Saint-Zotique

Saint-Zotique (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃zɔtik], locally [ˌsẽzɔˈt͡sɪk]) is a city located within the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality in the Montérégie region located about 45 minutes west of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is named for Saint Zoticus of Comana.

Saint-Zotique
City
Road 338
Coat of arms
Motto:  Vivons heureux (Let's live happily)
Location within Vaudreuil-Soulanges RCM
St-Zotique Location in southern Quebec
Coordinates: 45°15′N 74°15′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Montérégie
RCM	Vaudreuil-Soulanges
Constituted	27 May 1967
Government [2][3]
• Type	Saint-Zotique City Council
• Mayor	Yvon Chiasson
• Federal riding	Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon
• Prov. riding	Soulanges
Area [2][4]
• Total	50.10 km2 (19.34 sq mi)
• Land	25.04 km2 (9.67 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[4]
• Total	9,618
• Density	384.0/km2 (995/sq mi)
• Pop 2016-2021	21.2%
• Dwellings	4,164
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J0P 1Z0
Area codes	450 and 579
Highways A-20	R-338
Website	www.st-zotique.com

The city resides on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Saint Francis and along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor, the most populated area in Canada.

History

The first economic activities in the region started in the mid-18th century with forest exploitation and agriculture. The place was first named "Concession-du-Lac" and "Lac-Saint-François" after the adjacent lake. Subsequently, it was also known as "Longueuil-sur-le-Lac" (because it was part of the seigneury of New Longueuil, and "Moulin-Biron" (named after the owner of the first sawmill built near the wharf).^[5]

Saint-Zotique officially became parish near 1849 when it was separated from the parish of Saint-Polycarpe located a few kilometres to the north. In 1854, its post office opened, and a year later in 1855, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Zotique was formed.^[5]

In 1913, the village itself split off from the parish municipality to form the Village Municipality of Saint-Zotique, and eventually the two municipalities merged again to form a new village municipality in 1967. On 4 April 2009, it changed its status to just municipality and in 2023, it became a city.^[5]

Demographics

Canada census – Saint-Zotique community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	9,618 (21.2% from 2016)	7,934 (17.1% from 2011)	6,773 (+29.0% from 2006)
Land area	25.04 km2 (9.67 sq mi)	25.10 km2 (9.69 sq mi)	25.19 km2 (9.73 sq mi)
Population density	384.0/km2 (995/sq mi)	316.1/km2 (819/sq mi)	268.8/km2 (696/sq mi)
Median age	41.2 (M: 40.8, F: 42.0)	38.7 (M: 38.8, F: 38.7)	37.9 (M: 38.0, F: 37.9)
Private dwellings	4,164 (total)	3,365 (total)	2,893 (total)
Median household income	$87,000	$74,903	$66,171

References: 2021^[6] 2016^[7] 2011^[8]

Historical Census Data - Saint-Zotique, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1976 1,519 —     1981 1,774 +16.8% 1986 2,025 +14.1% 1991 2,515 +24.2% 1996 3,683 +46.4%	Year Pop. ±% 2001 4,158 +12.9% 2006 5,251 +26.3% 2011 6,773 +29.0% 2016 7,934 +17.1% 2021 9,618 +21.2%
Source: Statistics Canada[9]

Language

Canada Census Mother Tongue - Saint-Zotique, Quebec[9]
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2021		9,620		8,530	16.3%	88.9%		580	68.1%	6.2%		160	146.2%	1.7%		285	72.2%	2.9%
2016		7,935		7,335	16.5%	92.4%		345	18.0%	4.4%		65	0.0%	0.8%		165	153.8%	2.1%
2011		6,760		6,295	21.1%	93.1%		300	43.3%	4.4%		65	30.8%	1.0%		100	25.0%	1.5%
2006		5,255		4,965	19.8%	94.5%		170	20.6%	3.2%		45	44.4%	0.9%		75	86.7%	1.4%
2001		4,150		3,980	14.1%	95.9%		135	6.9%	3.3%		25	58.3%	0.6%		10	77.8%	0.2%
1996		3,670		3,420	n/a	93.2%		145	n/a	4.0%		60	n/a	1.6%		45	n/a	1.2%

Attractions

St-Zotique beach

The town is home to a popular beach which can accommodate as many as 10,000 people. Located on Lac Saint-François, nautical sports are among the region's most popular activities and the town also has a golf course.^[10]

Local government

Saint-Zotique federal election results^[11]

Year		Liberal		Conservative		Bloc Québécois		New Democratic		Green
	2021	28%	1,278	17%	794	44%	2,024	7%	304	0%	0
	2019	29%	1,333	9%	405	49%	2,230	8%	340	3%	140

Saint-Zotique provincial election results^[12]

Year		CAQ		Liberal		QC solidaire		Parti Québécois
	2018	50%	2,284	20%	902	13%	605	13%	610
	2014	0%	0	41%	1,511	12%	438	42%	1,558

Saint-Zotique forms part of the federal electoral district of Salaberry—Suroît and has been represented by Claude DeBellefeuille of the Bloc Québécois since 2019. Provincially, Saint-Zotique is part of the Soulanges electoral district and is represented by Marilyne Picard of the Coalition Avenir Québec since 2018.

Town hall of St-Zotique

List of former mayors:^[13]

• Firmin François Liénard (1913–1915)
• Joseph Arsène Adolphe Bray (1916, 1931–1933)
• Joseph Omer Alphonse Méthot (1916–1917)
• Henri-Pie-Marie-Joseph-Alfred La Rocque (1917–1921)
• Jean Baptiste Sauvé (1921–1925)
• Josephat Léger (1925–1929)
• Hilaire Duval (1929–1931, 1933–1935)
• Joseph François d'Assise Adrien Cadieux (1935)
• Joseph Joachim Eugène Bissonnette (1935)
• Pierre Montpetit (1935)
• Albert Rochon (1935–1939)
• Joseph Tancrède Asselin (1939–1942)
• Cyrille Joseph Albert Richer Laflèche (1942, 1944)
• Louis Julien Bergevin (1942–1944)
• Joseph-Wilfrid-Godefroi Blanchard (1944–1971)
• Joseph Alfred Jacques Claude Blanchard (1971–1985)
• Joseph-Wilfrid-Maurice-Yvon Leroux (1985–1998)
• Robert Hovington (1998–2005)
• Gaëtane Legault (2005–2013)
• Yvon Chiasson (2013–present)

Infrastructure

Transportation

Located on Route 338 and just south of Autoroute 20 near the Ontario-Quebec border, it is easily accessible from the busiest transportation corridor of the country with direct links to Montreal, Cornwall and Toronto.

Education

Commission Scolaire des Trois-Lacs operates Francophone schools.^[14]

• École de la Riveraine
• École des Orioles
• École Saint-Zotique
• École Virginie-Roy
• 2^e Avenue is zoned to École Léopold-Carrière in Les Coteaux^[15]

Lester B. Pearson School Board operates Anglophone schools.^[16]

• 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 cities in Quebec