Westmount
—  City  —
Upper Westmount and Westmount Summit seen from King George Park.
Motto: Robur meum civium fides (My strength is the faithfulness of my citizens)
Location of Westmount on the Island of Montreal. (Grey areas indicate demerged municipalities).
Westmount
Coordinates (4333, rue Sherbrooke Ouest[1]): 45°29′N 73°36′W / 45.483°N 73.6°W / 45.483; -73.6Coordinates: 45°29′N 73°36′W / 45.483°N 73.6°W / 45.483; -73.6[2]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Montreal
RCM	None
Founded	1874
Constituted	January 1, 2006
Government[1][3]
• Mayor	Peter F. Trent
• Federal riding	Westmount—Ville-Marie
• Prov. riding	Westmount–Saint-Louis
Area[1][4]
• Total	4.00 km2 (1.54 sq mi)
• Land	4.02 km2 (1.55 sq mi)
	There is an apparent contradiction between two authoritative sources
Population (2011)[4]
• Total	19,931
• Density	4,952.8/km2 (12,828/sq mi)
• Change (2006–11)	2.7%
• Dwellings	9,452
Time zone	EST (UTC−5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code(s)	H3Z
Area code(s)	514 and 438
Access Routes[5]	Route 138
Website	www.westmount.org

Westmount is a city on the Island of Montreal, an enclave of the city of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada, with a population of 19,931 as of the Canada 2011 Census.

Westmount is mostly a wealthy residential area, containing schools, an arena, a pool, a public library and a number of parks, including Westmount Park and King George Park (also known as Murray Hill Park). The city operates its own electricity distribution company Westmount Light & Power (Hydro Westmount). The city is also the location of three Canadian Forces Primary Reserves : 34 Combat Engineer Regiment, The Royal Montreal Regiment and 34th Signals Regiment.

History[link]

Westmount was first incorporated as a city in 1874 (as the Village of Côte St-Antoine, and later the Town of Côte St-Antoine).

On January 1, 2002, as part of the 2002–2006 municipal reorganization of Montreal, it was merged into the city of Montreal and became a borough. However, after a change of government and a 2004 referendum, it was re-constituted as an independent city on January 1, 2006. Nevertheless, it remains part of the urban agglomeration of Montreal and the bulk of its municipal taxes go to the Agglomeration Council, which oversees activities common to all municipalities on the Island of Montreal (e.g. fire protection, public transit) even after the demerger.

Traditionally, the community of Westmount was an enclave of wealthy anglophones of British ancestry, having been at one point the richest community in Canada; it now competes with West Vancouver in British Columbia, Forest Hill, Rosedale, and The Bridle Path, in Toronto for the title. This made the city one of several symbolic targets of FLQ terrorist bombings in the 1960s, culminating in the 1970 October Crisis. However, it is now mostly inhabited by middle and upper-middle class families of multiple ethnic and linguistic backgrounds with the stereotype only partially existing at the very top of the mountain, around Summit Circle, a road which rings around its summit (one of the three peaks of Mount Royal), and on which some of Montreal's wealthiest families (including the Bronfmans and the Molsons) have built their homes as well as select avenues located off The Boulevard.

Geography[link]

The city is roughly 4 km sq., and occupies an area of land on the south face of the southern peak of Mount Royal. The city, most of which is on steep terrain, extends from the summit to the end of the narrow plateau at the foot of the mountain.

Districts[link]

Most of the city is residential. Homes increase in size and value toward the top of the mountain, with the largest and most expensive being on or near Summit Circle.

There are several small commercial districts on Sherbrooke Street from the city's western boundary to the intersection of Sherbrooke Street and Victoria Avenue ("Victoria Village"), on Saint Catherine Street across from Place Alexis Nihon, on Greene Avenue and on De Maisonneuve Boulevard near the Atwater metro station.

Greene Avenue in downtown Westmount.

The Westmount Lawn bowling green.

Dawson College, Sherbrooke Street.

Ascension of Our Lord Parish,
serving the English Catholic Community.

Westmount Adjacent[link]

"Westmount Adjacent" is term applied by realtors to a district in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, located in between the city of Westmount, the Décarie Expressway, De Maisonneuve Boulevard and the lands of Villa Maria private Catholic girls school.^[6]

Cityscape[link]

The city is home to Dawson College, Quebec's largest CEGEP, and Marianopolis College; Westmount High School with its sister elementary school Westmount Park School; Place Alexis Nihon and office towers; some of the most prestigious private schools in Quebec, including Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's School, Selwyn House School, Villa Sainte-Marcelline and The Study; and Westmount Square residential towers and shopping complex, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and funded largely by Westmount resident Samuel Bronfman, the founder of the Seagram liquor empire.

