Le Plateau Mont-Royal Borough

For some, the Plateau Mont-Royal borough is the worst because everything is over rated and expensive, for others the Plateau is hip, fun, stylish, cool and exciting. For all the others, the borough is gentrified and the density of its population is the highest in Montreal.


In the Plateau Mont-Royal borough, the 25-34 age group is much more present, seniors aged 65 and over are the least present, tenants are the majority and the importance of immigrants especially from France and Portugal is undeniable.

The Plateau is also home to the Lafontaine Park with its ponds, its fountain and its waterfalls. Bicycles are allowed in Parc Lafontaine, but speed must be reduced and priority must be given to pedestrians, wheelchairs, strollers and young cyclists.

Le Plateau Mont-Royal Urban Daily

Once a working class neighborhood, the Plateau Mont-Royal borough with its posh and popular Mile-End area, is now considered the "coolest place in the world".

Mordecai Richler a Quebecer and Jewish novelist was born and raised in the Mile-End while Michel Tremblay, a Quebécois novelist and playwright who often writes in "joual" was born and raised in Le Plateau Mont-Royal.


The unofficial boundaries of the Mile-End are the Mount-Royal Avenue to the south, Van Horne Avenue to the north, Hutchinson Street to the west and St-Denis Street to the east

In the Mile-End, each of the art galleries, designer workshops, boutiques and cafés play an important artistic role in an area  known for its cultural atmosphere and for its many different and many popular artists, musicians, writers and filmmakers.

Then again, and in order to answer one of the most important problem faced by some tenants, workshops and information on rent increases are offered by the Comité Logement du Plateau Mont-Royal. Workshops during which participants learn how to estimate and calculate the rent increase their owner could claim for the next year and how to counter excessive increases.

Le Plateau Mont-Royal Economic Equilibrium

The Plateau Mont-Royal borough is home to three Sociétés de développement commercial also called SDCs, one for the commercial sector of the St-Laurent Boulevard, one for the Mont-Royal Avenue and one for the St-Denis Street.


The Plateau-Mont-Royal borough has four Merchants Associations, one for the Laurier Avenue east, one for the Mile End, one for Prince Arthur Street and one for the Duluth Avenue. Their responsibilities are similar to those of the SDC's but their revenues come from voluntary donations.

Montreal SDC's are non-profit organizations responsible for promoting the economic, cultural and social development of their commercial sector and for ensuring its economic vitality. Merchant Associations on the other hand are a lot about promoting their merchant members and keeping vacancy rates as low as possible.


Promotional activities such as sidewalk sales, cultural activities such as theme days and economic activities such as a close collaboration with the borough and the city regarding public works and urban infrastructure.

The main source of revenues of the SDCs are the mandatory annual fees paid by the merchants and the various paying activities they organize every year. SDC's are run by business people for business people who make sure tourists, workers and customers enjoy their shopping.

Le Plateau Mont-Royal Urban Gardens

Le Plateau-Mont-Royal borough offers four Community Gardens - De Lorimier, Mile End, Baldwin and Rivard. Each have small plots to offer to the residents interested in gardening who can also profit from an horticulturist who regularly visits the gardens, talks to the gardeners and provides advice. One address, one plot.


A minimum of one visit per week is essential for proper crop management and for proper maintenance. A regular presence and a constant involvement is also necessary to ensure the "community" aspect of the garden that includes chores, general maintenance and committees.

Plus, the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough offers an interesting variety of green parks such as the Parc de la Bolduc in honor of Mary Travers-Bolduc, singer and songwriter, the Parc du Portugal In tribute to the local Portuguese community and to Leonard Cohen who lived nearby, the Square Saint-Louis with its monument of Émile Nelligan and many, many others worth discoveering.

The Plateau Mont-Royal borough is also or, mostly popular among tourists.

La Plateau Mont-Royal
Public Transport Services

The Plateau-Mont-Royal borough is easily accessible by bus, metro or train but, it is very common for Montrealers to choose the metro over the bus when possible. Our underground transit system is rapid, clean, convenient, affordable and reliable most if not all the time.

550x495Le Plateau-Mont-Royal Borough Hall - 201 Laurier Ave E bureau 120, Montreal, Quebec H2T 3E6

In winter, the City, not the borough clears the snow from sidewalks, major thoroughfares and access to public transit, health care facilities and schools. The operations are done continuously until streets and sidewalks are clear and safe. Then again, the amount of precipitation, weather and equipment failure can slow down the pace of the operations on some occasions.

Here is how the snow removal operations usually take place. Salt and crushed stone is spread as soon as the roadway and the sidewalks are slippery, the snow is cleared after a 2.5 cm accumulation and loaded after an accumulation of 10 to 15 cm. Of course, any removal operation largely depends on whether snowfall is intense and winds are strong.

Le Plateau Mont-Royal Urban Geography

The Plateau Mont-Royal borough has plenty to offer to architecture enthusiasts. Cosmopolitan and colorful, the borough features an exceptional variety of buildings, from working-class homes to remarkable institutions to 21st century residential architecture.

Interestingly, only five Canadian cities assign different sets of address numbers on different sides of their streets, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Halifax and Montreal.

The address number of a house or a building tells us a lot. In Montreal a street address can indicate distance from rivers or from major roads, proximity to the nearest highway or which side of the street a house or a building is on.

Downtown Montreal and the St-Lawrence River are South and the Rivière-des-Prairies is North. Plus, the St-Lawrence Boulevard divides our city between east and west. So... in Montreal, North is Odd, South is Even, East is Odd and West is Even.

Montreal Island Kit
Le Plateau Mont-Royal Borough by Rachel Louise Barry