- Outremont, Quebec
-
Outremont — Borough of Montreal — Rue Bernard in Outremont.
Location of Outremont on the Island of Montreal.
(Grey areas indicate merged municipalities).Country 
CanadaProvince 
QuebecRegion Montreal (06) Created January 1, 2002 Electoral Districts
Federal
OutremontProvincial Outremont Government[1][2][3] - Type Borough - Mayor Marie Cinq-Mars - Federal MP(s) Thomas Mulcair (NDP) - Quebec MNA(s) Raymond Bachand (PLQ) Area[4] - Land 3.86 km2 (1.5 sq mi) Population (2006)[4] - Total 22,897 - Density 5,935.1/km2 (15,371.8/sq mi) - Change (2001-06) 
0.2%- Dwellings 10,358 Time zone EST (UTC-5) - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4) Area code(s) 514/438 Website outremont.ville.montreal.qc.ca Outremont is a borough (arrondissement) of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. The neighbourhood has been traditionally inhabited largely by Francophones, but is now also home to a large number of Hasidic Jews.
Contents
Geography
A separate city until the 2000 municipal mergers, Outremont is located north of downtown, on the northern side of Mount Royal - its name means "beyond the mountain" although it encompasses Murray Hill (colline d'Outremont), one of the three peaks that make up Mount Royal.
The borough is bounded to the northwest by Mount Royal, to the northeast by Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension and Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, to the east by Le Plateau-Mont-Royal and the Mile End district, to the south by Ville-Marie, and to the west by Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. The Mount Royal Cemetery is located in the south eastern tip of the borough.
It has a population of 22,897; its area of 3,86 km² makes it the smallest of Montreal's boroughs. One of its nicest streets is Bernard avenue. It is filled with restaurants, small shops, a historic theatre and more.
History
The area was originally known as Côte Sainte-Catherine. It came to be named Outremont after a stately residence built by Louis-Tancrède Bouthillier in 1833 and named Outre-Mont. In 1875 the new Village of Outremont was named after the house, which still exists today on Rue McDougall.
In 1927, Outremont became the first place in the world to use a snow blower to clear its streets in the winter. It was the first production model of Canadian inventor Arthur Sicard's Sicard Industries.[5]
Features
Outremont is served by the Outremont and Édouard-Montpetit stations on the blue line of the Montreal Metro. (Édouard-Montpetit station is actually located in Côte-des-Neiges, but right on the Outremont border.)
Major thoroughfares include Avenue Van Horne. and Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, with Rue Bernard and Rue Laurier as the principal shopping and dining areas. The area has a number of trendy restaurants, cafes and shops. Residents include a substantial percentage of expatriates from France. There is also a sizable Hassidic Jewish community, representing about 20% of Outremont's population, which resides mainly in the eastern and northern portions of the borough.[6] Many Jewish synagogues, schools and businesses can be found on rues Van Horne, Bernard and St. Viateur.
There is also palpable friction between the francophone and Hasidic communities.[7] In November 2007, a public hearing was held to address allegations that members of the Hassidic Jewish community regularly flout the rules and regulations of the borough.[8] At the hearing, a petition of 158 francophone Outremont residents was submitted decrying the "abuses" by Jews that residents of Outremont have seen over the years. The 158 petitioners asked that their names be kept secret, fearing a backlash from the Hasidic Jewish community. In July 2007, B’nai Brith Canada asked then Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion to remove new star candidate Jocelyn Coulon from an upcoming by-election in Montreal’s Outremont riding because of his past stance on Hamas.[9]. Local Jews are subject to harassment by an antisemitic borough councillor and a group of antisemitic residents.[10] Many by-laws of the borough are based against Jewish law and Jewish community conveniences, those by-laws were initiated under pressure of the above group, including limiting Sukkah building,[11] burning of Chametz,[12] refusal of suspending parking restrictions on Jewish holidays.[13]
There have also been a number of firebombings of Jewish temples and schools within the district of Outremont. In September 2006, a Jewish school was fire bombed. On May 12, 2007, a young hassidic Jewish man was attacked. [14] This shocked residents of the area who had becomed accustomed to the tranquility and safety that Outremont had previously offered. In March 2010, a synagogue was desecrated with swatsikas and was categorized as a hate crime by police. [15] A crime wave in April 2010 attacked many synagogues in Outremont bringing fear to the Jewish community and also reinforcing the perception that Quebec breeds racism against Jews. Residents described a "gang atmosphere" purveying the area with muggings and home break ins occurring in broad daylight. [16]
Among the attractions in the mainly residential community are the Mount Royal Cemetery, the Salle Claude-Champagne, the Théâtre Outremont, the Saint-Grégoire-l'Illuminateur Armenian Cathedral, and part of the Université de Montréal campus.
