Vue de Laval, deuxième ville du Québec.
1. Laval at a glance
Laval is Quebec's third-largest city after Montreal and Quebec City, with over 440,000 residents. It sits on an island — île Jésus — directly north of Montreal, connected by several bridges.
Laval is a modern city with large shopping centres like Carrefour Laval, schools, hospitals, and quick metro access to downtown Montreal.
2. Your first errands at City Hall
Laval City Hall is the main entry point for municipal services: permits, parking stickers, water, property taxes.
If you're moving to a new address, several services can be handled online via the Mon dossier portal on Laval.ca. The city also has a Newcomer Welcome service that can guide you through your first weeks.
3. The library and library card
Laval's library network has over a dozen branches across the city. Membership is free for Laval residents — just bring proof of residence.
You can borrow books in French and English, films, games, and access francisation workshops, learning resources and free workspaces.
4. Garbage and recycling collection
Laval has weekly collection of garbage, recycling and organic compost. Each home gets three bins: black for trash, blue for recycling, brown for organics.
Collection happens early morning — put bins out the night before. For furniture and large items, you must book a pickup via the city's website.
5. Your landmarks
A few places to know from day one:
- Carrefour Laval — the largest shopping mall
- Centropolis — an entertainment complex with cinema, restaurants, shops
- Place Bell — the arena where the Laval Rocket plays, also hosting concerts
- Cégep Montmorency — next to the metro station of the same name
- Centre de la nature — a large urban park in central Laval
6. 311 and online services
311 is Laval's citizen helpline — one number for any city question: snow removal, potholes, noise, stray animals, permit status. The call is free, service is offered in French and English, and operators redirect you to the right department when the request goes beyond their scope.
For many requests — reporting an issue, booking a bulky-item pickup, paying water tax — you can also use the online portal or the mobile app. Keeping a written request number is useful for follow-up.
7. Public safety: police, ambulance, fire
Laval has its own municipal police force — the Service de police de la Ville de Laval — separate from the Sûreté du Québec and Montreal's SPVM.
For an active emergency threatening life or safety, always dial 911 — it dispatches police, fire or ambulance as needed. For a non-urgent matter — a theft discovered later, vandalism, a noise complaint — go through 311 or the non-emergency line listed on Laval's website. Fire stations are spread across every sector.
8. Essential numbers and services at a glance
A practical summary of the main numbers and services to know during your first week in Laval. Keep this table near your phone — knowing which number to dial saves the frustration of searching while a problem worsens.
911 and 311 are the two numbers to memorize first. 911 for an emergency, 311 for everything else — including to point you in the right direction when you don't know which service to call. A single 311 call can often replace hours of online searching.
| Service | Number / channel | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| Life or safety emergency | 911 | Police, ambulance or fire in emergency |
| Ville de Laval citizen service | 311 | Any city question, FR or EN |
| Info-Santé / nurse advice | 811 | Non-urgent health question, 24/7 |
| Hydro-Québec — outages | 1 800 790-2424 | Confirmed power outage |
| Laval libraries | Laval.ca | Free card, workshops, francisation |
| Mon dossier — municipal portal | Laval.ca | Permits, taxes, registrations |
| Collection calendar | Laval.ca | Black, blue, brown bin day |
| Laval police — non-urgent | Laval site | Theft discovered later, vandalism |
| Newcomer Welcome | Via 311 | Orientation in the first weeks |
| Carrefour Laval / Centropolis | On site | Shops, restaurants, cinema |
9. Frequently asked questions
The most common questions from new Lavallois: island geography, car, address change and francisation.
Is Laval really on an island?
Yes. The City of Laval covers all of île Jésus, an island in the Saint-Laurent river system, separated from the island of Montreal by the Rivière des Prairies to the south and from the north shore by the Rivière des Mille Îles.
Several bridges connect Laval to Montreal — the Pont Viau, the Pont Pie-IX, the Pont Papineau-Leblanc among others. The orange line of the metro crosses underground beneath the Rivière des Prairies, so going to Montreal by metro is fast and bridge-traffic-free.
Do you absolutely need a car to live in Laval?
It depends on the sector. Near the three metro stations — Cartier, De la Concorde, Montmorency — you can manage without a car: the STL bus network feeds into the metro, and grocery stores, schools and services are all within walking distance.
Further out — Sainte-Dorothée, Auteuil, Laval-Ouest — distances are larger and bus frequency lower, especially evenings and weekends; the car becomes more practical. Many Laval families own a single car rather than two, with one person commuting by metro.
How do I change my address with government services after moving in?
Quebec offers a single online service called Service québécois de changement d'adresse, accessible from Québec.ca. In one form, you update your address with several government bodies at the same time: SAAQ, RAMQ, Élections Québec, Revenu Québec, the ministère de l'Éducation, among others.
The federal level — Canada Revenue Agency, Service Canada, Immigration — must be updated separately. For Laval specifically, also notify Hydro-Québec, your bank, your insurer and your employer. Plan about an hour to make all the calls.
Where can you find free French-language classes in Laval?
Francisation classes for immigrants are free and funded by the ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration. In Laval, they're offered in the adult education centres of the Centre de services scolaire de Laval and at several Carrefour jeunesse-emploi and newcomer welcome organizations.
Schedules vary: full-time during the day, part-time in the evening, online. Several branches of Laval's libraries also offer free French conversation workshops, less formal than full classes — useful for practising alongside.
10. See also
To go further once you're settled in Laval:
- Read finding housing in Laval to compare Chomedey, Sainte-Rose and Sainte-Dorothée before signing a lease.
- Consult public transit in Laval (STL and metro) to choose the right OPUS pass and combine bus and the orange line.
- Prepare back-to-school with registering your child for school in Laval to understand the Laval school service centre and the welcome class.
- Discover parks and leisure in Laval for green spaces, riverbanks and family activities.
11. Official sources
For official, up-to-date information, see these pages:
You can also call 311, the city's citizen service, for any question about municipal services.
Author's Note: Call 311 during your first week — it's free, available in French and English, and a single conversation can save you hours of researching city services.
