Saint-Lazare, Quebec

Not to be confused with Saint-Lazare-de-Bellechasse, Quebec.

Saint-Lazare
City
Ville de Saint-Lazare
Location within Vaudreuil-Soulanges RCM
Saint-Lazare Location in southern Quebec
Coordinates: 45°24′N74°08′W / 45.400°N 74.133°W / 45.400; -74.133 [1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Montérégie
RCM	Vaudreuil-Soulanges
Constituted	31 December 1875
Government [2] [3]
• Mayor	Genevieve Lachance
•  Federal riding	Vaudreuil-Soulanges
•  Prov. riding	Soulanges
Area [2] [4]
• Total	67.5 km2 (26.1 sq mi)
• Land	66.86 km2 (25.81 sq mi)
Population  (2021) [4] [5]
• Total	22,354
• Density	334.3/km2 (866/sq mi)
• Pop 2016-2021	12.2%
• Dwellings	7,848
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J7T
Area code(s)	450 and 579
Highways A-40 (TCH)	R-340 R-342
Website	ville.saint-lazare.qc.ca

Saint-Lazare is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada in the Regional County Municipality of Vaudreuil-Soulanges.

History

Originally part of the Seigneurie de Vaudreuil in the 18th century, the territory corresponding to Saint-Lazare was considered difficult to farm owing to sandy soil, and remained mostly uninhabited. In 1812, the first settlers were Americans from New England, then circa 1820 English from Cumberland, followed soon after by French Canadians. ^[1]

Saint-Lazare was founded as a parish municipality on December 29, 1875. ^[1] The first church was built in 1877, destroyed by a fire in 1942 and subsequently rebuilt in 1947.

A passenger train from Canadian Pacific Railway previously ran through the town but was discontinued in 1960. The station located on the corner of Sainte-Angélique and Duhamel was demolished.

Originally a rural farming town, the city of Saint-Lazare experienced rapid growth in the 1990s, fueled predominantly by the arrival of young, middle-class families. New residents flocked to the area seeking a more relaxed lifestyle than that of the island of Montreal, as well as larger homes and property for less money than on the island of Montreal.

In December 2001, Saint-Lazare changed its statutes and became a city. ^[1]

In 2015, the Saint-Lazare government began using pictograms instead of text on signs when the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) asked it to remove its English-language signs; the Saint-Lazare community believes in accommodating bilingualism and its Anglophone residents. ^[6]

In April 2023, there was a massive power outage that cause approximately 8000 households to lose electricity, according to Hydro-Quebec at that time. Only 8 households had electricity at the height of the ice-storm crisis. ^[7]

Communities

• Saint-Lazare-de-Vaudreuil
• Saint-Lazare-Sud
• Saint-Lazare-Nord
• Saddlebrook
• Sandcastle
• Cedarbrook
• Sunnybrook
• Chanterel
• Forest Hill
• Maple Ridge

Demographics

Historical Census Data - Saint-Lazare, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1976 3,005 —     1981 4,219 +40.4% 1986 5,064 +20.0% 1991 9,057 +78.9% 1996 11,193 +23.6%	Year Pop. ±% 2001 12,895 +15.2% 2006 17,016 +32.0% 2011 19,295 +13.4% 2016 19,917 +3.2% 2021 22,354 +12.2%
Source: Statistics Canada [5] [8]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Lazare had a population of 22,354 living in 7,749 of its 7,848 total private dwellings, a change of 12.2% from its 2016 population of 19,917. With a land area of 66.86 km² (25.81 sq mi), it had a population density of 334.3/km² (865.9/sq mi) in 2021. ^[4]

Canada census – Saint-Lazare community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	22,354 (+12.2% from 2016)	19,917 (+3.2% from 2011)	19,295 (+13.4% from 2006)
Land area	66.86 km2 (25.81 sq mi)	66.80 km2 (25.79 sq mi)	66.62 km2 (25.72 sq mi)
Population density	334.3/km2 (866/sq mi)	297.8/km2 (771/sq mi)	289.6/km2 (750/sq mi)
Median age	40.8 (M: 40.4, F: 41.2)	40.9 (M: 41.0, F: 40.9)	38.4 (M: 38.7, F: 38.2)
Private dwellings	7,848 (total)  7,749 (occupied)	6,834 (total)	6,546 (total)
Median household income	$123,000	$116,736	$97,138

References: 2021 ^[9] 2016 ^[10] 2011 ^[11] earlier ^{[12] [13]}

Canada Census Mother Tongue - Saint-Lazare, Quebec [8]
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2021		22,355		10,485	0.3%	46.9%		8,195	14.2%	36.7%		815	68.0%	3.6%		2,490	54.2%	11.1%
2016		19,890		10,450	1.6%	52.6%		7,175	1.8%	36.1%		485	10.3%	2.4%		1,615	14.5%	8.1%
2011		19,185		10,290	11.5%	53.6%		7,045	3.12%	36.7%		440	76.0%	2.3%		1,410	2.9%	7.4%
2006		17,015		9,230	30.8%	54.3%		6,165	29.8%	36.2%		250	5.7%	1.5%		1,370	65.1%	8.1%
2001		12,900		7,055	14.5%	54.7%		4,750	18.9%	36.8%		265	15.2%	2.1%		830	12.9%	6.4%
1996		11,120		6,160	n/a	55.4%		3,995	n/a	35.9%		230	n/a	2.1%		735	n/a	6.6%

