Brossard


Brossard is a municipality in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada and is part of the Greater Montreal area. According to the 2021 census, Brossard's population was 91,525. It shares powers with the urban agglomeration of Longueuil and was a borough of the municipality of Longueuil from 2002 to 2006.
According to the website of the city of Brossard, the municipality was named in honour of the Brossard family, a prominent settler family of the area whose presence was first attested in 1766. A member of this family, Georges-Henri Brossard, had been mayor of the predecessor parish municipality of La Prairie-de-la-Madeleine since 1944 and became the first mayor of Brossard.
Other names that were considered included Maisonneuve, La Vérendrye, Marquetteville, or Forgetville. The latter name, in honour of the recently deceased Mgr. Anastase Forget, bishop of Saint-Jean; however, Premier Maurice Duplessis intervened, to avoid the connotations of the English word "forget," and the name Brossard was ultimately chosen.

History

The city of Brossard was founded on February 14, 1958, and was before part of La Prairie-de-la-Madeleine Parish. Its first mayor was Georges-Henri Brossard. At the very beginning, there were 3,400 inhabitants.
The city has some homes dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, particularly along Prairies Road.
On August 8, 1964, a portion of land from Greenfield Park was added to Brossard. Furthermore, Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur was annexed to Brossard on March 25, 1978, becoming the "A" section to form the current city.
In the 1970s, an attempt was made by René Désourdy to construct a cemetery in Brossard. The attempt failed due to the water table being too high in most of the city, and as of 2024 Brossard has no cemetery.
Brossard was forcibly merged into the city of Longueuil on January 1, 2002, as a result of municipal reorganization in Quebec.
and a demerger movement was started by Pierre Senécal, Jacques St-Amant and Gilles Larin which resulted in a municipal referendum, the largest demerger vote in Québec, that took place on June 20, 2004. 38.70% of the 50,539 qualified voters voted YES for demerger, which met the requirements needed for de-amalgamation. As a result, Brossard would continue to be a borough of the city of Longueuil only until the end of 2005.
On January 1, 2006, Brossard was reconstituted as a city and Jean-Marc Pelletier was elected as the new mayor. However, Brossard still remains part of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil and thus, Brossard sits on the agglomeration council which determines certain powers of reconstituted cities.
On November 11, 2017, Doreen Assad was elected mayor of Brossard, the first woman of Egyptian descent to hold such position in Canada.

Geography

Brossard is surrounded by four municipalities on the South Shore of Montreal: Saint-Lambert, Longueuil, Carignan and La Prairie. Brossard is situated on the Saint Lawrence River to the west and by the Saint-Jacques River to the south.
Many parks are scattered throughout the city of Brossard, including Parc écologique des Sansonnets. The parks are connected to the other areas of the city by about 37 km of biking paths. The city also has a municipal library building connected to its city hall building via an indoor passageway.
Brossard is subdivided into many smaller sections. These sections are characterized by having street names that all begin with the same letter of the alphabet. The only notable exceptions are few major arteries that span across two or more sections. The lettered sectors were created under a 1960s planning and zoning scheme, pursuant to a guiding plan established by the engineering firm of Beauchemin, Beaton et Lapointe, and had the goal of easier wayfinding in the absence of a right-angled street grid. Some of the sectors correspond to former neighbourhoods or municipalities, as follows:
SectorOriginal name
ASaint-Alphonse, Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur
BVanier, Southgate
IParc Industriel
MAster, Asterville
O, R, SBrosseau-Station
P, VMarie-Victorin, Parkland
TChamplain

