Boucherville is RONA, a retail chain for household appliances and garden products.

Twinning

Boucherville maintains a partnership with the French community Mortagne -au -Perche, the home of city founder Pierre Boucher.

Personalities

  • Toussaint Charbonneau (1767-1843), researchers
  • Jonathan Duhamel (* 1987), professional poker player
  • DesMarteau Étienne (1873-1905), Athlete
  • Louis -Hippolyte La Fontaine (1807-1864), politician

Pictures

Maison Quintal Quesnel (1750 )

Parc national des Îles- de - Boucherville

Ehem. Convent of the Congregation of Notre -Dame ( 1888)

Postal codes in Canada South Shore (Montreal) Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville Sorel-Tracy Montreal Metro Mortagne-au-Perche Statistics Canada
140551
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