Cradled by the St. Lawrence River and the L'Assomption River, Repentigny has been able to develop while preserving its assets and embracing contemporary issues. Located in the Lanaudière region and a member of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM), the municipality has always been attentive to families and seniors. Repentigny is a city that recognises the importance of a healthy, comfortable and stimulating environment in the development of individuals and the community, and is known for its quality of life and its local services, as well as for the safety and well-being of its citizens.

Over the past 30 years, the population of Repentigny has more than doubled. Tens of thousands of people from various countries, major centres, neighbouring cities and remote villages have chosen Repentigny to live and thrive.

Today, the city has a population of nearly 86,500 inhabitants, 18% of whom are first and second generation immigrants, making it one of the 15 largest cities in Quebec.

In total, 82 countries of birth are represented in the territory. The visible minorities are composed, in order of importance, of Black people and of people of Arab, Latin American and Southeast Asian origin. By way of comparison, Repentigny's immigrant population is similar to that of Terrebonne, Sherbrooke and Quebec City.

Repentigny is home to 85% of the immigrant population of the Regional County Municipality (RCM) of L'Assomption.

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Over the years, the image of Repentigny has changed and diversified. It is now made up of many different target groups, all of whom play an essential role in the community, especially the growing number of immigrants.

The municipality is changing at the pace of its citizens who are evolving with it, who are moving it forward and shaping it on a daily basis. In order to allow this transformation and to adapt its services to the current needs of the residents, many initiatives have been put in place by the municipality.

Since 2014, the city has been an active participant in the Table Immigration-Intégration de la MRC L'Assomption, an organisation whose purpose is to bring together stakeholders working with immigrant on the territory in order to discuss the opportunities and challenges involved in migration and inclusion, and then to respond to those with concrete and concerted action. It also makes it possible to develop and maintain a network that focuses on living together and interactions between individuals, organisations and institutions.

The municipality has a Family and Seniors Policy that allows all employees and citizens to get to know the social context in which they evolve and to have a clear vision of the City's major objectives. Since the image of the community has changed rapidly in recent years, the document has been updated several times. These updates were carried out in collaboration with various departments of the municipality and community organisations following new observations, reflections and studies. They allow for the adaptation of municipal objectives and actions to new realities. Thus, the 2016 Policy, developed under the theme "Participating in living together", was revised once again in 2019 in order to give greater consideration to everyone's differences and to build an even more inclusive "living together". This living-together is composed of three essential dimensions, namely the recognition of diversity, the fight against discrimination, and interaction through dialogue.

To achieve this ideal of living together, a Diversity Management Committee, made up of representatives from various municipal departments, as well as the general management and the mayor's office, was set up. An internal diversity management framework was developed and training was provided to employees.

In an effort to provide quality services, well-being and an incomparable quality of life to citizens from different communities, the Repentigny Police Service has a cultural communities support officer. His role is to forge tangible links with citizens in order to better understand their needs and expectations and thus foster harmonious and lasting relationships. This appointment is part of the Police Service's action plan for closer ties with cultural communities.

As mentioned earlier, Repentigny is home to 85% of the immigrants in the MRC de L'Assomption. As a local government, the city plays an essential role in the inclusion of people with diverse backgrounds. In order to support newcomers and facilitate their settlement, we have developed, in collaboration with various community stakeholders, the Access to Services for Immigrants Card. This reference document lists the main community, municipal and government organisations that offer essential or specialised services for this target group. These resources are presented in a clear and concise manner to facilitate the understanding by people who do not speak French.

In the pursuit of the steps taken by the municipality over the years, the City has seized the opportunity to become a member of the large network that is the Intercultural Cities programme. The sharing of good practices for the implementation and maintenance of living together will allow the municipality to feed its reflections when developing policies and strategies aimed at improving services in terms of equity, diversity and inclusion.

Thus, the City of Repentigny is equipping itself with analytical and practical tools to promote its ability to manage the diversity of its population in order to ensure cohesion and living together.

Nicolas DUFOUR

  • Repentigny official city website