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Sainte-Mélanie, Quebec

Coordinates: 46°08′N 73°31′W / 46.133°N 73.517°W / 46.133; -73.517
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Sainte-Mélanie
Rocher Lake, largest lake within the municipality
Rocher Lake, largest lake within the municipality
Location within Joliette RCM.
Location within Joliette RCM.
Sainte-Mélanie is located in Central Quebec
Sainte-Mélanie
Sainte-Mélanie
Location in central Quebec.
Coordinates: 46°08′N 73°31′W / 46.133°N 73.517°W / 46.133; -73.517[1]
Country Canada
Province Quebec
RegionLanaudière
RCMJoliette
ConstitutedJuly 1, 1855
Government
 • MayorYves Beaulieu
 • Federal ridingJoliette
 • Prov. ridingJoliette
Area
 • Total
78.30 km2 (30.23 sq mi)
 • Land76.10 km2 (29.38 sq mi)
Population
 • Total
3,250
 • Density42.7/km2 (111/sq mi)
 • Pop 2016-2021
Increase 8.7%
 • Dwellings
1,518
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)
Area code(s)450 and 579
Highways R-348
Websitewww.sainte-melanie.ca

Sainte-Mélanie (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃t melani]) is a municipality in the Lanaudière region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Joliette Regional County Municipality. It is located along the western shores of the L'Assomption River.

History

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Sainte-Mélanie was formerly part of the territory of the Ailleboust Seignory, granted to Jean d'Ailleboust d'Argenteuil (1694-1785) in 1736. By 1800, Pierre-Louis Panet (1761-1812) was Lord of Ailleboust, whose daughter Charlotte-Mélanie Panet (1794-1872) may have been the source of the name Sainte-Mélanie, also a reference to Melania the Younger (383-439). Charlotte-Mélanie's husband, Marc-Antoine-Louis Lévesque (1782-1833), donated the land in 1814 for a chapel that was eventually built in 1830. The Parish of Sainte-Mélanie was founded in 1832, and four years later in 1836, the post office opened under the name Daillebout.[4]

The municipality officially started in 1845, was soon after abolished, and reestablished in 1855 as Sainte-Mélanie-d'Ailleboust. In 1881, the post office was renamed to Sainte-Mélanie, and more than a century later in 1986, the municipality followed suit by also adopting this shortened name.[4]

Demographics

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
1991 2,282—    
1996 2,474+8.4%
2001 2,633+6.4%
2006 2,765+5.0%
2011 2,892+4.6%
2016 2,989+3.4%
2021 3,250+8.7%
Source: Statistics Canada[5]

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 1,394 (total dwellings: 1,518)

Mother tongue:

  • English as first language: 0.9%
  • French as first language: 97.8%
  • English and French as first language: 0%
  • Other as first language: 1.3%

Education

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Commission scolaire des Samares operates francophone public schools, including:

  • École Sainte-Hélène[6]

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

Notable people from Sainte-Mélanie

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  • Aimé Pelletier (1914-2010), surgeon and well-known Quebec novelist, under the pen name of Bertrand Vac. Pelletier, who spent the majority of his professional career in Montreal, is interred with his ancestors at the Sainte-Mélanie cemetery.[9]
  • Louise-Amélie Panet (1789-1862), artist and poet, wife of the seigneur of Ailleboust [fr], died in Sainte-Mélanie;[10] the public library there is named in her honour.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Banque de noms de lieux du Québec: Reference number 278086". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec.
  2. ^ a b "Répertoire des municipalités: Geographic code 61050". www.mamh.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation.
  3. ^ a b Statistics Canada 2021 Census - Sainte-Mélanie census profile
  4. ^ a b "Sainte-Mélanie (Municipalité)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
  5. ^ Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 census
  6. ^ "Sainte-Hélène." Commission scolaire des Samares. Retrieved on September 23, 2017.
  7. ^ "JOLIETTE ELEMENTARY ZONE." Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Retrieved on September 17, 2017.
  8. ^ "Joliette High School Zone Sec 1-5." Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Retrieved on September 5, 2017.
  9. ^ Obituary, Aimé (Bertrand Vac) Pelletier; www.inmemoriam.ca.
  10. ^ Karel, David (1992). Dictionnaire des artistes de langue française en Amérique du Nord: peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs, graveurs, photographes, et orfèvres (in French). Presses Université Laval. p. 610. ISBN 2763772358.
  11. ^ "La bibliothèque municipale Louise-Amélie-Panet" (in French). Municipalité de Sainte-Mélanie.