Laval, Quebec

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Laval, Quebec
City
Ville de Laval
Flag of Laval, Quebec
Flag
Coat of arms of Laval, Quebec
Coat of arms
Motto(s): 
"Unité, progrès, grandeur"  (French)
"Unity, Progress, Greatness"
City of Laval
City of Laval
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
Established1965 [citation needed]
Government
 • City MayorGilles Vaillancourt (since 1989)
Area
 • Total247.09 km2 (95.40 sq mi)
Elevation
91 m (299 ft)
Population
 (2006)
 • Total368,709 (Ranked 14th)
 • Density1,492.2/km2 (3,865/sq mi)
 Metro population est. 2006
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal code span
Metropolitan Montreal 122 FSAs H7A to H7Y
Websitewww.ville.laval.qc.ca
Area code = 450

Laval (IPA: læˈvæl) is a city and a region in southwestern Quebec, Canada in the Greater Montreal Area. It is located on Île Jésus, across the Rivière des Prairies from Montreal. It also includes the Îles Laval in the Rivière des Prairies. In 2006, the city had a population of 368,709 [1], which makes it the third largest city in Quebec. Laval constitutes one of the 17 administrative regions of Quebec, whose number is 13, as well as a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and census division (CD) with geographical code 65.

History

Laval was originally inhabited by Mohawks before the French arrived. The first European Settlers were Jesuits in 1636 when they were granted a seigneury there. Agriculture first appeared in Laval in 1670. In 1675, François de Montmorency-Laval gained control of the seigneury. In 1702 a parish was founded, and dedicated to Saint-François de Sales. The first municipalities on the island were created in 1845, after nearly 200 years of a rural nature. The only built-up area on the island, Sainte-Rose, was incorporated as a village in 1850, and remained as the main community for the remainder of the century. With the dawn of the 20th century came urbanization. Laval-des-Rapides became Laval's first city in 1912, followed by L'Abord-à-Plouffe being granted village status three years later. Laval-sur-le-Lac was founded in the same year on its tourist-based economy from Montrealers. Laval began to grow throughout the following years, due to its proximity to Montreal that made it an ideal suburb.

To deal with problems caused by urbanization, amalgamations occurred; L'Abord-à-Plouffe amalgamated with Renaud and Saint-Martin creating the city of Chomedey in 1961. The amalgamation turned out to be so successful for the municipalities involved that the Quebec government decided to amalgamate the whole island into a single city of Laval in 1965. Laval was named after the first owner of Île Jésus, François de Montmorency-Laval, the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Quebec. At the time, Laval had a population of 170,000. Laval became a Regional County Municipality in 1980. Prior to that, it was the County of Laval.[2]

The 14 municipalities, which existed prior to the incorporation of the amalgamated City of Laval on August 6, 1965, were:

Geography

The island is still rural in nature, with most of the urban area in the central region and along the south and west river banks.

Laval is bounded on the south by Montreal across the Rivière des Prairies, on the north by MRC des Moulins and by MRC de Thérèse-de-Blainville and on the west by MRC de Deux-Montagnes across the Rivière des Mille Îles.

Demographics

Laval
Population
by year

1971 - 228,010
1976 - 246,240
1981 - 268,335
1986 - 290,791
1991 - 321,937
1996 - 334,882
2001 - 349,896
2006 - 376,845

[citation needed]

Laval is the fifth largest suburb in North America after Town of Hempstead, New York; Mississauga, Ontario; Mesa, Arizona and Surrey, British Columbia.

