Brossard

Brossard, Qué, pop 65 026 (2001c), 65 927 (1996c), incorporated as a city in 1978, from January 2002, it is a borough of the new city of LONGUEUIL created by the amalgamation of 8 distinct municipalities. Brossard is located on the South Shore of the St Lawrence River, a short distance from the Champlain Bridge that links it to MONTRÉAL.

Brossard resulted from the merger of the municipalities of Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Coeur and Notre-Dame-de-Laprairie-de-la-Madeleine with the city of Brossard, which had, 20 years earlier (1958), been created out of the amalgamation of La-Nativité-de-Laprairie and La Prairie. Brossard got its name from one of the pioneer families of the region, one of whose members just happened to be mayor during this time, Georges-Henri Brossard.

Brossard was a typical suburban city of Montréal whose rapid growth following World War II accelerated after the opening of Champlain Bridge (1962) and the setting up of a public transportation system (1971). Its population grew from 2500 in 1958 to 65 000 by the end of the century. One of Brossard's most striking demographic characteristics is the ethnic diversity of its population. Those of Chinese, Greek, East Indian and Vietnamese origins, for example, account for 12%, 4%, 3% and 2% respectively (single response, 2001c) of the total population. Those of French and British origins make up 12% and 3% respectively, and another 40% identify themselves as Canadian. As with most suburbs, Brossard's service and retail sectors fuel the economy while its industrial park has a mixture of light and medium industry.

Author PIERRE LOUIS LAPOINTE Revised: CLAIRE POITRAS

Links to Other Sites
Longueuil
The official website for the City of Longueuil.