Boisbriand

Boisbriand is a city located at the entrance to the Lower Laurentians in the MRC of Thérèse-De Blainville, in Quebec, Canada.

The Mille Îles River delimits the municipality from southwest to northeast. The Aux Chiens River flows east through the north of the municipality.

History & Economy

On March 16, 1974, the name of the city of "Sainte-Thérèse-Ouest" was changed to "Boisbriand" by proclamation signed by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. This name change concluded a debate that began in 1969 when the municipal council in place attempted to request the change of the city's name to Boisbriand but abandoned its project, following vigorous negative representations from two major companies in the city. In 1972, one of the members of the new Council elected in November 1970, J. Maurice Roussel, presented a new resolution, accompanied by carefully prepared arguments supported by the various local organizations, whose representatives were present in the council chamber. Some members of the council suggested that the project be studied, but Councillor Roussel objected vigorously and called for a vote. The council had no choice but to adopt the resolution unanimously and ask lawyer Claude Ouellette to go ahead. Despite much pressure from companies including General Motors, the project was successfully completed.

In 1994, the Commission de représentation électorale du Québec approved the division of the city into electoral districts, which would number eight. This division was mandatory since the city's official population had exceeded 20,000 inhabitants.

On August 29, 2002, GM closed its Boisbriand automobile assembly plant, the only one in Quebec.

The opening of the first businesses in Faubourg Boisbriand [archive] built on the former site of the plant began in 2007. There are several stores (food, decoration and furniture, pet store, fashion, financial services, personal care and beauty, sports), big box chains (Costco, Bureau en Gros, Dollarama and Toys ‘R’ Us) as well as several restaurants and bars. The site also houses residential buildings on the west side. At the beginning of 2021, there were 1,250 housing units. An additional 600 units are planned over the next few years.