Mount Royal, Quebec facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mount Royal Mont-Royal
Ville
Town of Mount Royal Ville de Mont-Royal
Connaught Park
Logo
Motto(s):  Regium Donum (Latin for "Royal gift")
Location on the Island of Montreal
Mount Royal Location in Southern Quebec
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Montreal
RCM	None
Founded	1912
Constituted	January 1, 2006
Area
• Land	7.55 km2 (2.92 sq mi)
Population  (2021)
• Total	20,953
• Density	2,776.7/km2 (7,192/sq mi)
• Pop. 2016-2021	3.3%
• Dwellings	8,192
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	H3P, H3R, H4P
Area code(s)	514 and 438
Highways A-15 (TCH) A-40 (TCH)	A-520

Mount Royal (also called Mont-Royal in French) is a town in Quebec, Canada. It's often shortened to TMR or VMR. This town is located on the Island of Montreal, near Downtown Montreal. It is completely surrounded by the larger city of Montreal.

In 2021, about 20,953 people lived in Mount Royal. In 2008, a big part of the town was named a National Historic Site of Canada. This was because its design showed important ideas about city planning from the early 1900s. These ideas included the "City Beautiful" and "Garden City" movements. The town celebrated its 100th birthday in 2012.

History of Mount Royal

Mount Royal, or TMR, was started in 1912. It was created by the Canadian Northern Railway company. They wanted to build a tunnel under the mountain to connect their railway to downtown Montreal. Selling land in the new town helped them pay for the tunnel.

Designing the Town

The town was designed by Frederick Todd, a city planner. He was inspired by ideas like the Garden City Movement. This movement focused on creating cities with lots of green spaces and good living conditions. The plan was to build a perfect "model city" at the base of Mount Royal.

The railway company bought a large area of farmland. Then, they built the Mount Royal Tunnel under the mountain. This tunnel connected their land directly to downtown Montreal. The money they made from selling land in the new town helped fund their railway across Canada.

Town Symbols: The Coat of Arms

The town's coat of arms has special meanings:

• The royal crown at the top is from France.
• Two roses, from England, are like wild roses.
• The mountain shape shows that the town is at the foot of Mount Royal.
• The shield's shape is like old shields from Greece and Rome.
• The words "Regium Donum" below the shield mean "gift of the king" in Latin.
• The coat of arms, along with the town's name in French and English, is its official signature. The current design was made in 1993.

Plan of "Model City" and of the Mount Royal Tunnel

Street Names and Numbers

One interesting thing about Mount Royal is how some of its streets are named and numbered. Some streets that go through the town can have two names. For example, Jean Talon Street is a long road in Montreal. But when it goes through TMR for a short distance, it's called Dresden Avenue. Then it goes back to being Jean Talon Street on the other side. Now, street signs show both names.

Also, the house numbers can change completely when a street enters TMR. For instance, on some streets, the numbers might go down from east to west in TMR. Then, they might suddenly jump from 2 to 2400 when the street goes back into Montreal.

The Famous Montreal Melon

In the early days, Mount Royal was a small farming area. It was famous for its special melons! The Daoust family farm grew the "Montreal melon," also known as the Montreal nutmeg melon. These melons had green flesh and a unique flavor. They could weigh up to 9 or 11 kilograms (20 or 25 pounds). The Montreal melon was so special that it was sent to cities like New York and Chicago. In 1921, people would pay a lot of money just for one slice! Over time, as the town grew, farming stopped.

Becoming Independent Again

On January 1, 2002, Mount Royal became part of the city of Montreal. It was like a neighborhood or "borough" of Montreal. But after a vote in 2004, it became an independent town again on January 1, 2006.

Geography of Mount Royal

The former Mont-Royal station served many commuters to Downtown Montreal. Work is now underway to convert it to an REM station.

Two main roads, Laird Boulevard and Graham Boulevard, cross the town. They meet at Connaught Park, a green space in the center. The Mount Royal Train Station is east of this park. This station is being updated for the new REM train system. Trains going through the Mount Royal Tunnel can reach downtown Montreal in just eight minutes. Both main roads end near Jean Talon Street and a major highway.

Town Borders

Mount Royal is surrounded on three sides by a highway, a fence, and a railway line.

• The Highway: Metropolitan Boulevard, which is part of Autoroute 40, borders the town. This highway is usually built above the ground. But when it passes through Mount Royal, it was built on the ground. The town council asked for this to separate the town from the industrial area to the north.

• The Fence: A fence runs along the eastern border next to L'Acadie Boulevard. This is a busy six-lane road. The fence was built to keep children and pets safe from the traffic.

• The Rail Line: A railway line, part of Canadian Pacific's Adirondack subdivision, also borders the town.

Population and Languages

Mount Royal has been officially recognized as a bilingual municipality since 2005. This means both French and English are used in official town services.

In the 2021 Canadian census, Mount Royal had a population of 20,953 people. This was a small increase of 3.3% from its population in 2016. The town has a land area of 7.55 square kilometers. This means there are about 2,777 people living in each square kilometer.

Languages Spoken at Home (2021)

This table shows the languages people speak most often at home in Mount Royal:

Mother Tongue (2021)

This table shows the first language people learned as children in Mount Royal:

Visible Minorities (2021)

This table shows the percentage of people who identify as visible minorities in Mount Royal:

Education in Mount Royal

Mount Royal has both French and English public schools.

French Public Schools

The Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys (CSMB) runs the French public schools.

• Secondary schools:

* École secondaire Mont-Royal * École secondaire Pierre-Laporte

• Primary schools:

* École primaire Académie Saint-Clément * École primaire Saint-Clément Ouest * École primaire Saint-Clément Est

English Public Schools

The English Montreal School Board (EMSB) runs the English public schools.

• Carlyle Elementary School
• Dunrae Gardens Elementary School

Public Library

The town also has its own library, called the Reginald J. P. Dawson Library. It is separate from the main Montreal Library Network.

See also

In Spanish: Mont-Royal (ciudad) para niños