Saint-Laurent, Quebec

Saint-Laurent (sɛ̃ lɔʁɑ̃) is a borough of the city of Montreal, Canada, located in the northern part of the island. Although it is no longer an independent city, it is still commonly known as Ville Saint-Laurent (City of Saint-Laurent) or by its initials, VSL. Saint-Laurent is the largest of Montreal's boroughs by land area. Its population was 98,828 inhabitants in 2016. The history of Saint-Laurent begins in the end of the 17th century with the settling of the lands given by Maisonneuve, first governor of Montreal, then by the Sulpicians, lords of Montreal's island, to Jean Descarie. His three sons were the first to settle on the lands of Cote Saint-Laurent in 1687. After the signing of the Great Peace of Montreal in 1701, 19 other settlers joined them and built a chapel the next year. On September 20, 1720, Saint-Laurent was founded as the Parish of Saint-Laurent. On March 3, 1722, its territory was defined, it then had 29 scattered dwellings. On August 10, 1735, a new church was erected next to the intersection of Montée Saint-Laurent (future Sainte-Croix boulevard) and Chemin de la Côte-Vertu. Its central location in the parish, halfway between the Côte Saint-Laurent and the Côte Notre-Dame, facilitating access, will become the heart of a village. Indeed, it was along Montée Saint-Laurent, the axis linking Ville-Marie to the North Shore, that the first businesses developed, notably inns and blacksmiths to serve travellers. By 1740, all the lands administered by the Sulpicians were granted to settlers. 162 families lived there in 1765. After the cession of New France to Great Britain, Saint-Laurent experienced no population exodus and Scottish families joined the French Canadians. In 1825, the parish was the most populated on the Island of Montreal outside of those of the city of Montreal. It was then an agricultural village, market gardening being the specialty of the place. In 1837, the church of Saint-Laurent, damaged by lightning in 1806, was rebuilt.