Longueuil

Longueuil is a city in Quebec, Canada. It is on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from Montreal.

The city was founded by Charles Le Moyne in 1657. It grew from a small village to become a city in 1920. Longueuil is mostly a place where people live and travel to work in Montreal. The city has three areas: Le Vieux-Longueuil, Saint-Hubert, and Greenfield Park.

History

Longueuil was founded in 1657 by Charles Le Moyne, a merchant from Montreal. He named it after a village in his hometown of Normandy. His son built Fort Longueuil as a fortified home between 1685 and 1690.

Over time, Longueuil grew from a small settlement into a city. It became a parish in 1845, a village in 1848, a town in 1874, and finally a city in 1920. The city grew larger by merging with nearby areas in 1961 and 1969. Later, in 2002, it merged with several other cities, but some became independent again in 2006. Today, Longueuil includes parts of its former area along with Saint-Hubert, Greenfield Park, and LeMoyne.

Geography

Longueuil covers 115.59 square kilometres of land. It is next to several cities, including Saint-Lambert, Brossard, Boucherville, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, and is close to the Saint Lawrence River and Montreal. Longueuil is about 7 kilometres east of Montreal on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River.

The city is in the Saint Lawrence River valley and is mostly flat. Areas near the river used to be swamp land with mixed forests and were later used for farming. Some farmland still exists far from the river. Longueuil also includes Île Charron, a small island in the Saint Lawrence River, and part of the Boucherville Islands.

Climate

Like Montreal, Longueuil has a humid continental climate. The city has long winters from November to March, short springs in April and May, warm summers from June to August, and short autumns in September and October.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population by Statistics Canada, Longueuil had 254,483 people living in 113,086 homes. The city covers 115.77 km² (44.70 sq mi) and had a population density of 2,198.2/km² (5,693.3/sq mi) in 2021.

Of the 147,805 workers in Longueuil, the median income was $36,400. Some of Montreal's neighborhoods with lower incomes are in Longueuil.

Language

As of the 2021 Canadian Census, French was the mother tongue language of 71.9% of Longueuil's residents. English was the first language of 5.8%. Other languages were spoken by 17.8% of the population. The most common were Spanish (4.5%), Arabic (2.9%), Romanian (0.9%), Haitian Creole (0.9%), Portuguese (0.8%), Mandarin (0.8%), Russian (0.7%) and Dari (0.7%).

Ethnicity

People of European origins made up 73.4% of the population in 2021. The largest visible minority groups are Black (9.9%), Latin American (4.6%), Arab (4.4%), Chinese (1.7%), Indigenous (1.3%), and West Asian (1.1%).

Economy

Many people in Longueuil work in nearby Montreal, but the city also has many jobs in different industries. Longueuil is special because its property value is low, even though it is close to Montreal.

The city is known for its aerospace industry. It is home to the headquarters of Pratt & Whitney Canada and Héroux-Devtek. The Canadian Space Agency (John H. Chapman Space Center) is also in Longueuil, near Montréal/Saint-Hubert Airport. Other companies based in Longueuil include Agropur, Innergex Renewable Energy, and the Canadian subsidiary of Hasbro.

Arts and culture

The Longueuil International Percussion Festival takes place each July in the Old Longueuil area. For six days, about 500 musicians play music, and it draws around 200,000 visitors every year.

Attractions

Longueuil has three nature parks: Parc Marie-Victorin and Parc Michel-Chartrand in Le Vieux-Longueuil, and Parc de la Cité in Saint-Hubert. It also has a wildlife reserve called the Boisé du Tremblay, which is partly in Le Vieux-Longueuil and partly in Boucherville.

The city has seven arenas, including Cynthia Coull Arena in Greenfield Park and several others in Le Vieux-Longueuil and Saint-Hubert. There are also notable places of worship, such as the Roman Catholic Co-Cathedral of Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue and the Montréal Québec Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Sport

Longueuil has many places where people can play sports and stay active.

Government

Municipal

The mayor of Longueuil is Catherine Fournier. She is the fifth mayor since the city joined together in 2002. Before her, Sylvie Parent was mayor. Other past mayors include Jacques Olivier and Claude Gladu.