Outremont also has a rail yard along its northern border. The rail yard has been purchased by the Université de Montréal and is to be developed to house its hospital complex, its research faculties, and the faculty of Health Sciences (Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal).
Outremont was twinned as a sister city with Oakwood, Ohio and Le Vésinet, France.
Demographics
Home language (2006)[4]
Language Population Pct (%) French 15,170 66.59% English 3,795 16.67% Both English and French 285 1.25% Other languages 3,520 15.46% Politics
Federal and provincial elections
The borough is entirely contained within the federal riding of Outremont and the provincial electoral district of the same name. In 2006, the borough mostly voted for the Bloc, but the riding itself voted Liberal.
The previous mayor of Outremont, Stephane Harbour, resigned his post on October 11, 2007 after an investigation discovered, amongst other ethical lapses, that a discreet lounge was kept by Outremont officials within the borough hall which officials used to relax and consume alcohol bought with public funds.[17] This solidified the impression of many that cronyism and patronage run rampant in Outremont. The current mayor, Marie Cinq-Mars, was part of the Harbour cabinet. The Vision Montreal party also asked her to resign, which she refused. Cinq-Mars was elected Borough Mayor in a by-election on December 16, 2007.[18][19] This by-election saw the winning Union Montreal party's share of the popular vote reduced to 47%, down from 71% in 2005, with Projet Montreal in second with 37% and Vision Montreal with only 14.96%.
Borough council
The borough is represented on Montreal City Council by its borough mayor alone. The borough is further divided into four districts, each of which elects one borough councillor.
As of the November 1, 2009 Montreal municipal election, the current borough council consists of the following councillors:
District Position Name Party — Borough mayor
Montreal city councillorMarie Cinq-Mars Union Montréal Claude-Ryan Borough councillor Louis Moffatt Union Montréal Jeanne-Sauvé Borough councillor Ana Nunes Union Montréal Joseph-Beaubien Borough councillor Céline Forget Independent Robert-Bourassa Borough councillor Marie Potvin Union Montréal References
- ^ Ministère des Affaires Municipales et Régions: Outremont (Montreal)
- ^ Parliament of Canada Federal Riding History: OUTREMONT (Quebec)
- ^ Chief Electoral Officer of Québec - 40th General Election Riding Results: OUTREMONT
- ^ a b c 2006 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Outremont, Quebec
- ^ About Sicard
- ^ Statistics Canada 2001 Community Profile
- ^ [1]
- ^ Man rails against Outremont Jews at hearing
- ^ (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/07/23/qc-coulon0723.html/)
- ^ (http://www.vosizneias.com/77863/2011/03/07/canada-montreal-community-plans-to-protest-religious-discrimination/)
- ^ (http://www.bhol.co.il/Article.aspx?id=32996&cat=1&scat=3)
- ^ (http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/General+News/85999/Jewish-Community-In-Montreal-Needs-Your-Help-Emailing-City-Officials.html)
- ^ (http://celineforget.com/2011/05/conseil-du-3-mai-2011/)
- ^ Ariane Lacoursière : Un jeune hassid d'Outremont attaqué | Actualités | Cyberpresse
- ^ http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Vandals+desecrate+synagogue+Outremont/2713120/story.html
- ^ http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/201004272963/Crime-wave-targetting-Jews-in-Montreal-area-strikes-fear-in-community.html
- ^ Embattled Outremont mayor calls it quits in scandal
- ^ Cinq-Mars now interim mayor of Outremont
- ^ Cronyism in party system encouraged Outremont scandal
External links
See also
- Boroughs of Montreal
- Districts of Montreal
- Municipal reorganization in Quebec
- Habitation Outremont
Coordinates: 45°31′N 73°37′W / 45.517°N 73.617°W
Categories:- Populated places disestablished in 2002
- Neighbourhoods in Montreal
- Former municipalities in Quebec
- Former cities in Canada
- Boroughs of Montreal
- Mount Royal
- Canadian places with Orthodox Jewish communities
- Quebec communities with significant anglophone populations
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