Boucherville

Boucherville was founded as a seigneurial parish in 1667 by Pierre Boucher, for whom the city was later named. Pierre Boucher came from Mortagne-au-Perche, Normandy, France. After having lived in Quebec City and Trois-Rivières, Boucher moved to the Percées Islands by the southern shores of Saint Lawrence River, where he founded Boucherville.

The first Catholic church of the village of Boucherville was built in 1670. This church, made of wood, was eventually replaced in 1712 by a building made of brick. It was replaced in 1801 by the current Sainte-Famille Church.

Several families left Boucherville in the 18th century to found the communities of Sainte-Julie and Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville.

In July 1843 fire destroyed much of the village. Sparks blowing from a steamer ignited a wooden building owned by Mr. Weilbrenner (lot 112). The fire spread and soon most of the village was on fire. In the end, the church, the chapel, two schools, 51 homes and pastures, and 92 other buildings were destroyed.[5]

The village was progressively rebuilt. A new church was built on the site of the old one over the course of the following two years. Parts of the walls and front were reused. A stone school was built in 1851 at the intersection of Notre-Dame and Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine streets.[5]

The municipality of the parish Sainte-Famille de Boucherville was established in 1845. This large territory included the village of Boucherville. In 1856, Sainte-Famille de Boucherville was divided into two separate municipalities: the parish Sainte-Famille de Boucherville and the village of Boucherville.

In 1854, seigneurial tenure was abolished. Pierre-Amable Boucher de Boucherville, last seigneur of Boucherville, died three years later.

The village Boucherville was to become an important vacation resort by the end of the 19th century and early 20th century. People from Montreal could access the village by train or ferry.

Boucherville experienced significant growth after World War II. This expansion was confirmed by the construction of the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel.

The parish Sainte-Famille de Boucherville ceded portions of its territory to Saint-Hubert in 1877, to Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville in 1950 and to the village of Boucherville in 1956.

The village of Boucherville gained the status of city in 1957.

In 1963, the city of Boucherville merged with the Sainte-Famille de Boucherville parish. This brought Boucherville to its current city limits.

Boucherville opened a new 'civic centre', including an indoor and outdoor pool, municipal offices and indoor arena in 1966. The centre was later renamed in memory of the murdered cabinet minister Pierre Laporte. In August 2015, the Centre was closed as part of a three-year, $27 million refurbishment project. The shell of the old building will be blended into the new facility. Some of the equipment, such as the skating rink boards and glass will be reused in the Gilles-Chabot arena.

As part of the 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec, Boucherville ceased to exist as an independent city on January 1, 2002 and became a borough of Longueuil. However, after a 2004 referendum, it de-merged and was reconstituted as an independent city on January 1, 2006. However, it remains part of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil.

Today, Boucherville is home to more than 40,000 inhabitants and a large industrial park.

Founder Pierre Boucher is commemorated by a museum in his name at the Séminaire Saint-Joseph and a statue erected at the National Assembly of Quebec, in addition to a monument on the Boucherville's waterfront.

The original settlers of Boucherville left Trois-Rivières in 1667 along with Pierre Boucher, who had been granted the seigneurie in 1664.

The first baptism was recorded by Father Marquette in 1668.

In 1681, the village included 179 inhabitants, distributed into 39 families, living on 320 acres of cultivated land.[5]

In an 1811 report by Jacques Viger, the village included:[5]

• 1 physician
• 4 windmills (3 operative)
• 6 merchants
• 6 blacksmiths
• 5 weavers
• 2 coopers
• 8 cabinetmakers (of which 2 also were carpenters)
• 5 butchers
• 1 wheelwright
• 2 masons
• 2 bakers
• 6 shoemakers (of which one also was a saddlemaker)
• 3 innkeepers
• 2 schools
• 91 houses (25 made of stone)

With the increasing price of houses, upscale residences have become less and less affordable in Boucherville in recent years. As such, Boucherville has begun to experience a slowdown in its population growth.

Languages of Boucherville Citizens [12]

Canada Census Mother Tongue - Boucherville, Quebec
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2016		41,595		37,970	1.11%	91.28%		880	6.8%	2.11%		285	9.6%	0.68%		2,190	26.96%	5,26%
2011		40,655		37,550	4.19%	92.36%		945	23.52%	2.32%		260	117%	0.63%		1,725	9.18%	4.24%
2006		38,505		36,040	7.28%	93.59%		765	5.5%	1.98%		120	47.82%	0.31%		1,580	483.36%	4.1%
2001		35,700		33,595	3.23%	94.1%		810	0.12%	2.27%		230	39.39%	0.64%		1,065	12.10%	2.98%
1996		34,535		32,545	n/a	94.24%		800	n/a	2.31%		165	n/a	0.5%		950	n/a	2.75%

As of 2015, there are seven French-language public primary schools, one French-language private primary school and one English-language public primary school.

• École Père-Marquette
• École Louis-H-Lafontaine
• École Paul VI
• École Antoine-Girouard
• École De la Broquerie
• École des Jeunes Découvreurs
• École Pierre Boucher
• École les Trois Saisons (Private)
• Boucherville Elementary School (English Public, originally the Boucherville Protestant School[14])

Boucherville's only high school, the French-language public École secondaire de Mortagne[15] was built in 1968.[16] A dress code including a uniform was introduced in 2012.[17]

There has never been an English-language high school in Boucherville.

The South Shore Protestant Regional School Board previously served the municipality.[18]

Currently, English-language public education is provided by the Riverside School Board.

Quebec internet comedy website Têtes à claques is based in Boucherville.

In 1973, a youth drop-in centre, the Maison des Jeunes was opened at 78 boulevard Marie-Victorin. From March 30, 1974 to late June 1974, the Maison enjoyed financial support from the local Club Richelieu.

On November 19, 1975, the Maison then moved to the old town hall, at 20 rue Pierre-Boucher.[19] It remained there for over a quarter century, with the exception of three months in 1982 when it was relocated to the Boucherville Elementary School while the building was being renovated.

In 2001, the Maison des jeunes la Piaule moved into its new purpose-built facilities on chemin du Lac.[20]

On September 9, 2017 the Complexe aquatique Laurie-Eve-Cormier officially replaced the Centre sportif Pierre-Laporte.[21]

Located on Lionel-Daunais road, the centre offers cultural and sporting spaces.[22]

In 2013, Boucherville's disc golf course became the first course in the Montreal area to be fully publicly funded.[23]