Living · Family duel · Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville or Sainte-Julie and Varennes · October 13, 2026
Two neighbouring areas seen with children: schools, parks, commutes, and the compromise that decides between Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville and Sainte-Julie and Varennes.
Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville or Sainte-Julie and Varennes for a family, side by side. Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville: The town falls under the Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes and the Riverside School Board, with high schools in both networks. The budget: a house costs $800,000 and up, and the entry level is contested within 20 days. Sainte-Julie and Varennes: Both towns fall under the Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes and the Riverside School Board, with high schools on site. No train or metro: both cities are lived by car, via highways 20 and 30. For established families and executives who want a green town, an old village, a mountain, a station and the highways, and who have the budget for an $800,000 house or more; for those working in Longueuil, Boucherville or Brossard. 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.
Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville or Sainte-Julie and Varennes for a family: two neighbouring areas, the same questions on both sides. Schools, parks, commutes and the compromise each one asks of a family, taken from our neighbourhood guides and from what families tell us after the visits. The figures are those published by the APCIQ for the second quarter of 2026; nothing is embellished.
| Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville | Sainte-Julie and Varennes | |
|---|---|---|
| Schools | The town falls under the Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes and the Riverside School Board, with high schools in both networks. | Both towns fall under the Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes and the Riverside School Board, with high schools on site. |
| Parks | Mont-Saint-Bruno national park (lakes, trails, Ski Saint-Bruno) is the large space; the Lac du Village, the neighbourhood parks, the Marcel-Dulude centre (arena, pool) and the library complete the offer. | Mont-Saint-Bruno national park (trails, lakes, skiing) is at Sainte-Julie's door; in Varennes, the riverside promenade, Parc de la Commune and the Varennes islands. |
| Commutes | Saint-Bruno station, on the exo Mont-Saint-Hilaire line, leads to Central Station; exo Vallée-du-Richelieu buses reach the Longueuil terminus and the metro. | 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 market in 2026 | The QPAREB's Boucherville/Saint-Bruno sector is the South Shore's fastest: 20 days for a house in Q2 2026, for an $800,000 median (-2 % year over year, +38 % in five years) and 137 active listings; the condo ($500,000, -2 %, +38 % in five years) sells in 35 days with 57 listings. | 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. |
| For which family | For established families and executives who want a green town, an old village, a mountain, a station and the highways, and who have the budget for an $800,000 house or more; for those working in Longueuil, Boucherville or Brossard. | 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. |
Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville: For established families and executives who want a green town, an old village, a mountain, a station and the highways, and who have the budget for an $800,000 house or more; for those working in Longueuil, Boucherville or Brossard. 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 compromise that most often decides between the two, seen with children. On one side, the budget: a house costs $800,000 and up, and the entry level is contested within 20 days. On the other, no train or metro: both cities are lived by car, via highways 20 and 30. The family that accepts one of the two more easily has found its neighbourhood. The full family portrait of each is in Living in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville with a family and Living in Sainte-Julie and Varennes with a family; the general duel, all profiles together, is in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville or Sainte-Julie and Varennes: the pros and cons.
For established families and executives who want a green town, an old village, a mountain, a station and the highways, and who have the budget for an $800,000 house or more; for those working in Longueuil, Boucherville or Brossard. 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 area whose compromise bothers you least is the right one.
The town falls under the Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes and the Riverside School Board, with high schools in both networks. Both towns fall under the Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes and the Riverside School Board, with high schools on site. No page replaces checking the school catchment of the exact address.
Saint-Bruno station, on the exo Mont-Saint-Hilaire line, leads to Central Station; exo Vallée-du-Richelieu buses reach the Longueuil terminus and the metro. 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. Do both commutes once, on a Tuesday morning, before deciding.
Written by the Loaa & Manseur team from our Living in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville and Living in Sainte-Julie and Varennes guides and from what families tell us after the visits; no figure is added to those published by the APCIQ, and ranking schools is not our trade. The other neighbourhood duels seen with children are in neighbourhood against neighbourhood for a family.
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.
Équipe no 1 de RE/MAX Platine en 2024 et en 2025, 6e au Québec, 15e au Canada et dans le top 50 mondial au classement officiel RE/MAX. Réponse en moins de 24 heures, sept jours sur sept.