The 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec
[1] resulted in large-scale amalgamation of smaller
municipalities in
Quebec into larger cities. It was undertaken by one administration, and modified and partially undone by its successor.
The first phase involved many amalgamations from late 2000 until 2003, undertaken by the
Parti Québécois government of
Québec, headed by
Premier
Lucien Bouchard and his successor
Bernard Landry. The most significant amalgamations, involving the largest cities in Quebec, mostly occurred on January 1, 2002. Some of the mergers were unpopular, and this became an issue in the
April 14, 2003 Quebec election, in which the victorious
Quebec Liberal Party led by
Jean Charest campaigned on a promise to allow residents the right to choose to de-merge and reconstitute their former municipalities.
The new administration held
referendums in various municipalities in 2004 to fulfill its campaign promise; however, a number of conditions were imposed, including a minimum voter participation threshold, which meant that not all merged municipalities held referendums and even fewer actually de-merged. The de-mergers that succeeded became effective on January 1, 2006. However, a new type of municipal structure, an
urban agglomeration was created, which continued to tie the newly independent de-merged municipalities to their former amalgamation partners for the provision of certain municipal services.
The 2000–2003 municipal mergers were imposed on municipalities by the Québec government. In Canada, municipal governments are creatures of the provincial governments. However, a number of voluntary amalgamations (arranged by municipalities themselves) had taken place in the 1990s (see
Municipal history of Quebec); these earlier amalgamations were not subject to de-merger referendums. Municipal amalgamations had been encouraged by the Quebec government on the grounds they would result in greater efficiencies and cost savings; critics disputed this. The government also cited the precedent of the
1998 amalgamation of Toronto and the 2001 amalgamation of
Ottawa.
Merged cities
The following entities were created from these amalgamations:
Cities over 40,000 or mergers of more than five cities
- City of
Montreal: former city of Montreal; cities of
Anjou,
Beaconsfield,
Côte Saint-Luc,
Dorval,
Lachine,
LaSalle,
Montreal East,
Montréal-Nord,
Montreal West,
Outremont,
Pierrefonds,
Pointe-Claire,
Saint-Laurent,
Saint Leonard,
Verdun and
Westmount; towns of
Baie-d'Urfé,
Hampstead,
L'Île-Bizard,
L'Île-Dorval,
Mount Royal,
Roxboro,
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and
Sainte-Geneviève; village of
Senneville. See
Montreal Merger.
- City of
Quebec: former city of Quebec; cities of
Beauport,
Cap-Rouge,
Charlesbourg,
L'Ancienne-Lorette,
Lac-Saint-Charles,
Loretteville,
Saint-Émile,
Sainte-Foy,
Sillery,
Val-Bélair,
Vanier; municipality of
Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures.
- City of
Longueuil: former city of Longueuil; cities of
Boucherville,
Brossard and
Saint-Lambert; towns of
Greenfield Park,
LeMoyne,
Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville and
Saint-Hubert.
- City of
Gatineau: former city of Gatineau; cities of
Aylmer and
Hull; town of
Buckingham; township of
Masson-Angers.
- City of
Lévis: former city of Lévis; cities of
Charny,
Saint-Jean-Chrysostome,
Saint-Nicolas,
Saint-Rédempteur and
Saint-Romuald; municipalities of
Pintendre and
Saint-Étienne-de-Lauzon; parishes of
Sainte-Hélène-de-Breakeyville and
Saint-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-de-Lévy.
- City of
Saguenay: Former cities of
Chicoutimi,
Jonquière,
La Baie,
Laterrière; municipalities of
Shipshaw and
Lac-Kénogami; part of the township of
Tremblay and 2 unincorporated areas.
- City of
Shawinigan: former city of Shawinigan; cities of
Grand-Mère and
Shawinigan-Sud; municipality of
Lac-à-la-Tortue; village of
Saint-Georges-de-Champlain; parishes of
Saint-Gérard-des-Laurentides and
Saint-Jean-des-Piles; and the unincorporated areas of
Lac-des-Cinq and
Lac-Wapizagonke.
