Val-Brillant, Quebec

Val-Brillant is a municipality in eastern Quebec, Canada, at the base of the Gaspé peninsula. On the southern shores of the Lake Matapedia, Val-Brillant is part of the Matapédia Valley.

Val-Brillant
Municipality
Location within La Matapédia RCM.
Val-Brillant
Location in eastern Quebec.
Coordinates: 48°32′N 67°33′W[1]
Country Canada
Province Quebec
RegionBas-Saint-Laurent
RCMLa Matapédia
Settled1872
ConstitutedDecember 20, 1986
Government
 • MayorDonald Malenfant
 • Federal ridingHaute-Gaspésie—La
Mitis—Matane—Matapédia
 • Prov. ridingMatane-Matapédia
Area
 • Total90.90 km2 (35.10 sq mi)
 • Land77.60 km2 (29.96 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[3]
 • Total955
 • Density12.3/km2 (32/sq mi)
 • Pop 2006-2011
 4.8%
 • Dwellings
501
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)
G0J 3L0
Area code(s)418 and 581
Highways Route 132
Websitewww.valbrillant.ca

The place was previously known by many other names: Lac-Matapédia; Brochu or Brouché, followed by Lac-à-Brochu until 1871 (after Pierre Brochu (1795-1871), the first settler in the valley in what is now Sayabec); McGowe (after an engineer working on the railroad); Cedar Hall from 1876 to 1912 (referring to the large hangar built from pieces of cedar that served as a coal shed for the railway); and Saint-Pierre-du-Lac (in honour of Pierre Brillant (1852-1911), missionary in the Matapedia Valley from 1881 to 1889 and parish priest from 1889 to his death).[1]

History

Originally Mi'kmaq territory, the area was granted as a seignory by Louis de Buade de Frontenac to Charles-Nicolas-Joseph D’Amours in 1694. D'Amours died in 1728 and none of his descendants claimed the rights to the seignory. So it remained a remote and undeveloped land until the 19th century. In 1830 construction began on the Kempt Road, a strategic military road between Quebec and the Maritimes, completed in 1833. An inn serving postilions and travellers along the road operated there from 1867 to 1876.[4]

European settlement began in 1872 during the construction of the Intercolonial Railway. Supervisor Engineer Peter Grant built for himself a house that also accommodated the railway employees for many years. In 1876, the railway was completed and on July 1 the first train passed through. In 1881, the post office opened, and two years later, the Mission of Saint-Pierre-du-Lac was established, named in honour of Pierre Brillant. In 1890, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Pierre-du-Lac was founded. By 1898, it had a population of 1600 people.[1][4]

In 1915, the main population centre separated from the parish municipality and was incorporated as the Village Municipality of Saint-Pierre-du-Lac, but renamed one year later to Val-Brillant.[1]

In 1986, the Village Municipality of Val-Brillant and the Parish Municipality of Saint-Pierre-du-Lac were rejoined in the current Municipality of Val-Brillant.[1]

Municipal council
  • Mayor: Donald Malenfant
  • Councillors: Serge Malenfant, Gérald Ouellet, Roch Couture, Yves Bilodeau, Jacques Gaulin, Geneviève Leblanc

Demographics
Canada census – Val-Brillant, Quebec community profile
2011 2006
Population: 955 (-4.8% from 2006) 1,003 (+0.6% from 2001)
Land area: 77.60 km2 (29.96 sq mi) 77.60 km2 (29.96 sq mi)
Population density: 12.3/km2 (32/sq mi) 12.9/km2 (33/sq mi)
Median age: 48.7 (M: 47.2, F: 49.8) 45.6 (M: 43.8, F: 46.9)
Total private dwellings: 501 493
Median household income: $54,478 $43,730
Notes: Population in 1996: 1,040[5] (+1.6% from 1991) - Population in 1991: 1,024[5] – References: 2011[3] 2006[6] earlier[7]
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See also

References
  1. "Val-Brillant (Municipalité)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  2. "Val-Brillant". Répertoire des municipalités (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  3. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. July 5, 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  4. "Historique" (in French). Municipalité de Val-Brillant. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  5. "Electronic Area Profiles". Canada 1996 Census. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2013-05-12.
  6. "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. March 30, 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  7. "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. February 17, 2012.



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