Before you go looking for a new semi-detached home near Kirkland, it's worth comparing the two towns themselves. Kirkland, in the West Island, and Sainte-Julie, on the South Shore, have more in common than you might expect, and differ on a few points that are better known in advance.

So if you're weighing up living in Sainte-Julie or Kirkland, here's what the numbers say, mostly from Statistics Canada's 2021 Census. No rankings: just two suburbs of houses, side by side.

Two towns of houses, built in the same era

Both housing stocks date mainly from the second half of the 20th century. In Kirkland, 88.7% of homes were built between 1961 and 2000, and nearly one in three dates from the 1980s alone. In Sainte-Julie, the share is 77.0% for the same period, and the town kept building afterwards: 15.3% of its homes date from 2001 to 2015.

The streetscape is similar too. Detached houses make up 86.6% of homes in Kirkland and 66.8% in Sainte-Julie, which also has low-rise apartment buildings of under five storeys (24.4%). The scale is different, though: Kirkland has 19,413 residents on 9.65 km², Sainte-Julie 30,045 on 48.49 km², a population density about three times lower. Both belong to the same metropolitan area, Montreal's, but not to the same administrative region: Kirkland is part of the Montreal agglomeration, Sainte-Julie of the Marguerite-D'Youville RCM, in Montérégie.

Homeowners, families and cars

The two towns share the same kind of households:

homeowners: 92.9% of households in Kirkland, 79.8% in Sainte-Julie, compared with 59.9% across Quebec;
couples with children: 44.3% of households in Kirkland, 33.3% in Sainte-Julie, compared with 22.7% in Quebec;
average household size: 2.9 people in Kirkland, 2.5 in Sainte-Julie, 2.2 across Quebec;
commuting by car: 88.6% of commuters in Kirkland, 90.2% in Sainte-Julie.

The median age is close as well: 46.4 in Kirkland, 44.4 in Sainte-Julie. Either way, you're living in a family suburb where the car remains the usual way to get around.

Living in Sainte-Julie or Kirkland: what's different?

The language of daily life

This is the clearest difference. In Kirkland, English is the first official language spoken by 67.6% of residents, and 73.1% know both official languages. In Sainte-Julie, French is the first official language of 95.9% of residents, and nearly one in two speaks only French. Daily life there happens mostly in French, from the shops to the activities. If you'd like certain municipal services in English, check directly with the City of Sainte-Julie.

Public transit

Kirkland is in ARTM zone A, served by the REM and STM buses. Sainte-Julie is in zone C: exo route 600 links it to the Brossard terminus on weekdays, and local public transit is free for everyone, at all times, on every route. In the Vilamo neighbourhood, every home is less than 300 m from a bus stop. There's no direct bus between the two towns: on weekdays, the trip goes through the REM to Brossard, then exo route 600.

Recent construction

From 2016 to 2021, Kirkland built 0.2% of its occupied homes, or 10 homes; Sainte-Julie, 5.5%. The Town of Kirkland says it has reached a saturation point in the space available. In Sainte-Julie, the Vilamo neighbourhood, 33.5 hectares planned around the golf course, brings together six builders and several types of housing.

The distance to work

Among Kirkland workers with a regular place of work, 89.2% have it on the island of Montreal, in Kirkland itself or elsewhere. In Sainte-Julie, 27.4% of workers with a regular place of work have it in town. From Geoffrion Street, Kirkland city hall is about 56 km away, close to 53 minutes without traffic. If you're keeping your job on the island, our article on finding a house with a home office near Kirkland shows how to make that commute easier to live with.

The outdoors: parks, trails and a mountain

Kirkland has its facilities: a sports complex with a gym and an arena, baseball and football fields, splash pads in Harris and Meades parks, and parks open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. Its 5 km bike path, fully paved, follows the Hydro-Québec corridor north of Highway 40.

Sainte-Julie goes for reach: a pedestrian and cycling network of more than 40 km and a BIXI station in Arthur-Gauthier Park. In Vilamo, more than 15% of the neighbourhood, about 600,000 sq ft, is green space, and a promenade is reserved for pedestrians, bikes and electric transport. Mont-Saint-Bruno National Park borders the town, and Ski Saint-Bruno is 8.8 km from Geoffrion Street. Beacite.com also mentions Espace Tonik Nature, presented as an extension of home into nature, with a free three-year membership.

Schools, in French and in English

In Sainte-Julie, French-language public schools fall under the Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes: seven elementary schools, École secondaire du Grand-Coteau and the Patriotes vocational training centre, according to its 2026-2027 list.

For English-language schooling, the Riverside School Board places Sainte-Julie within the zones of Cedar Street, Courtland Park International and Mount Bruno elementary schools, and of Heritage Regional High School. Eligibility follows the Charter of the French Language. In Kirkland, 63.0% of children born between 2003 and 2015 were eligible in the 2021 Census. Check your situation and available spots directly with Riverside: nothing is assured in advance.

Several generations, two homes

In Kirkland, 3.3% of households bring together at least three generations, or 220 households, more than twice the Quebec share; in Sainte-Julie, it's 1.3%. BÉAcité describes itself as an alternative to intergenerational (bigénération) housing: if that's your family's plan, talk it over with the sales director. And once you've picked your town, there's still the moving schedule, which our article on choosing a turnkey or pre-construction home near Kirkland helps you plan.

Conclusion

Living in Sainte-Julie or Kirkland means choosing between two suburbs of houses that are very close in age, family make-up and reliance on the car. What changes comes down to four things: language, transit, new construction and distance. To get a feel for it in person, BÉAcité's sales office at 435 Geoffrion Street welcomes you Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on evenings or weekends by appointment; take the chance to walk around the Vilamo neighbourhood.

Living in Sainte-Julie or Kirkland: two suburbs of houses