- City of
Saint-Hyacinthe: Former city of Saint-Hyacinthe; village of
Sainte-Rosalie; parishes of
Sainte-Rosalie,
Saint-Hyacinthe-le-Confesseur,
Notre-Dame-de-Saint-Hyacinthe,
Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin.
- City of
Repentigny: Former city of Repentigny and the former town of
Le Gardeur.
- City of
Rimouski: former city of Rimouski; city of
Pointe-au-Père; municipality of
Mont-Lebel; village of
Rimouski-Est; parishes of
Sainte-Blandine and
Sainte-Odile-sur-Rimouski.
- City of
Rouyn-Noranda: former city of Rouyn-Noranda; city of
Cadillac; municipalities of
Arntfield,
Bellecombe,
Cléricy,
Cloutier,
D'Alembert,
Destor,
Évain,
McWatters,
Mont-Brun,
Montbeillard and
Rollet; unincorporated areas of
Lac-Montanier,
Lac-Surimau and
Rapides-des-Cèdres.
- City of
La Tuque: Former city of La Tuque; municipalities of
La Bostonnais,
La Corche,
Lac-Édouard; Village of
Parent; unincorporated areas of
Kiskissink,
Lac-Berlinguet,
Lac-des-Moires,
Lac-Pellerin,
Lac-Tourlay,
Obedjiwan,
Petit-Lac-Wayagamac and
Rivière-Windigo
- Municipality of
Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine: municipalities of
Fatima (Village),
Grande-Entrée (Village),
Grosse-Île,
Havre-aux-Maisons (Village),
L'Étang-du-Nord (Village) and
Havre-Aubert; village of
Cap-aux-Meules.
- City of
Sherbrooke: former city of Sherbrooke; cities of
Bromptonville and
Fleurimont; towns of
Lennoxville and
Rock Forest; municipalities of
Ascot,
Deauville and
Saint-Élie-d'Orford.
- City of
Trois-Rivières: former city of Trois-Rivières; cities of
Cap-de-la-Madeleine,
Sainte-Marthe-du-Cap,
Saint-Louis-de-France and
Trois-Rivières-Ouest; municipality of
Pointe-du-Lac.
- City of
Saint-Jérôme: former city of Saint-Jérôme; cities of
Bellefeuille,
Lafontaine and
Saint-Antoine.
- City of
Val-d'Or: former city of Val-d'Or; municipalities of
Dubuisson,
Sullivan,
Val-Senneville and
Vassan.
Other mergers
- City of
Beauharnois: former city of Beauharnois; city of Maple Grove; village of Melocheville.
- City of
Thetford Mines: Former cities of Thetford Mines and Black Lake; municipality of Pontbriand, village of Robertsonville and township of Thetford-Partie-Sud.
- City of
Saint-Georges: Former city of Saint-Georges; municipality of Aubert-Gallion and parishes of Saint-Georges-Est and Saint-Jean-de-la-Lande.
- City of
Mont-Tremblant: Former municipalities of Mont-Tremblant, Lac-Tremblant-Nord; village and parish of Saint-Jovite.
- City of
Rivière-Rouge: Former municipalities of La Macaza and Marchand; former villages of L'Annonciation and Sainte-Véronique.
- City of
Salaberry-de-Valleyfield: Former cities of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Saint-Timothée; municipality of Grande-Île.
- City of
Matane: Former city of Matane; municipalities of Petit-Matane and Saint-Luc-de-Matane; parish of Saint-Jérôme-de-Matane.
- City of
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts: Former city of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts; municipalities of Sainte-Agathe-Nord and Ivry-sur-le-Lac.
- City of
Mont-Laurier: Former city of Mont-Laurier; municipalities of Des Ruisseaux and Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles.
- City of
Sept-Îles: Former cities of Sept-Îles and Moisie, municipality of Gallix.
