If a new semi-detached home near McMasterville appeals to you, a question soon follows: what actually changes when you move from one town to the other? To help you weigh living in Sainte-Julie or McMasterville, here is a comparison based on public sources: Statistics Canada, Quebec's municipal affairs ministry (MAMH), the two towns and exo.

The point is not to crown a winner. McMasterville has its strengths, starting with the Richelieu River; Sainte-Julie has its own, including the Vilamo neighbourhood, where Maisons Pépin is building BÉAcité. Route 229 connects them: about 8 km and roughly ten minutes without traffic lie between McMasterville town hall and Geoffrion Street.

Living in Sainte-Julie or McMasterville: what stays the same?

Several landmarks carry over from one town to the other:

the Montreal Metropolitan Community, which both towns belong to (MAMH);
the Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes: in McMasterville, École La Farandole and École d'éducation internationale; in Sainte-Julie, seven schools, including L'Arpège, Le Rucher and Aux-Quatre-Vents, along with École secondaire du Grand-Coteau and the Centre de formation professionnelle des Patriotes;
Route 229: McMasterville's Rue Bernard-Pilon becomes Montée des Quarante-Deux in Sainte-Julie;
exit 105 of Highway 20, which also serves as the exit for McMasterville and leads to the Vilamo neighbourhood;
McMasterville's exo train station, the closest one to Geoffrion Street, since Sainte-Julie has none.

Sharing a school service centre doesn't mean sharing a school: the one your child attends depends on your address. Check with the service centre before any move.

What differs on the administrative map

According to the MAMH directory, the two towns are not in the same regional county municipality (MRC): McMasterville is part of La Vallée-du-Richelieu, Sainte-Julie of Marguerite-D'Youville. Nor do they vote in the same provincial riding: Borduas for McMasterville, Verchères for Sainte-Julie. Incorporated on July 31, 1917, McMasterville celebrated its centennial in 2017.

Two scales: population, land and age

The 2021 Census figures highlight a clear difference in size:

Population: 5,936 residents in McMasterville, 30,045 in Sainte-Julie. From 2016 to 2021, McMasterville grew by 4.2%, Sainte-Julie by 0.5%.
Land area: 3.12 km² versus 48.49 km².
Density: 1,904 residents per square kilometre versus 619.6.
Median age: 41.6 versus 44.4.
Children aged 14 and under: 19.1% of the population versus 17.3%.
One-person households: 29.7% versus 22.7%, with an average household size of 2.3 people versus 2.5.

The Institut de la statistique du Québec's preliminary estimates for July 1, 2025 point the same way: 6,114 residents in McMasterville and 30,981 in Sainte-Julie, with people aged 65 and over making up 22% and 21.3% respectively.

McMasterville is therefore smaller, denser and a little younger. If your plan is to bring several generations closer together without putting them under one roof, our article on the multigenerational home near McMasterville looks at that option.

Housing: owners, types and age

Owner households: 66.1% in McMasterville, 79.8% in Sainte-Julie.
Single-detached houses: 52.1% of dwellings versus 66.8%.
Semi-detached houses: 6.2% versus 5.8%, similar shares.
Apartments in a duplex: 18.0% versus 1.6%, one of McMasterville's hallmarks.
Dwellings built in 1980 or earlier: 44.3% versus 35.9%.
Dwellings built from 2016 to 2021: 4.4% versus 5.5%.

McMasterville's dwellings are also smaller on average: 6.3 rooms per dwelling versus 7.1, and 22.7% have four bedrooms or more, compared with 33.7% in Sainte-Julie.

In both towns, recent construction remains a small share. In Sainte-Julie, the Vilamo neighbourhood accounts for some of it: according to the city, it covers 33.5 hectares around the golf course and is expected to hold about 400 to 500 units. For anyone torn between living in Sainte-Julie or McMasterville, the type of house you want matters as much as the address.

Setting: the river on one side, the golf course and Vilamo on the other

In McMasterville

The town highlights its sweeping view of Mont Saint-Hilaire and the Richelieu River. The riverside park and the Promenade des Porteurs-d'Espoir, reached from Rue Richelieu, offer trails and rest areas facing the river. Parc Gilles-Plante brings together a refrigerated outdoor rink, synthetic soccer fields, an adapted outdoor pool, a splash pad, a pump track and tennis courts. The lit Roger-Dubuc trail can be walked or cycled, and Parc du Ruisseau-Bernard is a good spot for watching wildlife.

In Sainte-Julie

The Vilamo neighbourhood borders the Club de golf de la Vallée du Richelieu. It has 600,000 sq ft of green space, more than 15% of its area, a promenade for pedestrians, cyclists and electric mobility, and dense landscaping. The city offers a walking and cycling network of more than 40 km, and Mont-Saint-Bruno National Park, with its ski centre, is a few minutes away. According to beacite.com, BÉAcité residents get a free three-year membership at Espace Tonik Nature.

Getting around, town by town

In both towns, the car dominates: 91.2% of McMasterville's workers and 90.2% of Sainte-Julie's drove to work in 2021, and 17.7% of the former had a commute of 45 minutes or more, compared with 10.8% of the latter. Where people work differs as well: 12.5% of McMasterville's workers had a job in their own town and 26.6% in another municipality of the same MRC, while in Sainte-Julie, 27.4% worked locally. Public transit, however, is organized differently:

McMasterville has its station on exo line 13, on weekdays, plus bus routes 200 and 201 to Longueuil;
Sainte-Julie has its terminus and park-and-ride lot, local transit is free, and every home in Vilamo is within 300 m of a stop.

Between the two, the T30 taxibus runs on weekdays, on reservation. For the detailed route and the model home visit, see our article on the drive from McMasterville to Sainte-Julie.

Conclusion

Living in Sainte-Julie or McMasterville is a choice between two scales more than between two ways of life. McMasterville offers the river, the view of Mont Saint-Hilaire and its train station; Sainte-Julie, a larger territory, free local transit and the Vilamo neighbourhood. Both share Route 229, the Metropolitan Community and the same school service centre. At BÉAcité, your McMasterville landmarks would stay about ten minutes away, in a new semi-detached home whose upkeep is taken care of.

Living in Sainte-Julie or McMasterville: two towns, two scales