Rigaud, Quebec

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Rigaud
Municipality
Location within Vaudreuil-Soulanges RCM.
Rigaud
Location in southern Quebec.
Coordinates: 45°29′N 74°18′W / 45.483°N 74.300°W / 45.483; -74.300Coordinates: 45°29′N 74°18′W / 45.483°N 74.300°W / 45.483; -74.300[1]
Country  Canada
Province  Quebec
Region Montérégie
RCM Vaudreuil-Soulanges
Constituted November 29, 1995
Government[2][3]
 • Mayor Réal Brazeau
 • Federal riding Vaudreuil-Soulanges
 • Prov. riding Soulanges
Area[2][4]
 • Total 114.00 km2 (44.02 sq mi)
 • Land 99.12 km2 (38.27 sq mi)
Population (2011)[4]
 • Total 7,346
 • Density 74.1/km2 (192/sq mi)
 • Pop 2006-2011 Increase 8.3%
 • Dwellings 3,254
Time zone EST (UTC−5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code(s) J0P 1P0
Area code(s) 450 and 579
Highways
A-40
Route 325
Route 342
Website www.ville.rigaud.qc.ca

Rigaud is a municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada in the county of Vaudreuil-Soulanges in Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent region. The municipality is located at the junction of Ottawa River and Rigaud River. It is situated about 70 kilometres west from downtown Montreal and 130 kilometers east from Ottawa. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 7,346.

History

The town was named for Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal, the last governor of New France.

Geography

Rigaud Bridge c. 1910

Rigaud is located at the northwestern part of Suroît region, which is part of Montérégie administrative region, on the Ontario-Quebec border. Across Ottawa River lies the Laurentides region. Neighbouring municipalities are Hudson, Vaudreuil-Dorion (Hudson Acres), Sainte-Marthe, Très-Saint-Rédempteur, East Hawkesbury and Pointe-Fortune. The municipality located across Ottawa River is Saint-André-d'Argenteuil. The geographic location of Rigaud, at the head of Ottawa River and then between Montreal and Ottawa metropolitan areas géographique avantageuse de Rigaud, has contributed to its economic development throughout its history.

The land area of the municipality is 99 km2. The relief is composed, on the North side, of the Ottawa River plaine and, on the South side, of Rigaud Mountain. The Ottawa River and Rigaud Mountain are main elements in the landscape. The plaine is partly used for agricultural purposes and partly in bush. Rigaud Mountain covers an area of 47 km2. A lot of rock pieces scatter the woods all over the mountain. It is moraine shaped by a glacier that, by moving, broke up from the bedrock of Canadian Shield, fragments that it disaggregated and rounded by rolling over them, moving them and letting them in this basin, some thousand years ago, at the end of Wisconsin glaciation.

Demographics

Population

Population trend:[5]

Census Population Change (%)
2011 7,346 Increase 8.3%
2006 6,780 Increase 11.2%
2001 6,095 Increase 0.6%
1996 6,057 Increase 5.0%
1991 5,770 N/A

Language

Mother tongue language (2011)[6]

Language Population Pct (%)
French only 5,615 77.34%
English only 1,225 16.87%
Both English and French 125 1.72%
Other languages 295 4.06%

Attractions

Rigaud Mountain

Rigaud Mountain
The main attraction is Mont-Rigaud, a small mountain with downhill ski runs (at Ski Mont Rigaud), a private school (Collège Bourget), a monastery, and a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Sanctuaire Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes). The mountain is also home to an unusual, natural rock garden known as the "champs de patates", so named because of the local legend that it was once a potato field, turned to stone by God because the farmer worked on Sunday. On the opposite side of the mountain is a residential community known as "Mountain Ranches." The middle to upper-middle class community features large, mostly secluded building lots in a wooded setting that draws residents because of its isolated tranquility and privacy. As such, it was the hiding place for fugitive Charlie Wilson, one of the leaders of the notorious 1963 Great train robbery in England.

This area was also known for its "tree farms" in the 1960s and 1970s, providing a tax shelter for the well off, until the tax laws were later changed to require harvesting of those "tree farms". The "Pitcairn Tree Farm", was one such example.

Also located in Rigaud is the training center for the Canada Border Services Agency.

The communities of Dragon and Rigaud are found within the municipality.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rigaud (Québec).

Transportation

The Rigaud station was the former terminus of the AMT commuter train to downtown Montreal.

On July 1, 2010, service to Rigaud was discontinued, as the town was unable to pay the $300,000 annual fee to the AMT to allow service to continue to the town. After that date, the rail line ends at Hudson.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Reference number 311423 of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (French)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire: Rigaud
  3. ↑ Parliament of Canada Federal Riding History: VAUDREUIL--SOULANGES (Quebec)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 2011 Statistics Canada Census Profile: Rigaud, Quebec
  5. ↑ Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census
  6. ↑ 2011 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Rigaud, Quebec
  7. ↑ Montreal Gazette: "All aboard for the last train to Rigaud", April 23, 2010.

External links


Adjacent Municipal Subdivisions
Pointe-Fortune Ottawa River / Saint-André-d'Argenteuil Ottawa River / Saint-Placide
East Hawkesbury, Ontario Hudson
Vaudreuil-Dorion (West)
   Rigaud  
Très-Saint-Rédempteur Sainte-Marthe Saint-Lazare


Cities & Towns
Municipalities
Villages
Quebec City area:
Montreal local area:
Montreal-area Laurentians:
Eastern Townships:
Gatineau area
Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
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