Montréal-Ouest Explained

Montreal West
Native Name:Montréal-Ouest
Native Name Lang:fr
Settlement Type:City
Nickname:The Garden Suburb, MoWest[1]
Motto:Justitia Omnibus (Latin for "Justice for All")
Pushpin Map:Canada Southern Quebec
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in southern Quebec
Coordinates:45.4536°N -73.6472°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Canada
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Quebec
Subdivision Type2:Region
Subdivision Name2:Montreal
Subdivision Type3:RCM
Subdivision Name3:None
Established Title:Founded
Established Date:1897
Established Title1:Constituted
Established Date1:January 1, 2006
Government Footnotes:[2] [3]
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Name:Beny Masella
Leader Title1:Federal riding
Leader Name1:Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount
Leader Title2:Prov. riding
Leader Name2:Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Area Footnotes:[4]
Area Total Km2:1.42
Area Land Km2:1.37
Population Total:5115
Population As Of:2021
Population Density Km2:3737.9
Population Blank2 Title:Dwellings
Population Blank2:2031
Population Demonym:MoWester
Timezone:EST
Utc Offset:−05:00
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:−04:00
Postal Code Type:Postal code(s)
Postal Code:H4X, H4B
Area Code:514 and 438
Blank Name:Highways
Blank Info:

Montreal West (French: Montréal-Ouest) is an on-island municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Island of Montreal.

Montreal West is a small, close-knit community made up primarily of single-family dwellings. The town is largely composed of families, with 77% of the population speaking English as their primary language at home, the highest percentage on the island.

Sherbrooke Street, a major artery spanning most of the Island of Montreal, has its western terminus here, beginning at a T-intersection with the town's main street, Westminster Avenue.

History

In 1897, the Town of Montreal West was created when it separated from the Village Municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Ouest. It had 50 houses and a population of 350 persons at that time. Its town hall was built in 1910.[5]

On January 1, 2002, as part of the 2002–2006 municipal reorganization in Montreal, Montreal West and the neighbouring suburbs of Côte-Saint-Luc and Hampstead were merged into the City of Montreal and became the borough of Côte-Saint-Luc–Hampstead–Montreal West. Following a change of government and a 2004 referendum in which the population voted to de-merge by a wide margin, Montreal West was reconstituted as an independent city on January 1, 2006.

Demographics

In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Montreal West had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of 1.37km2, it had a population density of in 2021.[6]

+Home language (2016)LanguagePopulationPercentage
English3,64077%
French76516%
Other3507%
+Mother tongue (2016)LanguagePopulationPercentage
English2,90560%
French92019%
Other1,00021%
+Visible minorities (2016)EthnicityPopulationPercentage
Not a visible minority3,15078.2%
Visible minorities88021.8%

Montreal West includes three medium-sized churches. One is United (Montreal West United Church http://www.mwuc.org), one is Anglican (St. Philip's Church), and the final is Presbyterian (Montreal West Presbyterian Church). The Montreal West United Church also rents space to a Pentecostal service (Overcomers Assembly). St. Philip's Anglican Church rents space to the New Life Korean Presbyterian Church.

Politics and government

Municipal council

Municipal council:[7]

DistrictPositionName
- MayorBeny Masella
Seat 1City councillorLauren Small-Pennefather
Seat 2City councillorElizabeth Ulin
Seat 3City councillorColleen Feeney
Seat 4City councillorMaria Torres

In terms of services, the town has its own Public Works Department, Public Security Department, a fire station, a community center (named after former town mayor John A. Simms), and a town hall.

Law enforcement

The town's various codes and ordinances are upheld by its Public Security Department, consisting of a lieutenant with a team of "By-Law Enforcement Constables" under his supervision.

List of mayors

List of former mayors:[8]

Federal and provincial politics

The Town of Montreal West is located in the federal riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, represented by Marc Garneau, and the provincial riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, represented by Désirée McGraw.

Events

Canada Day

Canada Day is the largest community event of the year in Montreal West. Residents organize a parade route that mainly runs down the main street of Westminster and ends at Strathern Park. Floats represented in the parade include organizations and clubs located in town, as well as some created personally by residents.

In some years, there have been water fights between sidelined residents and members of the parade (mainly the swimming pool float). Water fights during these years have seen water balloons and super soaker water guns, as well as the odd hose drawn from a house. Organizers have tried to minimize these activities in recent years so as not to detract from the parade itself, with varying success.

Following the parade, residents converge on Strathern Park for a giant picnic/BBQ. Many children's games and activities go on at the park, as well as in the nearby Percival park. The final event of the evening is the fireworks, which take place around 10pm at Hodgson Field.

