Mirabel () is a suburb of Montreal, located on the North Shore in southern Quebec.
Mirabel is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and census division (CD) of Quebec, coextensive with the city of Mirabel. Its geographical code is 74. Prior to 2002, Mirabel was not only a city but also comprised the Mirabel Regional County Municipality.
The city is home to Montréal–Mirabel International Airport.
History
Mirabel was formed through the expropriation of private lands and the merger of eight municipalities in 1971. The former municipalities were (with their individual founding dates in brackets): Saint-Augustin (1855); Saint-Benoît (1855); Saint-Hermas (1855); Saint-Janvier-de-Blainville (1855); Sainte-Scholastique (1855); Saint-Canut (1857); Sainte-Monique (1872), and Saint-Janvier-de-la-Croix (1959). Initially called Ville de Sainte-Scholastique but renamed Mirabel in 1973, the city was planned to become a vast transportation and industrial hub for Eastern Canada, with Montréal–Mirabel International Airport at its centre.
Montréal–Mirabel International Airport, which opened in 1975, never became a major aviation hub and the industrial parks never materialized, and in 2004, the airport closed to all scheduled commercial passenger traffic. It continues to operate as a cargo airport and handles a few charter passenger flights.
In 2000, about of Mirabel's territory was annexed by Lachute.
Geography
Communities
Climate
Demographics
In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Mirabel had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Ethnicity In 2021, Mirabel was 91.8% white/European, 6.5% visible minorities and 1.7% Indigenous. The largest visible minority groups were Black (1.9%), Arab (1.6%), and Latin American (1.0%). Panethnic groups in the City of Mirabel (2001−2021)Panethnic group20212016201120062001 European 55,845 48,285 40,630 33,880 26,785 African 1,175 495 155 160 25 Middle Eastern 1,140 235 45 40 10 Indigenous 1,020 575 475 140 70 Latin American 600 290 90 90 105 Southeast Asian 440 185 100 75 85 South Asian 260 50 25 15 10 East Asian 230 180 50 80 35 Other/multiracial 140 20 20 0 0 Total responses 60,850 50,305 41,605 34,475 27,110 Total population 61,108 50,513 41,957 34,626 27,315
Religion 63.9% of residents were Christian, down from 87% in 2011. 56.7% were Catholic, 5.2% were Christian n.o.s, 0.4% were Protestant and 1.6% belonged to other Christian denominations and Christian-related traditions. Of non-Catholic denominations, the largest is Christian Orthodox at 0.7%. 33.6% of residents were non-religious or secular, up from 12.2% in 2011. 2.5% belonged to other religions, up from 0.8% in 2011. The largest non-Christian religions were Islam (1.9%) and Buddhism (0.4%).
Language 90.8% of residents spoke French as their mother tongue. The next most common first languages were English (2.5%), Spanish (1.0%), Arabic (0.9%), and Portuguese (0.5%). 1.3% of residents listed both French and English as mother tongues, while 0.5% listed both French and a non-official language. Mother Tongue Population Percentage French 55,450 90.8% English 1,520 2.5% English and French 780 1.3% French and a non-official language 295 0.5% English and a non-official language 95 0.2% English, French and a non-official language 110 0.2% Spanish 615 1% Arabic 575 0.9% Portuguese 280 0.5% Italian 155 0.3% Romanian 125 0.2% Dari 105 0.2% Haitian Creole 75 0.1%
Canada Census Mother Tongue - Mirabel, Quebec Census Total Year Responses Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % 55,450 16.6% 90.8% 1,520 44.8% 2.5% 780 126.1% 1.3% 2,765 110.3% 4.5% 47,560 14.8% 94,3% 1,050 21.9% 2.1% 345 43.7% 0.7% 1,315 87.5% 2.6% 40,050 20.7% 95.8% 820 60.8% 2.0% 240 33.3% 0.6% 700 16.7% 1.7% 33,185 27.3% 96.3% 510 10.9% 1.5% 180 16.1% 0.5% 600 36.4% 1.7% 26,060 20.6% 96.1% 460 2.2% 1.7% 155 6.9% 0.6% 440 66.0% 1.6% 21,605 n/a 96.2% 450 n/a 2.0% 145 n/a 0.7% 265 n/a 1.2%
Economy
Airbus produces the Airbus A220 (formerly Bombardier CSeries) at the Montréal–Mirabel International Airport.
