Saint-Godefroi

Saint-Godefroi (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ ɡɔdəfʁwa]; formerly spelled as Saint-Godefroy) is a township municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located within the Bonaventure Regional County Municipality. The township had a population of 350 in the 2021 Canadian census.

Saint-Godefroi
Township municipality
Harbour at Saint-Godefroi
Location within Bonaventure RCM
St-Godefroi Location in eastern Quebec
Coordinates: 48°05′N 65°07′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Gaspésie– Îles-de-la-Madeleine
RCM	Bonaventure
Constituted	December 16, 1913
Government [2]
• Mayor	Gérard Litalien
• Federal riding	Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj
• Prov. riding	Bonaventure
Area [2][3]
• Total	64.07 km2 (24.74 sq mi)
• Land	63.57 km2 (24.54 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	350
• Density	5.5/km2 (14/sq mi)
• Pop (2016-21)	7.9%
• Dwellings	200
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	G0C 3C0
Area codes	418 and 581
Highways	R-132
Website	www.municipalitestgodefroi.com

It is situated on the north shore of Chaleur Bay along Quebec Route 132. In addition to Saint-Godefroi itself, the township also includes the community of Kelly (48°6′53″N 65°8′7″W).^[4]

History

Settlement began in the mid-19th century, and in 1873 the Parish of Saint-Godefroi was founded, named in honour of Charles-Godefroi Fournier (1829-1902), priest and founder of the parish. In 1889, its post office opened under the name of Saint-Godfroy.^[1]

On December 16, 1913, the Township Municipality of Saint-Godefroy was created when the Township Municipality of Hope was divided in two. In 1924, Saint-Godefroy lost more than half its area when the Municipality of Shigawake was formed.^[5] In 1940, the spelling of the post office name was adjusted to Saint-Godefroi, while the township's name was not corrected until much later (the 1981 census was the last census to use the spelling "Saint-Godefroy*).^[1]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Godefroi had a population of 350 living in 177 of its 200 total private dwellings, a change of -7.9% from its 2016 population of 380. With a land area of 63.57 km² (24.54 sq mi), it had a population density of 5.5/km² (14.3/sq mi) in 2021.^[3]

Canada census – Saint-Godefroi community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	350 (-7.9% from 2016)	380 (-6.2% from 2011)	405 (+9.5% from 2006)
Land area	63.57 km2 (24.54 sq mi)	63.52 km2 (24.53 sq mi)	64.41 km2 (24.87 sq mi)
Population density	5.5/km2 (14/sq mi)	6.0/km2 (16/sq mi)	6.3/km2 (16/sq mi)
Median age	59.6 (M: 60.4, F: 58.0)	56.0 (M: 54.7, F: 57.6)	54.6 (M: 53.4, F: 55.3)
Private dwellings	200 (total)  177 (occupied)	214 (total)  180 (occupied)	217 (total)
Median household income	$54,800	$46,848	$.N/A

Notes: 2011 income data for this area has been suppressed for data quality or confidentiality reasons.
References: 2021^[6] 2016^[7] 2011^[8]

Historical Census Data - Saint-Godefroi, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1921 1,409 —     1931 848 −39.8% 1941 923 +8.8% 1951 717 −22.3% 1956 801 +11.7% 1961 900 +12.4%	Year Pop. ±% 1966 891 −1.0% 1971 798 −10.4% 1976 718 −10.0% 1981 670 −6.7% 1986 582 −13.1% 1991 565 −2.9%	Year Pop. ±% 1996 488 −13.6% 2001 373 −23.6% 2006 370 −0.8% 2011 405 +9.5% 2016 380 −6.2% 2021 350 −7.9%
Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes. Source: Statistics Canada[9]

Mother tongue (2021):^[3]

• English as first language: 10.0%
• French as first language: 87.1%
• English and French as first language: 1.4%
• Other as first language: 1.4%

Local government

List of former mayors:

• Réginald Joseph (...–2005)
• Gérard-Raymond Blais (2005–2017)
• Grenade Grenier (2017–2022)
• Gérard Litalien (2022–present)

See also

• List of anglophone communities in Quebec
• List of township municipalities in Quebec