Parks[link]

There are two main parks within the city: King George Park and Westmount Park. A forest area is located at the summit, within Summit Circle.

Westmount Park[link]

Located between Sherbrooke Street and de Maisonneuve Avenue to the north and south, and Melville and Lansdowne Avenue to the east and west, this 1,141,002 sq ft (106,002.6 m²) park is the second largest in Westmount.

The landscaping design was undertaken in 1912 by M.J. Manning, and comprises large playing fields at the east and south sides, and Westmount Arena and adjacent swimming pool at the southesast corner. The central area contains an extensive playground, foot paths, ponds and wading pools, and tennis courts. Westmount Library, built in 1897,^[7] Victoria Hall, and a large greenhouse are located on the north side.^[8]

Government[link]

Municipal[link]

Since regaining its status as a city, Westmount is governed by a City Council made up of a mayor and eight "district" councillors. The current mayor of Westmount is Peter Trent. In addition to the local city council, Westmount is represented by its mayor on the Montreal Agglomeration Council.

Westmount City Hall

Provincial and Federal[link]

Throughout Quebec, Westmount is known as an overwhelmingly Liberal riding, both federally and provincially.

On the federal level, Westmount is represented in the Westmount—Ville-Marie riding. The riding was won by Marc Garneau in the 2008 federal election.

Provincially, the city is represented in the riding of Westmount–Saint-Louis by MNA Jacques Chagnon of the Quebec Liberal Party.

Demographics[link]

As of the Canada 2011 Census, the population was 19,931.

The income per-capita for a household is $210,120^[9] one of the highest in North America. The largest occupation categories were 33.0% employed in management occupations, 20.3% in business, finance, and administration occupations, and 15.4% in social science, education, government service and religion occupations.

There were 8,460 households out of which 26.2% had children living with them, 47.5% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female lone-parent as a householder, and 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average married-couple family size was 3.1.

In the city the population was spread out with 15.7% under the age of 15, 11.9% from 15 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 83.7 males. For every 100 females age 15 and over, there were 80.2 males.

About 27% of the population is foreign-born, most having immigrated since 1891. Visible minorities constitute 14% of the population (Chinese 3%, Arab 2.8%, Latin American 2.1%, West Asian 1.6%, South Asian 1.3%).^[10] Residents declared their religions as Catholic (31.0%), Protestant (21.5%), Christian Orthodox (3.7%), Jewish (3.2%), Muslim (2.7%) and other Christian (1.9%).

Language[link]

Westmount's residents are predominantly bilingual: 75% speak English as their first official language; 76.3% can speak both English and French, 20.5% of the population can speak only English, 3.1% can speak only French.

The 2006 census found that over 54% of residents spoke English, and over 21% spoke French, as their mother tongue.^[11]

Controversy[link]

Mies van der Rohe's Westmount Square.

Merger with Montreal[link]

While trying to prevent Westmount from being amalgamated into greater Montreal, Westmount Mayor Peter Trent and city council asserted that the city was a designated anglophone institution and should not be merged into francophone greater Montreal. In response to this opposition, Municipal Affairs Minister Louise Harel said that Westmount's resistance "reeked of colonialism" and that the opposition was an "ethnic project", statements for which she would refuse to apologize.^[12] When asked for comment, Quebec Premier Bernard Landry said the minister had his full support and that the opposition was little more than Quebec bashing.^[13] Several federalist public figures criticized Landry's statement: Jean Charest called it insulting to the intelligence of the citizens of Quebec; Joseph Gabary, president of the Quebec Chapter of the Canadian Jewish Congress, called the language "crude"; Alliance Quebec also criticized the premier for singling out the city for special criticism. ^[14]

Dorchester Boulevard[link]

Westmount is also known for being one of the two island municipalities that refused to rename their sections of Dorchester to Boulevard René-Lévesque. After the city of Montreal changed the name, Westmount retained the name of Dorchester on their portion, as did Montréal-Est.

