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Laval in the Province of Quebec, Canada
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Laval 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.
Quebec Tourism Guide
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Quebec Tourism Guide
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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.
The 14 municipalities, which existed prior to the incorporation of the amalgamated City of Laval on August 6, 1965, were:
- Auteuil
- Chomedey
- Duvernay
- Fabreville
- Îles-Laval
- Laval-des-Rapides
- Laval-Ouest
- Laval-sur-le-Lac
- Pont-Viau
- Sainte-Dorothée
- Sainte-Rose
- Saint-François
- Saint-Vincent-de-Paul
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 and east by Montreal, on the north by MRC des Moulins and on the west by MRC de Thérèse-De Blainville
and MRC de Deux-Montagnes.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Laval is the 4th largest suburb in North America after Mississauga, Ontario; Mesa, Arizona and Surrey, British Columbia.
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.
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. Comparing to neighbouring
Montreal, the linguistics of Laval is more homogenous as 73.42% speak French, 6.05% speak English, 0.84% are bilingual in French and
English, and 19.69% speak languages other than Canada's official languages (English and French) such as Greek, Italian, Armenian,
Arabic and Portuguese.
Source: Wikipedia
Quebec Tourism Guide
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