Bell Textron has its major commercial helicopter manufacturing and final assembly plant near the airport.
HydroSerre Mirabel has its headquarters in the town.
Until early 2021, Bombardier Aviation produced several models in its Bombardier CRJ700 series regional jet airliners at a plant near the airport.
Sports In 2023, the city inaugurated a brand new aquatic complex called the Centre aquatique de Mirabel. With a capacity of up to 700 swimmers, the new facility, valued at $37.78 million, offers residents a 25-metre competitive pool with 10 lanes, a recreational pool, a paddling pool, water games and a slide.
Government At the federal level, the city of Mirabel is part of the federal riding of Mirabel. Its Member of Parliament is Jean-Denis Garon of the Bloc Québécois. The city is also part of the Senate division of Mille-Isles. Its Senator is Claude Carignan of the Conservative Party. At the provincial level, most of Mirabel's territory is part of the provincial riding of Mirabel. Its Member of the National Assembly is Sylvie D'Amours of the Coalition Avenir Québec. However, the part of the municipality located east of Autoroute 15 is part of the riding of Les Plaines. It is represented by Lucie Lecours, also of the Coalition Avenir Québec.
Infrastructure Transport Road Quebec Route 117 (Boulevard du Curé-Labelle), which runs through the town of Mirabel, as well as the rest of the Laurentides, was the only road link to Montreal for many years. It was not until 1959 that the section of the Autoroute 15 (Sainte-Rose to Saint-Jérôme) opened to reduce traffic on Route 117. With the opening of Montréal–Mirabel International Airport in 1975, a new motorway, the Autoroute 50, was opened to serve the airport. Since 2012, this motorway has provided access to the city of Gatineau and, indirectly, to the Canadian capital, Ottawa. The city has three provincial roads: Routes 117, 148 and 158.
Rail Plans for a station were proposed in the 2000s by Exo as part of the extension of the Saint-Jérôme line (formerly known as Blainville–Saint-Jérôme and Montréal–Blainville) to Saint-Jérôme, but were not implemented at the time. In 2013, the project resurfaced but was eventually postponed because the proposed location divided opinion, with the town hall and property developers on one side, and the Union des producteurs agricoles and the then Member of National Assembly, Denise Beaudoin, on the other. In autumn 2015, the project was relaunched and made progress the following year, until a station with 800 parking spaces was opened in the Saint-Janvier neighborhood. Construction of the station will begin in autumn 2019 and it will open on 4 January 2021.
Another rail project is the Réseau express métropolitain, a scheme originally proposed in a 1995 study by SNC-Lavalin to link Dorval and Mirabel airports via the Deux-Montagnes line. Since the closure of Mirabel Airport, the area has become a key economic hub for the city.
Air Montréal–Mirabel International Airport was built on the initiative of Pierre Trudeau, former Prime Minister of Canada, in response to heavy air traffic, modelled on Paris, which led to the expropriation of agricultural land. The airport opened in 1975, and scheduled international passenger services ceased in 2004. Between 2008 and 2018, air traffic at the airport more than tripled, due to the increasing number of cargo flights. Mirabel Airport is also used for private passenger flights, helicopter flights, flights outside Quebec to transport employees of various companies, as well as for certain medical service aircraft. An increase in flight schools in the area, as well as test flights for aircraft manufactured by the aerospace companies based at the site, have also contributed to the sharp rise in air traffic. In 2019, it was announced that the original control tower at Mirabel Airport would be restored and used by newly trained air traffic controllers.
