La Prairie (French pronunciation: [la pʁɛʁi]) is an off-island suburb (south shore) of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Jacques River and the Saint Lawrence River in the Regional County Municipality of Roussillon. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 26,406.
La Prairie | |
|---|---|
-2022-06-03.jpg) Old La Prairie | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto(s): Victor Hostium et Sui (Latin for "Master of our Enemies and Oneself") | |
 Location within Roussillon RCM | |
  La Prairie Location in southern Quebec | |
| Coordinates: 45°25′N 73°30′W / 45.42°N 73.5°W[1] | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Quebec |
| Region | Montérégie |
| RCM | Roussillon |
| Constituted | March 30, 1846 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Frédéric Galantai |
| • Federal riding | La Prairie |
| • Prov. riding | La Prairie |
| Area | |
| • Total | 54.80 km2 (21.16 sq mi) |
| • Land | 43.47 km2 (16.78 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[4] | |
| • Total | 26,406 |
| • Density | 607.4/km2 (1,573/sq mi) |
| • Pop 2016–2021 |  9.5% |
| • Dwellings | 11,309 |
| Demonym(s) | Laprairien,(ienne) (French) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area code(s) | 450 and 579 |
Highways  A-15  A-30 |  R-104  R-132  R-134  R-217 |
| Website | www |
History
edit
French Jesuits were the first Europeans to occupy the area, which was named La Prairie de la Magdelaine but was also called François-Xavier-des-Prés. The land was given to the Jesuits by Jacques de La Ferté and the Company of One Hundred Associates in 1647. It is in La Prairie that the story Kateri Tekakwitha took place.
In 1668, the site was named Kentaké, the Iroquois name for "at the prairie". In the beginning of modern Quebec history, the territory of La Prairie would be visited on numerous occasions by Iroquois and English settlers from New York, among others at the time of the Anglo-Iroquois expedition of Pieter Schuyler in 1691, who commanded two battles on August 11, 1691.
The close of the Seven Years' War led to the 1763 treaty ending the French and Indian War. New France, sparsely-populated by indigenous peoples and descendants of French colonists, was ceded by France and divided into British colonies. The territory of La Prairie became part of the Province of Quebec (1763–1791) within the British Empire.
In 1845, the village of La Prairie was established. One year later, La Prairie-de-la-Magdelaine was established. La Prairie was the seat of Laprairie County (1855-1980s),[5] which included the parishes of La Prairie, Notre-Dame, Ste-Catherine, St-Constant, St-Isidore, St-Jacques-le-Mineur, St-Mathieu and St-Philippe. In 1909, La Prairie obtained official city status.
Historically, the city has been an important transportation hub, as it was the point of transfer between Montreal ferries and the land route to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, gateway to Lake Champlain and the Hudson River. The first railway line in British North America, the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad, connected it with Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu on July 21, 1836;[6] the railway ran over 16 miles (26 km). The construction of a rail line between La Prairie and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu would greatly accelerate the commercial development of the village. River transport equally played an important role in La Prairie's history.
Geography
edit
Climate
editLike the rest of southwestern Quebec, La Prairie has hot summers and cold winters, for a generally temperate climate. Winters are cold and sometimes long (snow is usually present from mid-November to mid-April), with temperatures occasionally dipping below -30 °C, not counting the windchill. During snowstorms, snowfall frequently surpasses 40 centimeters. In the summer, temperatures sometimes exceed 30 °C.
Environment
editIn 2013, Grand Boisé conservation park is planned to be created and orchestrated by Nature-Action. The park would include Smithers' swamp, as well as, Hydro-Quebec's servitude area in which the western chorus frog, a vulnerable species in Quebec, is found in greatest numbers. There is a controversy involving the city housing development in that area which was supposed to be conserved integrally with high priority according to RCM of Roussillon 1990s' maps. Local environmental organisms, such as Vigile verte and Projet Rescousse, are denouncing the choice of that land for housing development. The debate is ongoing.