Ethnic Origin Population Percent
Canadian 168,090 46.1%
French 88,210 24.2%
Italian 34,500 9.5%
Greek 18,760 5.1%
Irish 15,555 4.3%
Haitian 12,250 3.4%
Lebanese 10,725 2.9%
Québécois 8,055 2.2%
English 7,655 2.1%
Armenian 7,640 2.1%
Portuguese 7,370 2%
Scottish 6,535 1.8%
First Nations 6,415 1.8%
German 6,090 1.7%
Spanish 5,070 1.4%
Romanian 3,885 1.1%
Moroccan 3,645 1%

In 2001, the population of Laval was an estimated 343,005, a 3.8 percent increase from the earlier census in 1996. Women constitute 51.44% of the total population. Children under 14 years of age total 18.6%, while those of retirement age (65 years of age and older) number 13.2% resulting in a median age of 38.7 years.[3]

In Laval, 15.48% of the population was born outside of Canada, substantially lower than the national average, many immigrants hailing from the French Caribbean, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. Those of indigenous origin constitute 0.22%, while those who are visible minorities (non-white/European) number 8.68%, and are chiefly Black Canadian, Arab, and Hispanic. As with many parts of Quebec, the city is highly Christian (90.71%), particularly Roman Catholic (81.09%), while Protestant and Orthodox groups constitute the remainder of the population. Religions such as Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and others number less than 5% combined.

Languages

Laval is not quite as linguistically diverse as neighbouring Montreal. The 2006 census found that, counting both single and multiple responses, French was spoken as a mother tongue by 68.4% of the population, and was spoken most often at home by 73.8% of Laval residents.[4] Counting single responses only, the next most common mother tongues were English (6.9%), Italian (4.4%), Greek and Arabic (3.9% each), Spanish (2.2%) and Armenian (1.8%).[5]

Mother tongue Population Percentage
French 242,155 66.41%
English 25,270 6.93%
English and French 2,375 0.65%
French and a non-official language 4,025 1.10%
English and a non-official language 1,695 0.46%
English, French and a non-official language 685 0.19%
Italian 16,025 4.39%
Arabic 14,330 3.93%
Greek 14,070 3.86%
Spanish 8,065 2.21%
Armenian 6,420 1.76%
Creole 5,120 1.40%
Portuguese 4,670 1.28%
Romanian 2,970 0.81%
Vietnamese 1,900 0.52%
Khmer (Cambodian) 1,415 0.39%
Chinese languages 1,365 0.37%
Mother tongue Population Percentage
Persian 1,260 0.35%
Lao 1,035 0.28%
German 955 0.26%
Russian 935 0.26%
Polish 875 0.24%
Hungarian 785 0.22%
Panjabi (Punjabi) 775 0.21%
Tamil 545 0.15%
Urdu 485 0.13%
Croatian 430 0.12%
Turkish 305 0.08%
Tagalog 190 0.05%
Yiddish 175 0.05%
Hebrew 150 0.04%
Dutch 140 0.04%
Serbian 140 0.04%
Bengali 125 0.03%


Administration

Currently the city is divided in six sectors (secteurs in French) which only approximately cover the territories of the former municipalities. They are:

  • Sector 1
    • Duvernay
    • Saint-François
    • Saint-Vincent-de-Paul
  • Sector 2
    • Laval-des-Rapides
    • Pont-Viau
    • Renaud
  • Sector 3
    • Chomedey
  • Sector 4
    • Fabreville Ouest
    • Îles Laval
    • Laval-Ouest
    • Laval-sur-le-Lac
    • Sainte-Dorothée
  • Sector 5
    • Fabreville Est
    • Sainte-Rose
  • Sector 6
    • Vimont
    • Auteuil

The former city of Fabreville was divided among two sectors.

Flag, seal and motto

On a white-yellow background, the emblem of Laval illustrates the modernism of a city in full expansion. The sign of the city symbolizes the "L" of Laval.

The colours also have a significant meaning :

  • Dark red represents usually the affluence and represents here the great economic potential of Laval.
  • Blue symbolizes the quality of life and the installation of a human city.

The "L" of Laval is made of cubes that represent the development of Laval.

The letters of the Laval signature are related one to the other to point out the merger of the 14 municipalities of Jesus island in 1965.

The logo (that is on the flag) has existed since the 1980s and the flag since the 1990s.[6]

Politics

Municipal elections and mayors

As of 2008, Gilles Vaillancourt is the mayor of the city of Laval. He has been in office since 1989[7]. Vaillancourt's party, the Parti PRO des Lavallois, was born in 1980. Vaillancourt took over as head of the party just before the 1989 municipal elections[8].

