Boucherville or Sainte-Julie and Varennes: the pros and cons of two neighbouring areas (2026)

Living · Duel · Boucherville or Sainte-Julie and Varennes · October 11, 2026

Two neighbouring areas, the pros and cons of each side by side, and the con that most often decides between the two.

Boucherville or Sainte-Julie and Varennes, the pros and cons side by side. Boucherville: pro, Mature trees, neighbourhood schools, the Îles-de-Boucherville national park and Old Boucherville on the river. Con, Boucherville is lived by car: no train or metro, and the tunnel-bridge or highway 20 at rush hour. Sainte-Julie and Varennes: pro, A planned suburb with Mont Saint-Bruno next door (Sainte-Julie) or an old town on the river with industrial jobs (Varennes). Con, No train or metro: both cities are lived by car, via highways 20 and 30. For families who want mature trees, neighbourhood schools and a national park next door, and who can act fast: with 6 % fewer homes listed than a year earlier, the right house goes in days. For families who want a planned suburb with Mont Saint-Bruno next door (Sainte-Julie) or an old riverside town with industrial jobs (Varennes), and accept the car.

Boucherville and Sainte-Julie and Varennes are neighbours, and buyers often hesitate between the two. Here are the pros and cons of each, side by side, written by a team that sells in both; the figures are those published by the APCIQ for the second quarter of 2026, and nothing is embellished.

Boucherville: the pros and cons

The pros of Boucherville

• Mature trees, neighbourhood schools, the Îles-de-Boucherville national park and Old Boucherville on the river.
• The fastest market on the South Shore (20 days): houses resell without trouble.
• Getting around. Highway 20 and the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel lead to Montreal; Route 132 follows the river toward Longueuil.

The cons of Boucherville

• Boucherville is lived by car: no train or metro, and the tunnel-bridge or highway 20 at rush hour.
• You must act within days on the right house: multiple offers and little time for conditions.
• A 1970s-to-1990s housing stock that needs updating, and little entry-level supply.

Sainte-Julie and Varennes: the pros and cons

The pros of Sainte-Julie and Varennes

• A planned suburb with Mont Saint-Bruno next door (Sainte-Julie) or an old town on the river with industrial jobs (Varennes).
• A house sold in 22 days and a condo that rose 61% in five years.
• Getting around. No station or metro: exo Sainte-Julie and Varennes buses reach the Longueuil terminus (Longueuil–Université-de-Sherbrooke metro) via Highway 20 with reserved lanes, and the REM in Brossard via the 30.

The cons of Sainte-Julie and Varennes

• No train or metro: both cities are lived by car, via highways 20 and 30.
• Most of the rise is done: house prices are flat over one year, quick appreciation is gone.
• Varennes neighbours an industrial and petrochemical park: check the sector and the odours depending on the wind.

Head to head, criterion by criterion

Our verdict

Boucherville: For families who want mature trees, neighbourhood schools and a national park next door, and who can act fast: with 6 % fewer homes listed than a year earlier, the right house goes in days. Sainte-Julie and Varennes: For families who want a planned suburb with Mont Saint-Bruno next door (Sainte-Julie) or an old riverside town with industrial jobs (Varennes), and accept the car.

The con that most often decides between the two. On one side, boucherville is lived by car: no train or metro, and the tunnel-bridge or highway 20 at rush hour. On the other, no train or metro: both cities are lived by car, via highways 20 and 30. Whichever of the two you accept more easily names your neighbourhood. The detail of each is in Living in Boucherville: the pros and cons and Living in Sainte-Julie and Varennes: the pros and cons.

What it costs in 2026

The QPAREB's Sainte-Julie/Varennes sector shows a single-family home at $630,000 (flat year over year, +49 % in five years) sold in 22 days, with 157 active listings, and a condo at $391,000 (+6 %, +61 % in five years, the South Shore's strongest rise) in 28 days with 81 listings. The price of a specific house is set on the comparable closed sales on its street, which the team pulls from the Centris system; our Living in Boucherville and Living in Sainte-Julie and Varennes guides give the benchmark of each sector.

Frequently asked questions

The pros and cons are written by the Loaa & Manseur team from our neighbourhood guides and from what buyers tell us after the visits; no figure is added to those published by the APCIQ. The other neighbouring duels are in pros and cons, neighbourhood against neighbourhood.

Our proof, not our promises

The Loaa & Manseur team, led by Lotfi Manseur and Loaa Al Daow, is the number 1 team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025, 6th RE/MAX team in Quebec, 15th in Canada and in the global top 50 of large residential teams according to the official RE/MAX ranking, computed on actual transactions. Its Google profile counts more than 220 reviews with a 4.9 rating. Its offices are at 55 avenue de l'Équinoxe in Brossard, one bridge from the island, and every broker's licence can be checked in the OACIQ public register. Three things to verify yourself before calling us, and to demand of any other broker.

Also available in French: version française de ce guide.

Published September 7, 2026 by the Loaa & Manseur team, the number 1 team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025, 6th RE/MAX team in Quebec, 15th in Canada and in the global top 50 according to the official RE/MAX ranking. Tell us about your project.