Municipal reorganization in Quebec 1752978 194621401 2008-02-28T08:59:07Z Flibirigit 461496 fix bracket {{unreferenced|date=December 2007}} The most recent episode of '''municipal reorganization in Quebec''', [[Canada]], was undertaken in 2002 by the [[Parti Québécois]] Government of [[Quebec]], headed by [[Premier of Quebec|Premier]] [[Lucien Bouchard]] and his successor [[Bernard Landry]]. The government of Quebec sought to speed up the [[Amalgamation (politics)|amalgamation]] of the province's municipalities, intensifying a campaign it had been waging during the 1990s. The latest round of restructuring was marked by the consolidation of suburban areas and their respective cities into super administrative units called ''villes'' (amalgamated cities). Following the examples they claimed has been set by authorities in [[Boston]]{{Fact|date=July 2007}} and [[Ontario]] (in particular, [[Ottawa]] and [[Toronto]]), the government argued that mergers would improve the distribution of revenue and responsibilities between richer suburban communities and their poorer, inner city counterparts. Many suburban residents resented the apparent attempt by large urban centres to grab more power and loudly protested the annexations of their communities. Nevertheless, the government abolished more than two hundred suburban municipal areas on [[January 1]], [[2002]]. ==Merged cities== The following entities were created from these amalgamations: ===Cities over 40,000 or mergers of more than five cities=== * City of '''[[Montreal]]''': former city of Montreal; cities of [[Anjou, Quebec|Anjou]], [[Beaconsfield, Quebec|Beaconsfield]], [[Côte-Saint-Luc, Quebec|Côte-Saint-Luc]], [[Dorval, Quebec|Dorval]], [[Lachine, Quebec|Lachine]], [[LaSalle, Quebec|LaSalle]], [[Montreal East, Quebec|Montreal East]], [[Montreal North, Quebec|Montreal North]], [[Montreal West, Quebec|Montreal West]], [[Outremont, Quebec|Outremont]], [[Pierrefonds, Quebec|Pierrefonds]], [[Pointe-Claire, Quebec|Pointe-Claire]], [[Saint-Laurent, Quebec|Saint-Laurent]], [[Saint Leonard, Quebec|Saint Leonard]], [[Verdun, Quebec|Verdun]] and [[Westmount, Quebec|Westmount]]; towns of [[Baie-D'Urfé, Quebec|Baie-D'Urfé]], [[Dollard-Des Ormeaux, Quebec|Dollard-Des Ormeaux]], [[Hampstead, Quebec|Hampstead]], [[Kirkland, Quebec|Kirkland]], [[L'Île-Bizard, Quebec|L'Île-Bizard]], [[L'Île-Dorval, Quebec|L'Île-Dorval]], [[Mount Royal, Quebec|Mount Royal]], [[Roxboro, Quebec|Roxboro]], [[Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec|Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue]] and [[Sainte-Geneviève, Quebec|Sainte-Geneviève]]; village of [[Senneville, Quebec|Senneville]]. See ''[[Montreal Merger]]''. * City of '''[[Quebec City, Quebec|Quebec]]''': former city of Quebec; cities of [[Beauport]], [[Cap-Rouge]], [[Charlesbourg]], [[L'Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec|L'Ancienne-Lorette]], [[Lac-Saint-Charles, Quebec|Lac-Saint-Charles]], [[Loretteville]], [[Saint-Émile]], [[Sainte-Foy, Quebec|Sainte-Foy]], [[Sillery, Quebec|Sillery]], [[Val-Bélair, Quebec|Val-Bélair]], [[Vanier, Quebec|Vanier]]; municipality of [[Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec|Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures]]. * City of '''[[Longueuil, Quebec|Longueuil]]''': former city of Longueuil; cities of [[Boucherville, Quebec|Boucherville]], [[Brossard, Quebec|Brossard]] and [[Saint-Lambert, Quebec|Saint-Lambert]]; towns of [[Greenfield Park, Quebec|Greenfield