Past mayors have been :

Federal and provincial

See also: Canadian federal election results in Northern Montreal and Laval and Quebec general election, 2007

Politically, Laval is a battleground area between the Quebec nationalist parties (the Bloc Québécois federally and the Parti Québécois provincially) and the federalist parties (the Liberal Party of Canada and the Parti libéral du Québec). The only exception is Chomedey in the south, which voted overwhelmingly to not separate in the 1995 Quebec referendum. The other parts of Laval were narrowly split.

Economy

Laval's diverse economy is centered around the technology, pharmaceutical, industrial and retail sectors. It has many pharmaceutical laboratories but also stone quarries and a persistent agricultural sector. Long seen as a bedroom community, Laval has diversified its economy, especially in the retail sector, developing numerous shopping malls, warehouses and various retail stores.

The following is a list of the industrial parks in Laval. [9]

Industrial Park Centre

One of the largest municipal industrial parks in Quebec, the Industrial Park Centre is located in the heart of Laval (corner of St. Martin West and Blvd. Industriel) and boasts the highest concentration of manufacturing companies in Laval; 1,024 at last count, and 22,378 employees. The park still has 1,300,643 m² of space available.

Highway 25 Industrial Park

Inaugurated in 2001, this new industrial municipal space has been a tremendous success, boasting an 80% occupancy rate. Easy to access, the Autoroute 25 Industrial Park is at the crossroads of the metropolitan road network. Laval is studying the possibility of expanding this park in the next few years.

Industrial Park East

This park has reached full maturity with a 100% occupancy rate. Located in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, the Industrial Park East is currently part of a municipal program to revitalize municipal services and public utilities. Laval is working with a private developer on an expansion project for the park that should be announced in the near future.

Laval Science and High Technology Park

Laval Science and High Technology Park; an internationally renowned science campus that houses the Biotech City and the Information Technology Development Center (ITDC), the Laval Science and High Technology Park is a beacon of the metropolitan economy, located in an environment befitting the best technopolises in the world. Nearly 500,000 square meters (5,380,000 sq ft) of space are available for development. Located along Rivière des Prairies and Autoroute 15, the Biotech City spans the entire territory of the Laval Science and High Technology Park and is a unique concept in Canada in that its residents comprise both universities and companies.

Sports

Sports teams

Club Sport League Stadium/Arena Regents Ice Hockey Midget AAA Colisée de Laval Les Comètes Women’s soccer W-League Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard Les Associés Baseball Ligue de Baseball Élite du Québec Montmorency Park Vikings de Laval Nord Football Midget AAA Parc Roi du Nord Les Bulldogs de Laval Football Midget AAA Parc Cartier Les Loups de CAL Football Juvenile AAA Parc Roi du Nord Les Devils de Laval Junior Football AAA Quebec Junior Football League Parc Cartier

See also: Le réseau des sports for detailed coverage.

Laval was also host-city of the "Jeux du Québec" held in summer 1991.

Transportation

Roads

Highways

The Metropolitan Community of Montreal

Provincial routes

Incidents

Public transit

Metro

  • In April 2007, the Montreal Metro was extended to Laval with three stations. The long-awaited stations were begun in 2003 and completed in April 2007, two months ahead of the revised schedule, at a cost of $803 million, funded entirely by the Quebec government. The stations are Cartier, De La Concorde, and Montmorency. The arrival of the subway in Laval was long awaited as it was first promised in the 1960s.
  • Public transit users must purchase the $105 TRAM card to access the metro from Laval's three new stations or pay $2.75 per trip towards Montreal since regular Montreal tickets and the CAM pass are not valid at the three new stations.

Commuter railway

The Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) operates two commuter train lines on the island. The Deux-Montagnes and Blainville-Saint-Jerome lines connect Laval to downtown Montreal in as little as 30 minutes. Including De la Concorde, there are currently five train stations.

