Saint-Constant, Quebec

Saint-Constant (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ kɔ̃stɑ̃]) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the south shore of Montreal in the Roussillon Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie region. The population as of the Canada 2016 Census was 27,359.

Saint-Constant
City
Saint-Pierre Street in Saint-Constant
Location within Roussillon RCM
Saint-Constant Location in southern Quebec
Coordinates: 45°22′N 73°34′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Montérégie
RCM	Roussillon
Constituted	July 1, 1855
Government [2][3]
• Mayor	Jean-Claude Boyer
• Federal riding	La Prairie
• Prov. riding	Sanguinet
Area [2][4]
• Total	57.12 km2 (22.05 sq mi)
• Land	57.06 km2 (22.03 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[4]
• Total	29,954
• Density	524.9/km2 (1,359/sq mi)
• Pop (2016-21)	9.5%
• Dwellings	11,502
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J5A
Area codes	450 and 579
Highways	A-30 A-730 R-132 R-209
Website	www.ville.saint-constant.qc.ca

History

Historic presbytery of Saint-Constant

Early settlement took place in 1725 as a result of the opening of the St. Pierre concession. The Côte Saint-Pierre mission (first name of the parish) began in 1750 with the construction of a church and two years later, the parish registers opened. Rang Saint-Pierre was the central concession of the Sault-Saint-Louis seigneurie and extended into the seigneurie of LaSalle. In 1815 Rang Saint-Pierre was nicknamed "Black Cattle Road" because it was the way cattle were transported from New York to Montreal. Centrally located in what was then Laprairie County, the village of Saint-Constant was the only location of voting from 1829 to 1841. Residents of the area witnessed or took part 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.

Saint-Constant was transformed by the construction of the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The electrification of the village occurred 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.

Demographics

In 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, 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.^[4]

Canada census – Saint-Constant community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	29,954 (+9.5% from 2016)	27,359 (+9.5% from 2011)	24,980 (+4.3% from 2006)
Land area	57.06 km2 (22.03 sq mi)	57.13 km2 (22.06 sq mi)	56.83 km2 (21.94 sq mi)
Population density	524.9/km2 (1,359/sq mi)	478.9/km2 (1,240/sq mi)	439.5/km2 (1,138/sq mi)
Median age	40.0 (M: 39.6, F: 40.4)	38.8 (M: 38.4, F: 39.2)	38.0 (M: 37.7, F: 38.4)
Private dwellings	11,502 (total)	10,282 (total)	9,109 (total)
Median household income	$101,000	$86,604	$78,274

References: 2021^[5] 2016^[6] 2011^[7]

Historical Census Data - Saint-Constant, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1861 2,388 —     1871 1,898 −20.5% 1881 1,722 −9.3% 1891 1,572 −8.7% 1901 1,525 −3.0% 1911 1,395 −8.5% 1921 1,411 +1.1% 1931 1,769 +25.4%	Year Pop. ±% 1941 1,578 −10.8% 1951 1,925 +22.0% 1956 3,136 +62.9% 1961 4,108 +31.0% 1966 4,971 +21.0% 1971 5,728 +15.2% 1976 7,659 +33.7% 1981 9,938 +29.8%	Year Pop. ±% 1986 12,508 +25.9% 1991 18,424 +47.3% 1996 21,933 +19.0% 2001 22,577 +2.9% 2006 23,957 +6.1% 2011 24,980 +4.3% 2016 27,359 +9.5% 2021 29,954 +9.5%
Source: Statistics Canada[8]

Canada Census Mother Tongue - Saint-Constant, Quebec[8]
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2021		29,885		23,230	1.4%	77.8%		1,700	18.9%	5.7%		525	59.1%	1.8%		3,865	64.1%	12.9%
2016		26,695		22,905	5.6%	85.8%		1,430	13.9%	5.4%		330	29.4%	1.2%		2,355	56.0%	8.8%
2011		24,705		21,685	0.3%	87.8%		1,255	17.3%	5.1%		255	96.2%	1.0%		1,510	67.8%	6.1%
2006		23,850		21,750	6.2%	91.2%		1,070	3.6%	4.5%		130	8.3%	0.6%		900	15.4%	3.8%
2001		22,490		20,480	3.7%	91.1%		1,110	7.8%	4.9%		120	38.5%	0.5%		780	14.8%	3.5%
1996		21,885		19,745	n/a	90.2%		1,030	n/a	4.7%		195	n/a	0.9%		915	n/a	4.2%

Attractions

Canadian Railway Museum

Saint-Constant is home to the Canadian Railway Museum.

Government

City hall of Saint-Constant

List of former mayors:

• Daniel Ashby (...–2005)
• Gilles Pépin (2005–2013)
• Jean-Claude Boyer (2013–present)

Infrastructure

Local bus service in Saint-Constant is provided by the Réseau de transport métropolitain's Roussillon sector. Saint-Constant is also served by the Saint-Constant and Sainte-Catherine stations on the Réseau de transport métropolitain's Candiac line.

See also

• Saint-Regis River
• List of cities in Quebec