St. Leonard is a borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. St. Leonard is located in the eastern part of the city on the Island of Montreal. The borough was created on January 1, 2002, when it was merged with the former city of St. Leonard. As of the 2016 census, the population of St. Leonard was 52,591.
St. Leonard is bounded on the north by Pierre-De Coubertin Avenue, on the south by Jarry Street, on the west by Jean-Talon Street and on the east by Highway 25. The St. Lawrence River forms its western boundary.
The borough has a large Italian Canadian community. It is also home to a large number of immigrants from Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries.
The area now known as St. Leonard was originally settled by the Montagnais people. In 1651, the area was granted to Captain Nicholas Dufort de la Touche by Louis XIV of France. The original French name for the area was Fournier. The area was annexed to the City of Montreal in 1855 and was known as Notre-Dame-des-Neiges until 1887 when it was renamed St. Leonard.
In 1917, the Parish of St. Leonard de Port Maurice was established. In 1955, the City of St. Leonard was incorporated as a city. In 2002, the City of St. Leonard was merged with the other municipalities on Montreal Island to form the Borough of St. Leonard.
St. Leonard is represented on Montreal City Council by the borough mayor Angela Mascia and councillors Saul Polo, Dida Berku, Francesc Duplàa and Giacomo Cacciato.
The borough is served by the St. Leonard, Côte-Vertu and Fabre Metro stations.
St. Leonard has a continental climate with four distinct seasons. Summers are hot and humid with an average daytime high of 26 degrees Celsius in July. The hottest temperature ever recorded in St. Leonard was 37.0 degrees Celsius on July 9, 1936.
Winters are cold with an average daytime high of -3.1 degrees Celsius in January. The coldest temperature ever recorded in St. Leonard was -38.9 degrees Celsius on January 15, 1957.
St. Leonard is home to many parks and green spaces including Jarry Park, Parc des Bateliers, Bois-de-Liesse Nature Park and Parc du Pont-Viau.
The St. Leonard Aquatic Complex is a public indoor swimming pool that is open year-round. The complex has two pools, a water slide, a gymnasium and a sauna.
The St. Leonard Lords are the borough's Junior A hockey team that plays in the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League. The team was founded in 1963 and has won four league championships.
St. Leonard is also home to the St. Leonard Cougars Football Club, an amateur football team that plays in the Quebec Amateur Football League. The team was founded in 1974 and has won five league championships.
The borough is served by the Commission scolaire de Montréal (CSDM) and the Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB).
There are four elementary schools in St. Leonard: Fournier, Lucien-Pagé, Honoré-Mercier and St. Leonard. There are two high schools in the borough: École secondaire des Patriotes and École secondaire Wilfrid-Bastien.
The Cégep de Saint-Laurent is located in St. Leonard. The campus opened in 1970 and offers programs in general education, technical education and continuing education.
The St. Leonard Public Library is located at 2555 rue Jarry Ouest. The library has a collection of over 80,000 items including books, DVDs, CDs and magazines. The library also offers free Wi-Fi and computer use.
