There are indications of a
First Nations presence 4000 to 5000 years ago. A large number of prehistoric burial sites were found within the area of Westmount. The
Anishinaabe and
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) peoples have historically inhabited the Island of Montreal as well as much of Quebec. When the first French colonists settled in the area in the middle of the seventeenth century, this area was known by several names including La Petite Montagne, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and Côte-Saint-Antoine. A former farmhouse from this era,
Hurtubise House, is the oldest house still standing in Westmount. The Village of Côte St-Antoine was first incorporated in 1874. It later became the Town of Côte St-Antoine. It was renamed Westmount, in 1895, reflecting the geographical location of the city on the southwest slope of Mount Royal and the presence of a large English-speaking population. During the twentieth century, Westmount became a wealthy residential area within the island of Montreal; a small city dotted with many green spaces. Architect
Robert Findlay, a resident in the early twentieth century, designed many municipal buildings in the city, including the library,
Westmount City Hall and several other buildings of public order. ) In the twentieth century, Westmount was home to some of Montreal's wealthiest families including the
Bronfmans and the
Molsons. This made the city a symbolic target of
Front de libération du Québec terrorist bombings in the 1960s, culminating in the 1970
October Crisis. Following the death of former
Quebec Premier René Lévesque in 1987, the city of Montreal renamed Dorchester Boulevard
René Lévesque Boulevard. After the city of Montreal changed the name, Westmount retained the name of Dorchester on their portion, as did
Montréal-Est.
Merger with Montreal In 2001, while trying to prevent Westmount from being amalgamated into the city of Montreal, Westmount Mayor
Peter Trent and city council asserted that the city was a designated
anglophone institution and should not be merged into
francophone greater Montreal. In response to this opposition, Municipal Affairs Minister
Louise Harel said that Westmount's resistance "reeked of colonialism" and that the opposition was an "ethnic project", statements for which she would refuse to apologize. When asked for comment, Quebec Premier
Bernard Landry said the minister had his full support and that the opposition was little more than
Quebec bashing. Several federalist public figures criticized Landry's statement:
Jean Charest called it insulting to the intelligence of the citizens of Quebec; Joseph Gabary, president of the Quebec Chapter of the
Canadian Jewish Congress, called the language "crude";
Alliance Quebec also criticized the premier for singling out the city for special criticism. On January 1, 2002, as part of the
2002–2006 municipal reorganization of Montreal, Westmount was merged into the city of
Montreal and became a borough. However, after a
change of government and a
2004 referendum, it was re-constituted as an independent city on January 1, 2006. It is now one of fifteen independent cities on the Island of Montreal, and the only one that directly borders the
downtown core. Nevertheless, it remains part of the
urban agglomeration of Montreal and the bulk of its
municipal taxes go to the Agglomeration Council, which oversees activities common to all municipalities on the Island of Montreal (e.g. police, fire protection, public transit) even after the demerger. ==Geography==