Richelieu, Quebec

Richelieu
City
Location within Rouville RCM.
Richelieu Location in southern Quebec.
Coordinates: 45°27′N 73°15′W / 45.450°N 73.250°W / 45.450; -73.250[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Montérégie
RCM	Rouville
Constituted	March 15, 2000
Government [2][3]
• Mayor	Claude Gauthier
• Federal riding	Beloeil—Chambly
• Prov. riding	Chambly
Area [2][4]
• Total	32.50 km2 (12.55 sq mi)
• Land	30.96 km2 (11.95 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[4]
• Total	5,742
• Density	185.4/km2 (480/sq mi)
• Pop 2016-2021	9.7%
• Dwellings	2,506
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J3L
Area codes	450 and 579
Highways A-10	R-112 R-133 R-227
Website	www.ville.richelieu.qc.ca

Richelieu (French: [ʁiʃ(ə)ljø] ^ⓘ) is a city in Rouville Regional County Municipality, in the province of Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 5,742. Its name comes from the fact that it lies along the Richelieu River.

The territory of the municipalities of Richelieu and Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours was part of the seigneury granted to Jacques de Chambly in 1672, then to the seigneurs Hertel, Grant, de Salaberry and Yule. The bridge that crosses the river between Richelieu and Chambly is named "Pont Yule" in honour of John Yule, the last seigneur of Chambly (1812-1886).

The seigneury of Chambly-Est included four fiefs: Jenison, Rouville, des Pauvres, and the Beaulac fief. The latter covered the territories of Richelieu and Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours.

In 1855, a year after the abolition of the seigneurial system by the Legislative Assembly, the inhabitants began to take steps to found our two municipalities. In this way they would pursue the desire that some farmers had expressed as early as 1815, judging that the journey to the church of Saint-Mathias was too difficult, especially in the spring and fall.

The village of Richelieu was incorporated as a municipality on January 1, 1869, under Act 23, Vict. chap. 61. It will take the name of the river that flows along its territory. The municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours was erected by virtue of the same act on February 15, 1869. It took the name of the parish whose decree of canonical erection dates from September 5, 1868.

The current territory of the parish of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours was detached from the parishes of Sainte-Marie-de-Monnoir and Saint-Mathias. In 1854, John Yule had offered four acres of his land to build the church.

In July 1899, the hydroelectric power station, of which some remains can still be seen, began production. A 27 km line connected the generating station to Montreal and the voltage of 12,500 volts was quite a feat for the time. The power plant was demolished in 1965.

The current town hall, built in 1958, hosts council meetings that were once held at the railway station, the Catholic Foresters' Hall, the sacristy or the old schoolhouse. The fire station was inaugurated in 1967.

In 1969, on the occasion of its centennial, the village of Richelieu received its letters patent conferring on it the status of a town. That year also marked the twinning of our municipality with the city of Richelieu in France, which was built in 1631, thanks to the will of Cardinal Richelieu, Prime Minister of France under Louis XIII, according to an urban plan that has remained intact to this day. Fortier Park was named in honour of Marcel Fortier, Mayor of Richelieu, France.

On March 15, 2000, the city of Richelieu and the municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours merged to create a new city, the city of Richelieu.

The Story of Our Street Names

Place Mark-Bourque

This name recalls the memory of Mark Bourque (1948-2005). A former citizen of Richelieu and a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, he died in December 2005 during a UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti.

Place Rouville-Tessier

This name recalls the memory of Rouville Tessier, born in 1922, who was a municipal councillor (1956-1964), mayor (1967-1973 and 1975-1981), county prefect and school commissioner.

Lareau Street

Local surname identifying a road located in the sector of the former municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours, before its merger with Richelieu.

Raphaël-Barré Street

This name recalls the memory of Raphaël Barré, who was mayor of Richelieu from 1895 to 1898.

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Richelieu had a population of 5,742 living in 2,414 of its 2,506 total private dwellings, a change of 9.7% from its 2016 population of 5,236. With a land area of 30.96 km² (11.95 sq mi), it had a population density of 185.5/km² (480.4/sq mi) in 2021.^[5]

Population trend:[6] Census Population Change (%) 2021 5,742 9.7% 2016 5,236 4.2% 2011 5,467 5.0% 2006 5,208 3.7% 2001 4,851 51.8% 1996 3,195 12.4% 1991 2,843 40.7% 1986 2,020 10.3% 1981 1,832 4.4% 1976 1,755 1.2% 1971 1,777 6.9% 1966 1,663 3.2% 1961 1,612 15.3% 1956 1,398 23.9% 1951 1,128 45.9% 1941 773 47.5% 1931 524 23.0% 1921 426 28.3% 1911 332 14.7% 1901 389 26.6% 1891 530 35.9% 1881 390 2.6% 1871 380 N/A Richelieu amalgamated with Municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours on March 15, 2000.

Mother tongue language (2021)[7] Language Population Pct (%) French only 5,225 93.0% English only 150 2.7% Both English and French 80 1.4% Other languages 150 2.7%

The CIT Chambly-Richelieu-Carignan provides commuter and local bus services.

The South Shore Protestant Regional School Board previously served the municipality.^[8]

• List of cities in Quebec
• 21st-century municipal history of Quebec

• Richelieu official website