Coteau-du-Lac
City in Quebec, Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coteau-du-Lac (French pronunciation: [kɔto dy lak]) is a small city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality, about 50 km southwest of Montréal.
Coteau-du-Lac | |
|---|---|
Rue Principale, Coteau-du-Lac | |
 Location within Vaudreuil-Soulanges RCM | |
  Coteau-du-Lac Location in southern Quebec | |
| Coordinates: 45°18′N 74°11′W[1] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Montérégie |
| RCM | Vaudreuil-Soulanges |
| Constituted | 6 February 1982 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Andrée Brosseau |
| • Federal riding | Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon |
| • Prov. riding | Soulanges |
| Area | |
• Total | 57.20 km2 (22.09 sq mi) |
| • Land | 46.87 km2 (18.10 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[4] | |
• Total | 7,473 |
| • Density | 159.4/km2 (413/sq mi) |
| • Pop 2016-2021 |  6.1% |
| • Dwellings | 3,025 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area codes | 450 and 579 |
Highways  A-20 |  R-201  R-338 |
| Website | www |
The name of the town comes from the French word coteau which means "slope" and from its location on the north shore of Lake Saint Francis.[5] The National Historic Site of Canada of the Coteau-du-Lac canal is the location of the first canal lock system in North America. The city has an industrial park.
The population was 7,473 at the 2021 Canadian Census.[4]
History
The place was mentioned in 1687 by the Marquis de Denonville. His record stated that "Costeau du Lac is a place where one stopped on the way to the Rapides d'en Haut", referring to a small hillside (French: coteau) on the north side of the St. Lawrence River near the mouth of Lake Saint Francis (French: lac Saint-François).[1]
In 1779, the Coteau-du-Lac canal was constructed to bypass the numerous rapids between Lake Saint-Louis and Lake Saint-Francis. Two years later, a military detachment was stationed there. In 1789, its post office opened under the name Coteau-du-Lac.[1]
During the War of 1812, a fort was built to protect the canal. In 1832, the Parish of Saint-Ignace was created. The following year, the parish was civilly established under the name "Saint Ignace du Côteau du Lac". In 1845, it was formed into a municipality, but abolished in 1847. In 1855, it was reestablished as the Parish Municipality of Saint-Ignace-du-Côteau-du-Lac.[1]
In 1907, the Village Municipality of Côteau-du-Lac was formed out of Saint-Ignace-du-Côteau-du-Lac (orthography was later changed to "Coteau" without circumflex). These two entities merged again on 6 February 1982, to form the Municipality of Coteau-du-Lac, which changed statutes in 2007 to become a city.[1][6]
In mid-2013, around 120 people were temporarily evacuated, and two people died after an explosion in the local fireworks factory.[7]
In early April 2023, 3,672 people lost electric power for up to several days as the result of a massive power outage caused by an extended period of freezing rain in the region.[8]
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 3,547 | — |
| 1991 | 4,193 | +18.2% |
| 1996 | 4,960 | +18.3% |
| 2001 | 5,573 | +12.4% |
| 2006 | 6,346 | +13.9% |
| 2011 | 6,842 | +7.8% |
| 2016 | 7,044 | +3.0% |
| 2021 | 7,473 | +6.1% |
| Source: Statistics Canada[9] | ||
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Coteau-du-Lac had a population of 7,473 living in 2,928 of its 3,025 total private dwellings, a change of 6.1% from its 2016 population of 7,044. With a land area of 46.87 km2 (18.10 sq mi), it had a population density of 159.4/km2 (413.0/sq mi) in 2021.[10]
| 2021 | 2016 | 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 7,473 (+6.1% from 2016) | 7,044 (3.0% from 2011) | 6,842 (+7.8% from 2006) |
| Land area | 46.87 km2 (18.10 sq mi) | 46.89 km2 (18.10 sq mi) | 47.06 km2 (18.17 sq mi) |
| Population density | 159.4/km2 (413/sq mi) | 150.2/km2 (389/sq mi) | 145.4/km2 (377/sq mi) |
| Median age | 44.0 (M: 43.6, F: 44.4) | 41.6 (M: 41.3, F: 41.8) | 39.0 (M: 39.0, F: 38.9) |
| Private dwellings | 3,025 (total) 2,928 (occupied) | 2,743 (total) | 2,631 (total) |
| Median household income | $91,000 | $80,268 | $71,517 |
| Canada Census Mother Tongue – Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec[9] | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Total | French |
English |
French & English |
Other | |||||||||||||
| Year | Responses | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | |||||
2021 |
7,285 |
6,545 | 0.8% |
89.8% | 365 | 15.9% |
5.0% | 120 | 60.0% |
1.6% | 215 | 72.0% |
3.0% | |||||
2016 |
7,015 |
6,495 | 2.3% |
92.6% | 315 | 31.3% |
4.5% | 75 | 36.4% |
1.1% | 125 | 60.0% |
1.8% | |||||
2011 |
6,720 |
6,350 | 6.5% |
94.5% | 240 | 71.4% |
3.6% | 55 | 22.2% |
0.8% | 75 |  16.7% |
1.1% | |||||
2006 |
6,235 |
5,960 | 14.2% |
95.6% | 140 | 17.6% |
2.3% | 45 | 28.6% |
0.7% | 90 | 200.0% |
1.4% | |||||
2001 |
5,455 |
5,220 | 11.2% |
95.7% | 170 | 28.6% |
3.1% | 35 |  0.0% |
0.6% | 30 | 0.0% |
0.6% | |||||
1996 |
4,895 |
4,695 | n/a | 95.9% | 135 | n/a | 2.8% | 35 | n/a | 0.7% | 30 | n/a | 0.6% | |||||
| Note: Percentages may not equal 100% due to multiple responses and rounding. | ||||||||||||||||||
Government
List of former mayors (since formation of current municipality):[14]
- Joseph Henri Paul Fernand Desforges (1982–1989)
- Pierre Chevrier (1989–1996)
- Robert Sauvé (1996–2013)
- Guy Jasmin (2013–2017)
- Andrée Brosseau (2017–present)
Education
Commission Scolaire des Trois-Lacs operates Francophone schools.[15]
- École de Coteau-du-Lac (pavillons Académie-Wilson, de l'Éclusière, and Saint-Ignace)
Lester B. Pearson School Board operates Anglophone schools.[16]
- Evergreen Elementary and Forest Hill Elementary (Junior Campus and Senior campus) in Saint-Lazare or Soulanges Elementary School in Saint-Télesphore
Notable people
- Jules Fournier (1884-1918) was a Canadian writer and newspaper owner[17]