Some constructions in the "A" and "R" sections of Brossard are older than the city itself because they were built in the former communities of Notre-Dame-du-Sacré Coeur and Brosseau Station, respectively. The "M" and "V" sections are the first neighbourhoods built after the inauguration of Brossard in 1958.
Two sparsely inhabited parts of Brossard, containing no streets other than main arteries and industrial roads, are arbitrarily called the "X" and "Y" sections.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Brossard had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2021.
;Home Languages
Aside from French, a variety of other languages are spoken in Brossard on a daily basis, as according to the 2021 census. The prominent languages spoken primarily at home and their relative share are French, English, Mandarin, Yue, Spanish and Arabic.
;Ethnicity
Brossard is among the most multicultural municipalities in Greater Montreal, as there are 30 ethnic groups that represent at least 1% of the population. According to the 2021 census the prominent ethnic groups and their relative share are Chinese, French, Canadian. Québécois and Irish
Chinese15.8%
French13.5%
Canadian12.7%
Québécois4.7%
Irish3.8%
Italian3.6%
French Canadian3.4%
Arab2.9%
Vietnamese2.6%
Indian2.5%
English2.1%
Scottish2.1%
Greek2.1%
Afghan1.9%
Spanish1.8%
Haitian1.8%
Moroccan1.8%
Romanian1.7%
Lebanese1.6%
Colombian1.6%
Iranian1.5%
German1.5%
Portuguese1.4%
Egyptian1.4%
African1.3%
Russian1.3%
Pakistani1.2%
Algerian1.1%
Polish1.1%
Filipino1.0%

Percentages are calculated as a proportion of the total number of respondents and may total more than 100% due to dual responses.
All ethnocultural ancestries of more than 1% are listed in the table above according to the exact terminology used by Statistics Canada.
;Housing
Brossard is a mainly residential suburb with a moderate diversity of structural styles. The most popular styles of housing are semi-detached houses which represent 44% of private dwellings and apartment buildings with fewer than five storeys which represent 31% of private dwellings.
;Mother tongue languages
Statistics for the population according to mother tongue vary significantly from the statistics for home language, as well as also varying significantly from the statistics for official language usage.
Mother Tongue PopulationPercentage
French35,28539.0%
English10,54511.7%
English and French1,9152.1%
French and a non-official language1,7301.9%
English and a non-official language1,4901.6%
English, French and a non-official language1,0451.2%
Mandarin6,5307.2%
Spanish5,0905.6%
Arabic4,8555.4%
Yue4,7855.3%
Dari1,6601.8%
Vietnamese1,5201.7%
Romanian1,2401.4%
Iranian Persian1,0451.2%
Greek1,0151.1%
Portuguese1,0001.1%
Russian9351.0%
Italian6250.7%
Morisyen5450.6%
Urdu5300.6%
Bengali4300.5%
Bulgarian3850.4%
Haitian Creole3700.4%
Korean3700.4%
Punjabi3450.4%
Tagalog3450.4%

Economy

Brossard is the commercial hub of the south shore, most businesses located along Taschereau Boulevard, inside Champlain Mall and Place Portobello or at the lifestyle centre, Quartier DIX30. A particular segment of Taschereau Boulevard near La Prairie and the Saint-Jacques River is home to an exceptionally large concentration of car dealerships offering most available makes and models.

Arts and culture

Brossard has a rich cultural scene influenced by its diverse population. The city hosts various cultural events, including music festivals, art exhibitions, and theater performances, reflecting its vibrant arts community. Additionally, Brossard's cultural heritage is celebrated through its museums, galleries, and historical sites, providing residents and visitors alike with opportunities to explore and appreciate its artistic and cultural offerings.
Brossard is home of many festivities:
  • New Year's Get-Together with Municipal Officers
  • Fest-Hiver
  • Gala de l'action bénévole
  • Journée de l'animal de compagnie
  • Journée nationale du sport et de l'activité physique
  • Fête nationale
  • Fête du voisinage
  • L'OSM dans les parcs
  • Demi-Marathon Sun Life de Brossard
  • Festin culturel
  • Jour de l'arbre
  • Perform'ART
  • La Grande marche de Brossard
  • Marché de Noël de Brossard
  • La Grande Guignolée des médias de la Rive-Sud
  • Saute à l'eau!