Search for ""

The city is named for René Robineau de Bécancour, who led an expedition against the Iroquois in 1696. The first French missionary contact with the local Abenaki occurred in 1669, and a permanent European settlement was established 3 years later.

Chambly, Qué, City, pop 22 608 (2006c), 20 342 (2001c), inc 1965. Chambly is situated within the South Shore suburb area 25 km southeast of MONTRÉAL and is the centre of the rural Montérégie Region. The community fans out around Bassin de Chambly, a widening in the RIVIÈRE RICHELIEU.

In the 18th century, agriculture and seasonal fishing were the only occupations, but the area experienced some growth when Québec City merchants, including William Price, began to develop the forest resources and built several sawmills.

Longueuil, Quebec, population 239,700 (2016 census), 231,409 (2011 census). Longueuil’s history dates to the 17th century with the settling of French colonists. It is today an important suburb of Montreal and is connected to the island of Montreal by the Jacques Cartier bridge and the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel-bridge. Longueuil is criss-crossed by major expressways linking metropolitan Montreal to Québec city, the Eastern Townships and northern New York State. The municipality of Longueuil is its own entity within the Longueuil agglomeration which includes other nearby cities.

Longueuil is situated on the ancestral territory of the Kanyen’kehà:ka. The land remains unceded and is considered Indigenous territory.

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, incorporated as a city in 1897, population 95,114 (2016 census), 92,394 (2011 census). The city of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is located on the west bank of the upper portion of the Richelieu river, some 40 km southeast of Montreal.

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is located on the traditional territories of the Kanyen’kehà:ka and Abenaki. The land remains unceded and is considered Indigenous territory.

Saint-Lambert, Quebec, population 21,861 (2016 census), 21,555 (2011 census). Saint-Lambert was settled beginning in the 17th century. It was first incorporated as a city in 1921 and reincorporated in 2006. Saint-Lambert was amalgamated into the city of Longueuil from 2002 until 2006 when it regained its municipal status. It is located along the South Shore of the St. Lawrence River across from Montreal, and is connected to that city by the Victoria bridge (completed 1859).

Saint-Lambert is situated on the ancestral lands of the Kanyen’kehà:ka. The land remains unceded and is considered Indigenous territory.

The development of the Lachine Canal in the 1820s, the establishment of the Montreal and Lachine Railroad in 1847, and the expansion of the trucking business in the 20th century gave Lachine a major role in the trade network extending to southwestern Canada and the US.

In 1836 the first Canadian railway, linking La Prairie with Saint-Jean, was inaugurated. After construction of the Victoria Bridge, goods trains coming from the east were diverted from the town.

Chicoutimi was an important staging point on the route that 17th-century Indigenous hunters took to sell their furs in Tadoussac, and in 1676 New France authorities built a trading post here.

Saint-Nicolas, Quebec, population 23,675 (2019), 16,645 (2001 census). The city of Saint-Nicolas was originally incorporated in 1994 with the amalgamation of the municipalities of Bernières and Saint-Nicolas. Since 2002, Saint-Nicolas is part of the city of Lévis. Saint-Nicolas is located 17 km southwest of Quebec City. Saint-Nicolas is on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River and to the west of Rivière Chaudière. It is a thriving residential suburb of Quebec City. The area is linked to the city of Sainte-Foy, on the opposite shore of the St. Lawrence, by the Pierre-Laporte suspension bridge and the old, cantilever Quebec Bridge. (See also Quebec Bridge Disaster.)

Hull, Quebec, is part of the city of Gatineau. Originally its own municipality, Hull amalgamated with the municipalities of Aylmer, Buckingham, Gatineau and Masson-Angers in 2002. When Hull was incorporated in 1875, it was named after the township in which it was situated. In turn, Hull Township got its name from the city of Hull in Yorkshire, England.

