Montreal
Overview
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is the largest city in the province
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, the second-largest city in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the seventh largest in North America. Originally called Ville-Marie
Fort Ville-Marie
Fort Ville-Marie was a fortress outpost of France in North America. It is the historic nucleus around which the original settlement of Montreal grew.Given its importance, the site of the fort was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1924....
, or "City of Mary", the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island
Island of Montreal
The Island of Montreal , in extreme southwestern Quebec, Canada, is located at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. It is separated from Île Jésus by the Rivière des Prairies....
on which the city is located, or Mont Réal as it was spelled in Middle French
Middle French
Middle French is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from 1340 to 1611. It is a period of transition during which:...
, (Mont Royal in present French).
As of February 2011, Statistics Canada identifies Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) (land area 4259 square kilometres (1,644.4 sq mi)) as Canada's second most populous with an estimated metropolitan area population of nearly 3.9 million and a population of over 1.9 million in the "agglomeration" of Montreal, which includes all of the municipalities on the island of Montreal.
