Saint-François, Laval

Saint-François is the second largest district of Laval, Quebec, Canada, after Duvernay. It was a separate city until the municipal mergers on August 6, 1965.Agriculture occupies most of the land area.GeographyLocated at the extreme east of Île Jésus (Laval), it is bounded on the:North by the Rivière des Mille Îles;South by the Rivière des Prairies;West by the neighbourhood of AuteuilSouth by the neighbourhood of Duvernay. A residential agglomeration formed in the southeast of the neighbourhood. The construction of the A25 Bridge (now the 20px Autoroute 25) that now links with Montreal has been controversial. Ecologists opposed it because the bridge would destroy a wetland where rare species live. All opposition is now moot because the bridge was under construction as of early 2008 and was finished mid-2011.DemographicsIn 2001, the population of St-François is estimated at 16.225, an almost stationary level compared to 1996. The population of St-François remains relatively young; 9,4% are seniors and the average age is 35.9 years old.St-François is one of the most homogeneous districts on the linguistic level; whereas 88.5% of the population have French as mother tongue and more than 90% of them use that language at home.