Park]], [[LeMoyne, Quebec|LeMoyne]], [[Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec|Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville]] and [[Saint-Hubert, Quebec|Saint-Hubert]]. * City of '''[[Gatineau, Quebec|Gatineau]]''': former city of Gatineau; cities of [[Aylmer, Quebec|Aylmer]] and [[Hull, Quebec|Hull]]; town of [[Buckingham, Quebec|Buckingham]]; township of [[Masson-Angers, Quebec|Masson-Angers]]. * City of '''[[Lévis, Quebec|Lévis]]''': former city of Lévis; cities of [[Charny, Quebec|Charny]], [[Saint-Jean-Chrysostome, Quebec|Saint-Jean-Chrysostome]], [[Saint-Nicolas, Quebec|Saint-Nicolas]], [[Saint-Rédempteur, Quebec|Saint-Rédempteur]] and [[Saint-Romuald, Quebec|Saint-Romuald]]; municipalities of [[Pintendre, Quebec|Pintendre]] and [[Saint-Étienne-de-Lauzon, Quebec|Saint-Étienne-de-Lauzon]]; parishes of [[Sainte-Hélène-de-Breakeyville, Quebec|Sainte-Hélène-de-Breakeyville]] and [[Saint-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-de-Lévy, Quebec|Saint-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-de-Lévy]]. * City of '''[[Saguenay, Quebec|Saguenay]]''': Former cities of [[Chicoutimi, Quebec|Chicoutimi]], [[Jonquière, Quebec|Jonquière]], [[La Baie, Quebec|La Baie]], [[Laterrière, Quebec|Laterrière]]; municipalities of [[Shipshaw, Quebec|Shipshaw]] and [[Lac-Kénogami, Quebec|Lac-Kénogami]]; part of the township of [[Tremblay, Quebec|Tremblay]] and 2 unincorporated areas. * City of '''[[Shawinigan, Quebec|Shawinigan]]''': former city of Shawinigan; cities of [[Grand-Mère, Quebec|Grand-Mère]] and [[Shawinigan-Sud, Quebec|Shawinigan-Sud]]; municipality of [[Lac-à-la-Tortue, Quebec|Lac-à-la-Tortue]]; village of [[Saint-Georges, Shawinigan, Quebec|Saint-Georges]]; parishes of [[Saint-Gérard-des-Laurentides, Quebec|Saint-Gérard-des-Laurentides]] and [[Saint-Jean-des-Piles, Quebec|Saint-Jean-des-Piles]]; and the unincorporated areas of [[Lac-des-Cinq, Quebec|Lac-des-Cinq]] and [[Lac-Wapizagonke, Quebec|Lac-Wapizagonke]]. * City of '''[[Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec|Saint-Hyacinthe]]''': Former city of Saint-Hyacinthe; village of [[Sainte-Rosalie, Quebec|Sainte-Rosalie]]; parishes of [[Sainte-Rosalie, Quebec (parish)|Sainte-Rosalie]], [[Saint-Hyacinthe-le-Confesseur, Quebec|Saint-Hyacinthe-le-Confesseur]], [[Notre-Dame-de-Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec|Notre-Dame-de-Saint-Hyacinthe]], [[Saint-Thomas-D'Aquin, Quebec|Saint-Thomas-D'Aquin]]. * City of '''[[Repentigny, Quebec|Repentigny]]''': Former city of Repentigny and the former town of [[Le Gardeur, Quebec|Le Gardeur]]. * City of '''[[Rimouski, Quebec|Rimouski]]''': former city of Rimouski; city of [[Pointe-au-Père, Quebec|Pointe-au-Père]]; municipality of [[Mont-Lebel, Quebec|Mont-Lebel]]; village of [[Rimouski-Est, Quebec|Rimouski-Est]]; parishes of [[Sainte-Blandine, Quebec|Sainte-Blandine]] and [[Sainte-Odile-sur-Rimouski, Quebec|Sainte-Odile-sur-Rimouski]]. * City of '''[[Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec|Rouyn-Noranda]]''': former city of Rouyn-Noranda; city of [[Cadillac, Quebec|Cadillac]]; municipalities of [[Arntfield, Quebec|Arntfield]], [[Bellecombe, Quebec|Bellecombe]], [[Cléricy, Quebec|Cléricy]], [[Cloutier, Quebec|Cloutier]], [[D'Alembert, Quebec|D'Alembert]], [[Destor, Quebec|Destor]], [[Évain, Quebec|Évain]], [[McWatters, Quebec|McWatters]], [[Mont-Brun, Quebec|Mont-Brun]], [[Montbeillard, Quebec|Montbeillard]] and [[Rollet, Quebec|Rollet]]; unincorporated areas of [[Lac-Montanier, Quebec|Lac-Montanier]], [[Lac-Surimau, Quebec|Lac-Surimau]] and [[Rapides-des-Cèdres, Quebec|Rapides-des-Cèdres]]. * City of '''[[La Tuque, Quebec|La Tuque]]''': Former city of La Tuque; municipalities of [[La Bostonnais, Quebec|La Bostonnais]], [[La Croche, Quebec|La Corche]], [[Lac-Édouard, Quebec|Lac-Édouard]]; Village of [[Parent, Quebec|Parent]]; unincorporated areas of [[Kiskissink, Quebec|Kiskissink]], [[Lac-Berlinguet, Quebec|Lac-Berlinguet]], [[Lac-des-Moires, Quebec|Lac-des-Moires]], [[Lac-Pellerin, Quebec|Lac-Pellerin]], [[Lac-Tourlay, Quebec|Lac-Tourlay]], [[Obedjiwan, Quebec|Obedjiwan]], [[Petit-Lac-Wayagamac, Quebec|Petit-Lac-Wayagamac]] and [[Rivière-Windigo, Quebec|Rivière-Windigo]] * Municipality of '''[[Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec|Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine]]''': municipalities of [[Fatima, Quebec|Fatima]], [[Grande-Entrée, Quebec|Grande-Entrée]], [[Grosse-Île, Quebec|Grosse-Île]], [[Havre-aux-Maisons, Quebec|Havre-aux-Maisons]], [[L'Étang-du-Nord, Quebec|L'Étang-du-Nord]] and [[L'Île-du-Havre-Aubert, Quebec|L'Île-du-Havre-Aubert]]; village of [[Cap-aux-Meules, Quebec|Cap-aux-Meules]]. * City of '''[[Sherbrooke, Quebec|Sherbrooke]]:''' former city of Sherbrooke; cities of [[Bromptonville]] and [[Fleurimont]]; towns of [[Lennoxville]] and [[Rock Forest]]; municipalities of [[Ascot (Sherbrooke)|Ascot]], [[Deauville (Sherbrooke)|Deauville]] and [[Saint-Élie-d'Orford]]. * City of '''[[Trois-Rivières, Quebec|Trois-Rivières]]''': former city of Trois-Rivières; cities of [[Cap-de-la-Madeleine]], [[Sainte-Marthe-du-Cap, Quebec|Sainte-Marthe-du-Cap]], [[Saint-Louis-de-France, Quebec|Saint-Louis-de-France]] and [[Trois-Rivières-Ouest]]; municipality of [[Pointe-du-Lac, Quebec|Pointe-du-Lac]]. * City of '''[[Saint-Jérôme, Quebec|Saint-Jérôme]]''': former city of Saint-Jérôme; cities of [[Bellefeuille, Quebec|Bellefeuille]], [[Lafontaine, Quebec|Lafontaine]] and [[Saint-Antoine, Quebec|Saint-Antoine]]. * City of '''[[Val-d'Or, Quebec|Val-d'Or]]''': former city of Val-d'Or; municipalities of [[Dubuisson, Quebec|Dubuisson]], [[Sullivan, Quebec|Sullivan]], [[Val-Senneville, Quebec|Val-Senneville]] and [[Vassan, Quebec|Vassan]]. ===Other mergers=== * City of Beauharnois: former city of Beauharnois; city of Maple Grove; village of Melocheville. * City of Thetford Mines: Former cities of Thetford Mines and Black Lake; municipality of Pontbriand, village of Robertsonville and township of Thetford-Partie-Sud. * City of Saint-George: Former city of Saint-george; municipality of Aubert-Gallion and parishes of Saint-Georges-Est and Saint-Jean-de-la-Lande. * City of Mont-Tremblant: Former municipalities of Mont-Tremblant, Lac-Tremblant-Nord; village and parish of Saint-Jovite. * City of Rivière-Rouge: Former municipalities of La Macaza and Marchand; former villages of L'Annonciation and Sainte-Véronique. * City of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield: Former cities of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Saint-Timothée; municipality of Grand-île. * City of Matane: Former city of Matane; municipalities of Petit-Matane and Saint-Luc-de-Matane; parish of Saint-Jérôme-de-Matane. * City of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts: Former city of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts; municipalities of Sainte-Agathe-Nord and Ivry-sur-le-Lac. * City of Mont-Laurier: Former city of Mont-Laurier; municipalities of Des Ruisseaux and Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles. * City of Sept-Îles: Former cities of Sept-Îles and Moisie, municipality of Gallix. * City of Cookshire-Eaton: Former city of Cookshire, townships of Eaton and Newport. * City of Magog: Former city and township of Magog; village of Omerville * City of Saint-Sauveur: Former village of Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts and parish of Saint-Sauveur. * City of Sainte-Marguerite-Estérel: Former city of Estérel and parish of Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson. * City of Saint-Pie: Former city and parish of Saint-Pie. * Municipality of Lacolle: Former village of Lacolle and parish of Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel. * Municipality of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge: Former township of Grenville and village of Calumet. * City of Sutton: Former city and township of Sutton. * City of Port-Cartier: Former city of Port-Cartier a municipality of Rivière-Pentecôte. * City of Métis-sur-Mer: Former village of Métis-sur-Mer and municipality of Les Boules. * City of Lac-Etchemin: Former city of Lac-Etchemin and parish of Sainte-Germaine-du-Lac-Etchemin. * City of Mont-Joli: Former city of Mont-Joli and municipality of Saint-Jean-Baptiste. * City of Alma: Former city of Alma and municipality of Delisle. * Municipality of Adstock: former municipality of Adstock and village of Sainte-Anne-du-Lac. * City of Terrebonne: former cities of Terrebonne, Lachenaie, and La Plaine. * City of Baie-Comeau: former cities of Baie-Comeau and Hauterive. == Calls for de-amalgamation ==<!-- This section is linked from [[Mount Royal, Quebec]] --> After the mergers took place, local communities which had opposed amalgamation clamoured for the right to reconstitute the abolished municipalities if they wished. [[Jean Charest]], the leader of the opposition at the time, promised to introduce laws to ensure the public would be democratically consulted on questions of municipal governance in future. In the [[Quebec general election, 2003|general election]] of [[April 14]], [[2003]], [[Jean Charest]]'s [[Liberal Party of Quebec|Liberal Party]] soundly defeated the ruling Parti Québécois led by [[Bernard Landry]]. The Liberals benefited considerably from the anti-PQ discontent in constituencies that had experienced municipal amalgamations. Honouring its promise, the new government adopted Bill 9, which created a formal process by which old municipalities could be reconstituted (in legal terms). Contrary to what was promised by Charest (full de-amalgamation), Bill 9 only restored specific powers to the demerged cities (e.g., animal control, garbage pickup, local streets maintenance, some cultural facilities). The "bigger" expenses (e.g., police, fire, main streets, expansion programs) and the majority of the taxes will remain in the hands of local urban "administrations", which are controlled by the central merged city. So in fact, the demerged city only recovered some powers of secondary importance, and were required to leave their other powers to the control of an [[agglomeration]] council which will be centred in the city from which they had de-amalgamated. In Montreal's case, the de-amalgamated cities will hold only 13% of the votes on the new council. This consulting process about Bill 9 requires 10% of voters residing within an amalgamated municipality to sign a petition to demand the holding of a [[referendum]] on de-amalgamation. To succeed, a referendum