Bedford () is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in the

Estrie Estrie () is an List of Quebec regions, administrative region of Quebec that comprises the Eastern Townships. ''Estrie'', a French neologism, was coined as a derivative of ''est'', "east". Originally settled by anglophones, today it is about 90 pe ...

region of southern

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. The population as of the

Canada 2011 Census The 2011 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population on May 10, 2011. Statistics Canada, an agency of the Canadian government, conducts a nationwide census every five years. In 2011, it consisted of a mandatory short for ...

was 2,684. This small community is just an hour's drive from larger cities such as Burlington and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

History

The first settlers arrived in 1812.

Origin of the name

The name "Bedford" could have been given by

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

who knew of several Bedfords back in the former American colonies. The name could also have been a tribute to Lord John Russell, who was the fourth Duke of Bedford (1710–1771), an English politician and Secretary of State (1748–1751), and

governor general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

from 1756 to 1761.

Geography

Bedford is part of

Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality Brome-Missisquoi () is a regional county municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec, Canada. It lies in the Eastern Townships area. The seat is Cowansville. In 2021, it was transferred to the Estrie region from Montérégie. In Parliament it is ...

, in the administrative region of

. The town, located southeast of Montreal, is completely enclaved within the township of Bedford. Seated in the

Saint-Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman emperor Valerian ordered in 258. ...

lowlands, at the beginning of the steppe leading to the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

, the town is separated into north and south parts by the Pike River (Rivière aux Brochets).

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Bedford had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Parishes

*Roman Catholic Church *Saint Mitchels Parish *Le frontere Perish *The Anglican Parish of Bedford, Philipsburg and Farnham *United Church

Activities

Every year since 1828, at the beginning of August, the town holds its annual fair, the oldest of its kind in Quebec and the second oldest in Canada. One can

figure skate Figure skates are a type of ice skate used by figure skaters. The skates consist of a ''boot'' and a ''blade'' that is attached with screws to the sole of the boot. Inexpensive sets for recreational skaters are available, but most figure skaters ...

, or play

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

, at the ''Centre sportif''. Every year since 1969, Bedford has held a PeeWee hockey exchange with Kensington, PEI.

Schools

*École primaire et secondaire Monseigneur-Desranleau (French) *École primaire du Premier Envol (French) *Butler Elementary (English 1-7)

Notable people

Georges Thurston Georges Thurston (December 29, 1951 – June 18, 2007) was a Quebec singer, author and composer and radio show host. He was known as Boule Noire (literal translation: "Black Ball") since 1975 and worked in the music industry as a solo artist for ...

(1951–2007) a.k.a. Boule Noire, R&B singer for 30 years. * Pierre Paradis (1950-), Member of

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

for 25 years and former Cabinet Minister *

Marcellus Gilmore Edson Marcellus Gilmore Edson (February 7, 1849 – March 6, 1940) was a Canadian chemist and pharmacist. In 1884, he patented a way to make peanut paste, an early version of peanut butter. Biography Marcellus Gilmore Edson was born at Bedford in Q ...

(1849-1940), chemist who invented peanut butter.

References

External links

Official web site

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Incorporated places in Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality