Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage

Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ ʒozɛf də ləpaʒ]) is a parish municipality in La Mitis Regional County Municipality, in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada.

Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage
Parish municipality
Church of Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage
Location within La Mitis RCM
St-Joseph-de-Lepage Location in eastern Quebec
Coordinates: 48.5757865°N 68.1721856°W / 48.5757865; -68.1721856[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Bas-Saint-Laurent
RCM	La Mitis
Constituted	September 29, 1873
Government [2]
• Mayor	Magella Roussel
• Federal riding	Rimouski—La Matapédia
• Prov. riding	Matane-Matapédia
Area [2][3]
• Total	32.00 km2 (12.36 sq mi)
• Land	30.98 km2 (11.96 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	590
• Density	19/km2 (50/sq mi)
• Pop 2016-2021	12.8%
• Dwellings	260
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	G5H 3N8
Area codes	418 and 581
Highways	R-132
Website	www.municipalite.saint-joseph-de-lepage.qc.ca

It is located 5 km south-east of Mont-Joli, in the Matapédia River Valley. The village is 350 km north east of Québec city and 360 km west of Gaspé. The nearest towns are Mont-Joli, and Rimouski, the latter of which lies 40 km to the south-east.

Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage takes its name from the colonial lordship, the Seigneurie Lepage-et-Thibierge, which was the early governing authority in the area. Its 500 residents work largely in agriculture and forestry.^[4]

The ecclesiastical parish of the same name is in the Archdiocese of Rimouski.

History

The territory occupied by the parish municipality of Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage was first granted to Gabriel Thivierge and Louis Lepage and became known as the seigneury of Lepage-et-Thivierge. Later, this seigneury became the Seignory of Rimouski, which for a long time belonged to the Lepage family. The parish of Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage was canonically erected on 21 April 1873. The municipality of Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage was officially created on 29 September 1873, by a detachment from Sainte-Flavie. The presbytery was built in 1873, and the wooden church was built in 1875. The caisse populaire was founded on March 7, 1940.^[1]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage had a population of 590 living in 223 of its 260 total private dwellings, a change of +12.8% from its 2016 population of 523. With a land area of 30.98 km² (11.96 sq mi), it had a population density of 19.0/km² (49.3/sq mi) in 2021.^[5]

Historical census populations – Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage

Year Pop. ±% 1881 556 —     1891 401 −27.9% 1901 414 +3.2% 1911 400 −3.4% 1921 481 +20.2% 1931 583 +21.2% 1941 521 −10.6% 1951 447 −14.2% 1956 463 +3.6% 1961 450 −2.8% 1966 434 −3.6%	Year Pop. ±% 1971 379 −12.7% 1976 392 +3.4% 1981 507 +29.3% 1986 613 +20.9% 1991 590 −3.8% 1996 587 −0.5% 2001 586 −0.2% 2006 545 −7.0% 2011 527 −3.3% 2016 523 −0.8% 2021 590 +12.8%
Source: Statistics Canada[6]

Private dwellings (occupied by usual residents): 223

Languages:

• French as first language: 98.3%
• English as first language: 0.8%

See also

• List of parish municipalities in Quebec