Saint-Leonard, Quebec


Saint-Leonard is a borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Formerly a separate city, it was amalgamated into the city of Montreal in 2002. The former city was originally called Saint-Léonard de Port Maurice after Leonard of Port Maurice, an Italian saint. The borough is home to Montreal's Via Italia.

History

The parish of Saint-Léonard-de-Port-Maurice was founded in April 1886 and eventually became the City of Saint-Léonard-de-Port-Maurice on March 5, 1915.

Italian-Canadian presence

The borough has one of the highest concentrations of Italian-Canadians in the city, along with Rivière-des-Prairies. As such, it has surpassed Montreal's rapidly gentrifying Little Italy as the centre for Italian culture in the city, with numerous cultural institutions and commercial enterprises serving the city's second-most populous cultural community. The stretch of Jean Talon Street between Langelier and Viau Boulevards has become known as Via Italia. By necessity, many services are available in Italian, English and French. The borough is characterized by its spacious, wide-set semi-detached brick duplexes, backyard vegetable gardens, Italian bars, and pastry shops serving Italian-Canadian staples such as cannoli, sfogliatelle, and zeppole. At some times of year, it is possible to observe seasonal Italian traditions like the making of wine, cheese, sausage, and tomato sauce in quantity. These activities bring extended families and neighbours together and often spill out into front driveways.

Demographics

LanguagePopulationPercentage
French31,21043.64%
English17,18024.02%
English and French1,3601.90%
Other languages21,75530.42%

Located in the East End of Montreal, Saint-Leonard was traditionally a rural francophone hamlet with under a thousand people until the mid-twentieth century. The town became increasingly developed and urban throughout the twentieth century, benefiting from the expansion of the City of Montreal and a massive wave of Italian immigration which enriched life in the area with numerous cafes and restaurants. Today it is one of the most diverse and multi-cultural neighbourhoods on the Island of Montreal.
Linguistic trend
Language199620012006
French28,14025,93523,440
English4,8904,9056,265
English and French870520335
Other languages37,42538,15541,480
Population71,32569,60471,730

Sports and recreation

Aquatics
The Saint-Léonard Aquatic Complex was built in 2006 and is home to three swimming pools: one recreational basin, one pool and one acclimation basin that includes a turbo bath spa. There are also two saunas, one for women and one for men.
Skate parks
Skaters can skate safely in any one of the two skate parks located in the city of Saint Leonard. Admission to these parks is free, and they are open to the public May through October.
Cycling paths
Saint Leonard has 10 km of bike paths around the city, that connect various parks, pools and city structures.
Hockey
Saint Leonard has two hockey arenas, Aréna Martin Brodeur, located on 5300 boulevard Robert, and Aréna Roberto Luongo, located on 7755 Rue Colbert. These arenas host local games, and usually provide food, locker rooms, showers and public free-skating.
Saint Leonard also has many outdoor hockey rinks in the winter. There are seven rinks set up before winter, and then they are iced when the temperature is appropriate. There was a delay of rink making in 2007 when the weather was warmer than usual.
Soccer
Soccer is a very popular sport for the youth in Saint Leonard. Nearly every public park in has a soccer field open to the public.
Figure skating
Both Saint Leonard arenas are used by the figure skating community. Many Olympic and World Champions have trained here in different disciplines like singles, pairs, dance and synchronized skating.
Other activities
The city has a domed football stadium, Stade Hébert, which is home to the Saint-Léonard Cougars of the CJFL football league.
There are bocce courts located at almost every public park.
Saint Leonard contains a cavern located at Pie XII Park.
ParkBasketballSoccerBocceSleddingFountainPlaygroundIce rinkPavilionTennisSwimming poolSkate ParkBaseballShuffleboardPétanqueSpelunking-
Coubertin Parkxxxxxxxxx
Pie XII Parkxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ladauversiere Parkxxxxxxxxxx
Wilfrid Bastien Parkxxxxxxxxxxx
Delorme Parkxxxxxxxxx-
Ferland Parkxxxxxxxxxx-
Garibaldi Park----------------
Pirandello Park----------------

Education

Schools

Since the replacement of denominational school boards with linguistic ones, Saint-Leonard is served by two school boards. The French schools are part of the Commission scolaire Pointe-de-l'Ile while the English schools are part of the English Montreal School Board.
The French-language high school is École secondaire Antoine de St-Exupery.
French-language primary schools:
English-language secondary schools:
English-language primary schools:
The borough the Saint-Léonard Library of the Montreal Public Libraries Network.
Saint-Leonard’s first library opened in 1966, in a very modest house on Jarry Street. In 1974, the new city hall and current library were built side by side on Lacordaire Boulevard. Expanded in 1984, the library has modernized over the years and is home to the Port-Maurice Gallery.

Government

Borough council

Saint-Léonard is divided by Lacordaire Boulevard into two city council districts, Saint-Léonard-Est and Saint-Léonard-Ouest. The borough elects a borough mayor, who also sits on Montreal City Council; each district elects one city councillor and one borough councillor. The borough mayor, city councillors, and borough councillors make up the borough council.
Following the November 5, 2017 Montreal municipal election, the composition of the borough council remained unchanged, and consists of the following councillors:
DistrictPositionName Party
—Borough mayor
City councillor		Michel Bissonnet Équipe Coderre
Saint-Léonard-EstCity councillorVACANT
Saint-Léonard-EstBorough councillorLili-Anne Tremblay Équipe Coderre
Saint-Léonard-OuestCity councillorDominic Perri Équipe Coderre
Saint-Léonard-OuestBorough councillorMario Battista Équipe Coderre

Mayors

Includes mayors of the former city and current borough of Saint-Leonard:
St-Leonard is the hometown of notable people such as Roberto Luongo, and Martin Brodeur. Notable companies from St-Leonard include Saputo Inc., FSecur, Lafrenaie, and a few others.