Vanier is a formerly independent community that in 2001 was merged into the city of Ottawa, Canada. It is most notable for its majority francophone population. Vanier has about 17,632 residents.

Vanier is located in the east of Ottawa across the Rideau River from the neighbourhoods of Lowertown and Sandy Hill and just to the south of Rockcliffe Park and New Edinburgh. To the east of Vanier are the suburbs of Gloucester. Vanier has a very small area, and a high population density.

The communities of Janeville, Clarkstown and Clandeboye were joined to form the village of Eastview in 1908. In 1913, Eastview was incorporated as a town. Originally it was a popular destination for civil servants who wished to live at a distance from downtown. It began to see a large influx of French-Canadians and became the main francophone area in the capital. In 1963, it became a city. The city was renamed Vanier in honour of the recently deceased former Governor General of Canada Georges Vanier, a well-respected Franco-Canadian figure, in 1969.

Vanier is one of the poorer areas of Ottawa and has an abundance of strip malls, pawnbrokers, bars, lower end retail outlets, and subsidised housing developments. The portion of Montreal Road that is the main thoroughfare of the community is notorious for being a haven of prostitution and drugs. In contrast, at the extreme west of the neighbourhood, on the tree-lined Rideau River, the population is much more affluent. Like nearby Lowertown, Vanier is home to many French-speaking immigrants from Africa and elsewhere.

Vanier is the site of an urban sugar bush and a Sugar Bush Festival is held in the spring. It is also home to an outdoor Catholic shrine, the Grotte des Lourdes.

Vanier is part of the federal riding of Ottawa—Vanier, and the Ottawa—Vanier provincial riding. It is one of the most staunchly Liberal ridings in Canada, having voted for that party consistently since the riding's creation. Federally, it is represented by Mauril Belanger, and provincially by Madeleine Meilleur.

According to the Canada 2001 Census:

• Population: 17,632
• % Change (1996-2001): 2.2
• Dwellings: 9,114
• Area (km².): 2.93
• Density (persons per km².): 6017.7

Mayors of Eastview

• 1913 Camille Gladu
• 1916 John Herbert White
• 1918 Arthur Desrosiers
• 1920 John Herbert White/Camille Gladu
• 1922 Arthur Desrosiers
• 1923 Arthur Guilbault
• 1924 Arthur Desrosiers
• 1928 G.H. Alex Collins
• 1931 David Langelier
• 1933 Donat Grandmaître
• 1936 Jean-Baptiste Charette
• 1937 Donat Grandmaître
• 1949 Gordon Lavergne
• 1961 Oscar Perrier

Mayors of Vanier

• 1965 Gérard Grandmaître
• 1970 Roger Crete
• 1973 Gérard Grandmaître
• 1974 Bernard Grandmaître
• 1985 Gisèle Lalonde
• 1991 Guy Cousineau

See also

• List of Ottawa neighbourhoods

External link

• Vanier Business Improvement Association

Communities in Ontario | Ottawa neighbourhoods | Former municipalities now in Ottawa | Lists of Canadian mayors | Ontario mayors