Saint-Jérôme

Cathedral of Saint-Jérôme, Québec, Canada

The territory where the present city of Saint-Jérôme now stands was granted in 1752 by the marquis de la Jonquière, governor of New France, as the seignory of Augmentation des Mille-Iles (literally "enlargement" of the seignory of Mille-Iles). From the 1760s to the 1840s, the seignory was owned by the Dumont and Lefebvre de Bellefeuille families, living in the town of Saint-Eustache, 25 kilometers (16 mi) to the south. The Dumont and the Lefebvre conceded the farmland to colonists coming mostly from the region lying north of Montreal. The emerging town was then known under the name of Dumontville. The Catholic parish of Saint-Jérôme was constituted on November 15, 1834, and the village was constituted on July 1, 1845, by governor Metcalfe.[5]

François-Xavier-Antoine Labelle, a Roman Catholic priest who was the great "colonizer" (promoter of settlement) of the North of Montreal, was in charge of the pastoral administration of Saint-Jérôme in 1868 until his death, in 1891. Eight years after his arrival, he had a railway built linking Saint-Jérôme and Montreal.

Antoine Labelle was the parish priest of Saint-Jérôme for 22 years, from 1868 until his death, at 57 years of age, on January 4, 1891. He was called "the king of North, the apostle of colonization".

The opening of roads and the arrival of a railway became essential with the development of the small communities in the Laurentians. These transportation routes for the movement of goods and people would ensure the establishment of trade and industry.

Labelle promoted the idea of a railway towards the North beginning in 1869. The railway reached Saint-Jérôme in 1876, partly because a railway was seen as a way to meet the needs for firewood and construction materials for urban centres like Montreal and Quebec.

In 2002, Saint-Jérôme was amalgamated with the municipalities of Bellefeuille (2006 census population 15,866), Saint-Antoine (2001 population 11,488) and Lafontaine (2001 population 9,477).

Saint-Jérôme is the seat of the judicial district of Terrebonne.[6]

Saint-Jérôme is home to the Cégep de Saint-Jérôme, one of the Colleges of General and Vocational Education located in the province. It is also home to a new Saint-Jérôme branch campus of the Université du Québec en Outaouais.

The Commission scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord operates French-language public schools. Secondary schools in the community operated by this school district include:

• École secondaire Cap-Jeunesse
• École secondaire des Hauts-Sommets
• École secondaire des-Studios
• École polyvalente Saint-Jérôme
• École secondaire Frenette
• École secondaire Saint-Stanislas

Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board operates English-language public schools. Schools serving the town:

• Laurentian Elementary School in Saint-Jérôme[10]
• Laurentian Regional High School in Lachute[11]

Priest Labelle statue.

• Roman Catholic cathedral, which includes a small museum
• Vieux-Palais modern art museum and public library
• Musée d'art contemporain des Laurentides[12]
• Statue of Antoine Labelle, known as curé Labelle, who was principally responsible for the settlement of the Laurentians
• Several summer festivals[13]
• Carrefour du Nord, a regional shopping mall
• Melançon Arena, an indoor arena

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Jérôme had a population of 80,213 living in 37,371 of its 38,776 total private dwellings, a change of 7.9% from its 2016 population of 74,346. With a land area of 90.18 km² (34.82 sq mi), it had a population density of 889.5/km² (2,303.7/sq mi) in 2021.[14]

Saint-Jérôme is mostly made up of European descents. As of the 2021 census the racial make up of Saint-Jérôme is:[15]

• 91.8% White
• 1.8% Indigenous; 1.0% First Nations, 0.6% Métis
• 1.3% Latin American
• 3.2% Black
• 0.1% South Asian
• 0.2% East Asian; 0.2% Chinese, 0.0% Korean, 0.0% Japanese
• 1.0% Arab
• 0.3% Southeast Asian; 0.1% Filipino
• 0.1% West Asian
• 0.1% Multiracial; 0.7% including Métis
• 0.1% Other

In 2021, 66.1% of the population was Christian, down from 88.1% in 2011.[16] 59% were Catholic, 4.5% were Christian n.o.s and 0.6% were Protestant. All other Christian denominations and Christian-related traditions made up 2.0% of the population. 31.3% of residents were non-religious or secular, up from 11.1% in 2011. All other religions and spiritual traditions accounted for 2.6% of residents. The largest non-Christian religion was Islam at 1.9%.

Population trend:[17]

• Population in 2021: 80,213 (2016 to 2021 population change: 7.9%)
• Population in 2016: 74,346
• Population in 2011: 68,456
• Population in 2006: 63,729
• Population in 2001: 59,614
  • Saint-Jérôme: 24,583
  • Bellefeuille: 14,066
  • Saint-Antoine: 11,488
  • Lafontaine: 9,477
• Population in 1996:
  • Saint-Jérôme: 23,916
  • Bellefeuille: 12,803
  • Saint-Antoine: 10,806
  • Lafontaine: 9,008
• Population in 1991:
  • Saint-Jérôme: 23,384
  • Bellefeuille: 10,883
  • Saint-Antoine: 10,232
  • Lafontaine: 7,365

Canada Census Mother Tongue - St-Jerome, Quebec[17]
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2021		79,065		72,975	6.18%	92.3%		1,290	18.35%	1.6%		915	88.66%	1.2%		3,270	45.33%	4.1%
2016		74,346		68,725	6.72%	92.4%		1,090	8.45%	1.5%		485	32.87%	0.7%		2,250	31.57%	3.0%
2011		67,675		64,395	7.68%	95.2%		1,005	17.54%	1.6%		365	15.88%	0.5%		1,710	7.55%	2.5%
2006		62,560		59,800	6.06%	95.6%		855	20.42%	1.4%		315	5.9%	0.5%		1,590	120.8%	2.5%
2001		58,150		56,385	4.55%	97.0%		710	10.69%	1.2%		335	9.45%	0.6%		720	29.72%	1.2%
1996		55,630		53,930	n/a	97.2%		795	n/a	1.4%		370	n/a	0.7%		555	n/a	1.0%

The 2021 census found that 92.3% of residents spoke French as their mother tongue.

The next most common languages were English (1.6%) and Spanish (1.4%).[18]

• Tod Campeau, Professional hockey player
• Jonathan Huberdeau, Professional hockey player
• Boule Noire, singer
• Marc Nadon, Supreme Court nominee
• Little Beaver, wrestler

• Lisieux, France - since May 2010?

• Municipal reorganization in Quebec
• Quebec Gatineau Railway

• Auclair, Elie-J., Saint-Jérôme de Terrebonne , Imprimerie J.H.A. Labelle, 1934, pages 13–35.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint-Jérôme.

• Ville de Saint-Jérôme, in French