Granby

Granby developed as a manufacturing centre from the late 19th century and is also home to the Granby Zoo.

• Name — Granby • Official Name — Ville de Granby • Type — Town • Shield Size — 100x80px • Blank Emblem Type — Logo • Motto — Pour y parvenir (To get there) • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — Canada • Subdivision Type1 — Province • Subdivision Name1 — Quebec • Subdivision Type2 — Region • Subdivision Name2 — Estrie • Subdivision Type3 — RCM • Subdivision Name3 — La Haute-Yamaska • Established Title1 — Constituted • Established Date1 — January 1, 2007 • Leader Title — Mayor • Leader Name — Julie Bourdon • Leader Title1 — Federal riding • Leader Name1 — Shefford • Leader Title2 — Prov. riding • Leader Name2 — Granby • Area Total Km2 — 156.10 • Area Land Km2 — 152.69 • Area Urban Km2 — 50.08 • Area Metro Km2 — 494.10 • Population Total — 69025 • Population As Of — 2021 • Population Density Km2 — 452.1 • Population Urban — 63810 • Population Density Urban Km2 — 1274.2 • Population Metro — 90833 • Population Density Metro Km2 — 183.8 • Time Zone — EST • Utc Offset — −5 • Time Zone Dst — EDT • Utc Offset Dst — −4 • Postal Code Type — Postal code(s) • Postal Code — J2G-J2J • Area Codes — 450 and 579 • Custom Label Sec1 — Highways

Most researchers trace the name "Granby" to John Manners, Marquess of Granby (1721-1770), a British soldier and politician. The name was first used for the township and was later retained when Granby was incorporated as a village municipality in 1859.

• Illustration — The town of Granby seen in 1883. Before European settlement, the Yamaska watershed was used by Indigenous peoples for hunting, fishing, travel and trade. Historical and archaeological work cited by the MRC de La Haute-Yamaska records W8banakiak, Anishinabeg, Haudenosaunee, Kanien'kehá:ka and St. Lawrence Iroquoians along the Yamaska River and its tributaries. An 1801 survey described the low ground around present-day Lac Boivin as meadows and forest, with ash, fir, maple, hemlock and birch among the trees recorded in the area. Colonel Henry Caldwell first petitioned the colonial government for land for members of the Quebec militia in 1788. Granby Township was surveyed over the following years, and Jeremiah McCarthy filed the final survey in 1801. On January 8, 1803, Granby and Milton townships were granted to Quebec City militiamen and the widows of militiamen. Settlement was underway by 1809. Roswell Spaulding was living in the township that year, and John Horner settled near the site of the future village around 1810. Horner built a sawmill on the Yamaska River. A road through the township was completed in 1819, improving access toward Montreal and the townships farther east. By 1831, Granby Township had 797 residents living in 134 occupied houses. The first dam on the North Yamaska River at Granby was built in 1815 to power local mills. The backed-up water formed the beginnings of Lac Boivin. A second dam followed in 1835, and later industrial dams increased the flooded area. Granby was incorporated as a village municipality in 1859. Railway service arrived the same year, and the Notre-Dame parish was established. Granby became a cité in 1916 and a ville in 1971. French Canadians began settling in Granby in the early 1840s. Their numbers increased during the industrial expansion that followed. By the 1930s, the French-Canadian population had become the dominant cultural and linguistic presence in the city. Industrial development accelerated in the late 19th century. Granby Rubber was established in 1882 and Empire Tobacco in 1895. Granby Elastic Web opened in 1910, followed by Miner Rubber in 1911. By 1930, Miner Rubber, Imperial Tobacco and Granby Elastic Web employed about 2,500 of the city's 3,000 factory workers. Five American manufacturers opened Granby plants between 1929 and 1932, four of them in the textile industry. The city's industrial base changed after the Second World War. Rubber and tobacco declined, while metal products, machinery, plastics, electronics and food processing took on a larger role. Granby's industrial park opened in 1967. Residential development spread north of the older town beginning in the late 1930s. In 1939, Granby Development laid out the Ville moderne subdivision on a 168-acre property, divided into about 800 residential lots. Seven new streets were planned, including Boulevard Leclerc, and the area was annexed to Granby in 1940. Granby's population rose from about 14,000 in 1939 to 30,000 by 1960. Much of the new construction took place in the Saint-Joseph sector, where private development was joined after 1948 by the Chantiers Saint-Joseph housing cooperative. Between 1949 and 1961, the cooperative built 165 houses in the neighbourhood. The upper part of Rue Principale was extensively redeveloped between the mid-1960s and the 1980s. The Hôtel Granby, Hôtel Windsor and the former post office were among the buildings demolished. Queen Street disappeared during the work, while sections of Young and City streets were removed or shortened. Lac Boivin supplied part of Granby's drinking water from 1932 until 1977. During the 1970s, proposals to fill or dredge sections of the wetlands met opposition from local conservation groups. The eastern part of the lake was eventually set aside for conservation and interpretation, while recreational development was concentrated mainly on the western shore. Granby and the surrounding Township of Granby voted on a merger on May 28, 2006. The proposal received 56% support in the city and 81% in the township; turnout was 33%. The two municipalities were merged on January 1, 2007.

