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Lavaltrie is a city located within the D'Autray Regional County Municipality in the southern part of the region of Lanaudière, Quebec northeast of Montreal outside of the suburban sprawl of the northern crown (i.e., the suburbs located north of Laval). The population according to the town's website is 12,148 within a land surface of about 70 square kilometers with the majority of the territory being used for agricultural activities. [1].
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The origins of Lavaltrie go back to the 17th century. Jean Talon, the intendant of New France, gave parcels of land (known as manors) to various lords. The land where Lavaltrie is now situated was given to a lieutenant, Sieur la Valtrie, by Talon in 1672. In the 18th century, land occupants built a new roadway along the Saint Lawrence River linking Montreal and Quebec City, named the Chemin Du Roi and now known as Quebec highway 138. For many decades, Lavaltrie was located in the center of a large series of manors owned by lords intended to develop the agricultural sector. [2]
Mostly a rural area until the second half of the 20th century, Lavaltrie has developed steadily due to the growing suburbs of Montreal. The population of Repentigny, located just a few kilometers to the west of Lavaltrie, has grown to over 75,000 inhabitants in 2006.
Lavaltrie's location near Autoroute 40 and Route 138 gives easy access to Montreal, Laval and the northern crown area of the Greater Montreal area. A-40 also gives Lavaltrie direct links to Trois-Rivières and Quebec City to the east and Ottawa to the west. Autoroute 31 and Route 131 which ends at the junction of the A-40 in Lavaltrie gives the area easy access to more remote and rural regions of the Lanaudière region. However, even though located beside the Saint Lawrence River on its north, the city does not have a direct access to the south with the closest links being Autoroute 25 via the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Tunnel in Montreal to the west or the Berthierville-Sorel ferry to the east (Autoroute 55 in Trois-Rivières via the Laviolette Bridge being the closest roadway link to its east).
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