has to fulfill two conditions: * A majority must vote yes to de-amalgamation. * 'Yes' voters must represent at least 35% of all registered electors. On [[June 20]], [[2004]], referendums were held in 89 of the former municipalities of Quebec. The 'Yes' vote recorded majorities in several municipalities, but did not reach the required threshold of 35% of registered voters. A total of 32 former municipalities met the conditions required to de-amalgamate and were re-established on [[January 1]], [[2006]]. The demerging municipalities are: *From [[Montreal]]: [[Baie-d'Urfé, Quebec|Baie-d'Urfé]], [[Beaconsfield, Quebec|Beaconsfield]], [[Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec|Dollard-des-Ormeaux]], [[Dorval, Quebec|Dorval]], [[Kirkland, Quebec|Kirkland]], [[L'Île-Dorval, Quebec|L'Île-Dorval]], [[Pointe-Claire, Quebec|Pointe-Claire]], [[Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec|Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue]] and [[Senneville, Quebec|Senneville]] in the [[West Island]]; [[Côte-Saint-Luc, Quebec|Côte-Saint-Luc]], [[Hampstead, Quebec|Hampstead]], [[Mount Royal, Quebec|Mount Royal]], [[Montreal West, Quebec|Montreal West]] and [[Westmount, Quebec|Westmount]] in the West End; [[Montreal East, Quebec|Montreal East]] in the East End *From [[Quebec City, Quebec|Quebec City]]: [[L'Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec|L'Ancienne-Lorette]] and [[Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec|Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures]] *From [[Longueuil, Quebec|Longueuil]]: [[Boucherville, Quebec|Boucherville]], [[Brossard, Quebec|Brossard]], [[Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec|Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville]] and [[Saint-Lambert, Quebec|Saint-Lambert]] *From [[La Tuque, Quebec|La Tuque]]: [[La Bostonnais, Quebec|La Bostonnais]] and [[Lac-Édouard, Quebec|Lac-Édouard]] *From [[Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec|Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine]]: [[Cap-aux-Meules, Quebec|Cap-aux-Meules]] and [[Grosse-Île, Quebec|Grosse-Île]] *From [[Mont-Tremblant, Quebec|Mont-Tremblant]]: [[Lac-Tremblant-Nord, Quebec|Lac-Tremblant-Nord]] *From [[Rivière-Rouge, Quebec|Rivière-Rouge]]: [[La Macaza, Quebec|La Macaza]] *From [[Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec|Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts]]: [[Ivry-sur-le-Lac, Quebec|Ivry-sur-le-Lac]] *From [[Mont-Laurier, Quebec|Mont-Laurier]]: [[Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles, Quebec|Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles]] *From [[Cookshire-Eaton, Quebec|Cookshire-Eaton]]: [[Newport, Quebec|Newport]] Additionally, [[Estérel, Quebec|Estérel]] voted to demerge from Sainte-Marguerite-Estérel, effectively reversing the merger between Estérel and [[Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson, Quebec|Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson]]. After the demerger comes into effect, the remainder of the city is likely to change its name to either Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson or Lac-Masson. ==See also== * [[Amalgamation (politics)]] * [[Montreal Merger]] * [[Local government in Quebec]] * [[Urban agglomerations of Quebec]] * [[Administrative subdivisions of Quebec]] [[Category:History of Quebec]] [[Category:Municipal politics of Quebec]] [[Category:Local government in Quebec]] [[fr:Réorganisations municipales québécoises]]