Westmount is a former (and future) city in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the Island of Montreal, an enclave of the city of Montreal; pop. 19,727; area 4.02 km²;(Statistics Canada, 2001).

On January 1, 2002 it became a borough of the City of Montreal. On June 20 2004 it voted to "demerge" (see Quebec Demerger Movement ) and will therefore become an independent city again on January 1, 2006. However, it will not truly regain its former status since the bulk of its municipal taxes will still go to the City of Montreal even after demerger.

Traditionally, the community of Westmount was an enclave of wealthy anglophones, having been at one point the richest community in Canada. However, it is now mostly comprised of middle and upper-middle class families of multiple ethnic and linguistic backgrounds with the stereotype only partially existing at the very top of the mountain, around Summit Circle.

Westmount is mostly residential containing schools, an arena, a pool, a public library and a number of parks, including Westmount Park, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. However, there are small commercial districts on the western part of Sherbrooke Street ("Westmount Village"), on Sainte-Catherine Street, on Greene Avenue and near Atwater metro station.

The latter area includes Dawson College, Quebec's largest CEGEP; Plaza Alexis-Nihon mall and office towers; and the Westmount Square residential towers and shopping complex designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and funded largely by his father-in-law, Westmount resident Samuel Bronfman, the founder of the Seagram liquor empire.

Westmount is the residence of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Quebec Premier Jean Charest and the birthplace of:

• Norma Shearer, motion picture film star
• Douglas Shearer, multiple Academy Award winning film sound engineer
• Leonard Cohen, author & musician

External links

• Statistics Canada website about Westmount
• Official site for the borough of Westmount
• Westmount Public Library