Repentigny () is an off-island suburb of

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada. It is located

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

of the city on the lower end of the L'Assomption River, and on the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

. Repentigny and

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

were the first towns off the eastern tip of the

Island of Montreal The Island of Montreal (, ) is an island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, which is the site of a number of municipalities, including most of the city of Montreal, and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main island of the Hochelag ...

. Repentigny is part of the Lanaudière region.

History

It was founded in 1670 by Jean-Baptiste Le Gardeur, son of Seigneur Pierre Le Gardeur. During the town's first 250 years, Repentigny was only inhabited by a few hundred peasants, or

habitants Habitants () were French settlers and inhabitants of French origin who farmed the land along both shores of the St. Lawrence River and the Gulf of St. Lawrence in what is now Quebec, Canada. The term was used by the inhabitants themselves an ...

, and was an agricultural community. In 1677, the first population census only shows 30 inhabitants. Its first mayor was Benjamin Moreau 1855. Repentigny merged with its neighbouring city of Le Gardeur on June 1, 2002. The city's area grew from 29 to 69 km² and the population grew by 70%. Repentigny was also the western terminus of the '' Chemin du Roy'', a road that extends eastward towards

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Repentigny 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. In 2021, Repentigny was 81.4% white/European, 17.6% visible minorities, and 1.0% Indigenous. The largest visible minority groups were

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

(9.9%),

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

(3.3%), and

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

(2.2%) 85.8% of residents spoke French as their mother tongue. Other common first languages were Spanish (2.3%)

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

(2.0%),

Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; , ; , ), or simply Creole (), is a French-based creole languages, French-based creole language spoken by 10 to 12million people worldwide, and is one of the two official languages of Haiti (the other being French), where it ...

(1.8%) English (1.7%), Kabyle (0.7%), and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

(0.6%). 1.6% of residents listed both French and a non-official language as mother tongues while 0.9% listed both French and English. In 2013, 70.3% of the population was

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, down from 89.3% in 2011. 59.0% of residents were

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, 6.7% were Christian n.o.s, 1.6% were

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and 3.0% belonged to other Christian denominations or Christian-related traditions. Non-religious and secular people made up 23.3% of the population, up from 8.7% in 2011. 6.4% of residents followed other religions and spiritual traditions, up from 1.9% in 2011. The largest non-Christian religion was

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, at 5.8% of the population.

Arts and culture

Repentigny is home of many festivities: *Festival de Feu et de Glace (''Festival of Fire and Ice'', a winter fest), January–February. *Festival de spectacles jeune-public de Lanaudière (Youth theatre fest), early July. *Rendez-Vous Estival (''Summer Rendez-Vous'', a theme park with familial activities and rock shows), early August. *Festival Gospel (''Gospel Fest'', International gospel choirs fest), mid-August. *National de Soccer (''Soccer Nationals'', 18- level national soccer event), mid-August. *Internationaux de Tennis junior du Canada Banque Nationale (''National Bank Junior Tennis Internationals of Canada'', the biggest sports event in the city), late August-early September *Fête du Petit-Village (''Little town fest'', cultural rendez-vous in the old Saint-Paul-l'Ermite sector), every two autumns. *The Fête Nationale du Québec, la St-Jean, brings many activities, such as shows and performances on stage in L'île Lebel. *Many outdoor shows and movie projections

Infrastructure

Repentigny is the central point for transit in South-Central

Lanaudière Lanaudière (, ) is one of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada, situated immediately to the northeast of Montreal. It has a total population ( 2016 Census) of 494,796 inhabitants, an increase of 4.9% over the 2011 census. Geogr ...

. Its Centre d'Échange Rive Nord-Est (Northeastern Shore Transit Exchange Centre), administered by

Réseau de transport métropolitain Exo, stylized as exo and officially known as the (, RTM; ), is a public transport, public transport system in Greater Montreal, including the Island of Montreal, Laval, Quebec, Laval (Île Jésus), and communities along both the North Shore (L ...

, is the main infrastructure for transit in the region. Unlike a bus terminal, no departures are available from the ''Centre d'Échange'', but transfers from one circuit to the other are possible. 9 of the 10 RTCR de la MRC de L'Assomption transit system circuits travel via Centre d'Échange, in addition to the 2 CRTL regional lines. Thus, Repentigny is directly connected to Terrebonne,

, L'Assomption,

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Montréal-Est Montreal East (, ) is an on-island suburb in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the island of Montreal. Montreal-Est has been home to many large oil refineries since 1915. History The formation of Montréal-Est as a municipality was initiated in ...

