Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, commonly abbreviated as SJSR, is a city in eastern Montérégie in the Canadian province of Quebec, about 40km southeast of Montreal. It is situated on the west bank of the Richelieu River at the northernmost navigable point of Lake Champlain. The results of the 2011 Census stated that the city's population was 92,394; the number of residents was estimated at 94,636 in 2014.HistoryHistorically, the city has been an important transportation hub. The first railway line in British North America connected it with La Prairie in 1836. It also hosts the annual "Festival International des Montgolfières", an international hot air balloon festival which attracts thousands of tourists who come to see the hundreds of balloons in the sky each August.The Chambly Canal extends 20km north along the west bank of the river and provides modern freight passage to Chambly and the St. Lawrence River. The canal has one lock near the downtown core of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu. In the winter, the city builds a skating rink on the canal near the lock. In the summer, the embankment on the east side of the canal has a 20km cycling path.