Kirkland, Quebec, is a charming on-island suburb nestled on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. Named after Charles-Aimé Kirkland, a Quebec provincial politician, Kirkland was incorporated as a town in 1961. Primarily a residential community, Kirkland also boasts a commercial core and an industrial park straddling the Trans-Canada Highway (Autoroute 40), renamed Félix-Leclerc Highway in 1997. The city is predominantly composed of single-family residences, with a selection of multi-unit facilities such as apartments, townhouses, and condos.
The history of Kirkland, Quebec, dates back to the early 18th century when farming communities began to settle along Côte Saint-Charles (now Boulevard Saint-Charles). By 1731, Côte Saint-Charles was home to 19 farms, 12 houses, and 17 barns. It was part of the Parish of Saint-Joachim de la Pointe Claire, which included the present territory of the cities of Beaconsfield, Kirkland, and Pointe-Claire.
The construction of the Grand Trunk Railway in 1855 brought further development. In 1845, the Municipality of Pointe-Claire was created, abolished two years later, and restored in 1855 as the Parish Municipality of Saint-Joachim-de-la-Pointe-Claire (or just Pointe-Claire). In 1910, Beaconsfield split off to form a separate town.
In 1955, large portions of the parish municipality were annexed by the City of Pointe-Claire and by the Parish of Sainte-Geneviève. Attempts in the late 1950s by the City of Beaconsfield to annex the municipality started the process to become a town. In March 1961, it changed status to become a ville (town/city) and took the name Kirkland. That same year, the construction began of the Trans-Canada Highway (Autoroute 40), completed in 1964.
On January 1, 2002, as part of the 2002–2006 municipal reorganization of Montreal, Kirkland 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 municipality on January 1, 2006.
According to the Office québécois de la langue française, Kirkland has been officially recognized as a bilingual municipality since November 2, 2005. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Kirkland had a population of 19,413 living in 6,666 of its 6,790 total private dwellings, a change of -3.7% from its 2016 population of 20,151. With a land area of 9.65 km2 (3.73 sq mi), it had a population density of 2,011.7/km2 (5,210.3/sq mi) in 2021.
The Kirkland Public Library is a treasure trove of over 80,000 volumes in French and English for adults, teens, and children. The library also offers online database searching, children and adult programs, computer rooms, wireless Internet, inter-library loans, photocopying, and reserved books.
Kirkland Sports Complex offers an indoor gymnasium for badminton, basketball, floor hockey, volleyball, and other indoor sport activities, as well as an arena for hockey, ringette, free or figure skating. The town also features multiple outdoor centres for soccer, baseball, tennis, football, basketball, beach volleyball, and ice rinks, along with a 5-kilometre bike trail.
For water enthusiasts, there's a splash pad and community pool, located at Harris Park and Ecclestone Park respectively. The Town of Kirkland also has many halls and park chalets available for rent for various occasions or activities.
Kirkland Day, celebrated mid-June, is a grand outdoor annual festival commemorating the inauguration of the Town of Kirkland on March 24, 1961. The first Kirkland Day was held on June 20, 1970, at the dedication of Kirkland Park. Since then, Kirkland residents come out in great numbers every year to celebrate the town together. Other events within the town include the Winter Carnival, Mini Olympics, Kirkland Food Drive, and Christmas Events.
