Saint-Donat () is a

township municipality A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canada ...

in the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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, ...

, part of the

Regional County Municipality The term regional county municipality or RCM (, , MRC) is used in Quebec, Canada to refer to one of 87 county-like political entities. In some older English translations they were called county regional municipality. Regional county municipalit ...

of Matawinie, within the larger administrative region of

Lanaudière Lanaudière (, ) is one of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada, situated immediately to the northeast of Montreal. It has a total population ( 2016 Census) of 494,796 inhabitants, an increase of 4.9% over the 2011 census. Geogr ...

. The main town within the township is also identified as Saint-Donat-de-Montcalm to distinguish it from a parish municipality with the same name in La Mitis RCM. It is located approximately

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

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 ...

. The town is surrounded by mountains and numerous water basins of the

Laurentian Mountains The Laurentian Mountains, also known as the Laurentians or Laurentides, are a mountain range in Canada. The range is long and ranges in height from with peaks over . The Laurentian Mountains extend across Labrador and Quebec within the Laurent ...

. The nearest natural landmark is the

Mont-Tremblant National Park Mont-Tremblant National Park (, ) is a provincial park in Canada located north of the town of Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Mont-Tremblant, and the village of Saint-Donat, Lanaudière, Quebec, Saint-Donat and Saint-Côme, Quebec, Saint-Côme, in the ad ...

History

Saint-Donat was founded sometime near 1876 by a religious community of suffragettes as the "Saint-Donat Parish" near the church (located at the intersection of Principale and Allard streets). It was therefore first settled in the mid-to-late 19th century, as a solution to the overcrowding of cities such as Montreal. Over time, the small village received urban population attracted by its beautiful landscape and the town was officially established in 1904. By 1950, Saint-Donat had reached a population of 2,000. As of 2021, the town was nearing 4,600 permanent residents.

Economy

A silica mine is located in Saint-Donat.

Demographics

Population

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 2434 (total dwellings: 4527)

Language

All official government actions take place in French, the official language of Quebec. French is the primary language spoken in Saint-Donat, though some people, especially those who deal often with tourists, are able to speak and understand English. * Mother tongue: * English as first language: 2.8% * French as first language: 94.4% * English and French as first language: 1.1% * Other as first language: 1.9%

Government

Saint-Donat forms part of the federal electoral district of

Joliette Joliette () is a city in southwest Quebec, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Montreal, on the L'Assomption River and is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of Joliette. It is considered to be a part of the North Shore of G ...

and has been represented by

Gabriel Ste-Marie Gabriel Ste-Marie is a Canadian politician and academic who was elected to represent the riding Joliette in the House of Commons in the 2015 election. He teaches economics at Cégep régional de Lanaudière. Ste-Marie served as the Bloc Qu� ...

of the

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (, , BQ) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion o ...

since 2015. Provincially, Saint-Donat is part of the Bertrand electoral district and is represented by

France-Élaine Duranceau France-Élaine Duranceau (; born November 28, 1974) is a Canadian politician and real-estate agent who was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2022 Quebec general election. She was appointed to cabinet named Minister of Housing. ...

of the

Coalition Avenir Québec The Coalition Avenir Québec (, , CAQ) is a Quebec nationalism, Quebec nationalist, Autonomism in Quebec, autonomist and conservatism, conservative

since 2022. The current mayor of Saint-Donat is Joé Deslauriers. The mayor and a six-member

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

are the elected officials of the municipality.

Education

Sainte 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 this community for both elementary and secondary levels.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.

Tourism

Saint-Donat is often frequented by

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

in the winter. Its main attraction is

snowmobiling A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

, but other winter

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

, such as

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

, can be enjoyed there as well, with Ski Garceau and Ski La Reserve being the two most popular resorts in the area. Outdoor skating rinks and cross country ski trails through the forest are frequented by locals and tourists alike. Its

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s, and pleasant

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloud cover, cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmo ...

attract many tourists in the summer

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

. Many people who vacation in Saint-Donat during the summer enjoy swimming, kayaking, sailing, and water-skiing on its two large

s, Lac Archambault and Lac Ouareau. Saint-Donat is the only village in the Laurentiens that has two side-by-side lakes of the size of Archambault and Ouareau. Saint-Donat also contains many other smaller lakes such as Lac Baribeau, Lac Pembina, Lac Croche, and others. The year-round

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of Saint-Donat is approximately 3,700, but during the tourist season, the number of people actually in Saint-Donat can reach 20,000. Saint-Donat has been recognized for its beauty and has received national recognition, especially for the quality of its public places. It was first recognized as a prime tourist destination in 1908, by an engineer with the Ministry of Lands and Forests. Hotels and other businesses necessary in a tourist destination began within a few decades, and tourism was the focal point of the local economy by 1970. Saint-Donat can be accessed by two main highways, the 125 and 329, and is located 1h30min from Montreal by car. There is also a local airport accessible to light aircraft in the village of Saint-Donat.

Twin towns

Saint-Donat is twinned with: * Lans-en-Vercors, France, since 1990

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Donat, Lanaudiere, Quebec Municipalities in Quebec Incorporated places in Lanaudière Matawinie Regional County Municipality