Hudson has been compared to culturally and demographically similar Quebec towns such as the Eastern Townships villages of North Hatley and Brome Lake as well as nearby Senneville.

All four municipalities border a body of water (used extensively for recreation year-round) and include a blend of French and English residents.

Hudson is near the edge of suburban Montreal to the east, but also surrounded by substantial farming and forest areas to the west.

In 2001, the town won a victory in Canada's Supreme Court, upholding its by-law 207, which bans pesticide use on public and private property for cosmetic (purely aesthetic) purposes.

The municipal territory of Hudson is delimited as follows: Thus, the northern limit of Hudson stretches over 13.5 kilometres (8.4 mi) in the middle of Lac-des-Deux-Montagnes, i.e. between Pointe Graham (west side) facing Saint-Placide and Pointe Cavagnal (side East) facing Oka.

Most of Hudson is built on the Ste-Sophie loamy fine sand, which is well drained and drought-prone despite its clay base; undisturbed areas have classic podzol development.

[1][7] In April 2023, 2898 Hudson residents lost power when an historic ice storm swept through southern Quebec.

[8] The town gained notoriety in 1991 by becoming the first in Quebec, Canada to ban several forms of lawn and garden pesticides used to kill insects and weeds.

[9] The Hudson case is the subject of a 2009 American documentary movie titled A Chemical Reaction by filmmaker Brett Plymale.

[12] Unlike the surrounding mainly French-speaking municipalities, Hudson has a predominantly English-speaking population (65% according to the 2011 Census), although many residents speak both languages.

Council meets once per month in the Stephen Shaar Community Centre, named after the mayor who served until 2004 (and presided over its construction).

Town council is responsible for things such as water supply, local road maintenance, zoning, construction permits, and administration of parks.

Prior to the change to self-propelled ferries, a system of barges were towed across the lake by ropes attached to diesel powered tugboats.