Buses

See the Société de transport de Laval page for the public transit system. The STL's network consists of 35 regular lines, two rush hour lines, two trainbus lines, three express lines, one community circuit and several taxi lines.

  • There are reserved lanes for buses and taxis on Chomedey Blvd between Le Carrefour Blvd and the Des Prairies River (Lachapelle Bridge) and beyond as well as along boulevard des Laurentides between rue Proulx and boulevard Cartier (the reserved lane, in this case for buses only, continues onto the Pont Viau bridge into Montreal until the Terminus Laval at the Henri-Bourassa metro station). Most buses that use the reserved lane end their journey at the Cartier metro station.
  • The AMT and the City of Laval have developed a reserved bus and taxi lane on Notre-Dame Boulevard between Vincent Massey Street and Place Alton-Goldbloom and another on De la Concorde Blvd between De l'Avenir and Laval Blvds, as well as between Ampere Ave and Roanne St. These reserved lanes (Notre-Dame and De la Concorde are the same boulevard but change name where they meet under Autoroute 15) opened shortly after October 31, 2007.

A Google Map of the subway system, including the three new Laval stations can be viewed at Montreal-Laval Subway Map Mashup.

Blainville-Saint-Jerome Line Deux-Montagnes Line Line 2 Orange (Montreal Metro)
Sainte-Rose Sainte-Dorothée Montmorency
Vimont Île-Bigras De la Concorde
De la Concorde Cartier

Education

Laval is home to a variety of vocational/technical centres, colleges and universities, including:

  • College Montmorency
  • CDI College
  • Centre de formation Compétences-2000
  • Centre de formation en métallurgie de Laval
  • Chomedey Centre
  • Centre de formation horticole de Laval
  • Centre de formation Paul-Émile-Dufresne
  • Herzing College

The city has two separate school boards, the Commission scolaire de Laval for French-speaking students and the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board for English-speaking students

Tourism

Laval's main attractions are:

Source: Tourisme Laval [13]

Regional media outlets

Radio stations

Newspapers

Television networks

Famous natives and residents

Partner cities

Laval is twinned with four cities[14] :

Laval also maintains ten economic and cultural cooperation agreements with Markham, Ontario (Canada), Ribeira Grande (The Azores), Grenoble (France), Mudanjiang (China) and Pedro Aguirre Cerda (Chile).

Neighbouring municipalities

See also

References and footnotes

  1. ^ "Statistics Canada". Statistics Canada website. Retrieved March 13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "History and Heritage". Laval portal website. Retrieved November 8. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Statistics Canada.2001 Community Profile
  4. ^ "Laval, V (Que)". Population by language spoken most often at home and age groups, 2006 counts, for Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities) – 20% sample data. Statistics Canada. 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2008-02-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Laval, V". Detailed Mother Tongue (103), Knowledge of Official Languages (5), Age Groups (17A) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data. Statistics Canada. 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2008-02-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Flags of the World". Flags of the World website. Retrieved July 16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Pro Vaillancourt : The leader". Parti Pro website. Retrieved March 10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Laval's Vaillancourt cruising toward win". Montreal Gazette website. Retrieved March 10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Laval Technopole website". Laval Technopole website. Retrieved March 2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "Overpass dismantled, highway re-opened". CBC News website. Retrieved March 8. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Overpass collapse shuts down Quebec highway". CBC News website. Retrieved March 10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Overpass Collapses Near Montreal; People Trapped Feared Dead". Fox News Website. Retrieved November 8. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "Tourisme Laval". Tourisme Laval website. Retrieved August 29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "Jumelage Laval-France / Laval-Québec Vingt ans… déjà!". City of Laval website (French). Retrieved March 10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

External links

Wikinews has related news:

Template:Mapit-US-cityscale

  • Interactive map of Laval from the official website Shows both the borders and names of the 14 former municipalities (purple) and the borders only of the current 6 sectors (maroon), tick off both boxes beside "Limite administrative".
  • www.IciRiveNord.com Your commercial directory for arts, entertainment, dining, nightlife, shopping and tourism in Laval and the area.

Template:Mapit-US-cityscale

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