Saint-René-de-Matane () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

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. In addition to main population centre of Saint-René located along Quebec Route 195, the municipality also includes the communities of Le Renversé, Rivière-Matane, Ruisseau-Gagnon, and Village-à-Dancause.

History

The Municipality of Saint-René-de-Matane was formed on December 18, 1982, through the merger of the Parish Municipalities of Saint-René-de-Matane and Saint-Nil, founded in 1965 and 1974 respectively. Its name comes from

René Goupil René Goupil, (15 May 1608 – 29 September 1642), was a French Jesuit lay missionary (, "given" or "one who offers himself") who became a lay brother of the Society of Jesus shortly before his death. He was the first of the eight North Ame ...

, a Canadian martyr canonized in 1930.

Geography

Saint-René-de-Matane is located on the southern slope of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

, northeast of

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

and northeast of

Rimouski Rimouski ( ; ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski, whose motto is ''Legi patrum fidelis'' (Faithful to ...

. Major cities near Saint-René-de-Matane are

Matane Matane () is a town on the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, Canada, on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Matane River. The town is the seat for the La Matanie Regional County Municipality. In addition to Matane itse ...

, to the north, Sayabec, to the west, Amqui, and

Causapscal Causapscal (; ) is a city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec, located in La Matapédia Regional County Municipality. It is located at the confluence of the Matapédia River, Matapédia and Causapscal Rivers, al ...

, to the south. The municipality is located on Route 195, which connects

to Amqui, between Saint-Vianney to the south and

to the north. This road runs along the

Matane River The Matane River () is a river flowing in La Matanie Regional County Municipality, in administrative region of Bas-Saint-Laurent, on the Gaspé Peninsula, in the provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, Canada, which empties into ...

in its section crossing the municipality. The territory of the municipality, covering an area of , also includes the Petite rivière Matane and the Gagnon stream. The municipality of Saint-René-de-Matane is part of La Matanie Regional County Municipality in the administrative region of

Bas-Saint-Laurent The Bas-Saint-Laurent (, 'Lower Saint-Lawrence) is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlan ...

. In addition to the main hamlet of Saint-René, the municipality is made up of four hamlets: Le Renversé, Rivière-Matane, Ruisseau-Gagnon and Village-à-Dancause.

Demographics

Population

Mother tongue: * English as first language: 0% * French as first language: 99.5% * English and French as first language: 0.5% * Other as first language: 0%

Government

List of former mayors: * Jean Yves Murray (1982–1992) * Colombe Canuel Lagacé (1992–2000) * Jean Charles Gagnon (2000–2009) * Sylvain Audit (2009–2011) * Roger Vaillancourt (2011–2015) * Harold Chassé (2015–2017) * Rémi Fortin (2017–present)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Rene-de-Matane, Quebec Incorporated places in Bas-Saint-Laurent Municipalities in Quebec