Alexandria (Ontario)

Alexandria is the administrative centre of the township of North Glengarry, in Eastern Ontario. It is primarily of interest to travellers as a stop on the Montreal-to-Ottawa VIA Rail line.

Understand
Alexandria has a population of about 3,300 people. Alexandria and its nucleus Priest's Mill, built in 1819, were named for the Catholic priest Alexander Macdonell, who resided at St. Raphael's and later became the first bishop of Kingston.

The area was settled in 1792 as part of the historic Glengarry County in which many Scottish emigrants settled from all over the Scottish Highlands due to the Highland Clearances. This first wave of heavy migration lasted till 1816, emigration continued afterwards into the early 20th century but in a slower pace. Many of these migrants came from the Inverness-shire area of Scotland specifically. Canadian Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic has been a spoken language in the area since then.

Development in the region was significantly spurred by the development of a railway link between Ottawa and Montreal in the early 1880s. Maxville, Alexandria and Glen Robertson, in particular, became key railway hubs for farmers in the area.

Visitor information

 * Township of North Glengarry

By train

 * Train operator:
 * Operates a route between Quebec City and Ottawa including stops in Drummondville, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Lambert, Montreal, Dorval, and Alexandria. Multiple trains per day travel the entire route and some additional trains travel between Montreal and Ottawa.

By car
Regional Road 34 runs through Alexandria on its way between Highways 401 and 417.

Go next
Alexandria is midway between Montreal and Ottawa.
 * Hawkesbury — a town on the Ottawa River, and the largest community in Prescott-Russell. Offers travellers a variety of restaurants and outdoor activities a short detour from the highway between Ottawa and Montreal. Voyageur Provincial Park is nearby.
 * Rigaud — a town along the Ottawa River in Southwestern Quebec. In addition to outdoor activities that take advantage of the gentle slopes of Rigaud Mountain, the town attracts Catholic pilgrims to the hundred-year-old shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes and several church and cemetery sites. Several cabanes a sucre (sugar shacks) operate near the town during maple season; at least one remains open year-round.
 * Cornwall — on the provincial border in Ontario's Seaway Region. The town serves as the gateway to Ontario for many drivers following the Windsor-Quebec corridor from Montreal to Toronto.