| Saint-Jacques | |
| Native Name Lang: | fr |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality |
| Flag Size: | 120x80px |
| Nickname: | "The Acadian cradle of Lanaudière" |
| Pushpin Map: | Canada Central Quebec |
| Pushpin Label Position: | top |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in central Quebec |
| Coordinates: | 45.95°N -107°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Quebec |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Lanaudière |
| Subdivision Type3: | RCM |
| Subdivision Name3: | Montcalm |
| Established Title: | Settled |
| Established Date: | Mid 18th-century |
| Established Title1: | Constituted |
| Established Date1: | May 20, 1998 |
| Named For: | Jacques Degeay |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Josyanne Forest |
| Leader Title1: | Federal riding |
| Leader Name1: | Montcalm |
| Leader Title2: | Prov. riding |
| Leader Name2: | Joliette |
| Area Total Km2: | 67.20 |
| Area Land Km2: | 67.17 |
| Population Total: | 4302 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Density Km2: | 64 |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Pop (2016–21) |
| Population Blank1: | 8.3% |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Dwellings |
| Population Blank2: | 1939 |
| Timezone: | EST |
| Utc Offset: | −5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −4 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code(s) |
| Postal Code: | J0K 2R0 |
| Area Code: | 450 and 579 |
| Blank Name: | Highways[1] |
Saint-Jacques (in French pronounced as /sɛ̃ ʒak/) is a 26 mi² (67.34 km²) rural municipality in the Lanaudière region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Montcalm Regional County Municipality with a population of 4,300 year-round residents.[2] [3] The municipality is notable for its natural beauty and horticulture. Officially founded in 1774 by thirty Acadian families who managed to escape by boat to Quebec after forced expulsion, Saint-Jacques is part of the region known as the "Acadian cradle of Lanaudière."
"The Great Upheaval" (Fr. "le Grand Dérangement") began in the fall of 1755 and lasted until 1778.[4] [5] "The first removals ... [of] approximately 7,000 people were from settlements around the Bay of Fundy" in present-day Nova Scotia. The majority were expelled by ship to the "continental colonies or France," but 225 fled south to Quebec. They would go on to found a handful of new Acadian villages, or “Little Cadies,” including Saint-Jacques, which is why the Saint-Jacques coat of arms uses the same colors as the Acadian flag.
Over the years, the territory has been known by various names:
The name Saint-Jacques was given in honour of Jacques Degeay (1717-1774), priest of L'Assomption from 1742 to 1774, who supported the Acadians in 1766.
Originally called Saint-Jacques-de-la-Nouvelle-Acadie to commemorate the Acadians' second pioneering effort and Father Jacques Degeay who helped them, the municipality provided the settlers key resources for living off the land.[6] [7] The site provided ready access to "hardwood ... with which [to] build homes, barns, poultry houses, hog barns, sheep pens.... ploughs, tables, chairs, or tool handles ... and "soft wood" — the white pine especially — [for] cabinets, hutches, bowls and shoes." Although the first houses, built in 1768, were wood, by the beginning of the 1800s, they were being built of stone, which was also plentiful.[8] An oft-repeated adage explained such abundance this way: "Our fathers lost Acadia; In return, [we] found the richest lands of Lower Canada.... In [our] veins flow[s] the purest French blood."
In 1772, the parish of Saint-Jacques-de-l'Achigan was founded. That same year, the villagers hired a priest and, in 1775, they built their first church. Nine years later, they began cultivating tobacco, which became so essential it is pictured on one of the four quadrants of the municipality's coat of arms.[9] Other agricultural crops followed: corn, grain, as well as dairy farms in the swine industry, vegetable farming, the farming of mink, and maple trees, eventually leading to the development of off-season industries and factories.
In 1835, its post office opened with the abbreviated name of Saint-Jacques. In 1845, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Jacques-de-Saint-Sulpice or L'Achigan was formed, but abolished in 1847 to become part of the County Municipality of L'Assomption. In 1855, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Jacques(-de-l'Achigan) was reestablished. By 1895, Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World Containing Notices of Over One Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand Places described Saint-Jacques this way:
SAINT JACQUES DE L’ACHIGAN, a post-village of Québec, co. of Montcalm, 13 miles N.N.W. of L'Assomption. It has a church, a convent, a brewery, &c. Pop. 800.[10]
In 1912, the Village Municipality of Saint-Jacques-de-l'Achigan was created when it ceded from the parish municipality. Its name was shortened to Saint-Jacques in 1917, and 3 years later, the name of the parish municipality was also abbreviated.
In 1998, the village municipality and the parish municipality merged to form the new Municipality of Saint-Jacques.
Private dwellings occupied by usual residents (2021): 1,892 (total dwellings: 1,939)
Mother tongue (2021):
| French-language Schools | English-language Schools | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Governance | Commission scolaire des Samares | The Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board | |
| Elementary | École de Grand-Pré[14] | Joliette Elementary School in Saint-Charles-Borromée[15] | |
| High School | École Saint-Louis-de-France[16] | Joliette High School in Joliette[17] | |