Estrie
Estrie (French pronunciation: [ɛstʁi]) is an 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 per cent francophone.[3] Anglophones are concentrated in Lennoxville, home of the region's only English-speaking university, Bishop's University. The Eastern Townships School Board runs 20 elementary schools, three high schools, and a learning centre.[4]
Estrie | |
---|---|
Country | Canada |
Province | Quebec |
Regional County Municipalities (RCM) and Equivalent Territories (ET) | |
Government | |
• Regional conference of elected officers | Jacques Demers (President) |
Area | |
• Land | 10,212.00 km2 (3,942.88 sq mi) |
Population | |
• Total | 337,701 |
• Density | 31.2/km2 (81/sq mi) |
Demonym | Estrien(ne) |
Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
Postal code | |
Area code | 819 |
Website | estrie.gouv.qc.ca |
The region originally consisted of 6 RCM's. In 2021, La Haute-Yamaska & Brome-Missisquoi joined Estrie, transferring from Montérégie.
Economy
While the economy of the area is mainly based on agriculture, forestry, and mining,[5] tourist attractions include four Sépaq parks: Yamaska, Mont-Orford, Frontenac, and Mont-Mégantic,[6] ski resorts at Mont Brome and Mont Orford, and agritourism.
Administrative divisions
Regional county municipalities
Regional County Municipality (RCM) | Population 2021 Canadian census |
Land Area | Density (pop. per km2) |
Seat of RCM |
---|---|---|---|---|
Brome-Missisquoi | 64,786 | 1,651 km2 (637 sq mi) | 34.3 | Cowansville |
Coaticook | 18,906 | 1,339.80 km2 (517.30 sq mi) | 13.8 | Coaticook |
La Haute-Yamaska | 92,796 | 637 km2 (246 sq mi) | 136.0 | Granby |
Le Granit | 21,948 | 2,735.21 km2 (1,056.07 sq mi) | 7.8 | Lac-Mégantic |
Le Haut-Saint-François | 22,926 | 2,273.39 km2 (877.76 sq mi) | 9.8 | Cookshire-Eaton |
Le Val-Saint-François | 31,551 | 1,403.43 km2 (541.87 sq mi) | 21.9 | Richmond |
Les Sources | 14,623 | 787.13 km2 (303.91 sq mi) | 18.1 | Val-des-Sources |
Memphrémagog | 54,797 | 1,319.29 km2 (509.38 sq mi) | 38.2 | Magog |
Equivalent territory
Territory Equivalent to a RCM (TE) | Population | Land Area | Density (pop. per km2) |
Seat of ET |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sherbrooke | 172,950 | 367.10 km2 (141.74 sq mi) | 456.0 | Sherbrooke |
Demographics
Largest cities or towns in Estrie 2021 census | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Regional county municipality | Pop. | Rank | Regional county municipality | Pop. | ||||
Sherbrooke Granby |
1 | Sherbrooke | Sherbrooke | 172,950 | 11 | Lac-Mégantic | Le Granit | 5,747 | Cowansville |
2 | Granby | La Haute-Yamaska | 69,025 | 12 | Cookshire-Eaton | Le Haut-Saint-François | 5,344 | ||
3 | Magog | Memphrémagog | 28,312 | 13 | Windsor | Le Val-Saint-François | 5,294 | ||
4 | Cowansville | Brome-Missisquoi | 15,234 | 14 | Orford | Memphrémagog | 5,007 | ||
5 | Bromont | Brome-Missisquoi | 11,357 | 15 | Waterloo | La Haute-Yamaska | 4,920 | ||
6 | Farnham | Brome-Missisquoi | 10,149 | 16 | Saint-Denis-de-Brompton | Le Val-Saint-François | 4,594 | ||
7 | Coaticook | Coaticook | 8,867 | 17 | Sutton | Brome-Missisquoi | 4,548 | ||
8 | Shefford | La Haute-Yamaska | 7,253 | 18 | Roxton Pond | La Haute-Yamaska | 4,224 | ||
9 | Val-des-Sources | Les Sources | 7,088 | 19 | Danville | Les Sources | 3,888 | ||
10 | Brome Lake | Brome-Missisquoi | 5,923 | 20 | East Angus | Le Haut-Saint-François | 3,840 |
Census | French | English | French and English | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | 304,620 | 23,565 | 4,485 | 1,345 |
2016 | 289,040 | 21,745 | 3,110 | 1,115 |
2011 | 281,305 | 22,070 | 2,720 | 825 |
Estrie has a population of 377,701 according to the 2021 Canadian Census. Out of 326,955 singular responses the most common out of them are as follows.
Rank | Language | Population | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
1 | French | 291,685 | 89.2% |
2 | English | 20,195 | 6.2% |
3 | Spanish | 4,070 | 1.2% |
4 | Arabic | 2,365 | 0.7% |
Census | French Only | English Only | French and English | Neither French Nor English |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | 181,810 | 7,645 | 142,755 | 1,345 |
2016 | 179,590 | 6,685 | 127,565 | 1,170 |
2011 | 179,480 | 6,970 | 119,595 | 865 |
Cultural or ethnic origin
Estrie has a majority European population but it does have a diverse group of minorites. The most commonly described ethnic groups amongst the 328,025 responses are as follows[2]
Rank | Ethnic/Cultural Identity | Population | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Canadian | 120,150 | 36.6% |
2 | French | 85,115 | 26% |
3 | Quebecois | 42,855 | 13% |
4 | French Canadian | 28,290 | 8.6% |
5 | English | 9,185 | 3% |
6 | Scottish | 8,045 | 2.5% |
7 | First Nations | 7,270 | 2.2% |
Religion
Rank | Religion | Population | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Catholicism | 193,700 | 59% |
2 | No Religion | 97,435 | 29.7% |
3 | Islam | 6,575 | 2% |
4 | Anglicianism | 2,555 | 0.7% |
5 | United Church of Canada | 1,830 | 0.5% |
School Districts
Francophone:
- Commission scolaire des Hauts-Cantons (Coaticook, East Angus and Lac-Mégantic).
- Commission scolaire de la Région-de-Sherbrooke
- Commission scolaire des Sommets
Anglophone:
Major communities
References
- "Census Profile, 2016 Census: Estrie [Economic region], Quebec". Statistics Canada. 8 February 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-02-09). "Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - Estrie [Economic region], Quebec". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
- "Eastern Townships". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- Elementary schools Archived 2010-11-30 at the Wayback Machine and High Schools Archived 2010-10-27 at the Wayback Machine, Eastern Townships School Board, accessed 19 November 2010.
- "Community Snapshot – Eastern Townships" (PDF). The Community Information Database. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- "Best of the Townships". Tourism Eastern Townships. 25 May 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-02-09). "Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - Sherbrooke, Ville (V) [Census subdivision], Quebec". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
Further reading
- Farfan, Matthew (2022). "Why "Eastern Townships"?". Township History WebMagazine.
External links
- Estrie, Government of Quebec
- Tourism Eastern Townships
- Estrieplus.com (in French)