, Saint-Sulpice, Lavaltrie, Lanoraie, Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier, Berthierville, La Visitation-de-l'Île-Dupas, Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola, Saint-Paul-d'Industrie, Crabtree, Sainte-Marie-Salomé and

Joliette Joliette () is a city in southwest Quebec, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Montreal, on the L'Assomption River and is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of Joliette. It is considered to be a part of the North Shore of G ...

. The city of Repentigny takes part in the L'Assomption MRC public transportation network effort and pan-regional Lanaudière Regional Transport Commission, linking all of the Regional County Municipalities of Lanaudière, even the northernmost ones. In addition there is the MRC Les Moulins. Repentigny is connected to Montreal's

Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

by commuter rail via the Repentigny Station of

's Mascouche Line.

Education

The Commission scolaire des Affluents operates Francophone public schools: * Centre de formation professionnelle des Riverains * Centre la Croisée * École secondaire Félix-Leclerc (1992) * École secondaire Jean-Baptiste-Meilleur (1963) * École secondaire Jean-Claude-Crevier (1948) * École secondaire l'Envolée (1955) * École secondaire l'Horizon (1988) * École primaire Alphonse-Desjardins (1951) * École primaire de la Paix (1988) * École primaire des Moissons (1982) * École primaire du Moulin (1986) * École primaire Émile-Nelligan (1971) * École primaire Entramis (1986) * École primaire Henri-Bourassa et Soleil-de-l'Aube (1966) * École primaire Jean-Duceppe (1992) * École primaire Jean-XXIII (1959) * École primaire la Majuscule (1998) * École primaire la Tourterelle (1991) * École primaire le Bourg-Neuf (1989) * École primaire Longpré (1962) * École primaire Louis-Fréchette (1965) * École primaire Louis-Joseph-Huot (1960) * École primaire Marie-Victorin (1961) * École primaire Pie-XII (1961) * École primaire Tournesol (1981) * École primaire Valmont-sur-Parc (2016)

Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board The Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board (SWLSB, , CSSWL) is a school board headquartered in Rosemère, Quebec in Greater Montreal. It officially came into existence in July 1998 when English-language schools from eight former school boards were amalg ...

operates Anglophone public school: * Franklin Hill Elementary School in Repentigny (2004)FRANKLIN HILL ELEMENTARY ZONE
"

. Retrieved on September 17, 2017.

Notable people

* Julie Brosseau,

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large parts via women's college compet ...

player * Les Cowboys Fringants, Québécois folk-pop band * Marie Deschamps, Canadian Supreme Court Justice * Benoît Hogue, former NHL hockey player * Joseph Juneau, co-founder of Juneau, Alaska *

Solomon Juneau Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Milwaukee) Solomon Laurent Juneau, or Laurent-Salomon Juneau (August 9, 1793 – November 14, 1856) was a French Canadian fur trader, land speculator, and politician who helped found the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ...

, founder of

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, the largest city in the US state of Wisconsin * Maxim Lapierre, Pittsburgh Penguins forward * Pascal Leclaire, former NHL hockey player *

Thomas Meilleur-Giguère Thomas Meilleur-Giguère (born November 13, 1997), also known as TMG, is a Canadian professional association football, soccer player who plays as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre-back for HFX Wanderers FC, HFX Wanderers. Clu ...

, soccer player for

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, 20 ...

Karl Ouimette Karl William Ouimette (born June 18, 1992) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Celtix du Haut-Richelieu in Ligue1 Québec. Club career Early career Ouimette played in Quebec's top amateur circuit in 2008 ...

, soccer player for the

Atlético Ottawa Atlético Ottawa is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at TD Place. The team was founded in 2020 by Spanish club Atlético Madrid. History F ...

* Marie-Ève Pelletier, former professional tennis player *

Samuel Piette Samuel Piette (born 12 November 1994) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder for Major League Soccer club CF Montréal and the Canada national team. Club career Early career Piette began playing soccer a ...

, soccer player for

CF Montréal Club de Foot Montréal () is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Montreal. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Founded in 1992 as the Mo ...

Jason Pominville Jason John Pominville (born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian- American former professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the Buffalo Sabres and the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Amateur As a youth ...

, hockey player for the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

Mike Ruiz Mike Ruiz is a Canadian photographer, director, television personality, former model, spokesperson, creative director, and actor. Early life Ruiz, who is of French Canadian and Spanish Filipino ancestry, was born in Montreal in 1964, but raised ...

, fashion photographer and judge for Cycle 3 of '' Canada's Next Top Model'' *

Aurélie Tran Aurélie Tran (born May 25, 2006) is a Canadian artistic gymnast. She represented Canada at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Additionally she was a member of the bronze medal-winning team at the 2023 Pan American Championships. Early life and ed ...

, artistic gymnast and member of the Canadian national team

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Populated places established in 1670 Quebec populated places on the Saint Lawrence River 1670 establishments in New France