Mount Royal, or Mont-Royal in French, is a charming suburban town located on the northwest side of the eponymous Mount Royal, northwest of Downtown Montreal, on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. This affluent town, completely surrounded by the city of Montreal, is home to 20,953 residents as of the 2021 Canadian census. In 2008, most of Mount Royal was designated a National Historic Site of Canada, recognized as a remarkable synthesis of urban renewal movements of the early 20th century. The town celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2012.
Founded in 1912, the Town of Mount Royal, abbreviated TMR, was created by the Canadian Northern Railway to generate funds for a tunnel under the mountain, connecting the railway to downtown Montreal. The town was designed by Frederick Todd, a planner influenced by Sir Ebenezer Howard, and incorporated many aspects of the Garden City Movement and some elements of the earlier City Beautiful movement. The company bought 4,800 acres of farmland and built a rail tunnel under Mount Royal, connecting their land to downtown Montreal. The profits from this venture helped finance the development of Canadian Northern's transcontinental railroad, which eventually became a significant constituent of the Canadian National Railway system.
The town's coat of arms, composed of several significant elements, has evolved over the years, with the current version dating from 1993. The town's official signature includes the coat of arms as well as the town's name in French and English.
Two main thoroughfares, Laird Boulevard and Graham Boulevard, cut across the borough diagonally and meet at Connaught Park, a green space located in the centre. Mount Royal Train Station, a commuter train station on the Exo Deux-Montagnes line, is located to the east of this park. This line is now undergoing construction to upgrade it for the new REM network. Trains going through the Mount Royal Tunnel link the station to downtown Montreal in eight minutes.
TMR is surrounded on three sides by a highway, a fence, and a rail line. The highway is Metropolitan Boulevard, a major constituent of Autoroute 40. A fence runs along the eastern border with Park Extension at L'Acadie Boulevard, a six-lane thoroughfare. The rail line is the last portion of Canadian Pacific's Adirondack subdivision.
According to the Office québécois de la langue française, Mont-Royal has been officially recognized as a bilingual municipality since 2005. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Mont-Royal had a population of 20,953 living in 7,732 of its 8,192 total private dwellings, a change of 3.3% from its 2016 population of 20,276. With a land area of 7.55 km2, it had a population density of 2,775.2/km2 in 2021.
From its early days as a small farming community known for its melons, Mount Royal has evolved into a bustling town with a rich history and a promising future. Whether you're interested in history, architecture, or simply enjoying the beautiful scenery, Mount Royal, Quebec has something to offer everyone.
