Le Sud-Ouest () is a borough (arrondissement) of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Geography
Le Sud-Ouest is an amalgam of several neighbourhoods with highly distinct histories and identities, mainly with working-class and industrial origins, grouped around the Lachine Canal. These include Saint-Henri, Little Burgundy, and Griffintown to the north of the canal, and Ville-Émard, Côte-Saint-Paul, and Pointe-Saint-Charles to the south.
Located southwest of downtown Montreal (hence the name), the borough is bordered to the northwest by Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, to the northeast by the Ville-Marie borough, to the south by the borough of Verdun, to the west by the borough of LaSalle and the town of Montreal West, and to the north by the city of Westmount. The Saint Lawrence River is located upon part of its eastern edge.
History
See History of Saint-Henri, History of Little Burgundy, History of Ville-Émard, History of Côte-Saint-Paul, and History of Pointe-Saint-Charles.
Originally devoted to agriculture, the various municipalities and districts of the Sud-Ouest underwent rapid industrialization following the opening of the Lachine Canal in 1825, becoming the cradle of Canadian industry thanks to both the transportation and the water power offered by the canal. The Canadian National Railway and Grand Trunk Railway also came through Saint-Henri and Pointe-Saint-Charles. The area became a stronghold of the working class, often in difficult conditions such as those described in Gabrielle Roy's The Tin Flute, set in Saint-Henri.
The areas of the borough had highly specific identities. The western part of the borough - Saint-Henri, Ville-Émard, and Côte-Saint-Paul - were chiefly French Canadian, while Pointe-Saint-Charles and Griffintown were considered the seat of Irish culture in Montreal, with street names such as Hibernia and St. Patrick testifying to it. Starting in 1887, a large English-speaking Black community arose in Little Burgundy, attracted from the United States, other parts of Canada, and the Caribbean by jobs in the railways whose stations lay nearby; the area became famed for musical figures such as Oscar Peterson.
The city of Montreal annexed the town of Saint-Henri in 1905, Sainte-Cunégonde (Little Burgundy) in 1906, and Côte-Saint-Paul and Ville-Émard in 1910."L'Histoire du quartier en quelques mots." ville-emard.com. Accessed 4 July 2011.
However, with vessels constantly growing and finally exceeding the capacity of the canal, the coming of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1956 and the closure of the Lachine Canal in 1970 put an end to the area's industrial prosperity. Population fell sharply and conditions became still more difficult. Projects such as the Décarie Expressway, Turcot Interchange, Bonaventure Expressway, and Expo '67 destroyed entire neighbourhoods, such as Goose Village and part of Côte-Saint-Paul. However, community mobilization preserved the area's social fabric; in particular, the Pointe-Saint-Charles Community Clinic became the model for the CLSC system now used throughout the province.
The reorganization of Montreal in 2002 following the municipal mergers saw the creation of the borough council system, and accordingly, the creation of the borough of Le Sud-Ouest. The borough council met in several temporary locations, including the Marie Uguay cultural centre in Ville-Émard, before the inauguration of the current borough hall in a repurposed factory in Saint-Henri.
Today, Le Sud-Ouest is undergoing an economic and social renaissance, stimulated by the reclamation of the canal for recreation in 2002; businesses opened up and numerous factories were converted into lofts and condominiums. This revival is bringing its own pressures, however, as gentrification increases property taxes and costs of living on the many low-income residents and puts pressure on the availability of low-income housing. The pending reconstruction of the Turcot Interchange and its impact on local residents is a major political issue in the borough.
Government
Municipal
The borough is divided into two municipal electoral districts:
Saint-Paul–Émard–Saint-Henri-Ouest
Saint-Henri-Est–Petite-Bourgogne–Pointe-Saint-Charles–Griffintown
The composition of the borough council remained unchanged following the 2017 municipal election, and consists of the following councillors:
Provincial
The bulk of the borough constitutes the provincial electoral district of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne; the industrial and railway area in the northeast is in the district of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
Federal
The borough is divided among the following federal ridings: