Everything about Dorval Quebec totally explained
Dorval is a city in southwestern
Quebec,
Canada, in the southwestern part of the
Island of Montreal; pop. 17,706 (
2001). As of the 2006 Canadian Census, the population increased by 2.2% to 18,088. Although the city has the largest surface area in the
West Island, it's among the least populated.
Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport constitutes about 60% of the city's land, forcing all of Dorval's population to be concentrated in the southern part of the city, making it the most densely populated city of the West Island.
Dorval is the oldest city in the West Island, having been founded in 1667, and one of the oldest in Canada and North America.
History
The history of Dorval dates back more than 300 years to 1665 when
Sulpician priests established a mission on the outskirts of Ville-Marie, a french settlement which later became known as Montreal. Dorval was originally named Gentilly. It was later renamed La Présentation-de-la-Vierge-Marie and finally Dorval. It was incorporated as a village in 1892, a town in 1903, and a city in 1956. (In
French it was termed a
cité, an old term used to translate the English legal term "city.")
As with many other settlements on the Island of Montreal, the
Grand Trunk Railway, which came to Dorval in 1855, was highly instrumental in attracting many wealthier families, mostly English speaking, in search of a summer refuge in proximity to their downtown residence and place of work. Access to Dorval from Montreal was also facilitated by the extension of streetcar service to Dorval's eastern city limits in the interwar period. After the Second World War many middle-class families migrated to Dorval from the city of Montreal and from other parts of Canada. This migration was made possible by the widening of highway 20 and by the large-scale construction of new dwellings. This new housing consisted mostly of single family homes with some townhouses and low-rise apartment buildings, built on lands previously used for agriculture and recreational activities such as golf. The postwar period also saw the construction of Dorval Gardens shopping center in 1956, one of Greater Montreal's first mall-style shopping centers. Today the shopping center remains the city's principal center of retail trade. From 12,853 residents in 1955, Dorval numbers today more than 17,500.
Île Dorval, colonized in 1860 and located less than one kilometre offshore from Dorval, is a summer cottage community which has only two permanent residents and remains a pristine environment. The island is connected to Dorval proper by a private ferry service.
On
January 1,
2002 Dorval, as an entity, was dissolved by the province of Quebec via Bill 170 (Municipal Territorial Organization) and was annexed to the city of Montréal. On
June 20,
2004, the residents of Dorval voted to separate from Montreal to become an independent city once more. This renewed independence took effect on
January 1,
2006.
Dorval was the home of the Allison family, one of the most recognizable families who were on board the
Titanic in 1912. Their story can be seen in the
1996 TV Miniseries called
Titanic which was broadcast on
CBS. Trevor Allison, the youngest of the family, was the only survivor.
Government
The present mayor of Dorval is Edgar Rouleau. There are eight city councilors.
- Claude Valiquet (District 1)
- Michel Hébert (District 2)
- Daniel da Chão (District 3)
- Robert Bourbeau (District 4)
- Heather Allard (District 5)
- Margo Heron (District 6)
Trudeau Airport
Dorval is the location of Dorval Airport, officially known as
Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. From 1975 to 2005, Dorval Airport was one of two passenger airports serving Greater Montreal. But since 2005, it has become the primary passenger airport once again. Originally a military airfield used mainly to refuel new fighters and bombers being flown to Great Britain during the Second World War, Dorval Airport today serves over 12 million passengers annually. The airport is by far the largest employer in the West Island, let alone Dorval. It is also a major source of municipal tax revenue.
Demographics
According to the 2006 census there were 18,088 people and 7,815 households in the city. 77.5% of residents had lived in Dorval for more than 5 years. The population density was 866.5/km².
The 2001 census counted about 1.21% of the population as
Aboriginal as well as an additional 13.00% of the population who self-identified as having a
visible minority status, which included 2.87% who self-identified as
Black, 2.27% as
Chinese, 1.98% as
Filipino, 1.87% as
South Asian, 1.32% as
Korean, 1.00% as
Arab, 0.69% as
Latin American, 0.47% as
Southeast Asian, and 0.20% as
Japanese.
English was
mother tongue to 47.5% of Dorval residents according to the 2006 census (counting both single and multiple responses), compared to 47.1% in 2001 and 50.2% in 1996; while
French was
mother tongue to 32.1% of residents in 2006, compared to 36.9% in 2001 and 35.8% in 1996.
| Mother Tongue |
Population |
Percentage |
| English and French |
250 |
1.40% |
| English and a non-official language |
120 |
0.67% |
| French and a non-official language |
50 |
0.28% |
| English, French and a non-official language |
45 |
0.25% |
Further Information
Get more info on 'Dorval Quebec'.
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