Hudson, Quebec

Location and population

Hudson is a municipality within the Greater Montreal. Although a rural agglomeration since the early part of the 19th century, the Town of Hudson was founded in June 1969 by merging the villages of Hudson, Hudson Heights and Como. A relatively wealthy town, Hudson is known for its large, turn-of-the century houses, many of which border the Lake of Two Mountains. A ferry from Hudson takes cars across the lake (a widening of the Ottawa River) to the village of Oka.

Hudson has been dubbed "the leafy Anglo-enclave" because, unlike the surrounding mainly French-speaking municipalities, Hudson has a majority English-speaking population (65% according to 2001 Census), although many residents speak both languages.

Hudson is near the edge of suburban Montreal to the east, but also surrounded by substantial farming and forest areas to the west. Large lot sizes, enforced by town by-laws, contribute to the relatively large number of trees in the residential areas. Zoning, infrastructure and building development are occasionally controversial subjects, such as when town residents voted against permitting Gheorghe Zamfir to build a concert hall near the edge of town in the 1980s. In 2001, the town won a victory in Canada's Supreme Court, upholding its by-law 207, which bans pesticide use on public and private property for cosmetic (purely aesthetic) purposes.

Although much larger in population, Hudson has been compared to culturally and demographically similar Quebec towns such as the Eastern Townships villages of North Hatley and Brome Lake as well as nearby Senneville. All four municipalities border a body of water (used extensively for recreation year-round) and include a harmonious blend of French and English residents.

The town is largely upper-middle class and includes professionals, artists and artisans, corporate executives, and a wide variety of entrepreneurs as residents. There are some 140 businesses in town, 50% of which are of an arts and crafts nature.

The town has three schools, of which two are English (Mount Pleasant Elementary School & Westwood Senior, formerly Hudson High School) and one French (St-Thomas Elementary School), as well as five churches: one Catholic (St-Thomas Aquinas), two Anglican (St-James & St-Mary's), one United (Wyman), and one Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (Hudson-Saint-Lazare)

Physical Environment

The bedrock under Hudson is Cambrian-era sandstone. This is overlain by marine clay or stony sandy loam glacial till. On the surface are sands which were deposited by air or water. Most of Hudson is built on the Ste-Sophie loamy fine sand, which is well drained and drought-prone despite its clay base; undisturbed areas have classic Podzol development. Several blocks away from the river the sands become deeper, coarser and even more xeric; they are mapped as Upland sand which is also a Podzol.

Events and tourist attractions

Tourist attractions of Hudson include:

Notable annual events in Hudson include the Hudson Street Fair, the Hudson Yacht Club Labour Day Regatta, the FruitBowl Regatta (North America's most well-attended youth sailing event), Canada Day festivities, Shiver Fest (a winter carnival), the Turn on the Lights Festival, the Studio Tour, the Home & Gardens Tour, the Hudson Festival of Canadian Film, the Santa Claus Parade and (as of 2010, started by Andrew Dumas) the St. Patrick's Day Parade. The town was also put under the spotlight in a recent taping of the reality television series Road Hockey Rumble. Residents of the town were selected to play a game of road hockey.

Hudson Yacht Club

The Hudson Yacht Club (HYC) is a boating and social club founded in 1909 on the shores of Lake of Two Mountains (Lac des Deux Montagnes). The club annually hosts the "FruitBowl" regatta for young sailors and the Labour Day Regatta for its general membership and visitors. The HYC has published two retrospectives: Hudson Yacht Club: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Year in 1984 and Our Spirit Lives On: A Celebration of Hudson Yacht Club's First 100 Years, 1909-2009 in 2009.

Pesticide Ban

The town gained notoriety in 1991 by becoming the first in Quebec, Canada to ban several forms of lawn and garden pesticides used to kill insects and weeds. The town was sued by two pesticide companies and on June 28, 2001, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in the town's favor by a 9-0 vote. The Hudson example spurred many other municipalities and provinces in Canada to enact similar bans of pesticides. The Hudson case is the subject of an upcoming American documentary movie titled A Chemical Reaction by filmmaker Brett Plymale.

Municipal council

The Quebec Cities and Towns Act requires all towns the size of Hudson to have a municipal council of six councillors and one mayor, elected by the local population every four years. The mayor is elected by all Hudson residents, while the town is divided into six wards to elect the councillors. Given the small size of the town, council seats are often won by acclamation. Council meets once per month in the Stephen Shaar Community Centre, named after the mayor who served until 2004 (and presided over its construction). Municipal administrators work in the Town Hall. Town council is responsible for things such as water supply, local road maintenance, zoning, construction permits, and administration of parks. Some responsibilities, such as regional planning, is shared with the county. Council receives its revenues through property taxes, which it establishes. The town maintains its own volunteer fire department and a local patrol to enforce municipal by-laws.

Transportation

A single street, Main Road, traverses Hudson east to west, while the southern border of the town mainly runs along Quebec Route 342 (also known as Boulevard Harwood). Although many residents commute by automobile, a commuter train to Montreal (Vaudreuil-Hudson Line) stops in Hudson once per weekday in either direction.

The town is also served by the 21 bus from the CIT La Presqu'Île, terminating at the Vaudreuil train station.

During the spring, summer and fall, a ferry links Hudson with Oka, Quebec, 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) across the Ottawa River. During the winter months, a tolled ice bridge allows vehicular traffic between the two towns.

Water and sewage

Hudson has a municipal water and sewage system. The sewage system was built in the first decade of the 21st century and serves the central area of town. It is relatively common for houses outside the central area to use well water and/or a septic tank.

Municipal facilities

The town operates the Stephen Shaar Community Centre, teen centre (in the lower level of the community centre) and a municipal outdoor swimming pool. The town also has a number of parks, including St. Thomas Park (soccer fields behind the swimming pool), Thompson park (lakeside soccer fields), Benson Park (with a softball field, children's playground with outdoor hockey and skating rinks), Jack Layton Park (trails to Sandy Beach, excellent picnic area and public boat launch) and Sandy Beach.

Ferry to Oka

Since 1909 a ferry across the Lake of Two Mountains has run from Hudson to Oka. Ferries are self-propelled and take ten to fifteen minutes to carry multiple automobiles, bike passengers, and foot passengers for a fee. Prior to the change to self-propelled ferries, a system of barges were towed across the lake by ropes attached to diesel powered boats.

Notable people