Saint-Jérôme

Saint-Jérôme (2021 population 80,213) is a suburban city located about 45 km northwest of Montreal on the Rivière du Nord. It is part of the North Shore sector of Greater Montreal. It is a gateway to the Laurentian Mountains and its resorts via the Autoroute des Laurentides.

The town is named after Saint Jerome (ca. 347 – September 30, 420), a church father best known as the translator of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. His translation is known as the Vulgate.

History
The territory where the present city of Saint-Jérôme now stands was granted in 1752 by the marquis de la Jonquière, governor of New France, as the seignory of Augmentation des Mille-Iles (literally "enlargement" of the seignory of Mille-Iles). From the 1760s to the 1840s, the seignory was owned by the Dumont and Lefebvre de Bellefeuille families, living in the town of Saint-Eustache, 25 km to the south. The Dumont and the Lefebvre conceded the farmland to colonists coming mostly from the region lying north of Montreal. The emerging town was then known under the name of Dumontville. The Catholic parish of Saint-Jérôme was constituted on November 15, 1834, and the village was constituted on July 1, 1845, by governor Metcalfe.

François-Xavier-Antoine Labelle, a Roman Catholic priest who was the great "colonizer" (promoter of settlement) of the North of Montreal, was in charge of the pastoral administration of Saint-Jérôme in 1868 until his death, in 1891. Eight years after his arrival, he had a railway built linking Saint-Jérôme and Montreal.

Antoine Labelle was the parish priest of Saint-Jérôme for 22 years, from 1868 until his death, at 57 years of age, on January 4, 1891. He was called "the king of North, the apostle of colonization".

The opening of roads and the arrival of a railway became essential with the development of the small communities in the Laurentians. These transportation routes for the movement of goods and people would ensure the establishment of trade and industry.

Labelle promoted the idea of a railway towards the North beginning in 1869. The railway reached Saint-Jérôme in 1876, partly because a railway was seen as a way to meet the needs for firewood and construction materials for urban centres like Montreal and Quebec.

In 2002, Saint-Jérôme was amalgamated with the municipalities of Bellefeuille (2006 census population 15,866), Saint-Antoine (2001 population 11,488) and Lafontaine (2001 population 9,477).

Saint-Jérôme is the seat of the judicial district of Terrebonne.

Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Jérôme had a population of $80,213$ living in $37,371$ of its $38,776$ total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of $74,346$. With a land area of 90.18 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

Race and ethnicity
Saint-Jérôme is mostly made up of European descents. As of the 2021 census the racial make up of Saint-Jérôme is:
 * 91.8% White
 * 1.8% Indigenous; 1.0% First Nations, 0.6% Métis
 * 1.3% Latin American
 * 3.2% Black
 * 0.1% South Asian
 * 0.2% East Asian; 0.2% Chinese, 0.0% Korean, 0.0% Japanese
 * 1.0% Arab
 * 0.3% Southeast Asian; 0.1% Filipino 
 * 0.1% West Asian
 * 0.1% Multiracial; 0.7% including Métis
 * 0.1% Other

Religion
According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Saint-Jérôme included:
 * Christianity (51,465 persons or 66.1%)
 * Catholic (45,960 persons or 59.0%)
 * Christian, not otherwise specified (3,495 persons or 4.5%)
 * Other (1,985 persons or 2.5%)
 * No religion and secular perspectives (24,215 persons or 31.3%)
 * Islam (1,475 persons or 1.9%)
 * Buddhism (180 persons or 0.2%)
 * Judaism (35 persons or <0.1%)
 * Hinduism (25 persons or <0.1%)
 * Other (280 persons or 0.4%)

Language
The 2021 census found that 92.3% of residents spoke French as their mother tongue.

The next most common languages were English (1.6%) and Spanish (1.4%).

Uniroyal, Dominion Rubber

 * In 1911, the first rubber industry in Saint-Jérôme, shoe production
 * In 1926, the industry is renamed Dominion Rubber.
 * In the 1950s, 37,000 shoes were produced for all over the world.
 * In 1966, the company is renamed UNIROYAL LTD.
 * In 1968, the company changed its production for automobile parts, crashpad.
 * In 1981, the company was sold to many cities like Woodbridge and Waterville.
 * In 1994 the building was demolished.

Attractions

 * Roman Catholic cathedral, which includes a small museum
 * Vieux-Palais modern art museum and public library
 * Musée d'art contemporain des Laurentides
 * Statue of Antoine Labelle, known as curé Labelle, who was principally responsible for the settlement of the Laurentians
 * Several summer festivals
 * Carrefour du Nord, a regional shopping mall
 * Melançon Arena, an indoor arena

Road
Saint-Jérôme is served by Québec Autoroute 15, which is part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, and Québec Route 117. In addition, Québec Routes 158 and 333 pass through the city.

Train
Saint-Jérôme is served by the Saint-Jérôme intermodal commuter rail station by Exo, the Greater Montreal Region's public transit system's Saint-Jérôme line (Line 12). Commuter trains to Montreal began to serve the station in January 2007, with four trains in each direction each business day.

Since upgrades to the line were made in 2013, which included work to double the track between Sainte-Rose station and Saint-Martin Junction and install Automatic Train Control (ATC) between Parc station and the end of the line in Saint-Jérôme, all trains now serve the station. There are 13 departures towards Montreal during the week, and six departures on the weekends and holidays.

Bus
The station is also served by bus routes operated by Exo, the neighbouring transit agency CRT Lanaudière, as well as three private intercity bus companies.

Trails
Saint-Jérôme is an important stop on the north-south trunk of the "route verte" cycling path which makes it possible for nature lovers who are also pedaling enthusiasts to make short trips or excursions lasting several days from as far south as Blainville on the outskirts of Montreal and as far north as Mont-Tremblant without ever sharing the road with a motorized vehicle. North of Saint-Jérôme, the trail is known as the "P'tit Train du Nord" linear park (rail trail) and is also used as a cross-country ski trail in winter.

Institutional health care
The Centre de santé et de services sociaux de Saint-Jérôme (Health and Social Services Centre of Saint-Jérôme or CSSS) is the non-profit body that operates three different types of a health care institution in the city: an acute-care hospital (the Hôpital régional de Saint-Jérôme), the CLSC and long-term care facilities. By its regional vocation, it serves the entire Laurentides region. The history of the CSSS of Saint-Jérôme begins with the construction of the hospital in 1949 and its opening the following year.

In April 2007, the CSSS obtained accreditation from Accreditation Canada. This distinction confirms adequate standards of care and patient safety.

Education
Saint-Jérôme is home to the Cégep de Saint-Jérôme, one of the Colleges of General and Vocational Education located in the province. It is also home to a new Saint-Jérôme branch campus of the Université du Québec en Outaouais.

The Commission scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord operates French-language public schools. Secondary schools in the community operated by this school district include:
 * École secondaire Cap-Jeunesse
 * École secondaire des Hauts-Sommets
 * École secondaire des-Studios
 * École polyvalente Saint-Jérôme
 * École secondaire Frenette
 * École secondaire Saint-Stanislas

Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board operates English-language public schools. Schools serving the town:
 * Laurentian Elementary School in Saint-Jérôme
 * Laurentian Regional High School in Lachute

Sister cities

 * Lisieux, France - since May 2010?

Notable people

 * Tod Campeau, Professional hockey player
 * Jonathan Huberdeau, Professional hockey player
 * Boule Noire, singer
 * Marc Nadon, Supreme Court nominee
 * Little Beaver, wrestler