West Island Area

West Island is the informal name for the suburban municipalities occupying the western end of the Island of Montreal in the province of Quebec. It is part of the Greater Montreal urban area and includes a cluster of towns and neighbourhoods rather than a single administrative unit.

The area is primarily residential with commercial centres, parks, and waterfront sections along the island’s western shoreline. It contains municipal centres, shopping areas and services that serve local populations, and hosts transport infrastructure including Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Dorval. The western tip includes university and waterfront facilities in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.

Settlement and municipal development on the island date back to the colonial era and accelerated in the 20th century as Montreal’s suburbs expanded. Municipal reorganizations and amalgamations in the early 2000s changed local governance for several communities, after which some municipalities later regained local status through de-amalgamation processes.

Geographically it occupies the western portion of the Island of Montreal off the Saint Lawrence River, forming the western suburbs of the city of Montreal. The neighbourhoods sit immediately west of Montreal’s central island and are integrated with the broader Montreal metropolitan area.

• Airport: Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Dorval sits within the western portion of the island and is a major transport hub for the Greater Montreal region.
• Administrative note: The area is an informal collective name for several municipalities on the western end of the Island of Montreal and functions as a suburban residential and commercial zone within Greater Montreal.
• Transport: Well served by major highways crossing the island and by commuter-rail and local transit connections into Montreal.

What to See#

• Dorval: Contains the town of Dorval, where Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport is located; the area includes airport facilities and related commercial zones.
• Pointe-Claire: A historic village and residential neighbourhood on the island’s west end with a commercial main street and older residential streets.
• Beaconsfield: Primarily residential suburb with waterfront sections on the island’s western shore and established neighbourhoods.
• Dollard-des-Ormeaux: A large, predominantly residential municipality that forms part of the contiguous suburban ring on the island’s west side.
• Kirkland: A suburban municipality with mixed residential and parkland areas, forming part of the western suburban cluster.
• Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue: Located at the western tip of the Island of Montreal and home to McGill University’s Macdonald Campus and waterfront areas on Lake of Two Mountains.