Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (French pronunciation: ​[sɛ̃ ʒɑ̃ syʁ ʁiʃ(ə)ljø]) is a city in eastern Montérégie in the Canadian province of Quebec, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of Montreal. It is situated on the west bank of the Richelieu River at the northernmost navigable point of Lake Champlain. As of December 2019, the population of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu was 98,036.[6]

"Saint-Jean, Quebec" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Saint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, formerly known simply as "Saint-Jean".
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
City
Ville de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
Downtown Saint Jean sur Richelieu
Location within Le Haut-Richelieu RCM
St-Jean-sur-Richelieu
Location within Quebec
Coordinates: 45°19′N 73°16′W[1]
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
RegionMontérégie
RCMLe Haut-Richelieu
Settled1665
ConstitutedJanuary 24, 2001
Government
 • MayorAlain Laplante
 • Federal ridingSaint-Jean
 • Prov. ridingIberville and Saint-Jean
Area
 • Land226.63 km2 (87.50 sq mi)
 • Urban51.78 km2 (19.99 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)[4]
 • City98,036
 • Density419.7/km2 (1,087/sq mi)
 • Urban
84,685
 • Urban density1,635.5/km2 (4,236/sq mi)
 • 
 2.9%
 • Dwellings
42,036
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)
J0J1R0, J2W, J2X, J2Y, J3A, J3B
Area code(s)450 and 579
Highways
A-35
Route 104
Route 133
Route 219
Route 223
Websitewww.ville.saint-jean
-sur-richelieu.qc.ca

History

Historically, the city has been an important transportation hub. The first railway line in British North America connected it with La Prairie in 1836. It also hosts the annual International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, a hot air balloon festival which attracts thousands of tourists who come to see the hundreds of balloons in the sky each August.

The Chambly Canal extends 20 kilometres (12 mi) north along the west bank of the river and provides modern freight passage to Chambly and the St. Lawrence River. The canal has one lock near the downtown core of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. In the winter, the city builds a skating rink on the canal near the lock. In the summer, the embankment on the east side of the canal has a 20-kilometre (12 mi) cycling path.

Plan of Fort Saint-Jean during the year 1750

The French built Fort Saint-Jean (Quebec) in the seventeenth century. Known to early English settlers as St. Johns, it provided an important communication link during the French and Indian Wars. During the American Revolutionary War control of the town changed hands several times as British and American forces moved through the area.

In 2001 the city and several adjoining communities were merged into the new regional county municipality with a population to 79,600. This merger was requested by the five municipalities involved and was not part of the municipal fusions imposed by the Quebec government the following year.

A LAV III in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu during the 2011 floods.

Geography

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is located on the banks of the Richelieu River. The city is the seat of Le Haut-Richelieu regional county municipality and of the judicial district of Iberville.[7]

Demographics

Population
Canada census – Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu community profile
2011 2006
Population: 92,394 (+5.6% from 2006) 87,492 (+9.9% from 2001)
Land area: 225.78 km2 (87.17 sq mi) 225.78 km2 (87.17 sq mi)
Population density: 409.2/km2 (1,060/sq mi) 387.5/km2 (1,004/sq mi)
Median age: 41.1 (M: 39.8, F: 42.3) 40.2 (M: 39.2, F: 41.3)
Total private dwellings: 40,411 37,774
Median household income: $55,412 $48,609
Notes: Includes adjustment for 2001 merger with Saint-Luc, Iberville, Saint-Athanase and L'Acadie. – References: 2011[8] 2006[9] earlier[10]
Historical Census Data - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec[11]
YearPop.±%
1991 37,607—    
1996 36,435−3.1%
YearPop.±%
2001 37,386+2.6%
2001M 79,600+112.9%
YearPop.±%
2006 87,492+9.9%
2011 92,394+5.6%
(M) adjustment due to the merger with Saint-Luc, Iberville, Saint-Athanase and L'Acadie.

The amalgamated municipalities (with 2001 population) were:

Despite the fact that nearby Montreal is very racially diverse, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu has a very large majority of white residents (93.3%). 2.4% of residents are visible minorities and 4.3% identify as aboriginal.[12]

Language
Canada Census Mother Tongue - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec[11]
Census Total
French
English
French & English
Other
Year Responses Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop %
2016
95,114
 88,535 2.19% 93.08% 2,315 4.1% 2.43% 810 7.28% 0.85% 1,980 24.14% 2.08%
2011
91,400
 86,635 6.4% 94.79% 2,415 14.5% 2.64% 755 48.0% 0.83% 1,595 20.6% 1.74%
2006
86,075
 81,445 137.1% 94.62% 2,110 68.1% 2.45% 510 88.9% 0.59% 2,010 131.0% 2.34%
2001
36,745
 34,350 1.1% 93.48% 1,255 16.2% 3.42% 270 3.8% 0.73% 870 74.0% 2.37%
1996
35,825
 33,985 n/a 94.86% 1,080 n/a 3.01% 260 n/a 0.73% 500 n/a 1.40%

