Saint-Télesphore

Saint-Télesphore (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ telɛsfɔʁ]) is a municipality located in Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality, Quebec (Canada). The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 754. The municipality is situated west of Saint-Polycarpe, south of Sainte-Justine-de-Newton, north of Rivière-Baudette and east of the provincial border near North Lancaster, Ontario.

Saint-Télesphore
Municipality
Location within Vaudreuil-Soulanges RCM
Saint-Télesphore Location in southern Quebec
Coordinates: 45°18′N 74°23′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Montérégie
RCM	Vaudreuil-Soulanges
Constituted	19 April 1877
Government [2][3]
• Mayor	David Watson McKay
• Federal riding	Salaberry—Suroît
• Prov. riding	Soulanges
Area [2][4]
• Total	60.67 km2 (23.42 sq mi)
• Land	60.10 km2 (23.20 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[4]
• Total	754
• Density	12.5/km2 (32/sq mi)
• Pop 2016-2021	0.7%
• Dwellings	352
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J0P 1Y0
Area codes	450 and 579
Highways	R-325 R-340
Website	saint-telesphore.com

The municipality is named for Pope Telesphorus, who reigned from 126 to 138 AD.^[1] In addition to the village of Saint-Télesphore itself, the municipality also includes the community of Dalhousie or Dalhousie Station along the Canadian Pacific railway.

History

Settlement began around 1800 with the arrival of Scottish, Irish, and English immigrants. At that time, the place was called Rivière-Delisle, Lac-Saint-François, or Rivière-au-Beaudet.^[1]

In 1877, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Télesphore was created, named after the parish that was formed one year earlier. In 1879, its post office opened.^[1]

On August 7, 2010, the parish municipality changed its statutes to become a (regular) municipality.^[1]

Demographics

Canada census – Saint-Télesphore community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	754 (-0.7% from 2016)	759 (-0.4% from 2011)	762 (-0.9% from 2006)
Land area	60.10 km2 (23.20 sq mi)	60.33 km2 (23.29 sq mi)	60.42 km2 (23.33 sq mi)
Population density	12.5/km2 (32/sq mi)	12.6/km2 (33/sq mi)	12.6/km2 (33/sq mi)
Median age	43.6 (M: 44.0, F: 43.2)	40.9 (M: 40.3, F: 41.8)	43.1 (M: 43.5, F: 42.3)
Private dwellings	352 (total)	345 (total)	361 (total)
Median household income		$54,592	$47,601

References: 2021^[5] 2016^[6] 2011^[7]

Historical Census Data - Saint-Télesphore, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1976 792 —     1981 806 +1.8% 1986 777 −3.6% 1991 772 −0.6% 1996 805 +4.3%	Year Pop. ±% 2001 773 −4.0% 2006 769 −0.5% 2011 762 −0.9% 2016 759 −0.4% 2021 754 −0.7%
Source: Statistics Canada[8]

Language

Canada Census Mother Tongue - Saint-Télesphore, Quebec[8]
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2011		765		655	4.0%	85.62%		80	33.3%	10.46%		20	n/a%	2.61%		10	33.3%	1.31%
2006		765		630	4.5%	82.35%		120	14.3%	15.69%		0	100.0%	0.00%		15	n/a%	1.96%
2001		775		660	9.6%	85.16%		105	23.5%	13.55%		10	n/a%	1.29%		0	0.0%	0.00%
1996		815		730	n/a	89.57%		85	n/a	10.43%		0	n/a	0.00%		0	n/a	0.00%

Local government

Town Hall

List of former mayors:^[9]

• Camille Gourgon (1878–1883)
• Jean Baptiste Campeau (1883–1884, 1885–1886)
• Athanase Daou (1884–1885, 1886–1889)
• Joseph Pilon (1889–1893, 1897–1899, 1902–1905)
• Louis Charlebois (1893–1897)
• Joseph Antoine Moyse Leroux (1899–1902, 1917-1919)
• Joseph Moyse Beauchamp (1905–1909)
• François Xavier Cuillierier (1909–1913)
• Louis Sauvé (1913–1914)
• Zotique Dicaire (1914–1917)
• Joseph Alfred Théodule Pilon (1919–1923)
• Joseph Arthur Hyacinthe St. Denis (1923–1927)
• Joseph Alfred Louis Charlebois (1927–1939)
• Joseph Samuel Evariste Braseau (1939–1953)
• Joseph Arcade Napoléon Bruno St-Denis (1953–1959)
• Joseph-Elzéar-Rosario-Richard Gaston Pilon (1959–1963)
• Joseph Jean-Baptiste Rémi Sauvé (1963–1981, 1987–1999)
• Joseph Marcel Eléonore Descent (1981–1983)
• Robert Bourgon (1983–1987, 1999–2003)
• Joseph Albert Patrice Claude Cyr (2003–2009)
• Yvon Bériault (2009–2021)
• David Watson McKay (2021–present)

Education

Commission Scolaire des Trois-Lacs operates Francophone schools.^[10]

• École du Val-des-Prés Immaculée-Conception

Lester B. Pearson School Board operates Anglophone schools.^[11]

• Soulanges Elementary School in Saint-Télesphore or Evergreen Elementary and Forest Hill Elementary (Junior Campus and Senior campus) in Saint-Lazare

See also

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