Rosemère

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Rosemère had a population of 14,090 living in 5,249 of its 5,340 total private dwellings, a change of 0.9% from its 2016 population of 13,958. With a land area of 10.68 km² (4.12 sq mi), it had a population density of 1,319.3/km² (3,416.9/sq mi) in 2021.[4]

Canada Census Mother Tongue – Rosemère, Quebec[5]
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2021		14,090		10,025	3.18%	71.15%		1,730	24.4%	12.27%		340	61.9%	1.52%		1,725	24.10%	12.24%
2016		13,800		10,355	3.4%	75.04%		1,390	23.84%	10.07%		210	10.52%	1.52%		1,390	9.49%	10.07%
2011		14 135		10,720	0.03%	75.84%		1,825	10.68%	12.91%		190	13.15%	1.35%		1,270	14.56%	9.06%
2006		14,010		10,685	5.66%	76.26%		2,020	3.57%	14.41%		215	20.93%	1.53%		1,085	24%	7.74%
2001		13,215		10,080	12.9%	76.27%		2,095	4.3%	15.85%		170	5.5%	1.24%		875	8.5%	6.62%
1996		12 025		8,770	n/a	72.93%		2,190	n/a	18.21%		180	n/a	1.49%		805	n/a	6.69%

The area that would become Rosemère was first settled in 1714, with the establishment of the Mille-Îles Seigneury.[6] By 1780, the seigneury was well established, with large tracts of land under cultivation. Rosemere was named by J.P. Withers, of the Canadian Pacific Railway, who moved to the area in 1880. At first he called his new home "Rose", after the many wild roses growing there. Later he added "mere", an old English word for a lake. The Rivière des Mille Îles is wide and has the appearance of a lake at this location, so the English meaning would be "lake of roses". After the town's incorporation, documents were forwarded to Quebec City, and an accent was added to the middle 'e', according to statements by residents. In French, the name does not mean "Mother of Roses", which would be said "Mère des Roses" in French. The town's name has no sensible meaning in French, though in typical Canadian fashion, the name has become bilingual.

In the first half of the last century, Rosemère had several natural sandy beaches on the Rivière des Mille Îles and many cottages along the shoreline that were only used during the summer. These beaches fell into disuse in the early 1960s because of pollution. A majority of the year-round residents were francophone and many of the summer-only residents were anglophone. After World War II, Rosemère was transformed into a bedroom community of Montreal with the construction of homes in farmland and forested areas northwest of Grande Cote. By 1964, 65% of Rosemère's residents were anglophone. While the French and English residents of Rosemère have always enjoyed the ambiance of the area in harmony, the English population has declined over the years to today's 16% (2001 Canadian Census), but has since climbed to 19.89% (2006 Canadian Census).

The French- and English-speaking communities of Rosemère have cohabitated for a long time, each of them leaving its own mark and institutions. In 1992, a public consultation process confirmed the desire of residents to preserve the Town of Rosemère's bilingual status.

The Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie-des-Mille-Îles (CSSMI) operates French-language schools in the city.[7]

• École secondaire Hubert-Maisonneuve (lower secondary)[8]
• École primaire Alpha[9]
• École primaire Val-des-Ormes[10]

Some students are zoned to École primaire du Ruisselet in Lorraine and École primaire de Fontainebleau in Blainville. Upper secondary students are zoned to École Polyvalente Sainte-Thérèse in Sainte-Thérèse or to École secondaire Rive-Nord in Bois-des-Filion.[11]

Furthermore, the administration building for the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board which operates English-language schools found in the Laval, Laurentides and Lanaudière regions is located in Rosemère. It neighbours one of its secondary schools, Rosemere High School which also houses the English school board's educational and complementary services.[12] The board also operates McCaig Elementary School, which is located in very close proximity to the high school, as it is located on the same street.[13] McCaig and Rosemere High serve all areas of the municipality.[14][15]

The francophone private school Académie Sainte-Thérèse has a campus in Rosemère. Externat Sacré-Cœur is also in the town.

Rosemère is connected to Montreal's Lucien-L'Allier Station by commuter rail via the Rosemère station of the Exo (Réseau de transport métropolitain) Saint-Jérôme line. Local bus service is provided by the RTM's CITL section.

• Rivière aux Chiens (rivière des Mille Îles), a river

• City of Rosemère