St. Catharines, ON, incorporated as a city in 1876, population 136,803 (2021 census),  133,113 (2016 census). The City of St. Catharines is the principal city of the Niagara Region. It lies south of Toronto across Lake Ontario (111 km by the Queen Elizabeth Way), 19 km inland from the international boundary with the United States, along the Niagara River. The city is named after Catharine Hamilton, wife of Robert Hamilton, an influential merchant of Queenston and a landowner with mills on Twelve Mile Creek; the growing community, then known as The Twelve or Shipman's Corners, was renamed in her honour after her death in 1796. After 1876, as the urban area of St. Catharines expanded, it was permitted to annex parts of the surrounding Grantham Township, culminating in 1961 in the complete amalgamation of the township as well as the adjacent towns of Merritton and Port Dalhousie. In 1970, the rural township of Louth to the west was split between St. Catharines and the new town of Lincoln.

Burnaby, BC, incorporated as a city in 1992, population 249,125 (2021 census), 232,755 (2016 census). Burnaby adjoins Vancouver on the west, Coquitlam on the east and New Westminster on the southeast. Named after Robert Burnaby, a businessman and legislator of the 1860s, it features Burnaby Mountain (365 m), Burnaby Lake, the Fraser River and Burrard Inlet. Burnaby was a district municipality for one hundred years before being granted civic status in 1992. It is governed by a mayor and eight councillors and is a member Metro Vancouver. (See also Municipal Government in Canada.)

Lethbridge, AB, incorporated as a city in 1906, population 98,406 (2021 census), 92,729 (2016 census). The City of Lethbridge is located 215 km southeast of Calgary. It overlooks the steep valley of the Oldman River.

Grande Prairie, Alberta, incorporated as a city in 1958, population 64,141 (2021 census), 63,166 (2016 census). The city of Grande Prairie is located 456 km northwest of Edmonton and takes its name from the large prairie that lies to the east, north and west of it. The city is the business and transportation centre of Alberta’s Peace River region.

Laval, Quebec, incorporated as a city in 1965, population 438,366 (2021 census), 422,993 (2016 census). Laval was formed by the merger of 14 municipalities: Chomedey, Duvernay, Laval-des-Rapides, Laval-Ouest, Pont-Viau, Sainte-Rose, Auteuil, Fabreville, Îles-Laval, Laval-sur-le-lac, Sainte-Dorothée, Saint-François, Saint-Vincent-de-Paul and Vimont. Laval is the third largest city in Quebec. It is located on Île Jésus, north of Île de Montréal. Laval is separated from Île de Montréal by the Rivière des Prairies and from the mainland to the north by the Rivière des Mille Îles. The city is named after François de Laval, the first Roman Catholic bishop of Quebec (1674-88) and onetime seigneur (1675-80) of Île Jésus.

Portage la Prairie, MB, incorporated as a city in 1907, population 13,270 (2021 census), 13,304 (2016 census). The city of Portage la Prairie, located 70 km west of Winnipeg, is an important regional service centre for the flat but highly fertile soils of the surrounding Portage Plains.

Belleville, Ontario, incorporated as a city in 1877, population 55,071 (2021 census), 50,716 (2016 census). The city of Belleville, the seat of Hastings County, is located on the Bay of Quinte, an arm of Lake Ontario about 180 km east of Toronto at the mouth of the Moira River.

Mississauga, Ontario, incorporated as a city in 1974, population 717,961 (2021 census), 721,599 (2016 census). The city was created by the amalgamation of the Town of Mississauga and the Towns of Port Credit and Streetsville. Located west of Toronto, Mississauga is part of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is located within the Credit and Humber river watersheds. Throughout history, the Mississauga area has been home to different Indigenous groups, namely the Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg, including the Mississauga. The land is covered by treaties 14, 19, 22 and 23.

Kelowna, British Columbia, incorporated as a city in 1905, population 144,576 (2021 census), 127,390 (2016 census). The city of Kelowna is located in south-central British Columbia on the east shore of Okanagan Lake.