Before you go see a new semi-detached home near Laval, it's wise to look at what the numbers really say about moving off Île Jésus.

This article doesn't sell the South Shore as the place everyone is heading. Using public sources, it compares what leaving Laval for the South Shore actually involves, and more specifically moving to Sainte-Julie, where Maisons Pépin is building BÉAcité. Laval is judged neither better nor worse: each city has its strengths, and your own situation is what decides.

What the Institut de la statistique du Québec measures

In its January 2026 bulletin on interregional migration, the ISQ notes that, unlike the other regions surrounding Montreal, Laval has had a negative internal migration balance for six years. From July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025, 1,916 more people left it for another Quebec region than arrived, a net rate of −0.43%. The series speaks for itself: +649 in 2018–2019, then −188, −2,073, −815, −884, −740 and −1,916. Among 25- to 29-year-olds, the age when many start a family, Montreal and Laval post the heaviest losses.

Four nuances matter:

those who leave go mainly to the Laurentians and, to a lesser extent, to Lanaudière; Laval itself keeps gaining residents from Montreal;
exchanges between Laval and Montérégie aren't broken out in the bulletin: nothing shows that Laval residents are heading for the South Shore;
Montérégie, the region Sainte-Julie belongs to, gained about 2,500 people in 2024–2025: a big winner in its exchanges with Montreal, it loses ground to most other regions;
Laval's population is still growing: 461,509 residents on July 1, 2025, according to the ISQ's preliminary estimate.

So the South Shore isn't a trend to follow, just one option among others if you're thinking of moving.

Leaving Laval for the South Shore: a different pace of city

The first change is one of scale. Laval has 1,781.0 people per km², Sainte-Julie 619.6 (2021 Census). The housing landscape differs too:

single-detached houses: 44.8% of dwellings in Laval, 66.8% in Sainte-Julie;
apartments in buildings of five storeys or more: 9.8% in Laval, 0.0% in Sainte-Julie;
owner households: 66.6% in Laval, 79.8% in Sainte-Julie;
dwellings with eight rooms or more: 24.9% in Laval, 44.7% in Sainte-Julie.

Some things don't change: couples with children make up 31.3% of households in Laval and 33.3% in Sainte-Julie, and households average 2.5 people in both cities.

In Sainte-Julie, BÉAcité is part of Vilamo, a 33.5-hectare neighbourhood planned around the Club de golf de la Vallée du Richelieu, with 15% set aside for community and recreational space. The language changes too: Sainte-Julie is overwhelmingly French-speaking, with 95.9% of residents having French as their first official language spoken, compared with 68.9% in Laval.

How do you get around when the metro stays on the other side?

This may be the most tangible change. Laval has three metro stations, three commuter-train stations, two REM stations and STL buses in every neighbourhood; 11.3% of its commuters took public transit in 2021. Sainte-Julie has neither a metro nor a train station; exo buses connect it to Longueuil or Radisson, and local transit is free for everyone. Only 3.8% of its commuters used public transit, and 90.2% drove (84.0% in Laval). The same regional body, the ARTM, oversees both networks: Laval is in zone B, Sainte-Julie in zone C, and a metro-and-bus trip between the two calls for an All modes ABC fare.

To come back and see family or friends who stay in Laval, allow roughly 35 to 50 minutes without traffic, depending on the sector, through the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel, which is under major repair until 2027, with closures that shift from one phase to the next.

Resale prices, with no illusions

Don't expect to pay less on the other side. According to Centris, for the four quarters ending in the third quarter of 2026, single-family homes resold at a median price of $666,350 in Sainte-Julie, compared with $629,750 for Laval as a whole. Only two Laval neighbourhoods top Sainte-Julie: Sainte-Dorothée ($756,787) and Duvernay ($723,750). Sainte-Julie's market is also much smaller: 243 sales over four quarters, against 2,521 in Laval.

These figures cover resales of all types of single-family homes: they say nothing about the price of a new semi-detached home, and BÉAcité doesn't publish its prices. For the price of a specific home, ask the sales director.

What each side offers

Laval has real strengths, which the city sums up itself: an island that is both urban and rural, a third of it set aside for farmland, nine libraries, the Maison des arts, the Centre de la nature. The two cities share the same metropolitan area and the same Montreal Metropolitan Community.

On the Sainte-Julie side, you'll find more than 40 km of bike and pedestrian paths, Mont-Saint-Bruno National Park right next door, Ski Saint-Bruno less than 9 km from Geoffrion Street and, in Vilamo, a commercial strip within walking distance. The beacite.com site also mentions a free three-year membership to Espace Tonik Nature.

Before you decide

Leaving Laval for the South Shore makes sense if your work, your family and your habits allow it. In the 2021 Census, taken in May 2021, 45.8% of Laval workers with a usual place of work worked in Laval itself: if that's you, try the commute first. Think, too, about what you want from the house itself. If the urge to move comes mainly from wanting a newer home, see what a turnkey new home near Laval has to offer. If you're moving with a parent, read our article on the multigenerational home near Laval.

Conclusion

Leaving Laval for the South Shore is neither a trend nor a guaranteed saving: it's a different setting, less dense, more residential, French-speaking, where the car often replaces the metro. If that setting suits you, BÉAcité offers new semi-detached homes in Sainte-Julie, delivered turnkey with an all-inclusive maintenance program. The sales office at 435 Geoffrion Street welcomes you Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; in the evening and on weekends, by appointment.

Leaving Laval for the South Shore: an option worth a closer look