Val-Brillant
Municipality in Quebec, Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Val-Brillant (French pronunciation: [val bʁijɑ̃]) is a municipality in eastern Quebec, Canada, at the base of the Gaspé peninsula. On the southern shores of the Lake Matapedia, Val-Brillant is part of the Matapédia Valley.
Val-Brillant | |
|---|---|
| |
 Location within La Matapédia RCM. | |
  Val-Brillant Location in eastern Quebec. | |
| Coordinates: 48°32′N 67°33′W[1] | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Quebec |
| Region | Bas-Saint-Laurent |
| RCM | La Matapédia |
| Settled | 1872 |
| Constituted | December 20, 1986 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Jacques Pelletier |
| • Federal riding | Rimouski—La Matapédia |
| • Prov. riding | Matane-Matapédia |
| Area | |
• Total | 90.90 km2 (35.10 sq mi) |
| • Land | 77.90 km2 (30.08 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Total | 899 |
| • Density | 11.5/km2 (30/sq mi) |
| • Pop 2016-2021 |  3% |
| • Dwellings | 504 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area codes | 418 and 581 |
| Highways |  R-132 |
| Website | www |
The place was previously known by many other names: Lac-Matapédia; Brochu or Brouché, followed by Lac-à-Brochu until 1871 (after Pierre Brochu (1795–1871), the first settler in the valley in what is now Sayabec); McGowe (after an engineer working on the railroad); Cedar Hall from 1876 to 1912 (referring to the large hangar built from pieces of cedar that served as a coal shed for the railway); and Saint-Pierre-du-Lac (in honour of Pierre Brillant (1852–1911), missionary in the Matapedia Valley from 1881 to 1889 and parish priest from 1889 to his death).[1]
History
Originally Mi'kmaq territory, the area was granted as a seignory by Louis de Buade de Frontenac to Charles-Nicolas-Joseph D’Amours in 1694. D'Amours died in 1728 and none of his descendants claimed the rights to the seignory. So it remained a remote and undeveloped land until the 19th century. In 1830 construction began on the Kempt Road, a strategic military road between Quebec and the Maritimes, completed in 1833. An inn serving postilions and travellers along the road operated there from 1867 to 1876.[5]
European settlement began in 1872 during the construction of the Intercolonial Railway. Supervisor Engineer Peter Grant built for himself a house that also accommodated the railway employees for many years. In 1876, the railway was completed and on July 1 the first train passed through. In 1881, the post office opened, and two years later, the Mission of Saint-Pierre-du-Lac was established, named in honour of Pierre Brillant. In 1890, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Pierre-du-Lac was founded. By 1898, it had a population of 1600 people.[1][5]
In 1915, the main population centre separated from the parish municipality and was incorporated as the Village Municipality of Saint-Pierre-du-Lac, but renamed one year later to Val-Brillant.[1]
In 1986, the Village Municipality of Val-Brillant and the Parish Municipality of Saint-Pierre-du-Lac were rejoined in the current Municipality of Val-Brillant.[1]
Demographics
Historical census populations – Val-Brillant, Quebec | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source: Statistics Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2016 | 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 899 (-3% from 2016) | 927 (-2.9% from 2011) | 955 (-4.8% from 2006) |
| Land area | 77.90 km2 (30.08 sq mi) | 78.04 km2 (30.13 sq mi) | 77.60 km2 (29.96 sq mi) |
| Population density | 11.5/km2 (30/sq mi) | 11.9/km2 (31/sq mi) | 12.3/km2 (32/sq mi) |
| Median age | 47.6 (M: 46.8, F: 48) | 49.5 (M: 48.5, F: 51.5) | 48.7 (M: 47.2, F: 49.8) |
| Private dwellings | 504 (total) | 497 (total) | 501 (total) |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $50,688 | $54,478 |
Mother tongue:[10]
- English as first language: 0%
- French as first language: 99.4%
- English and French as first language: 0%
- Other as first language: 0.6%
Government
Municipal council
- Mayor: Jacques Pelletier
- Councillors: Stevens Pelletier, Maxime Tremblay, Geneviève Leblanc, Johanne D'Amours, Richard Turgeon, Denis Couture
List of former mayors:
- Marc-André Turcotte (2001–2005)
- Marc Bélanger (2005–2009)
- Donald Malenfant (2009–2013)
- Jacques Pelletier (2013–present)
