Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs, Quebec

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Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs
Parish municipality
Location within Rivière-du-Loup RCM.
Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs
Location in eastern Quebec.
Coordinates: 48°00′N 69°27′W / 48.000°N 69.450°W / 48.000; -69.450Coordinates: 48°00′N 69°27′W / 48.000°N 69.450°W / 48.000; -69.450[1]
Country  Canada
Province  Quebec
Region Bas-Saint-Laurent
RCM Rivière-du-Loup
Constituted January 1, 1874
Government[2]
  Mayor Gilbert Delage
  Federal riding Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup
  Prov. riding Rivière-du-Loup-Témiscouata
Area[2][3]
  Total 141.80 km2 (54.75 sq mi)
  Land 11.61 km2 (4.48 sq mi)
Population (2011)[3]
  Total 49
  Density 4.2/km2 (11/sq mi)
  Pop 2006-2011 Decrease 21.0%
  Dwellings 104
Time zone EST (UTC−5)
  Summer (DST) EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code(s) G0L 1K0
Area code(s) 418 and 581
Highways No major routes
Website www.ileverte-municipalite.com
Lighthouse on Île Verte.

Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs (French, meaning "Our Lady of Seven Sorrows") is an island municipality in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality. It is located on and contiguous with Île Verte (French for "Green Island") in the Saint Lawrence River, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north-east of Rivière-du-Loup.

With a population of only 49 persons, Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs is one of the smallest municipalities in Canada.

The main economic activity is fishing. Many fish smokehouses are present on the island. The presence of the oldest lighthouse in Quebec (built in 1809), its pastoral character, and heritage homes also attracts some tourism.[4]

History

The island was first mentioned in the Jesuit Reports of 1663 following a shipwreck which forced Henri Nouvel to stay there for about ten days.[4]

Some 200 years later in 1874, the municipality was formed out of the parish of La Décollation-de-Saint-Jean-Baptiste on November 18, which led to its name "Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs" since this date corresponded to the Day of Our Lady of Sorrows on the liturgical calendar at that time. However the municipality only existed on paper. The community formed in isolation and life on the island was governed by traditional customs, so people had little need for municipal management, which would have been a family affair anyway. Finally on February 5, 1912, the first council meeting took place.[4]

Demographics

Population trend:[5]

  • Population in 2011: 49 (2006 to 2011 population change: -21.0%)
  • Population in 2006: 62
  • Population in 2001: 44
  • Population in 1996: 42
  • Population in 1991: 44

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 28 (total dwellings: 104)

Mother tongue:

  • English as first language: 0%
  • French as first language: 100%
  • English and French as first language: 0%
  • Other as first language: 0%

See also

References

  1. Reference number 44874 of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (French)
  2. 2.0 2.1 Geographic code 12045 in the official Répertoire des municipalités (French)
  3. 3.0 3.1 Statistics Canada 2011 Census - Census Profiles: Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs (Municipalité de paroisse)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2009-01-07. 
  5. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census



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