About the West Island

The West Island (in French, l'Ouest de l'île) is the unofficial name given to the western cities of the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. The name probably originated from the geolinguistic division of the island into French and English, with francophones typically inhabiting the eastern portion of the island and anglophones typically inhabiting the western half. The West Island's population is approximately 222,000 and although most of its residents are today bilingual, anglophones still make up the majority of the West Island's population. The West Island consists of the following cities: City Population in 2006 km² Dorval 18,088 20.87 Ile Dorval 0 0.18 Pointe-Claire 30,161 18.87 Kirkland 20,491 9.64 Beaconsfield 19,194 11.01 Baie D'Urfe 3,902 6.03 Saint-Anne-de Bellevue 5,197 10.57 Senneville 962 7.49 Dollard-des-Ormeaux 48,930 15.1 Pierrefonds 60,138 24.5 Roxboro 5,642 2.22 Sainte-Geneviève 3,278 0.86 Ile Bizard 13,861 22.77 West Island 224,669 151 The cities were merged into Montreal on January 1, 2002, but on June 20, 2004 most voted to demerge. The demerger became effective on January 1, 2006. Pierrefonds, Roxboro, Sainte-Geneviève and Île-Bizard remained in Montreal, as the boroughs of Pierrefonds-Roxboro and L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève, respectively. Saint-Laurent, Lachine, and LaSalle, are not part of the West-Island. This was used as an argument for amalgamation, as West Islanders enjoyed lower taxes than the old city of Montreal, but still used its theatres, concert halls, and museums. With amalgamation, tax rates were harmonized across the island. In fact, the West Island contains several wealthy neighborhoods, parks and historical sites. West Islanders in general were very unhappy with the forced mergers, and in the 2004 referendums, nine municipalities voted to separate from the megacity. In many cases, the amalgamations had resulted in tax hikes of more than 20 per cent with no increase in services. The region is home to the Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (formerly Montreal-Dorval), John Abbott College, and the Macdonald College of McGill University. Demographics Language From Canada 2001 Census Language Population Percentage (%) English only 93,315 42.42% French only 69,270 31.49% Both English and French 2,975 1.35% Other languages 54,375 24.72%     *West Island. (2007, December 3). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 06:09, December 6, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=West_Island&oldid=175510190