- City of
Cookshire-Eaton: Former city of Cookshire, townships of Eaton and Newport.
- City of
Magog: Former city of Magog and township of Magog; village of Omerville
- City of
Saint-Sauveur: Former village of Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts and parish of Saint-Sauveur.
- City of
Sainte-Marguerite-Estérel: Former city of Estérel and parish of Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson.
- City of
Saint-Pie: Former city of Saint-Pie and parish of Saint-Pie.
- Municipality of
Lacolle: Former village of Lacolle and parish of Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel.
- Municipality of
Grenville-sur-la-Rouge: Former township of Grenville and village of Calumet.
- City of
Sutton: Former city of Sutton and township of Sutton.
- City of
Port-Cartier: Former city of Port-Cartier and municipality of
Rivière-Pentecôte.
- City of
Métis-sur-Mer: Former village of Métis-sur-Mer and municipality of Les Boules.
- City of
Lac-Etchemin: Former city of Lac-Etchemin and parish of Sainte-Germaine-du-Lac-Etchemin.
- City of
Mont-Joli: Former city of Mont-Joli and municipality of Saint-Jean-Baptiste.
- City of
Alma: Former city of Alma and municipality of Delisle.
- Municipality of
Adstock: former municipality of Adstock and village of Sainte-Anne-du-Lac.
- City of
Terrebonne: former cities of Terrebonne, Lachenaie, and La Plaine.
- City of
Richelieu: former city of Richelieu and municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours
Demerger referendums
After the
2003 election, the new Québec Liberal Party government led by Jean Charest adopted Bill 9, which created a formal process by which old municipalities could be reconstituted (in legal terms). Contrary to what was promised by Charest (full de-amalgamation), Bill 9 only restored specific powers to the demerged cities (e.g., animal control, garbage pickup, local street maintenance, some cultural facilities). The "bigger" expenses (e.g., police, fire, main streets, expansion programs) and the majority of the taxes remained in the hands of
urban agglomerations, which are controlled by the central merged city because their larger populations give them greater voting weight. In Montreal, the de-amalgamated cities hold only 13% of the votes on the agglomeration council.
This consulting process about Bill 9 required 10% of voters residing within an amalgamated municipality to sign a petition to demand the holding of a
referendum on de-amalgamation. To succeed, a referendum had to fulfill two conditions:
- A majority must vote yes to de-amalgamation.
- 'Yes' voters must represent at least 35% of all registered electors.
Referendums were held on June 20, 2004 in 89 of the former municipalities of Québec. The 'Yes' vote recorded majorities in several municipalities, but did not reach the required threshold of 35% of registered voters. A total of 32 former municipalities met the conditions required to de-amalgamate and were re-established on January 1, 2006.
The demerging municipalities were:
- From
Montreal:
Baie-D'Urfé,
Beaconsfield,
Dollard-des-Ormeaux,
Dorval,
Kirkland,
L'Île-Dorval,
Pointe-Claire,
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and
Senneville in the
West Island;
Côte Saint-Luc,
Hampstead,
Mount Royal,
Montreal West and
Westmount in the West End;
Montreal East in the East End
- From
Quebec City:
L'Ancienne-Lorette and
Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures
- From
Longueuil:
Boucherville,
Brossard,
Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville and
Saint-Lambert
- From
La Tuque:
La Bostonnais and
Lac-Édouard
- From
Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine:
Cap-aux-Meules and
Grosse-Île
- From
Mont-Tremblant:
Lac-Tremblant-Nord
- From
Rivière-Rouge:
La Macaza
- From
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts:
Ivry-sur-le-Lac
- From
Mont-Laurier:
Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles
- From
Cookshire-Eaton:
Newport
Additionally,
Estérel voted to demerge from Sainte-Marguerite-Estérel, effectively reversing the merger between Estérel and
Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson. After the demerger came into effect, the city changed its name back to Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson.
[2]
See also
External links
References