Saint-Donat, Quebec
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Municipalité de Saint-Donat (English: Municipality of Saint Donat) is a village in the Canadian province of Québec, St-Donat is within the Regional County Municipality of Matawinie, within the larger administrative region of Lanaudière. St-Donat is approximately 140 kilometers (65 miles) northwest of Montréal (this is approximately a 65 minute drive), within the Laurentian Mountains.
All official government actions take place in French, the official language of Quebéc. French is the primary language spoken in St-Donat, though some people, especially those who deal often with tourists, are able to speak and understand English. The current mayor of St-Donat is Richard Bénard. The mayor and a six-member city council are the elected officials of the municipality.
St-Donat is often frequented by tourists in the winter. Its main attraction is snowmobiling, but other winter sports, such as skiing, can be enjoyed there as well. Its mountains, lakes, and pleasant weather attract many tourists in the summer season, too. Many people who vacation in St-Donat during the summer enjoy swimming or boating on its two large lakes, Lake Archambault and Lake Ouareau. St-Donat is the only village in the Laurentiens that has two side-by-side lakes of the size of Archambault and Ouareau. St-Donat also contains two other lakes that are relatively smaller than Archambault and Ouareau, Lac Sylvère and Lac Croche.
The year-round population of St-Donat is approximately 3,700, but during the tourist season, the number of people actually in St-Donat can reach 20,000. St-Donat has been recognized for its beauty and has received national recognition, especially for the quality of its public places. St-Donat was first settled in the mid-to-late 19th century, as a solution to the overcrowding of cities such as Montréal. It has expanded from 400 inhabitants in 1880 to 3,700 today. St-Donat was first recognized as a prime tourist destination in 1908, by an engineer with the Ministry of Lands and Forests. Hotels, and other businesses necessary in a tourist destination, began within a few decades, and tourism was the focal point of the local economy by 1970.
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