Rivière-Rouge (, ) is a city located in the
Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality
Antoine-Labelle () is a regional county municipality located in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada. Its seat is Mont-Laurier. It is named for Antoine Labelle.
Subdivisions
There are 28 subdivisions within the RCM:
;Cities & Towns (2)
* ...
,
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 ...
. The population as of the
2021 Canadian census
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, 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%, whic ...
was 4,631.
History
As part of the
2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec
The 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec resulted in large-scale amalgamation of smaller municipality (Quebec), municipalities in Quebec into larger cities. It was undertaken by one administration, but was modified and partially undone ...
, the city was created on December 18, 2002 by the amalgamation of the villages of
L'Annonciation, La Macaza, Sainte-Véronique, and Canton Marchand. After a
referendum in 2004,
La Macaza
La Macaza () is a municipality and village in the province of Quebec, Canada. The village is located in the Laurentian Mountains, in the Laurentides (region), Laurentian region, in Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality. Its population was ...
regained its independent status on January 1, 2006 but remains part of the
Urban agglomeration of Rivière-Rouge. The urban agglomeration is responsible for managing aspects that are common to all municipalities that were once merged, examples are 911 service, public safety, recycling and many other city functions that were merged into the city. The original villages are now the sectors of L'Annonciation, Marchand, and Sainte-Véronique. Although the city is named Rivière-Rouge, most people still call each town by its historical name.
The city is named for
Rouge River that runs through the area. It is a tributary of the
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River (, ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word "to trade", as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...
(French: ''Rivière des Outaouais''). The region was always known as ''La Vallée de la Rouge'' (English: The Valley of the Red), and the city name was probably chosen for this reason. The now defunct local Air Cadet Squadron number 883 was also called Rivière-Rouge.
The village of l'Annonciation was created in 1908 from the "Downtown" area of the municipality of Marchand, so in one sense it has been re-absorbed into the whole. The two municipalities had done many things in cooperation prior to the merger.
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 ...
, Rivière-Rouge 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.
Language
All official government actions take place in
French, the official language of Quebec. French is the primary language spoken in Rivière-Rouge, though some people, especially those who deal often with tourists, are able to speak and understand English.
Mother tongue (2021):
* English as first language: 2.0%
* French as first language: 96.2%
* English and French as first language: 0.6%
* Other as first language: 0.9%
Government
List of former mayors:
* Déborah Bélanger (2002–2017)
* Denis Charette (2017–2021)
* Denis Lacasse (2021–present)
Infrastructure
Transportation
The provincial government has over the years looked into creating a bypass of the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...
Route 117 that runs through the L'Annonciation sector, in order to alleviate traffic problems caused by a combination of heavy truck traffic, heavy weekend tourist traffic and a main street that was not built for the amount of traffic. The currently planned new route would cut traffic in the downtown L'Annonciation area by an estimated 75%. The road would split off the current highway south of the village and pass the village to the west, and rejoin the main road just to the north near highway 321. There would also be one additional exchange built off the new highway, about halfway, that would join up to Montée Marois, a street in the center of the village where the only traffic light is. Much of the land acquisition surveying, and clearing has been undertaken over the past two years. It was expected to be completed by the end of 2009; as of 2011 is still under construction.
Hospitals

The city also is home to the regional hospital, Le Centre Hospitalier Des Laurentides (CHDL), which is located in the L'Annonciation sector along the Trans-Canada highway. The hospital is in theory a full-service hospital, but each year the provincial health care budget changes considerably and cuts or expansions in services occur. A large portion of the hospital is allocated to the mental ward and to the care of psychiatric patients.
Police
The city does not have a municipal police or public safety force and must rely on the Mont-Laurier precinct of the
Sûreté du Québec
The (SQ; , ) is the State police, provincial police service for the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. There is no official English name, though the agency's name is sometimes translated as Quebec Provincial Police ...
for police services.
Fire
The city has a volunteer fire department with two fire stations, one serving the Ste-Veronique sector and one serving both the L'Annonciation and Marchand sectors. Prior to the creation of the city, the villages of L'Annonciation and Canton Marchand operated a joint fire department. The city continued to use the same buildings and equipment from the villages.
Education
Commission scolaire Pierre-Neveu (CSPN) operates Francophone schools serving all sectors of Rivière-Rouge. It operates the two public schools in Rivière-Rouge.
* École du Meandre (known as Ecole Ste-Croix before the province of Quebec restructured their school systems) is located in the L'Annonciation sector. The school goes from kindergarten to secondary 3 (9th grade). It serves as the grade school for the L'Annonciation and Marchand sectors as well as the regional junior high school (secondary 1 through 3, or grades 7 through 9) for Rivière-Rouge,
La Macaza
La Macaza () is a municipality and village in the province of Quebec, Canada. The village is located in the Laurentian Mountains, in the Laurentides (region), Laurentian region, in Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality. Its population was ...
, L’Ascension, Nominingue, Ste-Veronique, Lac Saguay and unincorporated areas in between.
* École du Christ-Roi, a part of École des Trois Sentiers, is a k-6 grade school located in the Ste-Veronique sector.
* Students must complete their last two years of high school at
École Polyvalente St-Joseph in the nearby city of
Mont-Laurier
Mont-Laurier () is a town and incorporated municipality in western Quebec, Canada, located on the banks of the Lièvre River (''Rivière du Lièvre''), a tributary of the Ottawa River. Known as the "Capital of the Haute-Laurentides", the motto o ...
.
Saint Agathe Academy Sainte Agathe Academy (SAA; ) is a public anglophone primary and secondary school in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec. It is operated by the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board.
Persons from the following communities are zoned to this school for the e ...
of the
Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board
The Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board (SWLSB, , CSSWL) is a school board headquartered in Rosemère, Quebec in Greater Montreal.
It officially came into existence in July 1998 when English-language schools from eight former school boards were amalg ...
in
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts () is a town in the province of Quebec, Canada, in the regional county municipality of Les Laurentides in the administrative region of Laurentides, also known as the "Laurentians" or the Laurentian Mountains (in English) ...
serves English-speaking students in all sectors of Rivière-Rouge.
[About Us]
" Saint Agathe Academy Sainte Agathe Academy (SAA; ) is a public anglophone primary and secondary school in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec. It is operated by the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board.
Persons from the following communities are zoned to this school for the e ...
. Retrieved on September 4, 2017. Se
Elementary zone map
an
Secondary zone map
- Note that all areas covered in the elementary map are also covered in the secondary one. Note Sainte-Veronique is not listed in the website list but is shown on the high school map.
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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riviere-Rouge
Cities and towns in Quebec
Incorporated places in Laurentides