Saint-Esprit, Quebec

Saint-Esprit (French for "Holy Spirit") is a municipality in the Lanaudière region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Montcalm Regional County Municipality. It is located on both banks of the Saint-Esprit River, a tributary of the L'Assomption River.

Not to be confused with Esprit-Saint in the Rimouski-Neigette Regional County Municipality, Quebec.

Saint-Esprit
Municipality
Location within Montcalm RCM.
Saint-Esprit Location in central Quebec.
Coordinates: 45°54′N 73°40′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Lanaudière
RCM	Montcalm
Settled	1790s
Constituted	July 1, 1855
Government [2]
• Mayor	Michel Brisson
• Federal riding	Montcalm
• Prov. riding	Rousseau
Area [2][3]
• Total	54.70 km^2 (21.12 sq mi)
• Land	53.98 km^2 (20.84 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[3]
• Total	1,963
• Density	36.4/km^2 (94/sq mi)
• Pop (2006–11)	5.1%
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J0K 2L0
Area code(s)	450 and 579
Highways[4] A-25	Route 125 Route 158 Route 341
Website	www.municipalite-saint-esprit.com

History

The area's first settlers arrived at the end of 18th century and were mostly from L'Ange-Gardien, Beauport, and Saint-Sulpice. Originally, the area was identified as the Rivière-Saint-Esprit or Grand-Saint-Esprit Concession. In 1808, the Parish of Saint-Ours-du-Saint-Esprit was founded, however after 1838, the parish name was shortened to just Saint-Esprit to avoid confusion with another parish called Saint-Ours in the Diocese of Montreal.[5]

In 1852, its post office opened and in 1855, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Ours-du-Saint-Esprit was formed. A century later in 1956, it followed the parish by also shortening its name to Saint-Esprit. In 2000, the parish municipality changed its status and became the Municipality of Saint-Esprit.[5]

Economy

Because Saint-Esprit is surrounded by extensive plains, the local economy is characterized by agriculture. The main agricultural activities include tobacco and Sugar Maple cultivation, milk production, and breeding of lamb, pork and poultry.[5][6]

Saint-Esprit also has an industrial park along Highway 25.[6]

Demographics

Population trend:[7]

• Population in 2011: 1963 (2006 to 2011 population change: 5.1%)
• Population in 2006: 1868
• Population in 2001: 1850
• Population in 1996: 1908
• Population in 1991: 1845

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 830 (total dwellings: 852)

Mother tongue:

• English as first language: 0.8%
• French as first language: 97.3%
• English and French as first language: 0%
• Other as first language: 1.9%

Education

Commission scolaire des Samares operates francophone public schools, including:

• École Dominique-Savio[8]

The Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board operates anglophone public schools, including:

• Joliette Elementary School in Saint-Charles-Borromée[9]
• Joliette High School in Joliette[10]

References

1. Reference number 363764 of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (in French)
2. Geographic code 63030 in the official Répertoire des municipalités (in French)
3. Statistics Canada 2011 Census - Saint-Esprit census profile
4. Official Transport Quebec Road Map
5. "Saint-Esprit (Municipalité)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
6. "La municipalité de Saint-Esprit" (in French). Centre local de développement Montcalm. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
7. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census
8. "Dominique-Savio." Commission scolaire des Samares. Retrieved on September 23, 2017.
9. "JOLIETTE ELEMENTARY ZONE." Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Retrieved on September 17, 2017.
10. "Joliette High School Zone Sec 1-5." Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Retrieved on September 5, 2017.