This city is divided in three sectors, namely Lachenaie, La Plaine and Terrebonne. In the past, these sectors were distinct cities, but, on 22 August 2001, they merged under the name of Terrebonne. According to the 2021 Canadian Census Terrebonne has a population of 119,944,[citation needed] making it Montreal's third largest suburb and the largest city on the North Shore.
History
Terrebonne in 1810
The town of Lachenaie, which was founded in 1683 by Lord Charles Aubert de Lachenaye, is the oldest of the three towns that were merged.[citation needed] Some natives were already present on this territory at the time. The colonisation really started in 1647 when Lachenaie was merged with the Repentigny Seigniory. Louis Lepage de Ste-Claire, priest, canon, and the son of René Lepage de Sainte-Claire, acquired the Seigniory of Terrebonne on 2 September 1720. Abbot Louis Lepage de Ste-Claire built the first church in 1734 and the first manor in 1735. A few years later, Abbot Lepage equipped the town with both a saw mill and a flour mill.
The town of La Plaine was founded in 1830 on fragments of other towns, namely Mascouche, Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Saint-Lin, and Terrebonne. At that time, the lords of Terrebonne and Lachenaie built the road named "chemin de la Grande Ligne" to join the two towns. It is now called the boulevard Laurier. In 1877, the rail system was developed and stimulated the economic growth. The village of Saint-Joachim was founded during that time, which was later, in 1920, to be renamed La Plaine.
The first lord of Terrebonne was André Daulier-Deslandes, who was granted his title in 1673. Following the construction of the first wooden bridge in 1834, two main areas emerged. The commercial area was Terrebonne, while the agricultural one was Saint-Louis de Terrebonne. In 1985, these two cities merged.
At the time of the municipal merger in late August 2001, Lachenaie had over 20,000 residents, La Plaine had 17,000 residents, and Terrebonne had almost 46,000 residents. This merger made Terrebonne the 10th largest city in Quebec. Ten years later, the city had around 106,322 citizens on 154.6 km2 (59.7 sq mi) of land, according to the 2011 Canadian Census.[5]
Geography
Climate
Terrebonne like nearby Montréal city, has the same humid continental climate (warm summer subtype, Köppen climate classificationDfb), with warm or hot humid summers and cold winters.[6][7] Terrebonne is cooler on average than Montréal, and during cold waves temperatures generally remain at or below -30°C (-22°F) more often. Terrebonne's record temperatures, as recorded at the nearby Mascouche station, are a high of 36.7 °C (98.1 °F) in August 1 1975, and a low of −37.2 °C (−35.0 °F) in January 15 1957.[8][9]
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Terrebonne had a population of 119,944 living in 45,247 of its 46,056 total private dwellings, a change of 7.5% from its 2016 population of 111,575. With a land area of 153.76 km2 (59.37 sq mi), it had a population density of 780.1/km2 (2,020.4/sq mi) in 2021.[12]
Canada census – Terrebonne, Quebec community profile
Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses.
Language
Canada Census Mother Tongue - Terrebonne, Quebec[11]
Census
Total
French
English
French & English
Other
Year
Responses
Count
Trend
Pop %
Count
Trend
Pop %
Count
Trend
Pop %
Count
Trend
Pop %
2021
118,465
99,315
1.58%
83.38%
3,095
27.1%
2.61%
1,395
80.9%
1.17%
12,040
34.9%
10.16%
2016
111 130
97 765
8.0%
87.8%
2 435
17.4%
2.19%
730
59.3%
0.65%
8 925
51.9%
8.03%
2011
105,125
95,940
9.1%
91.26%
2,190
51.14%
2.08%
685
5.83%
0.65%
6,310
41.44%
6.00%
2006
94,385
87,935
115.8%
93.17%
1,865
122.0%
1.98%
430
132.4%
0.45%
4,155
324.0%
4.40%
2001
42,745
40,740
1.8%
95.31%
840
0.6%
1.97%
185
13.9%
0.43%
980
24.8%
2.29%
1996
41,835
40,000
n/a
95.61%
835
n/a
2.00%
215
n/a
0.51%
785
n/a
1.88%
Attractions
Île-des-moulins
The Moulin neuf (New Mill) at the Île-des-moulins
The pre-industrial complex of the Île-des-moulins was amongst the most important ones in the province of Quebec during the 19th century. Although several infrastructures have degraded, a total of five buildings remain. The fourth lord of Terrebonne, Abbot Louis Lepage, had ordered the construction of the first flour mill in 1721 as well as the first saw mill around 1725.
In 1803, the bakery was built and established in the village. The actual saw and flour mills were built in 1804 and 1846, respectively. Four years following the construction of the flour mill that is currently standing at the Île-des-moulins to this day, the Moulin neuf (New Mill) was built in 1850. In addition, around the same time in 1850, the seigniory office was established.
