Châteauguay

Chateauguay, Quebec is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada southwest of Montreal, located both on the Chateauguay River and Lac St-Louis, which is a section of the St. Lawrence River. As of the 2005 census, the total population of Chateauguay was 41,023.

The city's local newspaper is the Le Soleil (The Sun). As of 1999, the current mayor of Chateauguay is Sergio Pavone. He has since then been reelected in both 2003 and 2005.

History

The land was first given to Charles Lemoyne by the governor of New France at the time, the Count of Frontenac with the intention of setting up a seigneurie in the area. After being taken over by Zacharie Robutel de la Noue in 1706. In 1763 France relinqueshed its claims in Lower Canada and Châteauguay was now under British mandate. The seigneurie was bought by Marguerite d'Youngville, a founder of the Québec religious society Soeurs Grises in 1765 and 10 years later construction began on the Church of Saint-Jaochim.

Châteauguay plays an important part in the colonial history of North Ameirca. With the United States having declared war on Britain in 1812, Châteauguay was seen as little more than a good vantage point to post troops to defend Montreal against an invasion. This prong of the American advance on Montreal ended with the Battle of Châteauguay, where on October 25, 1813 Lieutenant Colonel Charles de Salaberry succeeded in halting the American force of 4,000 advancing on Montreal with only some 400 troops, mostly French-Canadian and 170 Mohawk allies. The second American incursion towards Montreal was defeated shortly after at Crysler's Farm on November 11.

During the Lower Canada Rebellion, Châteauguay was taken by the British army, who carried out the arrests of dozens of French-Canadians, including the leader of the rebels, François-Maurice Lepailleur, who was later exiled to Australia. Two natives of Châteauguay, Joseph Duquet and another sympathiser were later hanged at the prison at Au-pied-du-courant.

The actual village of Châteauguay was greated in 1855, after the abolition of the seigneurie system in Quebec by the British colonial regime. Later on the city annexed two neighboring districts, Châteauguay-Heights (1968) and Châteauguay-Centre (1975). In 1982, with the passage of the Loi sur l'aménagement et l'urbanisme, Québec, the city became part of the Roussillon Regional County Municipality.

Transportation

Public transit is assured by CITSO (Conseil Intermunicipal de Transport du Sud-Ouest). They run two Chateauguay-Angrignon loop bus routes circulating in opposite directions during off-peak hours and weekends. A city minibus transfers commuters from the western part of the suburb to the downtown, where the other off-peak routes pass. During rush hours, more bus routes connect the various neighbourhoods with the Angrignon bus terminal and metro station. A special express bus route connects western Chateauguay and the Chateauguay Park-and-ride with downtown Montreal, only during rush hours. A reserved lane on Highway 138 East makes the connection significantly faster when the Mercier Bridge is congested.

External links

• City of Chateauguay

45°23′N 73°45′W