Longueuil has three areas called boroughs: Le Vieux-Longueuil, Greenfield Park, and Saint-Hubert. There are 26 city councillors. The city hall is in the Saint-Hubert borough.

Federal and provincial

Longueuil has three federal areas, called ridings. Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne is represented by Sherry Romanado. Longueuil-Saint-Hubert is represented by Pierre Nantel. Montarville is represented by Michel Picard.

In provincial elections, Longueuil has four areas. Laporte includes Greenfield Park and Saint-Hubert and is represented by Nicole Ménard. Marie-Victorin includes part of Le Vieux-Longueuil and is represented by Catherine Fournier. Taillon covers another part of Le Vieux-Longueuil and is represented by Marie Malavoy. Vachon covers Saint-Hubert and is represented by Martine Ouellet.

Infrastructure

Many people in Longueuil travel to work in Montreal each day. More people from Longueuil go to Montreal than stay in Longueuil. Some also travel to nearby cities like Boucherville, Brossard, and Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville for work.

Longueuil has several important roads. Two big crossings connect Longueuil to Montreal over the Saint Lawrence River: the Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine Tunnel and the Jacques Cartier Bridge. Major highways like Autoroute 20 and Autoroute 30 run through the city, linking it to other places.

Public transportation in Longueuil is provided by the Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL). It has many bus routes and shared taxis. Most buses end at the Longueuil Bus Terminus or the Panama REM station in Brossard. The Longueuil–Université-de-Sherbrooke Metro station connects Longueuil to downtown Montreal using the Metro’s Yellow Line. There is also a commuter train station called Longueuil–Saint-Hubert station.

Longueuil has Saint-Hubert Airport, which is important for small planes. There is also a small marina called the Réal-Bouvier Marina on the Saint Lawrence River, and a ferry service that goes to the Old Port of Montreal.

Longueuil has two hospitals. The bigger one is Charles-LeMoyne Hospital in Greenfield Park. The smaller one is Pierre-Boucher Hospital in Le Vieux-Longueuil.

Education

Longueuil has many places for learning. You can find campuses from big universities like the Université de Sherbrooke and the Université de Montréal in the Borough of Le Vieux-Longueuil.

There is one college called Collège Édouard-Montpetit in Le Vieux-Longueuil. This college has a special school for airplane technology, École nationale d'aérotechnique, near Saint-Hubert Airport in Saint-Hubert.

Younger students can go to public schools for English and French speakers. English schools are run by the Riverside School Board and have three bigger schools for older students. French schools are run by the Commission scolaire Marie-Victorin and have seven bigger schools for older students in different parts of Longueuil.

Media

Longueuil and nearby cities have two free weekly newspapers in French. Le Courrier du Sud is the oldest one and has special sections for different areas. Rive-Sud Express is a newer weekly paper. Both newspapers are delivered to homes and are also available in boxes. There is also a free monthly paper called Point Sud that you can find on stands.

Longueuil has its own radio station, CHAA-FM 103.3. Another station, CHMP-FM 98.5, is licensed to Longueuil but its studio and transmitter are in Montreal. Local cable viewers can watch Télé Rive-Sud (TVRS), a cable TV station owned by Quebecor Media and affiliated with Canal Vox. It is available only to Videotron cable subscribers.

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Canada

Longueuil has special friendships with these places:

• Lafayette, Louisiana, United States
• Whitby, Ontario, Canada

Notable people

Longueuil has been home to many talented people. Some famous people from the city are Micheline Beauchemin, a textile artist, and Maxime Comtois, an ice hockey player.

Other well-known residents are Elizabeth Hosking, an Olympic snowboarder, and Jon Lajoie, a comedian. The city has also produced athletes like Anthony Mantha, who plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Abraham Toro, a baseball player for the Boston Red Sox.

Actors, painters, and soccer players such as Émilien Néron, Judith Sainte-Marie, Lysianne Proulx, Nathan Saliba, and graphic novelist Zviane all come from Longueuil.