Neighbourhoods

The city is divided in five sectors which refer to the former municipalities. Each sector contains different neighbourhoods:

Sectors Saint-Jean Saint-Luc Iberville Saint-Athanase L'Acadie
Neighbourhoods Vieux-Saint-Jean Saint-Luc ("le Village") Vieux-Iberville Les Mille-Roches Vieux-L'Acadie (Village)
Saint-Gérard Les Prés-Verts Saint-Athanase Saint-Athanase-Sud Domaine-Deland
Saint-Edmond Talon Saint-Noël-Chabanel La Canadienne
Saint-Lucien L'Île-Sainte-Thérèse Sacré-Coeur Ruisseau-des-Noyers
Saint-Eugène
Notre-Dame-Auxiliatrice
Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes
Normandie

Economy

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is home to the Carrefour Richelieu regional shopping mall which has 115 stores.[13]

Newer retail developments include Faubourg Saint-Jean, home to restaurants, services, stores, and a soon-to-open movie theatre.

The historic downtown area, which borders the Richelieu River and includes Richelieu and Champlain streets, is home to a variety of locally-owned bars, restaurants, and shops.

St-Jean is a manufacturing centre for textiles, wood products, sporting equipment, and metal transformation. It hosts an Area Support Unit (ASU) of the Canadian Forces, which functions as a primary recruit and officer training establishment.

Commuting patterns

The Ville de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu public transit system provides commuter and local bus services.

According to the 2016 Census, 22,840 residents, or 56.7% of the labour force work within the city. An additional 5,135 (12.7%) commute to Montreal, while 2,305 (5.7%) work in Longueuil, 1,440 (3.6%) work in Brossard, and 965 (2.4%) work in Chambly.

By contrast only 770 people commute from Montreal to work in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu every day, while 795 people commute from Longueuil, 780 commute from Chambly, 510 commute from Saint-Alexandre and 500 commute from Mont-Saint-Grégoire.[14]

Transportation
Chambly Canal

The city is split in two by Autoroute de la Vallée-des-Forts (Autoroute 35) which goes North-South by going first through Saint-Luc district, then turns east just south of Pierre-Caisse Boulevard in Saint-Jean-sur-Richlieu district to cross the Richelieu River and to finally continue its way south through St-Athanase and Iberville districts. The highway continues south for some 24 km before ending at Saint-Sébastien.

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu has its own municipal airport, Saint-Jean Airport, and is also close to Montreal Pierre-Elliot Trudeau International Airport.

The former International Railway of Maine runs through the town, now the connecting point for the Central Maine and Quebec Railway with the Canadian Pacific Railway. The former Saint-Jean-d'Iberville railway station is now a preserved building.

Education

The South Shore Protestant Regional School Board previously served the municipality.[15]

In addition to more than a dozen public elementary and secondary schools, St-Jean is home to two private schools, one English-language school, and two higher education institutions:

  • École Vision Saint-Jean, a trilingual (French-English-Spanish) primary school
  • École Secondaire Marcellin Champagnat, a historically Catholic (now non-religious) high school
  • Saint-John's School, the city's only English-language school, which serves students from Kindergarten through high school. Per Quebec law, only children whose parents attended English-language school are allowed to attend English school themselves; French is mandatory for everyone else.
  • Royal Military College Saint-Jean (French: Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean) serves as a one-year preparatory program for the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. Original founded in 1952, it ceased being a degree granting military college in 1995 due to cuts to military funding. RMCSJ continued to provide non-degree college programs for French-speaking cadets of the Canadian Forces. The Canadian federal government reopened the military college at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in the fall of 2007 to provide the full first year of university, equivalent to the Kingston program, for students with English- or French-language backgrounds alongside the college program.
  • CEGEP Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, part of Quebec's CEGEP network, offering post-secondary, pre-university programs

Notable natives and residents

See also

References
  1. Reference number 92441 of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (in French)
  2. Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire: Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
  3. Parliament of Canada Federal Riding History: SAINT-JEAN (Quebec)
  4. , 2016 Census Municipal Data.
  5. , 2016 Census Population Centre.
  6. "Portrait de la ville". Ville de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (in French). Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  7. Territorial Division Act. Revised Statutes of Quebec D-11.
  8. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. July 5, 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  9. "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. March 30, 2011. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  10. "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. February 17, 2012.
  11. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016census
  12. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2017-02-08). "Census Profile, 2016 Census - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Ville [Census subdivision], Quebec and Le Haut-Richelieu, Municipalité régionale de comté [Census division], Quebec". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  13. "Carrefour Richelieu". The Westcliff Group of Companies. 2007. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  14. "2016 Census".
  15. King, M.J. (Chairperson of the board). "South Shore Protestant Regional School Board" (St. Johns, PQ). The News and Eastern Townships Advocate. Volume 119, No. 5. Thursday December 16, 1965. p. 2. Retrieved from Google News on November 23, 2014.



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