Demographics
edit| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1851 | 814 | — |
| 1861 | 1,523 | +87.1% |
| 1871 | 1,259 | −17.3% |
| 1881 | 1,340 | +6.4% |
| 1891 | 1,246 | −7.0% |
| 1901 | 1,451 | +16.5% |
| 1911 | 2,388 | +64.6% |
| 1921 | 2,158 | −9.6% |
| 1931 | 2,774 | +28.5% |
| 1941 | 2,936 | +5.8% |
| 1951 | 4,058 | +38.2% |
| 1956 | 5,372 | +32.4% |
| 1961 | 7,328 | +36.4% |
| 1966 | 8,122 | +10.8% |
| 1971 | 8,309 | +2.3% |
| 1976 | 9,173 | +10.4% |
| 1981 | 10,627 | +15.9% |
| 1986 | 11,072 | +4.2% |
| 1991 | 15,237 | +37.6% |
| 1996 | 17,128 | +12.4% |
| 2001 | 18,896 | +10.3% |
| 2006 | 21,763 | +15.2% |
| 2011 | 23,357 | +7.3% |
| 2016 | 24,110 | +3.2% |
| 2021 | 26,406 | +9.5% |
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, La Prairie had a population of 26,406 living in 11,049 of its 11,309 total private dwellings, a change of 9.5% from its 2016 population of 24,110. With a land area of 43.47 km2 (16.78 sq mi), it had a population density of 607.5/km2 (1,573.3/sq mi) in 2021.[8]
| 2021 | 2016 | 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 26,406 (+9.5% from 2016) | 24,110 (+3.2% from 2011) | 23,357 (+7.3% from 2006) |
| Land area | 43.47 km2 (16.78 sq mi) | 43.68 km2 (16.86 sq mi) | 43.28 km2 (16.71 sq mi) |
| Population density | 607.4/km2 (1,573/sq mi) | 552/km2 (1,430/sq mi) | 539.7/km2 (1,398/sq mi) |
| Median age | 42.8 (M: 42.4, F: 43.6) | 41.4 (M: 41, F: 41.9) | 39.2 (M: 38.5, F: 39.7) |
| Private dwellings | 11,309 (total) 11,049 (occupied) | 9,947 (total) | 9,346 (total) |
| Median household income | $91,000 | $79,881 | $74,167 |
| Canada Census Mother Tongue – La Prairie, Quebec[7] | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Total | French
|
English
|
French & English
|
Other
| |||||||||||||
| Year | Responses | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | |||||
2021
|
25,285
|
19,540 |  1.6%
|
74.4% | 1,260 | 27.3%
|
4.8% | 465 | 66.1%
|
1.8% | 4,490 | 72.0%
|
17.1% | |||||
2016
|
23,985
|
19,860 | 0.4%
|
82.8% | 990 | 7.0%
|
4.1% | 280 | 14.3%
|
1.2% | 2,610 | 34.2%
|
10.9% | |||||
2011
|
22,895
|
19,780 | 4.1%
|
86.4% | 925 | 25.0%
|
4.0% | 245 | 113.0%
|
1.1% | 1,945 | 17.5%
|
8.5% | |||||
2006
|
21,520
|
19,010 | 13.5%
|
88.3% | 740 | 2.1%
|
3.4% | 115 | 25.8%
|
0.5% | 1,655 | 89.1%
|
7.7% | |||||
2001
|
18,500
|
16,745 | 12.6%
|
90.5% | 725 | 26.1%
|
3.9% | 155 | 13.9%
|
0.8% | 875 | 18.6%
|
4.7% | |||||
1996
|
16,700
|
14,870 | n/a | 89.0% | 575 | n/a | 3.4% | 180 | n/a | 1.1% | 1,075 | n/a | 6.4% | |||||
Infrastructure
edit
The CIT Le Richelain provides commuter and local bus services.
Education
editThe town has three high schools: l'École de la Magdeleine, a public French school which offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme, Collège Jean de la Mennais, a private mixed French school and Saint-François-Xavier, a public French school.
The South Shore Protestant Regional School Board previously served the municipality.[14]
Gallery
edit-
Houses in Old La Prairie -
Church of La Nativité de la Sainte-Vierge in La Prairie -
City Hall
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Banque de noms de lieux du Québec: Reference number 34269". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec.
- ^ a b "Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire: La Prairie". Mamrot.gouv.qc.ca. 1909-05-07. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
- ^ "Parliament of Canada Federal Riding History: BROSSARD-LA PRAIRIE (Quebec)". .parl.gc.ca. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
- ^ a b "2021 Statistics Canada Census Profile: La Prairie, Quebec". 2.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
- ^ [1] Laprairie County, Quebec - Genealogy, accessed April 2018.
- ^ Ayre, Robert (1932-01-01). "When the Railway Came to Canada". Queen's Quarterly. 39. ProQuest 1296948193.
- ^ a b Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021census
- ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
- ^ "2021 Community Profiles". 2021 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. February 4, 2022. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
- ^ "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
- ^ "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
- ^ "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
- ^ "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.
- ^ King, M.J. (Chairperson of the board). "South Shore Protestant Regional School Board" (St. Johns, PQ). The News and Eastern Townships Advocate. Volume 119, No. 5. Thursday December 16, 1965. p. 2. Retrieved from Google News on November 23, 2014.
External links
edit
- (in French) Official website