Municipalities and Boroughs
The West Island consists of the following towns, cities and boroughs:
- Baie-D'Urfé – a primarily residential town of 3,900 people notable for a more rural charm, established in 1910.
- Beaconsfield – a small residential city of 19,000 people well-served by public transit, also established in 1910.
- Dollard-des-Ormeaux – a city of about 49,000 residents with large residential, commercial and industrial sectors, established in 1924.
- Dorval – a city of 18,000 initially founded in 1667 and developed initially as a summer retreat for urban dwellers. Today it is largely industrial.
- Kirkland – a city of 20,000 largely developed in the 1970s and 1980s with a sizeable industrial sector.
- Pointe Claire – a city of 30,000 initially founded in 1698 as an important outpost along the fur-trade routes. Pointe Claire has several significant historic sites.
- Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue – an exceptionally unique 'college-town' of 5,200 initially founded as a parish in 1703, and home to several key West island institutions, including the last fully operational farm on the Island of Montreal.
- Senneville – a village of almost 1,000 residents initially founded in 1679 and the former site of the Colonial French Fort Senneville. Senneville has a peculiar local microclimate which allows non-native 'borderline hardiness' plant species to thrive.
These independent communities constitute the de-merged West island municipalities. In addition, there are two City of Montreal boroughs:
- L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève – with a population of 17,500 people, this borough traces its roots back to the Fur Trade, and features a large nature park, a public college and an old parish church.
- Pierrefonds-Roxboro – the largest West Island community, with a population in excess of 60,000 almost perfectly divided along linguistic lines and featuring the largest nature park on the island, in addition to many small businesses and over 24,000 private dwellings. This borough is served by two stations along the Deux-Montagnes Line of the Agence Métropolitain de Transport, in addition to excellent regular express bus service to and from the City of Montreal throughout the day. This borough is particularly notable for the large number of primary and secondary schools, religious and community centres, playgrounds, sports facilities and other green spaces evenly distributed throughout the territory.
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