Boischatel

Boischatel (French pronunciation: [bwaʃatɛl]) is a municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. The town was originally called Saint-Jean-de-Boischatel.^[4][5]

Boischatel
Municipality
Coat of arms
Motto:  Labeur et Courage
Location within La Côte-de-Beaupré RCM
Boischatel Location in central Quebec
Coordinates: 46°54′N 71°09′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Capitale-Nationale
RCM	La Côte-de-Beaupré
Constituted	April 3, 1920
Government [2]
• Mayor	Benoit Bouchard
• Fed. riding	Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix
• Prov. riding	Charlevoix–Côte-de-Beaupré
Area [2][3]
• Total	21.61 km2 (8.34 sq mi)
• Land	20.36 km2 (7.86 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	8,231
• Density	404.3/km2 (1,047/sq mi)
• Pop (2016-21)	8.5%
• Dwellings	3,128
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	G0A 1H0
Area codes	418 and 581
Highways	R-138 R-360
Website	www.boischatel.ca

Geography

Montmorency Falls

The town itself is located along the Montmorency River and St. Lawrence River.^[6] Near the boundary with Beauport are the Montmorency Falls, where 35,000 litres of water per second fall from a height one-and-a-half times greater than that of Niagara Falls.

Rivers flowing through Boischatel:

• Chenal de l'Île d'Orléans
• Ferrée River
• Montmorency River
• St. Lawrence River

History

The area was originally settled around 1664 and called Sault (old French for "waterfall"), due to its proximity to the Montmorency Falls.^[7]

The Village Municipality of Saint-Jean-de-Boischatel was formed in 1920 when it ceded from Ange-Gardien, with Séraphin Vézina as its first mayor. It was named in honor of Jean-François de Beauchatel, first aide-de-camp to General Montcalm.^[1][7]

On November 23, 1991, it changed statutes and shortened its name to become the Municipality of Boischatel.^[8]

Demographics

Historical census populations – Boischatel

Year Pop. ±% 1921 571 —     1931 783 +37.1% 1941 882 +12.6% 1951 1,297 +47.1% 1956 1,461 +12.6% 1961 1,576 +7.9%	Year Pop. ±% 1966 1,648 +4.6% 1971 1,685 +2.2% 1976 2,279 +35.3% 1981 3,345 +46.8% 1986 3,662 +9.5% 1991 3,878 +5.9%	Year Pop. ±% 1996 4,152 +7.1% 2001 4,303 +3.6% 2006 5,287 +22.9% 2011 6,465 +22.3% 2016 7,587 +17.4% 2021 8,231 +8.5%
Source: Statistics Canada[3][9]

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents (2021): 3,050 (total dwellings: 3,128)^[3]

First language (2021):^[3]

• English as first language: 0.9%
• French as first language: 96.3%
• English and French as first language: 0.6%
• Other as first language: 1.9%

Local government

List of former mayors:

• Séraphin Vézina (1920–1925)
• Joseph Trudelle (1925–1929)
• Arthur Tardif (1929–1937)
• Joseph Trudelle (1937–1939)
• Joseph Racine (1939–1953)
• Maurice Huot (1953–1958)
• Rodolphe Huot (1958–1961)
• Joseph Racine (1961–1965)
• Adjutor Dussault (1965–1969)
• Roland Lavoie (1969–1987)
• Jacques Couture (1987–1994)
• Yvon Coté (1994–1998)
• Yves Germain (1998–2017)
• Benoit Bouchard (2017–present)

See also

• List of municipalities in Quebec