In 1973, the Île-des-moulins was classified as a historic site of national interest by the Government of Quebec.[21]
Moulin-Neuf dam
The actual Moulin-Neuf dam with the pedestrian walkway at the Île-des-moulins in Terrebonne
The Moulin-Neuf dam allows for the flow regulation of the Rivière des Mille Îles, as well as ice accumulation control in the spring.
The first dam at the Île-des-moulins was built in 1721, following the establishment of the very first flour mill. This dam linked the Île-des-moulins to the Ile Saint-Jean, passing through the small Île aux moutons, located midway between the two islands in the Rivière des Mille Îles.
In 1872, the Masson family ordered the construction of a new dam near the location of the current historical one. However, this dam was rebuilt in cement in the year 1890 for reinforcement and increased resilience.
Nearly a century later, in 1972, the owner of the Île-des-moulins decided to destroy the dam with dynamite due to flooding risk. As a result, the dam underwent severe damage, prompting the city of Terrebonne to acquire the island and classify it as a protected historical site in 1973.
In 1979, the Ministère des Richesses naturelles du Québec ordered the reconstruction of the Moulin-Neuf dam, to which a pedestrian walkway is added to allow citizens, visitors, and tourists to walk from the Île-des-moulins to the larger Ile Saint-Jean. This new dam was built a certain distance away from the small Île aux moutons, making the dam significantly longer than the initial ones.
A picture of the Rivière des Mille Îles in Terrebonne, in which the Île Saint Jean the Île aux moutons and the Île-des-moulins can be seen from left to right, respectively.
Ecclesiastical architecture
The Saint-Louis-de-France Church in Terrebonne
The actual Saint-Louis-de-France Church in Old Terrebonne (Vieux Terrebonne), near the historical site of the Île-des-moulins, was established in 1878, while the parish was founded in 1723 by Louis Lepage de Sainte-Claire, priest of the diocese of Quebec, parish priest of the Île Jésus, and lord of the Seigniory of Terrebonne. The parish was part of the diocese of Saint-Jérôme.
The current Saint-Louis-de-France Church built around the year 1878, the third since the foundation of the parish, was equipped with a Casavant organ in 1946.
In 1880, parish priest Piché, informally known as the bon monsieur Piché ("Good Mister Piché" in English), exhumed the bodies buried in the basement of the old church in order to place them in the crypt of the new one.
The city of Terrebonne is also equipped with a bus network, also operated by the RTM, which enables residents to reach several metro stations both in Laval and Montreal, amongst many other locations. Some examples include bus line 30 (or 30G), which brings inhabitants of Terrebonne to the Radisson metro station on Sherbrooke Street East, bus line 19 (or 19G), which reaches Montmorency metro station in Laval, and bus line 25, whose terminal stop is at the Henri-Bourassa metro station.
The Cégep régional de Lanaudière network has established a collegial institution, namely the Cégep régional de Lanaudière à Terrebonne [fr], near Highway 640, in the Terrebonne sector of the city of Terrebonne.
Vocational studies
The city of Terrebonne counts several vocational education centres. The Centre de formation professionnelle des moulins is located next to the Cégep régional de Lanaudière à Terrebonne in the Terrebonne sector.
Some CSSMI sections are zoned to École primaire Le Carrefour in Lorraine. The CSSMI secondary schools serving Terrebonne are: École secondaire du Harfang in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, École secondaire Hubert-Maisonneuve (lower secondary) in Rosèmere and École secondaire Rive-Nord (upper secondary) in Bois-des-Filion.[27]
Private Francophone secondary schools include:
Collège Saint-Sacrement
Anglophone public schools serving Terrebonne include:
McCaig Elementary School in Rosemère serves western Terrebonne[28]
Pinewood Elementary School in Mascouche serves a central portion[29]
Franklin Hill Elementary School in Repentigny serves an eastern portion[30]
^"Admission et inscriptionArchived 2015-01-31 at the Wayback Machine." Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie-des-Mille-Iles. Retrieved on December 7, 2014. "La Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie-des-Mille-Iles (CSSMI) offre ses services aux résidents des municipalités de : Blainville, Boisbriand, Bois-des-Filion, Deux-Montagnes, Lorraine, Mirabel (Saint-Augustin, Saint-Benoît, Sainte-Scholastique et secteur du Domaine-Vert), Oka, Pointe-Calumet, Rosemère, Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Sainte-Thérèse, Saint-Eustache, Saint-Joseph-du-Lac, Saint-Placide et Terrebonne Ouest."
Canada
Quebec
7.5%
A-25
A-640 
A-40
R-125 
R-337 
R-344
