Home > Longueuil, Quebec

The city was merged on January 1, 2002 with the communities of Boucherville, Brossard, Greenfield Park, Le Moyne , Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Saint-Hubert, and Saint-Lambert. These cities have become boroughs of the new city. Saint-Lambert and Le Moyne became one borough, and the former city of Longueuil became the borough of Vieux-Longueuil. On June 20, 2004, the boroughs of Boucherville, Saint-Lambert, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville and Brossard voted to demerge from Longueuil and reconstitute themselves as municipalities, having obtained 10 % of signatures at a registry requesting a referendum and 35 % or more majority yes votes at the referendum out of the total voting population on electoral lists. Locals refer to the borough of Vieux-Longueuil as "Longueuil proper" to distinguish it from the part of the borough known as "Old Longueuil".

In 1996, the population of the components of the current city of Longueuil totalled 373,012, making it the fourth largest city in Quebec. The current city has an area of 273.52 sq.km. Residents of Longueuil are called Longueuillois.

Most of the community's residents commute to Montreal to work. This generates major traffic problems; owing to the width of the Saint Lawrence River between the Island of Montreal and the south shore, there are only five automobile crossings (the Honoré-Mercier, Champlain, Victoria, and Jacques-Cartier bridges and the Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine tunnel), and they are severely congested. (See List of Montreal bridgesThis is a list of bridges and other fixed links serving Montreal, Quebec, on the Island of Montreal, proceeding counter-clockwise around the island from the southwest. Spanning the Saint Lawrence River and Saint Lawrence Seaway Saint-Laurent Railway Bridg.)

The city is also served by the Longueuil metroThe Montreal Metro is the main form of public transporation for the city of Montreal and was the second metro system to be built in Canada, behind Toronto's TTC. The Metro was inaugurated on October 14, 1966, during the tenure of Mayor Jean Drapeau. Origi station, connected to downtown by the yellow line of the metro. The Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) bus lines almost all terminate either at Longueuil metro station or cross over the Champlain bridge to arrive at the Terminus Rive-Sud in downtown Montreal (under the 1000 de la Gauchetière office tower, Bonaventure metro). The Mont-Saint-Hilaire commuter train line also serves the south shore.

There are several explanations for the origin of the city's name. According to Abbé Faillon, Charles Le Moyne ( 1626Events September 30 Nurhaci , chieftain of the Jurchens and founder of the Qing Dynasty dies and is succeeded by his son Hong Taiji. Spanish establish a trading colony on Taiwan. Peter Minuit, director of the New Netherland colony, begins a policy of "pur- 1685Events February 6 James Stuart, Duke of York becomes King James II of England and Ireland and King James VII of Scotland. February 18 Fort St. Louis is established by a Frenchman at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas. June 20), lord of the area starting in 1657Events January 8 Miles Sindercombe, would-be-assassin of Oliver Cromwell, and his group are captured in London February Admiral Robert Blake defeats the Spanish West Indian Fleet in a battle over the seizure of Jamaica. April 20 Admiral Robert Blake destr, named it after a village which is today the seat of a canton in the district of Dieppe in his homeland of Normandy.