Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, nestled in the Laurentian Mountains, is a city that offers a unique blend of history, culture, and outdoor adventure. Located approximately 130 kilometres northwest of Montreal and 140 kilometres northeast of Ottawa, Ontario, Mont-Tremblant is a city that has something for everyone.
Mont-Tremblant is most famous for its ski resort, the Mont-Tremblant Ski Resort, located seven kilometres from the village proper, at the foot of a mountain called Mont Tremblant. The name is derived from local Algonquins who referred to it as the "trembling mountain".
But skiing is not the only adventure this city offers. Mont-Tremblant also boasts a race track called Circuit Mont-Tremblant, which has hosted or currently hosts Formula One, Can-Am, Trans-Am, and Champ Car World Series competitions and Ironman triathlon, Quebec. The surrounding area also features hiking, cycling, canoeing, fishing, golfing, ziplines, tennis, running, go-karting, and a host of other outdoor activities.
Before European colonization, the area was inhabited by Algonquins. It was settled in 1872 by parish priest Antoine Labelle, leading to the formal establishment of the parish in 1879. A railway line from Montreal was completed to the village of Saint-Jovite in 1892, and extended to Lac Mercier in 1904. Mont-Tremblant developed around the Lac-Mercier station.
In 1905, a hydroelectric dam was erected on the banks of the Ruisseau Clair (Clear River) and the Rivière-du-Diable (Devil's River), providing electricity initially for Saint-Jovite. The principal economic activities were agriculture and logging.
Constructed by Joseph Bondurant Ryan, the ski resort Mont-Tremblant Lodge began operation of their first chair lift in 1939. His family sold the resort in 1965 to a consortium of investors. In 2002, the four municipalities in the area merged, Ville Saint-Jovite, Paroisse de Saint-Jovite, Mont-Tremblant, and Lac-Tremblant-Nord, becoming the amalgamated Ville de Mont-Tremblant. Afterwards, the Municipality of Lac-Tremblant-Nord separated, effective 2006.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Mont-Tremblant had a population of 10,992 living in 5,408 of its 8,783 total private dwellings, a change of 14% from its 2016 population of 9,646. With a land area of 233.75 km2 (90.25 sq mi), it had a population density of 47.0/km2 (121.8/sq mi) in 2021.
The population has seen steady growth over the years:
In terms of language, French is the first language for 86.9% of the population, followed by English at 8%, and other languages at 2.8%.
