Ville Jacques-Cartier () was a city located on the south shore of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was named after Jacques Cartier, the founder of New France. Now a defunct municipality, its former territory makes about a third of the current city of Longueuil and 80% of Le Vieux-Longueuil borough.
History Created at the same time as Mackayville in 1947, the land of Jacques-Cartier corresponded to what had been left of the St-Antoine de Longueuil parish after Longueuil, Saint-Lambert, Saint-Hubert, Montréal-Sud, Greenfield Park and Mackayville seceded from the parish. In 1948, a distant section of Jacques-Cartier (disconnected from the rest of the town) went on to form an independent municipality under the name of Préville. In 1949, Jacques-Cartier lost another portion of its territory which became Ville LeMoyne.
Originally incorporated as a town, Jacques-Cartier gained the status of city in 1952. Jacques-Cartier grew extremely quickly, over-stretching its existing infrastructure. It lacked a sewer system and paved roads, and it was not uncommon to see free-ranging dogs in the city. Houses were built as soon as the owner had the materials required to make one. This led to a mishmash of buildings along its streets. It was known as the Wild West of Quebec.
Jacques-Cartier merged with the city of Longueuil on August 16, 1969. It was a voluntary merger decided by the mayors of the two cities and fully supported by the Government of Quebec who believed there was too many municipalities in the province anyway. The population, on the other hand, was strongly opposed in Jacques-Cartier and Longueuil alike especially because no referendum would be conducted to allow residents of either city to vote on the matter. Although Jacques-Cartier was at least four times larger and had twice the population of Longueuil, it was the latter's name that was retained for historic reasons. (Longueuil was a much older city than Jacques-Cartier. )
During its 22 years of existence, Jacques-Cartier gave birth to some of the most well-known establishments of Le Vieux-Longueuil borough, notably Collège Édouard-Montpetit in 1967, a secondary school named after Gérard Filion in 1963, and the current location of Pratt & Whitney Canada in 1951.
The city hall, police station and fire station of Jacques-Cartier were all located together in a building at the corner on Curé-Poirier boulevard and Brebeuf street. This site still serves as an office building for the modern city of Longueuil and also includes a fire station.
The South Shore Protestant Regional School Board previously served the municipality.King, M.J. (chairperson of the board), "South Shore Protestant Regional School Board" (St. Johns, PQ). The News and Eastern Townships Advocate. Volume 119, No. 5. Thursday December 16, 1965. p. 2. Retrieved from Google News on November 23, 2014.
Mayors
+ Mayor Term Began Term Ended
Joseph-Rémi Goyette 1947 1949
René Prévost 1949 1954
Hector Desmarchais 1954 1955
Julien Lord 1955 1957
Joseph-Louis Chamberland 1957 1960
Léo-Aldéo Rémillard 1960 1963
Jean-Paul Tousignant (interim) 1963 1963
Charles Labrecque (interim) 1963 1963
Jean-Paul Vincent 1963 1966
Roland Therrien 1966 1969
The area today Today, the western part of what used to be Jacques-Cartier is primarily low-income, highly populated, retail-oriented and completely built-up. The architecture in this area can be defined as a mishmash and non-uniform, as buildings were usually constructed when the property owners had enough money to build them.
The eastern part, on the other hand, tends to be the opposite. It is by far less densely populated than its western counterpart and contains the industrial section of Longueuil. Recently-built designer mansions and condominiums are plentiful (notably in the Collectivité-Nouvelle and Parcours du Cerf neighbourhoods), and the area is becoming increasing built up.
The Fatima neighbourhood (which borders the city of Boucherville) is similar to the western part, with many houses and apartment buildings dating from Jacques-Cartier.
Demographics
Jacques-Cartier was overwhelmingly francophone. It had twelve Catholic parishes at the time of its merger with Longueuil in 1969. The clergy played a large role in the success of the community. It ran various social organizations and was in charge of education in the city.
Legacy Cardboard City (Ville Jacques-Carton), a 2025 documentary-fiction hybrid film directed by André Forcier and Jean-Marc E. Roy, centred on the history of the community.Jean-François Nadeau, "«Ville Jacques-Carton» : la vie oubliée de Ville Jacques-Cartier", Le Devoir, September 5, 2025.
Location (1969)
See also List of former cities in Quebec
References
External links Marigot.ca - Historical information on Ville Jacques-Cartier from Michel Pratt, Atlas historique de Longueuil - Map of Ville Jacques-Cartier from Michel Pratt, Atlas historique de Longueuil