Article

Saint-Léonard (Qué)

Published Online February 7, 2006

Last Edited March 4, 2015

The name Saint-Léonard first appears in 1706 as Côte-Saint-Léonard, a seigneurial concession road along which the first settlers built their homesteads. Later, in 1885, the name was given to a new parish that was created from the parishes of Sault-aux-Récollets and Longue-Pointe.

Saint-Léonard (Qué)

 Saint-Léonard, Qué, City, pop 69 604 (2001c), 71 327 (1996c), 73 120 (1991c), area 13.52 km2, inc 1915, is located in the northeastern part of Île de Montréal, surrounded by Montréal-Nord to the north, ANJOU to the east and MONTRÉAL to the south and west.

The name Saint-Léonard first appears in 1706 as Côte-Saint-Léonard, a seigneurial concession road along which the first settlers built their homesteads. Later, in 1885, the name was given to a new parish that was created from the parishes of Sault-aux-Récollets and Longue-Pointe. Before the early 1960s, Saint-Léonard-de-Port-Maurice (1886) was little more than a village. In 1915, before the territory of Anjou broke off to form a separate municipality, it had a total population of 674; in 1942, it totalled 555 and in 1960 only 5000. In 1962, the city shortened its name to Saint-Léonard.

Saint-Léonard, an important player in the Montréal Urban Community, distinguishes itself mainly by the multi-ethnic character of its population. The number of residents of Italian origin is roughly the same as those of French origin. Saint-Léonard is not only a residential suburb of Montréal; its industrial park, located in the northeast part of the city, harbours more than 300 industries. The city has one of the only cave sites to be located in the middle of a residential area. One of these 2 caves, located in Parc Pies XII, is open to visitors during the summer.