Orleans (; French: ; officially and in French Orléans) is a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the east end of the city along the Ottawa River, about from Downtown Ottawa. The Canada 2021 Census determined that Orléans' population was 125,937. Prior to being amalgamated into Ottawa in 2001, the community of Orléans was spread over two municipal jurisdictions, the eastern portion being in the pre-amalgamation City of Cumberland, the western portion in the City of Gloucester. According to the 2021 census, 75,453 people lived in the Cumberland portion of Orleans, while 50,484 people lived in the Gloucester portion. Today, Orléans spans the municipal wards of Orléans East-Cumberland, Orléans West-Innes, and Orléans South-Navan. Orléans contains a significant francophone population. History It was in the 1830s that the earliest pioneers arrived in the Orléans area. Amongst the first Francophones were the Dupuis, Besserer, Major, Duford and Vézina families. A few English-speaking families also made Orléans their home from the very beginning, such as the Kennys and the McNeelys. In 1880, the parish was made up of 43 Anglophone families and 131 Francophone families. In 1858, the first subdivision plans (Lots 1 and 2) were registered in the County of Carleton, for Gloucester Township, thereby creating the Village of Saint-Joseph d'Orléans. In 1859, François Dupuis also registered his plan (Lot 3) including St. John (St-Jean), Dupuis (Dessere), and Scott Streets (St-Charles). Orleans was named by Msgr. Ebrard in the late 1850s for the city of the same name in France. According to the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names files he applied for establishment of a post office "plus tard en 1859". It was granted in 1860. In 1860, Father Alphonse-Marius Chaîne was appointed resident priest of the new Saint-Joseph d’Orléans parish, founded in October of the same year. In 1885, the first church opened its doors. In 1922, a second church - the current one - replaced the first which had been destroyed by fire. The parish priest was Mgr. Hilaire Chartrand. In the same year (1922) Orléans became a semi-autonomous municipality, known as a police village, and more decisions were made locally. The police village was governed by a council consisting of three volunteers elected to preserve peace, health, and public safety. At the time, the village was part of Gloucester Township, which in turn, was part of Carleton County. However, some parishioners lived in Cumberland Township,