Montréal, 375 years: Celebrate our History

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Release date: May 17, 2017
Infographic: Montréal, 375 years: Celebrate our History
Description: Montréal, 375 years: Celebrate our History

This year marks the 375th anniversary of the founding of Montréal, once called Ville-Marie. See how the city has evolved since 1642.

Population

The population of Montréal in 2016 was 6 times larger than it was in 1901.

Population of Montreal from 1642 to 2016
Year Population
1642 40
1666 235
1681 493
1685 685
1688 829
1692 1,021
1695 1,166
1698 1,310
1706 1,694
1716 2,174
1744 3,520
1754 4,000
1755 4,389
1761 6,722
1765 8,278
1775 12,167
1784 15,667
1790 18,000
1806 22,894
1814 34,230
1822 45,567
1825 49,818
1827 52,652
1831 58,320
1844 76,741
1851 86,660
1861 100,830
1871 115,000
1881 155,238
1891 219,616
1901 267,730
1911 470,480
1921 618,506
1931 818,577
1941 903,007
1951 1,021,520
1956 1,109,439
1961 1,191,062
1966 1,222,253
1971 1,214,352
1976 1,080,545
1981 1,018,609
1986 1,015,420
1991 1,017,666
1996 1,016,376
2001 1,039,534
2006 1,620,693
2011 1,649,519
2016 1,704,694
*Some of the pre-1871 population data was obtained through interpolation.

Religion

Religious affliation of Montrealers in 1911 and 2011
Religion 1911 2011
No religion 0.10% 18.37%
Other religion 0.07% 0.26%
Muslim 0.01% 9.58%
Jewish 5.87% 2.22%
Hindu and Sikh 0.00% 1.74%
Christian 93.91% 65.83%
Buddhist 0.04% 2.00%
Indigenous 0.00% 0.01%

Almost 2 out of 10 people claimed no religious affiliation in 2011, a significant increase from 1911, when 1 person in 1000 would claim no religious affiliation.

Just over 6 in 100 people identified as belonging to a religion other than Christianity in 1911. By 2011, this ratio had increased to almost 2 in 5.

Family Structure

Montreal family structure in 1921 and 2011
  Families in 1921 Families in 2011
Without children at home 27.3% 37.7%
With children at home 72.7% 62.3%

In 1921, families with children were mainly headed by married couples. In 2011, families with children were made up of:

  • married couples (31.7%),
  • free union couples (9.0%) and
  • single parent families (21.6%).

Mother Tongue

Mother Tongue in 1941 and 2011
First Language 1941 2011
French 706,856 852,075
English 294,789 239,315
Arabic 2,233 83,780
Italian 20,069 76,540
Spanish 273 73,160

In 2011, 32.6% of Montrealers claimed a first language other than English or French, compared with 10.3% in 1941.

Ages

Age of Montrealers in 1921 and 2016 by gender
1921 2016
Male Female Male Female
Aged 0-4 34,734 34,873  50,510 48,300
Aged 5-14 65,516 67,163  84,975 81,995
Aged 15-24 54,034 62,054 102,175 103,545
Aged 25-44 92,317 96,376 265,800 267,615
Aged 45-64 42,691 43,160 213,955 212,800
Aged 65+ 9,554 12,132 113,505 159,515

The proportion of persons aged 65 and older in 2016 was 4 times what it was in 1921, while the proportion of persons aged 14 and younger has fell by half.

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population.

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