Montreal

Montreal[a] (French: Montréal[b]) is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest in Canada, and the tenth-largest in North America. Founded in 1642 as Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary",[18] it is now named after Mount Royal,[19] the triple-peaked hill around which the early settlement was built.[20] The city is centred on the Island of Montreal[21][22] and a few, much smaller, peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard. The city is 196 km (122 mi) east of the national capital, Ottawa, and 258 km (160 mi) southwest of the provincial capital, Quebec City. As of 2021,[update] the city had a population of 1,762,949,[23] and a metropolitan population of 4,291,732,[24] making it the second-largest metropolitan area in Canada. French is the city's official language.[25][26] In 2021, 85.7% of the population of the city of Montreal considered themselves fluent in French while 90.2% could speak it in the metropolitan area.[27][28] Montreal is one of the most bilingual cities in Quebec and Canada, with 58.5% of the population able to speak both French and English.[29]