Montreal Districts

Roxboro District

In 1914, Roxboro went its separate way from Pierrefonds (MBK). The former municipality, one of the oldest of the Island of Montreal, was founded in 1914.

The district was originally a summer vacationing place that became a typical town. Some say that the word “rocks” contributed to the word Roxboro.

The territory is bordered on the north by the Rivière-des-Prairies, the Back River. It offers affordable housing in a pleasant environment with many green spaces. Gouin Boulevard is its main artery. The Deux-Montagnes commuter train links the district to the centre of Montréal. It is well served by the regional main road network and by the Montréal public transit service, the Montreal STM.

History of Montreal

The foundation of Roxboro is unique in Quebec. The municipality was created following negotiations between a New York promoter, John P. Mullarkey who founded the Remi Realty Co. and a provincial civil servant. Its creation was signed in 1914 from lands owned by Mullarkey.

In 1945, at the end of the war, a Montreal businessman, Joseph Bigras bought the actions of the Remi Realty Co. for $45 000, including
$5 000 in cash. The purchase included the title deed emitted in 1914 by the government of Quebec in favour of the New York promoter which constituted the municipality.

When he became the owner of Remi Realty, Joseph Bigras also became the landowner of the municipality with its then 19 residents. The son of the founder, Roland Bigras eventually became the mayor, a post he occupied from 1946 to 1958. A real estate agent by trade, he still held office on Saint-Jacques Street in Montreal (MBK) in 1983. He was an expert appraiser and adviser.

Modern Time Period

At the dawn of the 1950’s and 1960’s, the situation started to evolve. Montrealers were in search of lands and the territory attracted several of them. In 2006, 65,041 people lived in the district.

Formerly almost exclusively Anglophone, the population gradually changed. The progression of French-speaking neighbourhoods forced the authorities to create several French language institutions, including schools and a library with a French books section as important as the English one. Nowadays, the main problem is the lack of vital space, the territory is saturated.

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The district offers 13 parks including large parks like the Cap-Saint-Jacques at the junction of the Lac des Deux-Montagnes and the Rivière-des-Prairies, the Bois-de-Liesse and the l’Anse-à-l’Orme spread within some 55 urban streets.

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Pierrefonds District (MBK)
Pierrefonds-Roxboro Borough (MBK)
Local Street Map of the Borough (PDF)

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