Montreal is the second-most populous city in Canada. Founded in 1642 as Ville-Marie, it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city. In 2016, the city had a population of 1,704,694. French is the city’s official language and in 2016 was the main home language of 49. 8% of the population.
About Montreal, Quebec in brief
Montreal is the second-most populous city in Canada. Founded in 1642 as Ville-Marie, it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city. In 2016, the city had a population of 1,704,694. The city is centred on the Island of Montreal, which got its name from the same origin as the city, and a few smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard. French is the city’s official language and in 2016 was the main home language of 49. 8% of the population. In 2018, Montreal was ranked as an Alpha− world city. As of 2016 the city hosts the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One, the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Just for Laughs festival. It is also home to ice hockey team Montreal Canadiens, the franchise with the most Stanley Cup wins. Montreal has hosted multiple international conferences and events, including the 1967 International and Universal Exposition and the 1976 Summer Olympics. It remains an important centre of commerce, aerospace, transport, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, education, art, culture, tourism, food, fashion, video game development, film, and world affairs. Montreal is the only Canadian city to have held the quadrennial Summer Olympics, and was named a UNESCO City of Design in 2006. It was ranked the 12th-most liveable city in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit in its annual Global Liveability Ranking, and the best city to be a university student in the QS World University Rankings.
In the Mohawk language, the island is called Tiohtià: ke Tsi. This name refers to the Lachine Rapids to the island’s southwest or Ka-wé-no-te. It means \”a place where nations and rivers unite and divide\”. In the Ojibwe language,. the land is called Mooniyaang which served as the first stopping place in the seven fires prophecy. According to one theory, the name derives from mont Réal, ; Cartier’s 1535 diary entry, naming the mountain, refers to le mont Royal. The French explorer Jacques Cartier visited Hochelaga on October 2, 1535, and estimated the population of the native people to be at least 2,000 people at least two centuries before the arrival of the French. The Saint Lawrence River is the source of the name Montréal, or Haudenosaunee, which means ‘over a thousand people’. The name Haunaga is also used to refer to a village at the foot of Mount Royal in the 15th century. It has been suggested that the city is named for the Virgin Mary, but this has been dismissed as a misconception by the government of Canada. In 1642, European settlers from La Flèche in the Loire valley first named their new town, founded in 1641, Ville Marie.
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This page is based on the article Montreal, Quebec published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
