Val-Brillant

Val-Brillant (French pronunciation: [val bʁijɑ̃]) is a municipality in eastern Quebec, Canada, at the base of the Gaspé peninsula. On the southern shores of the Lake Matapedia, Val-Brillant is part of the Matapédia Valley.

Val-Brillant
Municipality
Location within La Matapédia RCM.
Val-Brillant Location in eastern Quebec.
Coordinates: 48°32′N 67°33′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Bas-Saint-Laurent
RCM	La Matapédia
Settled	1872
Constituted	December 20, 1986
Government [2]
• Mayor	Jacques Pelletier
• Federal riding	Rimouski—La Matapédia
• Prov. riding	Matane-Matapédia
Area [2][3]
• Total	90.90 km2 (35.10 sq mi)
• Land	77.90 km2 (30.08 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[4]
• Total	899
• Density	11.5/km2 (30/sq mi)
• Pop 2016-2021	3%
• Dwellings	504
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	G0J 3L0
Area codes	418 and 581
Highways	R-132
Website	www.valbrillant.ca

The place was previously known by many other names: Lac-Matapédia; Brochu or Brouché, followed by Lac-à-Brochu until 1871 (after Pierre Brochu (1795–1871), the first settler in the valley in what is now Sayabec); McGowe (after an engineer working on the railroad); Cedar Hall from 1876 to 1912 (referring to the large hangar built from pieces of cedar that served as a coal shed for the railway); and Saint-Pierre-du-Lac (in honour of Pierre Brillant (1852–1911), missionary in the Matapedia Valley from 1881 to 1889 and parish priest from 1889 to his death).^[1]

History

Originally Mi'kmaq territory, the area was granted as a seignory by Louis de Buade de Frontenac to Charles-Nicolas-Joseph D’Amours in 1694. D'Amours died in 1728 and none of his descendants claimed the rights to the seignory. So it remained a remote and undeveloped land until the 19th century. In 1830 construction began on the Kempt Road, a strategic military road between Quebec and the Maritimes, completed in 1833. An inn serving postilions and travellers along the road operated there from 1867 to 1876.^[5]

European settlement began in 1872 during the construction of the Intercolonial Railway. Supervisor Engineer Peter Grant built for himself a house that also accommodated the railway employees for many years. In 1876, the railway was completed and on July 1 the first train passed through. In 1881, the post office opened, and two years later, the Mission of Saint-Pierre-du-Lac was established, named in honour of Pierre Brillant. In 1890, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Pierre-du-Lac was founded. By 1898, it had a population of 1600 people.^[1][5]

In 1915, the main population centre separated from the parish municipality and was incorporated as the Village Municipality of Saint-Pierre-du-Lac, but renamed one year later to Val-Brillant.^[1]

In 1986, the Village Municipality of Val-Brillant and the Parish Municipality of Saint-Pierre-du-Lac were rejoined in the current Municipality of Val-Brillant.^[1]

Demographics

Historical census populations – Val-Brillant, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1991 1,024 —     1996 1,040 +1.6% 2001 997 −4.1% 2006 1,003 +0.6%	Year Pop. ±% 2011 955 −4.8% 2016 927 −2.9% 2021 899 −3.0%
Source: Statistics Canada

Canada census – Val-Brillant community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	899 (-3% from 2016)	927 (-2.9% from 2011)	955 (-4.8% from 2006)
Land area	77.90 km2 (30.08 sq mi)	78.04 km2 (30.13 sq mi)	77.60 km2 (29.96 sq mi)
Population density	11.5/km2 (30/sq mi)	11.9/km2 (31/sq mi)	12.3/km2 (32/sq mi)
Median age	47.6 (M: 46.8, F: 48)	49.5 (M: 48.5, F: 51.5)	48.7 (M: 47.2, F: 49.8)
Private dwellings	504 (total)	497 (total)	501 (total)
Median household income	$66,000	$50,688	$54,478

Notes: Population in 1996: 1,040^[6] (+1.6% from 1991) - Population in 1991: 1,024^[6]
References: 2021^[7] 2016^[8] 2011^[9]

Mother tongue:^[10]

• English as first language: 0%
• French as first language: 99.4%
• English and French as first language: 0%
• Other as first language: 0.6%

Government

Municipal council

• Mayor: Jacques Pelletier
• Councillors: Stevens Pelletier, Maxime Tremblay, Geneviève Leblanc, Johanne D'Amours, Richard Turgeon, Denis Couture

List of former mayors:

• Marc-André Turcotte (2001–2005)
• Marc Bélanger (2005–2009)
• Donald Malenfant (2009–2013)
• Jacques Pelletier (2013–present)

See also

• List of municipalities in Quebec