• Illustration — Boivin Lake and Yamaska River Granby covers 152.69 km². The built-up area is concentrated near the centre of the municipality, with farmland and lower-density development around it. The North Yamaska River flows through Lac Boivin before continuing through the city. Route 112, Route 137 and Route 139 cross Granby. Route 139 connects the city with Autoroute 10 south of Granby. • Illustration — A panorama of lake Boivin and its bicycle track.

Granby has many parks and fountains, including the Daniel-Johnson, Victoria, Terry Fox, Miner, Pelletier, and Kennedy parks. • Lake Boivin, Daniel-Johnson park, and the Centre d'interprétation de la nature du lac Boivin (nature interpretation centre of lake Boivin), take shape in the 1980s, landscaped with paths all around for bikers and pedestrians, they have become a haven for Nature's lovers as they harbour abundant wildlife. Lake Boivin has park Daniel-Johnson on its northern shores, from which citizens and tourists can practice recreational sports such as navigation and cycling, the park also hosts events for Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Earth Day; as well as a self-proclaimed fête de la rivière (river festival) to honour and clean the North Yamaska River; characteristic hills on the park's premises are very popular for picnicking during the summer and sledding in the winter. The Centre d'interprétation de la nature du lac Boivin is a non-profit devoted to conservation of the territory, habitat, fauna and flora of lake Boivin. • Yamaska National Park is a vast protected wetland around the Choinière reservoir with forest, beach, walking and biking paths, as well as navigable waters (only light non-motorized vessels are permitted); it is an important bird sanctuary. • Park Victoria is the oldest park in Granby. The park opened in 1889 and is named in honour of Queen Victoria (1876-1901). There are war memorials to Latimer (1901), to the soldiers killed in the Second Boer War, and a monument to the Braves. Selbach fountain, inaugurated in 1982, rises on the corner of Dufferin street and Mountain boulevard. Two ponds connected by a small stream, large rock outcrops, and a hilly terrain are its main geographical characteristics; its northeastern tip is bisected by Lorne street; at its southernmost limits, the park borders Parkview Elementary School, an English-language school. In the warm months, free concerts are sometimes played in a gazebo. • Park Miner is the second oldest park in Granby; it was given to the town by mayor Stephen Henderson Campbell Miner in 1910; today, it lies downtown and houses Piscine Miner (Miner pool), the municipal indoor public pool. A monument to the founders of Saint-Jean-Baptiste society was erected in 1934. The first community public art gallery in the region is installed by Atelier 19 to celebrate its ten years. During the summer, the park has tents installed to house different public activities such as dance and music. Parc Daniel-Johnson occupies part of the western shore of Lac Boivin. The wetlands on the eastern side are used for conservation and environmental education. Local conservation work began there in 1969, and the Centre d'interprétation de la nature du lac Boivin was established as a non-profit organization in 1980. • Illustration — Daniel-Johnson park • Illustration — Monument to Latimer at park Victoria • Illustration — Lac Boivin • Illustration — Daniel Johnson Park

Granby has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). For the 1991–2020 climate normals, the annual mean temperature was 6.6 °C (43.9 °F). Average annual precipitation was 1,226.4 mm (48.28 in), including 261.6 cm (103.0 in) of snow.