Sports[link]

Westmount's Westmount Arena is part of a joint arena and pool complex built in 1959. The arena honours early Montreal ice hockey teams with replica Stanley Cup banners. It is to be renovated from the summer of 2011 to the fall late fall of 2011 or early winter of 2012. It is home to the Westmount Wings and the Westmount Predators (soon to be "Westmount Wild").

Westmount is also home of the oldest active rugby club in North America, the Westmount Rugby Club.

In addition, the city's swim team, the Westmount Dolphins,^[15] won the 2007 Section B Alps finals.

Notable residents[link]

One of the oldest homes in Westmount.

Westmount is or was the residence of:

• Brian Mulroney, former Prime Minister of Canada
• Jean Charest, Quebec Premier
• May Cutler, Canadian publisher, founder of Tundra Books and the first female publisher of children's books in Canada. Cutler was the first woman to serve as Mayor of Westmount (1987-1991),^[16]
• Richard Holden, lawyer and politician
• Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien, Canadian media proprietor
• the Molson family
• the Bronfman family
• Robert Miller, founder of Future Electronics,^[17]
• Maxwell Cummings, real estate developer
• Rene Lepine, real estate developer
• Lara Fabian, Belgian-Canadian singer
• Arthur Holden, voice actor
• Marc Mysterio, Canadian singer
• Jacques Villeneuve, Canadian F1 racing driver

and the birthplace of:

• Conrad Black, former newspaper tycoon, British Baron and convicted white collar felon
• James Gelfand, jazz pianist, arranger, and composer
• Leonard Cohen, author and musician
• Caroline Rhea, comedian and actress
• Douglas Shearer, multiple Academy Award winning film sound engineer
• Norma Shearer, motion picture actress
• Eugenie Bouchard, professional tennis player

See also[link]

• List of former boroughs
• Montreal Merger
• Municipal reorganization in Quebec
• The Westmount Examiner

		Ville-Marie (Montreal)
	Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (Montreal)		Le Sud-Ouest (Montreal)
		Westmount    East
		Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (Montreal)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Westmount, Québec

• Official site for the City of Westmount
• Statistics Canada website about Westmount
• Westmount Public Library
• Westmount Victoria Hall
• Westmount Rugby Club
• Westmount High School
• Westmount Dolphins
• Westmount Watch
• The Westmount Independent
• The Westmount Examiner

v t e Urban agglomeration of Montreal Greater Montreal Municipalities Côte Saint-Luc Hampstead Montreal Montréal-Est Montreal West Mount Royal Westmount West Island municipalities Baie-D'Urfé Beaconsfield Dollard-des-Ormeaux Dorval Kirkland L'Île-Dorval Pointe-Claire Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Senneville Boroughs of Montreal Ahuntsic-Cartierville Anjou Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève Lachine LaSalle Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Montréal-Nord Outremont Pierrefonds-Roxboro Le Plateau-Mont-Royal Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie Le Sud-Ouest Saint-Laurent Saint-Léonard Verdun Ville-Marie Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension Neighbourhoods of Montreal Ahuntsic Benny Farm Bois-Franc Cartierville Centre-Sud Chinatown Cité du Havre Cité Multimédia Côte-des-Neiges Côte-Saint-Paul Downtown Faubourg Saint-Laurent Garment District Gay Village Glenmount Golden Square Mile Goose Village Greektown Griffintown Historic Jewish Quarter Hochelaga-Maisonneuve La Petite-Patrie L'Île-Bizard Îlot-Trafalgar-Gleneagles Little Burgundy Little Italy Little Maghreb Little Portugal McGill Ghetto Mercier-Est (Tétreaultville) Mercier-Ouest (Longue-Pointe) Mile End Monkland Village Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Nouveau-Bordeaux Nuns' Island Old Montreal Olympic Park Overdale Park Extension Pierrefonds Pointe-Saint-Charles Pointe-aux-Trembles Quartier Bonaventure Quartier Concordia Quartier International Quartier Latin Quartier du Musée Quartier des Spectacles Rivière-des-Prairies Rosemont Roxboro Technoparc Saint-Henri Sainte-Marie Saint-Michel Sainte-Geneviève Saraguay Sault-au-Récollet Shaughnessy Village Snowdon Viauville Ville-Émard Ville Saint-Pierre Villeray Former municipalities of Montreal Island Cartierville Longue-Pointe Mercier New Bordeaux Pierrefonds Roxboro Saint-Laurent Tétreaultville Administrative subdivisions of Quebec Urban agglomerations of Quebec Municipal reorganization in Quebec