Soils

Saint-Lazare was built on thick deposits of sand. Poorly drained areas are most common in the eastern part of town and have been mapped as muck, Peat or Vaudreuil series (a "half-bog" or gleysol), while the well to rapidly drained classic podzols are assigned to Ste. Sophie or Upland series. ^[14]

Attractions

Some of the popular attractions are:

• Aéroport Cooper
• Bar Chez Maurice
• Bar Planète St-Lazare
• Club équestre Les Forestiers
• Sports Complex
• Festivals
• Festival équestre Gymkhana
• Horse shows
• La Pinière
• Torchlight Parade (ATV)
• Trails and paths
• Canins canine sport center

Parks

ATV trail passing, criss-crossing with equestrian horse trails through the western portion of Saint-Lazare, Quebec.

Saint-Lazare is graced by significant public funding for its ambitious recreational projects. Bedard Park in the centre of the town is a relatively large park equipped with a small water park, a grass field, three baseball diamonds, and tennis courts. In the winter two hockey rinks and an ice skating oval are added. Another large, multi-use park is called Le Parc nature les Forestiers de Saint-Lazare (2800 Chemin Lotbinière, Saint-Lazare, QC J7T 3H9). It is a 4-season park, with an outdoor pool, trails for hiking, cross-country skiing, horse riding, and snowshoeing, and picnic areas.

Other parks in Saint-Lazare are scattered among the small subdivisions throughout the municipality.

A new privately-financed sports centre was opened to the public in 2006 which includes an indoor soccer turf, a hockey rink, and a gym.

Equestrian

Areas surrounding Saint-Lazare are dedicated to equestrian horse riding, including sanctioned trails that flow through wooded forests and nearby lakes in the region. Many trails are sand based, which is due in part to the popularity of this type of activity in the region. The town has one of the largest populations of horses, approximately 3,500 with many residential properties fully dedicated to breeding and horse training.

ATV

All-terrain vehicles are very popular in the region with an officially sanctioned trail, which runs between Saint-Lazare and the nearby town of Rigaud, Quebec. The trail is maintained by regional members of local ATV clubs. The trails are open in all four seasons, and groomed in the winter using heavy machinery.

Transportation

The city is served by the 51 bus from the Exo La Presqu’Île, terminating at the Vaudreuil train station.

Education

Commission Scolaire des Trois-Lacs operates Francophone schools. ^[15]

• École à l'Orée-du-Bois
• École Auclair
• École des Étriers
• Sections are zoned to École Saint-Thomas in Hudson ^[16]

There is one French language public high school (École secondaire Cité-des-Jeunes in Vaudreuil-Dorion) in the area.

Lester B. Pearson School Board operates Anglophone schools. ^[17]

• Birchwood Elementary School
• Evergreen Elementary School
• Forest Hill Elementary School
• A portion is zoned to Mount Pleasant Elementary School in Hudson
• Westwood High School-Junior Campus (the senior campus is in Hudson)

A new senior elementary school, Forest Hill Senior, was opened in 2006. There are also two English language public secondary schools in the surrounding area (Westwood Senior - formerly Hudson High School - and Westwood Junior-formerly known as Vaudreuil Catholic High School). A new English-language elementary school (Birchwood Elementary) has opened for the 2011–2012 school year, even after many delays in construction.

There is a semi-private^{[ citation needed ]} French-speaking institution in Rigaud (Collège-Bourget).

See also

• List of anglophone communities in Quebec
• List of cities in Quebec

References

1. "Banque de noms de lieux du Québec: Reference number 369778". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec.
2. "Répertoire des municipalités: Geographic code 71105". www.mamh.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
3. Parliament of Canada Federal Riding History: VAUDREUIL--SOULANGES (Quebec)
4. "Tableau des données, Profil du recensement, Recensement de la population de 2021". 9 February 2022.
5. "Population and dwelling count amendments, 2016 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
6. Hopper, Tristin (27 November 2015). "Quebec town makes stand for English: Told to remove 'welcome' sign, decides to drop French too". National Post . Retrieved 25 December 2018.
7. Brisson, Jessica (6 April 2023). "Pannes: le bilan est toujours lourd dans Vaudreuil-Soulanges". Néomédia. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
8. 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 census
9. "2021 Community Profiles". 2021 Canadian Census . Statistics Canada. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
10. "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian Census . Statistics Canada. 12 August 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
11. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian Census . Statistics Canada. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
12. "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian Census . Statistics Canada. 20 August 2019.
13. "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian Census . Statistics Canada. 18 July 2021.
14. http://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/publications/surveys/pq/pq53/pq53_report.pdf Lajoie and Stobbe, (1951). Soil Survey of Soulanges and Vaudreuil Counties in the Province of Quebec
15. "Les écoles et les centres". Commission Scolaire des Trois-Lacs . Retrieved 18 January 2013.
16. "Liste des bassins desservis par les écoles en 2017-2018." Commission Scolaire des Trois-Lacs. Retrieved on 30 September 2017.
17. "School Board Map." Lester B. Pearson School Board. Retrieved on 28 September 2017.

External links

• Official website
• Surrounding area - Hudson, Quebec