Sutton, Quebec

Like many other towns and villages in the Eastern Townships, Sutton became home to many United Empire Loyalists, following the American Revolution. In 1799 the first recorded Loyalists immigrated to the area, among them Richard Shepherd, originally of New Hampshire. During the 19th century, new buildings were erected to serve the town's growing population, among them a school in 1808 (on the road linking the town to nearby Abercorn) as well as the town hall built in 1859. In the decades that followed, Protestant and Roman Catholic churches were built as was a railway station.[5]

Sutton became a municipality in 1892, and later a town in 1962. In 2002, the township of Sutton merged with the town of Sutton,[6] roughly doubling the town's population, and vastly expanding the town's area. The economy has moved from one largely based on farming to one that is heavily reliant on tourism due to the opening of Sutton Ski Resort in 1960. Sutton is now a popular year-round destination for road and mountain biking, hiking, visits to vineyards and micro-breweries.

Sutton is near the Canada–United States border with Vermont, 110 kilometres (68 mi) southeast of Montreal, 400 kilometres (250 mi) northwest of Boston, Massachusetts and 90 kilometres (56 mi) west of Sherbrooke.

Sutton is also close to Mont Sutton, which has an altitude of 968 metres (3,176 ft), and is a popular ski resort for tourists.[7]

The municipality is bordered to the west by the Réserve Naturelle Montagnes Vertes which can be accessed by footpath provided by three separate organizations: Les sentiers du Corridor appalachien (Mont Singer to Mansonville), Les sentiers du Parc d'environnement naturel de Sutton (Round Top sector), Les sentiers de l’Estrie (Mont Echo sector or Bolton-Est to Mont Glen and Mont Singer).[8] All three have an entry fee or membership obligation that can be easily avoided by simply walking by the payment station.

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Sutton had a population of 4,548 living in 2,388 of its 3,767 total private dwellings, a change of 13.4% from its 2016 population of 4,012. With a land area of 245.69 km² (94.86 sq mi), it had a population density of 18.5/km² (47.9/sq mi) in 2021.[10]

According to 2021 Census data, Sutton has one of the highest median ages in Canada, at 60.4 years. A sizable percentage of the town's population is composed of artists, the highest proportion in Canada.[11]

Canada Census Mother Tongue - Sutton, Quebec[9]
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2021		4,485		3,075	22.0%	68.6%		1,060	4.9%	23.6%		130	73.3%	2.9%		200	0.0%	4.5%
2016		3,925		2,520	9.8%	64.2%		1,115	11.2%	28.4%		75	0.0%	1.9%		200	5.3%	5.1%
2011		3,815		2,295	1.9%	60.2%		1,255	8.2%	32.9%		75	7.1%	2.0%		190	15.2%	5.0%
2006		3,735		2,340	205.9%	62.7%		1,160	60.0%	31.1%		70	133.3%	1.9%		165	312.5%	4.4%
2001		1,560		765	4.1%	49.0%		725	6.6%	46.5%		30	60.0%	1.9%		40	20.0%	2.6%
1996		1,540		735	n/a	47.7%		680	n/a	44.2%		75	n/a	4.9%		50	n/a	3.3%

Like many other communities in the southwestern quadrant of the province, Sutton has historically been an anglophone enclave in a predominantly francophone province. Today anglophones make up only 24% of the population, compared to 69% for francophones and 5% for allophones.

Due to a large Swiss population in the town, Sutton has many people who speak German. Every year Swiss National Day is celebrated at Mont Sutton ski resort on the last Saturday in July.

• Sutton River, a river of Quebec and Vermont
• List of cities in Quebec
• Municipal history of Quebec

• Sutton municipality