Early history

Hochelaga was named after the Iroquois village of the same name, first visited by explorer Jacques Cartier in 1534. The neighbourhood was at one time believed to be the location of the historic village, but modern historians and anthropologists have not reached agreement on the exact location.^[2]

Unpaved side streets, or ruelles, are a common sight

Present-day Hochelaga was founded as a suburban village in 1863. Industry soon started moving in, including the Hudon and Sainte-Anne cotton mills and in 1876 the terminal and railway shops of the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway.^[3]

In December 1883, Hochelaga was annexed to the city of Montreal against the demands of some of its landowners to the east. In response, they separated their territory to found the village of Maisonneuve.

Maisonneuve grew rapidly between 1896 and 1915 and became of one Canada's largest industrial suburbs, marketed as a model industrial city and the Pittsburgh of Canada during the first two decades of the 20th century. These factories hired many workers, including immigrants and people from the surrounding countryside. They worked in the shoe, textile, tanning, slaughterhouse, tobacco, food, and shipbuilding industries.

In 1918, $18 million in debt, Maisonneuve was forced to annex to Montreal, consolidated the neighbourhood as Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.^[3]

The Montreal Botanical Garden was opened in 1931.

Decline

The construction of major transportation infrastructures such as Highway 25 in 1967, required the demolition of some 2,000 homes and institutional buildings. These changes, combined with the movement of capital and production to Toronto, hurt the neighbourhood's economy and vitality. Many factories left the area, along with numerous residents.

In 1976 the Olympic Stadium was opened, in time for the Summer Olympics.

Promenade Ontario shopping area (developed c. 2020), corner Pie IX and Ontario

Beginning in the 1980s, factories started shutting down at an alarming rate, leaving the neighborhood ridden with poverty and a high concentration of welfare, especially in Hochelaga. This has led to a population exodus, relatively high crime rates, and a generally unfavorable view of the area.^[4]

The district became particularly notorious for prostitution, a contentious issue for many years.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

During the Quebec Biker War, the Hells Angels had their clubhouse in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, which worsened its reputation for criminality.

In the most notorious incident of the guerre des motards, on 9 August 1995, a drug dealer was killed by a bomb planted in his jeep while the shrapnel badly injured an 11-year boy, Daniel Desrochers, who died of his wounds four days later.^[10][11]

Present day

The 2010s were marked by increased gentrification, the arrival of students and professionals, and condo development leading to protests and some cases of vandalism of commerce.^[1][12] Notable areas that developed include the Promenade Ontario shopping street^[13] and the Place Simon Valois revitalized in 2017.^[14]

Despite this, areas continue to struggle with poverty, prostitution and drug trafficking, particularly in the south-western corner of Hochelaga on Rue Sainte-Catherine Est.^[9][8]

In summer 2020, in the same area, a significant number of homeless people began camping along Rue Notre-Dame, creating something akin to a tent city. This was attributed in part to the ongoing housing crisis in Montreal, significantly heightened by unemployment due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as overcrowding of existing shelters.^[15]

In December 2020, the camp was shut down by the police, following a fire a few days earlier and hygiene concerns. This occurred despite promises from the mayor that they would not be forcibly relocated.^[16]

However, by the summer of 2022, many of the occupants had gradually returned, and were again removed by the SPVM in June, leading to an outcry from homeless advocates and certain opposition politicians.^[17]

Elementary

• École Baril
• École Notre-Dame-de-L'Assomption
• École Maisonneuve
• École Saint-Clément
• École Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Lasalle

High school

• École Sécondaire Chomedey-De Maisonneuve

Specialized

• École des Métiers de la Construction de Montréal
• École pour Adultes Centre Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
• École Eulalie-Durocher (for intellectually disabled)

The English Montreal School Board (EMSB) operates English-language schools.^[30]