LaSalle, city on the Île de Montréal (Montréal Island), southern Québec, Canada. It is located on the St. Lawrence River, at the head of the Lachine Rapids. LaSalle is a residential and industrial suburb of Montréal; major manufactures include processed food, paper, chemicals, plastic and metal products, and alcoholic beverages. Points of interest include the Fleming Mill, an architectural landmark built in 1827 and restored in 1991; the Lachine Canal, a structure built in the early 1820s; and Des Rapides Park on the St. Lawrence River.
The community is named for the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, who in the 17th century was seigneur (manorial landlord) of the land on which LaSalle is located. LaSalle was settled as part of Lachine. It separated from Lachine in 1912, when LaSalle incorporated as a city. Industries began to locate there shortly afterwards, attracted by the Lachine Canal and LaSalle's proximity to Montréal. The city's population grew significantly in the 1950s and 1960s.