Education Centre de services scolaire des Mille-Îles The Centre de services scolaire des Mille-Îles, which operates Francophone public schools, serves the following parts of Mirabel: Saint-Augustin, Saint-Benoît, Sainte-Scholastique and a portion of Domaine-Vert."Admission et inscription ." Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie-des-Mille-Iles. Retrieved on December 7, 2014. "La Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie-des-Mille-Iles (CSSMI) offre ses services aux résidents des municipalités de : Blainville, Boisbriand, Bois-des-Filion, Deux-Montagnes, Lorraine, Mirabel (Saint-Augustin, Saint-Benoît, Sainte-Scholastique et secteur du Domaine-Vert), Oka, Pointe-Calumet, Rosemère, Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Sainte-Thérèse, Saint-Eustache, Saint-Joseph-du-Lac, Saint-Placide et Terrebonne Ouest." École primaire de la Clé-des-Champs"Accueil." École primaire de la Clé-des-Champs. Retrieved on December 8, 2014. École primaire des Blés-Dorés"des Blés-Dorés ." Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie-des-Mille-Iles. Retrieved on September 20, 2017. École primaire Girouard"Girouard ." Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie-des-Mille-Iles. Retrieved on December 8, 2014. École primaire Prés fleuris"Prés fleuris ." Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie-des-Mille-Iles. Retrieved on December 8, 2014. École primaire Sainte-Scholastique"Sainte-Scholastique ." Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie-des-Mille-Iles. Retrieved on December 8, 2014. Other elementary schools serving sections of CCSMI Mirabel: Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption in Blainville and Terre-Soleil in Sainte-Thérèse. Secondary schools serving sections of CSSMI Mirabel: d'Oka in Oka, des Patriotes in Saint-Eustache, Henri-Dunant in Blainville, Jean-Jacques-Rousseau in Boisbriand, and Polyvalente Sainte-Thérèse in Sainte-Thérèse." Répertoire des aires de desserte par ville 2017 - 2018 (Généré le 1/9/2017) Ville Mirabel ." Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie-des-Mille-Iles. Retrieved on September 20, 2017.
The area was formerly in the Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie-des-Mille-Îles (CSSMI).
Centre de services scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord The Centre de services scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord operates Francophone public schools in other parts of Mirabel. They include: Secondary schools:"Trouver une école ou un centre." Commission scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord. Retrieved on September 24, 2017. For attendance boundary information, click "Par bassin d'école" École secondaire de Mirabel (ESM) Other secondary schools serving CSSRDN sections include Polyvalente Lavigne in Lachute and Cap-Jeunesse, Émilien-Frenette, Polyvalente Saint-Jérôme, and Saint-Stanlislas in Saint-Jérôme Primary schools:"Préscolaire / primaire." Commission scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord. Retrieved on December 7, 2014. du Parchemin à l'Unisson aux Quatre-Vents de la Croisée-des-Champs Mer-et-Monde Saint-Anne Saint-Hermas Other primary schools serving CSSRDN Mirabel include Dubois, de l'Horizon-Soleil, Prévost, Saint-Jean-Baptiste, and Sainte-Thérèse-de-l'Enfant-Jésus in Saint-Jérôme and Jean-Moreau in Sainte-Sophie.
It was formerly in the Commission scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord (CSRDN).
Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board The Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board operates anglophone public schools in the area around Mirabel.
Secondary schools serving portions of Mirabel include: Lake of Two Mountains High School in Deux-Montagnes serves southern Mirabel"Overview." Lake of Two Mountains High School. Retrieved on December 8, 2014."LAKE OF TWO MOUNTAINS HS ZONE ." Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Retrieved on September 4, 2017. Laurentian Regional High School in Lachute serves northern Mirabel"LAURENTIAN REGIONAL HS ZONE ." Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Retrieved on September 4, 2017.