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Granby had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of. With a land area of 152.69 km2, it had a population density of sqmi in 2021.

In 2021, 92.5% of the population were white/European, 5.5% were visible minorities and 2.0% were Indigenous. The largest visible minority groups were Black (1.8%), Latin American (1.6%), Arab (0.8%), and West Asian (0.5%). • Panethnic groups in the City of Granby (2001−2021) • Panethnic group — 2021 — 2016 — 2011 — 2006 — 2001 • Pop. Population — % percentage — Pop. Population — % percentage — Pop. Population — % percentage — Pop. Population — % percentage — Pop. Population — % percentage • European — 61,645 — 60,435 — 59,200 — 44,915 — 42,145 • Indigenous — 1,310 — 715 — 425 — 165 — 90 • African — 1,200 — 830 — 500 — 275 — 125 • Latin American — 1,080 — 1,045 — 585 — 405 — 65 • Middle Eastern — 835 — 640 — 380 — 190 — 70 • Southeast Asian — 210 — 135 — 140 — 80 — 85 • East Asian — 130 — 105 — 110 — 65 — 45 • South Asian — 70 — 70 — 65 — 0 — 0 • Other/multiracial — 110 — 50 — 75 — 30 — 10 • Total responses — 66,590 — 64,005 — 61,480 — 46,100 — 42,630 • Total population — 69,025 — 66,222 — 63,433 — 47,637 — 44,121 • Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses

91.8% of residents spoke French as a mother tongue. Other common first languages were English (2.1%), Spanish (1.6%), Arabic (0.6%), and Persian languages (0.4%). 1.0% of residents listed both French and English as their mother tongues, while 0.4% listed both French and a non-official language. Mother tongue language (2021) • Language — Population — Pct (%) • French only — 62,150 — 91.8% • English only — 1,435 — 2.1% • Both English and French — 705 — 1.0% • Other languages — 3,025 — 4.5%

69.0% of residents were Christian, down from 87.2% in 2011. 61.6% were Catholic, 4.3% were Christian n.o.s., and 1.4% were Protestant. Other Christian denominations and Christian-related traditions accounted for 1.6% of the population. Non-religious and secular people were 28.9% of the population, up from 11.3% in 2011. 2.1% of residents followed other religions, up from 1.5% in 2011. The largest non-Christian religion was Islam (1.7%).

Manufacturing remains a substantial employer in Granby. Granby Industriel reports 247 manufacturing companies and more than 8,900 manufacturing jobs in the city, with more than 160 manufacturers located in the industrial park. The agency identifies aerospace and specialty vehicles as two local industrial specializations, along with food processing and hydroelectric engineering. Other manufacturing includes metal products, plastics and rubber, and textiles.

• Illustration — St. George's Anglican Church. • Illustration — Église Sainte-Famille. Several buildings from Granby's early industrial period remain near the Yamaska River and Cowie Street. The former Granby Rubber complex dates from a rubber company founded in 1882 at the corner of Saint-Charles and Cowie streets. The former Imperial Tobacco plant includes brick buildings constructed between 1895 and 1915. Tobacco production there ended in 1971. St. George's Anglican Church was built in 1908, replacing an earlier chapel dating from 1843. The Montreal architectural firm Cox & Ames prepared the plans for the brick Gothic Revival church. Sainte-Famille Church was built in 1930–1931 from plans by architect Louis-Napoléon Audet. The church is a municipally cited heritage building. Granby City Hall was built in 1942 from plans by local architects Paul-Émile Lapointe and Sheldon Ross. Besides the municipal offices and council chamber, the building originally housed the police and fire departments, the municipal court and the local health unit. The municipal library occupied part of the building from 1944 to 1955.

• Illustration — Granby Zoo The Granby Zoo began with a collection of animals kept by mayor Pierre-Horace Boivin. The Société zoologique de Granby was incorporated in 1953, and the zoo opened on May 28, 1955. The Festival international de la chanson de Granby began in 1969 as the Festival de la chanson de Granby. The competition became national in 1971 and took its present name in 1989. The Palace de Granby is a performing-arts venue with a 900-seat auditorium. Granby International, an annual classic-car event held at Parc Daniel-Johnson, displays close to 3,000 vehicles over three days. Granby's municipal library opened in City Hall in 1944 with a collection of 1,200 books. It moved several times before opening at 11 Rue Dufferin in 1985. The library was renamed the Bibliothèque Paul-O.-Trépanier in 1988.

La Voix de l'Est is a French-language newspaper and news outlet based in Granby. It was founded as a weekly newspaper in 1935 and became a daily in 1945. CFXM-FM, known as M105, broadcasts from Granby on 104.9 MHz. The station began broadcasting in 1997 under the Coopérative de travail de la radio de Granby, which had been formed after the closure of CHEF-AM the previous year.

The Championnats Banque Nationale de Granby are held annually in the city. The 2026 tournament included a men's ATP Challenger Tour event and a women's event on the ITF Women's World Tennis Tour. Granby's Junior AAA hockey club is the Indigo de Granby. The franchise was sold and renamed in 2024 after previously playing as the Granby Inouk. The Guerriers de Granby field teams in both the Ligue de baseball majeur du Québec and the Ligue de baseball junior élite du Québec. Their home games are played at Stade Napoléon-Fontaine. Granby had a QMJHL franchise from 1981 to 1997. The team played as the Bisons until 1995 and then as the Prédateurs. The Prédateurs won the Memorial Cup in 1996 before the franchise moved to Sydney, Nova Scotia, the following year. The Autodrome Granby is a dirt-track motor-racing venue in the city.

Granby's municipal council consists of the mayor and ten councillors, one for each electoral district. Julie Bourdon was first elected mayor in 2021, becoming the first woman to hold the office. She was re-elected in 2025. • Illustration — Town Hall • District — Councillor • 1 — Stéphane Giard • 2 — Paul Goulet • 3 — François Lemay • 4 — Geneviève Rheault • 5 — Alain Lacasse • 6 — Denyse Tremblay • 7 — Sophie Séguin • 8 — Félix Dionne • 9 — Cédrick Beauregard • 10 — Catherine Baudin

French-language public schools in Granby are administered by the Centre de services scolaire du Val-des-Cerfs. English-language elementary education is provided by Parkview Elementary School, part of the Eastern Townships School Board. The Parkview building opened in 1940 as Granby High School and became an elementary school in 1969. The Cégep de Granby is a French-language public college in the city. It has about 2,800 students and offers three pre-university programs, nine technical programs and continuing education.

Hôpital de Granby opened in 1945 as Hôpital Saint-Joseph. It was originally planned as a 79-bed hospital, but the design was enlarged during construction to provide 150 beds. The first patients were admitted in April 1945, and the hospital was formally inaugurated that September. A major expansion was completed in 1978. A 2026 provincial listing records 112 physical-health beds, 16 geriatric beds and 22 psychiatric beds at Hôpital de Granby. The hospital also provides emergency and outpatient services.

Route 112, Route 137 and Route 139 pass through Granby. Route 139 connects the city with Autoroute 10. Public transit is operated by Transport urbain Granby. The network includes the Sud, Nord, Centre and Est bus circuits as well as taxibus service. Railway service reached Granby in 1859. The city was later served by the Montreal and Southern Counties Railway, an electric interurban railway linking communities south and east of Montreal. The former railway network also forms part of Granby's cycling system. L'Estriade is a 21 km paved trail connecting Granby with Waterloo through the Township of Shefford. It follows a former railway corridor and forms part of both the Route Verte and the Trans Canada Trail.

Granby is twinned with: • Carrefour, Haiti • Coventry, England, United Kingdom • Hammam-Lif, Tunisia • Windsor, Canada

• Benoit Coulombe, scientist and researcher. • Palmer Cox, writer and illustrator of a popular series of children's books about supernatural creatures known as the Brownies, based on Scottish folklore. • Pierre-Luc Dusseault, the youngest Member of Parliament in Canadian history. • Rosie Valland, pop singer-songwriter. • Kim Thúy, writer and novelist (Vietnamese-born, childhood in Granby). • Félix Pigeon, short track skater, Polish Olympic Team member, Milan 2026. • Marc Tardif, professional ice hockey player. • Marc Messier, actor and writer.