Bonaventure () is a town on the
Gaspé Peninsula in the
Bonaventure Regional County Municipality of
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
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. It is located on
Chaleur Bay near the mouth of the
Bonaventure River. The town is situated on
Route 132 between
Saint-Siméon and
New Carlisle.
The majority of the inhabitants are of
Acadian
The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...
descent, who found refuge there after the
expulsion of the Acadians in 1755. They arrived there in 1760. The Quebec Acadian Museum (Musée Acadien du Québec) is located in the town. Bonaventure celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2010.
The toponym Bonaventure has been associated with several locations in the Gaspé since the beginnings of
New France
New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...
, such as
Bonaventure Island and Bonaventure River. No definite origin of this name has been identified.
History
In 1697, a concession on both sides of the Bonaventure River was granted in 1697 to Charles-Henry de La Croix.
Prior to permanent settlement, the Bonaventure harbour was often visited by Europeans and was the location of temporary camps and posts for many years.

The first permanent
European settlement of Bonaventure was in 1760 by
Acadian refugees who had successfully avoided the
expulsion of
Acadians
The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...
that had begun in 1755. Some of these early settlers were present at the
Battle of Restigouche in July 1760, where a mixed force of
French navy
The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
aided by
Acadians
The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...
were defeated by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
. Many of today's Bonaventure residents are of
Acadian
The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...
descent.
At the time of settlement, Bonaventure was located in lands possessed by
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, but in 1763, after the
Treaty of Paris, all of
New France
New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...
was ceded to
Britain, and Bonaventure became part of
British colony of the
Province of Quebec. Later, some of the lands already settled by the Acadians were granted to
anglophones, although after decades of petitioning the Quebec government, some of the Acadian settlers were able to gain title to the lands they occupied. However, even as late as 1891, more than half of the homesteaders in this region had no legal title to the lands they lived on.
Bonaventure was raided by Americans during the
War of Independence.
In 1845, it was first incorporated as the Township Municipality of Hamilton, coinciding with the geographic township that was proclaimed in 1842 and named after
Henry Hamilton.
In 1847, the township municipality was abolished, but reestablished on July 1, 1855. In 1884, it changed its name and statutes from Township Municipality of Hamilton to Parish Municipality of Saint-Bonaventure de Hamilton.
On December 31, 1955, it changed its name and statutes again to become the Municipality of Bonaventure. On May 3, 1997, its statutes were changed to city (''ville'').
[
]
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population 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 ...
, Bonaventure 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.
Mother tongue language (2021):
See also
* List of cities in Quebec
This is the list of municipalities that have the Classification of municipalities in Quebec, Quebec municipality type of city (Quebec), city (''ville'', code=V), an Administrative divisions of Quebec, administrative division defined by the Minist ...
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Cities and towns in Quebec
Incorporated places in Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine