Mirabel

Understand

Mirabel is the largest municipality in the Montreal metropolitan area, and is due to the merger of several municipalities in the 1970s during the construction of the Montreal-Mirabel International Airport. Mostly agricultural, the city's population is spread across different village centers and its urban areas consist of several neighbouring municipalities which overflow into its territory.

In 2026, Mirabel trademarked itself as the international maple capital (Capitale internationale de l’Érable). The town produces 8.8 million pounds of maple syrup per year, and has 30 sugar shacks and maple syrup boutiques. However, another Quebec town, Plessisville in Centre-du-Québec, made an earlier claim of being the maple capital of the world (Capitale mondiale de l’Érable).

Montréal–Mirabel International Airport, which opened in 1975, never became a major aviation hub and the industrial parks never materialized, and in 2004, the airport closed to all scheduled commercial passenger traffic. It continues to operate as a cargo airport and handles a few charter passenger flights.

Get around

Mirabel is largely rural with small urban clusters, so a private car is recommended.