Val-David

Val-David is a village of more than 5,200 inhabitants in the Laurentian Mountains about 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Attracting about 100,000 tourists a year, Val-David is predominantly francophone although it has a small anglophone minority.

Val-David
Village municipality
Val-David
Val-David
Motto(s): 
Un monde à part, et à partager (A world apart, and to be shared)
Location within Les Laurentides RCM
Location within Les Laurentides RCM
Val-David is located in Central Quebec
Val-David
Val-David
Location in central Quebec
Coordinates: 46°02′N 74°13′W[1]
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
RegionLaurentides
RCMLes Laurentides
ConstitutedMay 10, 1921
Government
[2]
 • MayorDominique Forget
 • Federal ridingLaurentides—Labelle
 • Prov. ridingBertrand
Area
[2][3]
 • Total43.90 km2 (16.95 sq mi)
 • Land42.66 km2 (16.47 sq mi)
 • Water3 km2 (1 sq mi)
Elevation
[1]
322 m (1,056 ft)
Population
 (2021)[3]
 • Total5,558
 • Density130.3/km2 (337/sq mi)
 • Pop 2016-2021
Increase 13%
 • Dwellings
3,227
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)
J0T 2N0
Area code819
Highways
A-15 (TCH)
R-117
Websitewww.valdavid.com

The village is famous for its delicious and diverse food scene as well for its artistic and hippie character. Many renowned and amateur artists, writers and dancers live and have lived in Val-David, notably Québécois poet Gaston Miron, jazz bassist Charlie Biddle, and singer-songwriter Alan Gerber.

Val-David is also a centre for much outdoor recreational activity as its 2,000-acre (8.1 km2) Parc Dufresne is the most popular rock-climbing destination in eastern Canada. Also, the Parc Linéaire Le P'tit Train du Nord, a 200 kilometres (120 mi) bike trail, and groomed cross-country ski and snowshoe trails in Winter, run throughout the town's splendid nature.

History
Val-David

The place was first known as Belisle's Mills, after the owner of one of the area's first sawmills. In 1873, its post office opened under the name of Mont-Morin, which was renamed Belisle's Mills in 1901. In 1917, the parish of Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belisle or Bélisle was formed, detached from Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts. In 1921, the village municipality was officially established and named after the parish.[1]

In 1923, the post office was renamed Val-David, which also became the official designation of the municipality in 1944. It pays tribute to Louis Athanase David (1882-1953), member of parliament for Terrebonne from 1916 to 1919 and secretary of Quebec from 1919 to 1936, and his father Laurent-Olivier David (1840-1926), member of the House of Commons and author of several books.[1]

It now has its first local community monthly newspaper, ski-se-dit.

Transportation

The town is accessible via Autoroute 15 which links Laval and Montreal towards the south shore suburbs like Brossard and the north shore suburbs like Saint-Jérôme. The autoroute 15 also offers a direct path to and from the United States border. The municipality is located near the northern terminus of the Autoroute which continues further north via Route 117 towards the La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve north of Mont-Tremblant and Mont-Laurier.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Val-David had a population of 5,558 living in 2,668 of its 3,227 total private dwellings, a change of 13% from its 2016 population of 4,917. With a land area of 42.66 km2 (16.47 sq mi), it had a population density of 130.3/km2 (337.4/sq mi) in 2021.[4]

Historical population
YearPop.±%
19912,976—    
19963,473+16.7%
20013,819+10.0%
20064,216+10.4%
20114,450+5.6%
20164,917+10.5%
20215,558+13.0%
[5]


Mother tongue:

  • English as first language: 4.2%
  • French as first language: 89.5%
  • English and French as first language: 1.8%
  • Other as first language: 3.7%

Education

Val-David has three schools (all francophone), one of which is the Waldorf school, which is very popular among some of the hippie folk because of their approach to education.

Sainte Agathe Academy (of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board) in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts serves English-speaking students in this community for both elementary and secondary levels.[6]

References
  1. "Reference number 64775 in Banque de noms de lieux du Québec". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec.
  2. "Geographic code 78010 in the official Répertoire des municipalités". www.mamh.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation.
  3. "Data table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - Val-David, Village (VL) [Census subdivision], Quebec". 9 February 2022.
  4. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  5. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 census
  6. "About Us." Saint Agathe Academy. Retrieved on September 4, 2017. See Elementary zone map and Secondary zone map - Note that all areas covered in the elementary map are also covered in the secondary one.
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