Fête Nationale du Québec

Annually on June 23 (the day before the actual holiday) there is a picnic at Davies Park, featuring music performed by Québécois musicians. In the late evening, a large bonfire is held in the centre of the park.

Garbage Bowl

The Garbage Bowl is a yearly tradition held every January 1 since 1950, where men from Montreal West separate into two teams, the Northern Combines in red longjohns and the Southern Bombers in green longjohns, and play a football game in the frigid weather with proceeds from donations, food, and commemorative pins going to charity.

Parks and recreation

The town of Montreal West has a large number of neighbourhood parks and public spaces. They include: Dave Reid Park, Davies Park, George Booth Park, Hodgson Park, John A. Simms Park, Kirkpatrick Park, Memorial Park, Percival Park, Ronald Park, Roy D. Locke Park, Rugby Park, Sheraton Park, Strathearn Park and Toe Blake Park (which was named after former Montreal Canadiens head coach Toe Blake). The town also has an indoor ice skating rink, clay tennis courts, and a public swimming pool.

The core business area of Montreal West is located on Westminster Avenue between Sherbrooke and Curzon. Until 2010, it consisted exclusively of small, non-franchised businesses, but in a controversial decision,[9] the Pharmaprix drugstore chain was allowed to open a large outlet on the corner of Westminster and Sherbrooke Street.

Public transportation

Montreal West is serviced by six Société de transport de Montréal bus lines. Each of these connects to a corresponding Montreal Metro (subway) station or to the Montréal-Ouest Train Station. Trains that run through this station connect passengers to downtown Montreal on one end, and three different routes heading away from the city at the other end.

Bus routes servicing Montreal-West
Société de transport de Montréal
No. and Route NameService TimesConnections
51 Édouard-MontpetitAll-day local
90 Saint-Jacques All-day local
105 SherbrookeAll-day localMontreal-Ouest (AMT)
123 DollardAll-day localMontreal-Ouest (AMT)
162 WestminsterAll-day localMontreal-Ouest (AMT)
356 SherbrookeOvernight local
It was also planned that the Pink Line (Montreal Metro) would be connecting in the Montreat Ouest region in the distant future.

Education

Montreal West is notable for having Quebec's highest rated Anglophone public high school, Royal West Academy (ranked 39th overall in 2005 by the Fraser Institute). It also has two Anglophone elementary schools, Elizabeth Ballantyne Elementary School and Edinburgh Elementary School which offers French immersion. These schools are part of the English Montreal School Board.

The town has a public children's library located in Elizabeth Ballantyne school. A library for all age groups is located on Westminster Avenue.

Media

The Town of Montreal West prints a newspaper called The Informer on a monthly basis, excluding the summer. There are 9 editions of The Informer published per year. This newspaper is meant to foster a small-town atmosphere and to keep Montreal West citizens up to date on town information. The Informer was initially published under the name The Citizen's Viewspaper in 1973 by a group of Montreal West citizens before being changed to its current name. The Town of Montreal West has agreed to subsidize this paper to date.[10]

Notable people

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The MoWest Canada Day parade is returning Friday, July 1!. The Informer. 24 August 2022.
  2. Web site: Répertoire des municipalités: Montréal-Ouest . www.mamh.gouv.qc.ca . Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation . 20 June 2022 . fr.
  3. Web site: Parliament of Canada Federal Riding History: NOTRE-DAME-DE-GRÂCE—LACHINE (Quebec) . 2009-03-31 . https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20121006085921/http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/FederalRidingsHistory/hfer.asp?Include=Y&Language=E&rid=1035&Search=Det . 2012-10-06 . dead .
  4. Web site: Montréal-Ouest, Ville (V) Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population . www12.statcan.gc.ca . 9 February 2022 . Government of Canada – Statistics Canada . 20 June 2022.
  5. Web site: Town History . montreal-west.ca . Montreal West . 20 June 2022 . en . 26 July 2018.
  6. Web site: Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec . . February 9, 2022 . August 29, 2022.
  7. Web site: Town Council Montreal West . 10 November 2023.
  8. Web site: Répertoire des entités géopolitiques: Montréal-Ouest (ville) 9.1.1897 – 1.1.2002 ● 1.1.2006 – ... . www.mairesduquebec.com . Institut généalogique Drouin . 20 June 2022.
  9. News: Proposed pharmacy draws controversy . CBC News . October 21, 2010.
  10. Web site: The Informer | Montreal West. 6 July 2018 .