Home to renowned restaurants, cosy cafés, theatres, lifestyle boutiques, antique shops and lamp shops, as well as bars serving original cocktails. In just a few years, this part of the city has become a preferred meeting place for leading international figures such as Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau.
Mainly agricultural until 1810, the neighbourhood began to be urbanised under the name of Faubourg Saint-Joseph. Economic development gained momentum in the mid-nineteenth century, with the construction of the Lachine Canal between 1821 and 1825 attracting a number of heavy industries.
A residential neighbourhood emerged to the north of the factories between 1857 and 1864, and took the name Sainte-Cunégonde in 1876. The industrial development of the Lachine Canal attracted many prestigious businesses to the Saint-Joseph district along Notre-Dame Street. Many of the sumptuous buildings built to house them still stand today, and are home to the antiques district.
From 1887 onwards, Little Burgundy acquired its unique character as the home of Montreal’s working-class black Anglophone community. It was home to many African-American railway workers, African-Canadians from Nova Scotia and Afro-Caribbeans from the British West Indies.
Sainte-Cunégonde merged with the city of Montreal in 1906. The Little Burgundy district became famous for being the birthplace of jazz in Montreal.
In 1959, the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway dealt a major blow to the past importance of the Lachine Canal.
More than 14,000 people were expropriated between 1965 and 1967 to make way for urban renewal and modernisation of the district.
Since the end of the 20th century, Little Burgundy has been undergoing a process of gentrification, with the construction of housing on the former marshalling yards in the 1980s, and in the 2000s, with the reopening of the Lachine Canal and the revitalisation of the Atwater Market. Many of the businesses on Notre-Dame Street West are geared towards this new, more affluent population. However, the neighbourhood also includes families living in the largest low-cost housing stock in Canada, as well as large cultural communities looking for services and shops tailored to their needs.
When you choose Quartiers du Canal, you’re setting up shop in the heart of three Montreal neighborhoods that are enjoying incredible economic growth. Thanks to the area’s strong commercial appeal, a large number of new companies decide to locate here every year.
Take a break from your visit to store, dine, learn, relax and do business.