Saint-Constant is a charming city nestled in the southwestern part of Quebec, Canada. It is strategically located on the south shore of Montreal in the Roussillon Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie region. As per the Canada 2016 Census, the city was home to 27,359 residents.
The history of Saint-Constant dates back to 1725 when early settlement took place following the opening of the St. Pierre concession. The Côte Saint-Pierre mission, the first name of the parish, was established in 1750 with the construction of a church. Two years later, the parish registers opened.
Rang Saint-Pierre, the central concession of the Sault-Saint-Louis seigneurie, extended into the seigneurie of LaSalle. In 1815, Rang Saint-Pierre earned the nickname "Black Cattle Road" as it was the route for transporting cattle from New York to Montreal.
From 1829 to 1841, the village of Saint-Constant, centrally located in what was then Laprairie County, was the only voting location. The residents of the area witnessed or participated in the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838.
Local administrative structures emerged in Saint-Constant in 1845 with the introduction of the parish municipality and the school board. However, the vast territory of the parish of Saint-Constant was already subdivided for Saint-Rémi (1840), Saint-Édouard (1833), and Saint-Isidore (1833). This trend continued with the establishment of Saint-Michel (1854), Saint-Mathieu (1919) and Sainte-Thérèse-de-Delson (1932).
One of the mayors, Solime Cardinal (1815–1897), was the maternal grandfather of Charles-Émile "Charley" Trudeau, a successful French Canadian entrepreneur who became the father of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 15th Prime Minister of Canada, and grandfather of Justin Trudeau, 23rd and current Prime Minister of Canada.
The construction of the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway in the last quarter of the nineteenth century transformed Saint-Constant. The village was electrified around 1918 and rural electrification was completed in 1939. The Rue Saint-Pierre was extended from Montées des Bouleaux/Rue Sainte-Catherine, in the direction of Route 132 in 1950. Starting in the 1950s, suburban development occurred in Saint-Constant, allowing it to obtain city status in 1973.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Constant had a population of 29,954 living in 11,313 of its 11,502 total private dwellings. This marked a change of 9.5% from its 2016 population of 27,359. With a land area of 57.06 km2 (22.03 sq mi), it had a population density of 525.0/km2 (1,359.6/sq mi) in 2021.
Saint-Constant is home to the Canadian Railway Museum, a must-visit attraction for history buffs and railway enthusiasts.
Saint-Constant boasts a robust local bus service provided by the Réseau de transport métropolitain's Roussillon sector. The city is also served by the Saint-Constant and Sainte-Catherine stations on the Réseau de transport métropolitain's Candiac line.
