Saint-Bernard, Quebec

Saint-Bernard (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ bɛʁnaʁ] ^ⓘ) is a municipality in La Nouvelle-Beauce Regional County Municipality, in Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Chaudière-Appalaches region and the population is 2,535 as of 2021. Constituted in 1845, it is named after Archbishop Bernard-Claude Panet.

Saint-Bernard
Municipality
Saint-Georges street, in the village.
Location within La Nouvelle-Beauce RCM.
Saint-Bernard Location in southern Quebec.
Coordinates: 46°30′N 71°08′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Chaudière-Appalaches
RCM	La Nouvelle-Beauce
Constituted	May 9, 1987
Government [2]
• Mayor	Liboire Lefebvre
• Federal riding	Beauce
• Prov. riding	Beauce-Nord
Area [2][3]
• Total	90.60 km2 (34.98 sq mi)
• Land	90.10 km2 (34.79 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	2,535
• Density	28.1/km2 (73/sq mi)
• Pop 2016-2021	9.2%
• Dwellings	1,048
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	G0S 2G0
Area code(s)	418 and 581
Highways	R-171
Website	saint-bernard.quebec

The municipality is located on scenic Route 171 in Beauce.

On August 26, 1972, five days after escaping from Saint-Vincent-de-Paul jail in Laval, Quebec, notorious French criminal Jacques Mesrine and his Quebec accomplice Jean-Paul Mercier robbed the Caisse populaire of Saint-Bernard. Ten minutes later, they robbed the caisse of Saint-Narcisse-de-Beaurivage, for a total of $26,000 that day.^[4]

All of the victims of the 1997 Les Éboulements bus accident save one, the bus driver, were senior citizens from Saint-Bernard.^[5]

Demographics

Population Population trend:^[6]

Census	Population	Change (%)
2021	2,535	9.2%
2016	2,321	14.8%
2011	2,021	5.3%
2006	1,920	5.3%
2001	2,028	0.2%
1996	2,023	0.4%
1991	2,014	N/A

Language Mother tongue language (2021)^[7]

Language	Population	Pct (%)
French only	2,425	97.4%
English only	5	0.2%
Both English and French	5	0.2%
Other languages	50	2.0%

References

1. "Banque de noms de lieux du Québec: Reference number 207216". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec.
2. "Répertoire des municipalités: Geographic code 26055". www.mamh.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation.
3. "Census Profile, 2021 Census - Saint-Bernard, Municipalité, Quebec". 21 September 2022.
4. "Jacques Mesrine". Les grands criminels. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
5. "milestonesoct13". Retrieved 7 April 2018.
6. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 census
7. 2021 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Saint-Bernard, Quebec

• Commission de toponymie du Québec
• Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire