Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson

Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃t maʁɡəʁit dy lak masɔ̃]) is a city in Les Pays-d'en-Haut Regional County Municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada. It is partially named after and situated on the western shore of Lake Masson.

Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson
City
Location within Les Pays-d'en-Haut RCM
Ste-Marguerite -du-Lac-Masson Location in central Quebec
Coordinates: 46°02′N 74°03′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Laurentides
RCM	Les Pays-d'en-Haut
Settled	1860s
Constituted	October 17, 2001
Government [2]
• Mayor	Gilles Boucher[3]
• Federal riding	Les Pays-d'en-Haut
• Prov. riding	Bertrand
Area [2][4]
• Total	98.46 km2 (38.02 sq mi)
• Land	91.56 km2 (35.35 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[4]
• Total	3,367
• Density	36.8/km2 (95/sq mi)
• Pop (2016–21)	21.9%
• Dwellings	2,365
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J0T 1L0
Area codes	450 and 579
Website	lacmasson.com

History

Jukebox in the Alpine Inn, 1942

In the early 1860s, Édouard Masson (1826–1875), businessman and member of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada from 1856 to 1864, recruited the help of architect and politician Thony Ciallella to plan the village. Masson and Ciallella invited many settlers to move to the former Terrebonne Seigneury and the surrounding area. In 1864, he was granted land in this area and contributed to the quick development of the parish, including the construction of a sawmill and a flour mill at the outflow of the lake which would be named after him later on. Ciallella was furious that after being a founder and longtime resident of the municipality, they did not dedicate anything to him. Masson and Ciallella did not talk to each other for 10 years, until their relationship was renewed due to a surprise encounter in Montreal. Also that same year, the Mission of Sainte-Marguerite was established, and the Parish Municipality of Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson was officially formed, both named after Margaret of Antioch of the third century. In 1868, the Lac-Masson Post Office opened.^[5]

In 1914, Emile Cochand began developing Canada's first ski resort two miles from Ste. Marguerite Station and the "petit train du nord line".^[6][7]

In 1959, the Town of Estérel was formed on the eastern side of Lake Masson when it separated from Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson.^[8]

On October 10, 2001, the Parish Municipality of Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson and the Town of Estérel were merged to become the Town of Sainte-Marguerite–Estérel. On January 1, 2006, after a municipal referendum, the Town of Estérel was re-established however and the Town of Sainte-Marguerite–Estérel reverted to its former name of Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson.^[5]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson had a population of 3,367 living in 1,689 of its 2,365 total private dwellings, a change of 21.9% from its 2016 population of 2,763. With a land area of 91.56 km² (35.35 sq mi), it had a population density of 36.8/km² (95.2/sq mi) in 2021.^[4]

Historical census populations – Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson

Year Pop. ±% 1871 954 —     1881 700 −26.6% 1891 725 +3.6% 1901 808 +11.4% 1911 805 −0.4% 1921 709 −11.9% 1931 694 −2.1% 1941 1,014 +46.1%	Year Pop. ±% 1951 1,100 +8.5% 1956 1,026 −6.7% 1961 1,222 +19.1% 1966 1,246 +2.0% 1971 1,370 +10.0% 1976 1,575 +15.0% 1981 1,739 +10.4% 1986 1,590 −8.6%	Year Pop. ±% 1991 1,571 −1.2% 1996 2,251 +43.3% 2001 2,170 −3.6% 2006 2,498 +15.1% 2011 2,740 +9.7% 2016 2,763 +0.8% 2021 3,367 +21.9%
2001 Population figure based on revised count.[9] Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes. Source: Statistics Canada[4][10][11][12]

Mother tongue (2021):^[4]

• English as first language: 4.6%
• French as first language: 91.5%
• English and French as first language: 1.0%
• Other as first language: 2.7%

Government

List of former mayors:^[13]

• Octave Pilon (1864–1868)
• C. Charles Lajeunesse (1868–1889)
• Luc Charrette (1889–1891)
• Dominique Chartier (1891–1897)
• Moyse Mailler (Mayer) (1897–1900)
• Polydore Gauthier (1900–1906, 1922–1925)
• Joseph-Charlemagne Lajeunesse (1906–1914)
• Urias Bélèque (Bélec) (1914–1915)
• François-Xavier Lacasse (1915–1922, 1925–1931)
• Léon Masson (1931–1934)
• Alphonse Gauthier (1934–1937, 1940–1948, 1951–1953)
• Oscar Ouimet (1937–1940)
• Albert Sigouin (1948)
• Stanley Bélanger (1948–1949)
• Jean E. Lavigne (1949–1951)
• Richard Gauthier (1953–1959, 1963–1967)
• Hubert Husson (1959–1963)
• Jean-Guy Ouimet (1967–1973)
• Pierre Landreville (1973–1981)
• Yvan Dextraze (1981–1987)
• Violette Pilon (Gauthier) (1987–2003)
• André Charbonneau (2003–2009)
• Lynda Fortier (2009–2013)
• Gilles Boucher (2013–present)

Education

Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board operates English-language public schools:

• Saint Adèle Elementary School in Saint-Adèle^[14]
• Laurentian Regional High School in Lachute^[15]

See also

• List of cities in Quebec