Le Sud-Ouest is an amalgam of several neighbourhoods with highly distinct histories and identities, mainly with working-class and industrial origins, grouped around the Lachine Canal.

[6] The area became a stronghold of the working class, often in difficult conditions such as those described in Gabrielle Roy's The Tin Flute, set in Saint-Henri.

The western part of the borough - Saint-Henri, Ville-Émard, and Côte-Saint-Paul - were chiefly French Canadian, while Pointe-Saint-Charles and Griffintown were considered the seat of Irish culture in Montreal, with street names such as Hibernia and St. Patrick testifying to it.

Starting in 1887, a large English-speaking Black community arose in Little Burgundy, attracted from the United States, other parts of Canada, and the Caribbean by jobs in the railways whose stations lay nearby; the area became famed for musical figures such as Oscar Peterson.

[12] Today, Le Sud-Ouest is undergoing an economic and social renaissance, stimulated by the reclamation of the canal for recreation in 2002; businesses opened up and numerous factories were converted into lofts and condominiums.

Major thoroughfares include Notre Dame St., Laurendeau St., St. Patrick St., La Vérendrye Blvd., De l'Église St., Monk Blvd., Centre St., Charlevoix St., Wellington St., Atwater Ave., and Guy St.

Bicycle paths run along the Lachine Canal, through the Parc du Premier-Chemin-de-Fer and Rue Lionel-Groulx, and through Pointe-Saint-Charles.

In Saint-Henri, the Musée des ondes Emile Berliner tells the story of the radio and phonograph industry in the historic RCA Victor building.

The territory of Le Sud-Ouest is served by the Centre de santé et des services sociaux du Sud-Ouest–Verdun, which operates the CLSCs Saint-Henri and Ville-Émard–Côte-Saint-Paul.

Opened in 1997, this beautiful building was built at a cost of $8.6 million by neighborhood residents striving to overcome the lack of activities and sports facilities in the area.

During the opening, the mayor, Pierre Bourque, officially transferred the facility and equipment management to the Little Burgundy Sports Center Corporation, chaired at the time by Mrs. Léonie Charles.

It was forced to close in 1918 after the First World War for budget reasons, but in 1947, thanks to the determination of Georges Vanier, it reopened as the Workman library.