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Cowansville
Cowansville
City
	Nesbitt House, Cowansville
	Coat of arms
	Motto: Fortitudo et decor
	Location within Brome-Missisquoi RCM
	Cowansville Location in southern Quebec
	Coordinates: 45°12′N 72°45′W / 45.200°N 72.750°W
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Estrie
RCM	Brome-Missisquoi
Constituted	January 1, 1876
Government
• Mayor	Sylvie Beauregard
• Federal riding	Brome—Missisquoi
• Prov. riding	Brome-Missisquoi
Area
• City	48.70 km2 (18.80 sq mi)
• Land	46.87 km2 (18.10 sq mi)
• Urban	16.35 km2 (6.31 sq mi)
• Metro	46.87 km2 (18.10 sq mi)
Population (2021)
• City	15,234
• Density	325/km2 (840/sq mi)
• Urban	13,334
• Urban density	815.3/km2 (2,112/sq mi)
• Metro	15,234
• Metro density	325/km2 (840/sq mi)
• Pop 2016-2021	11.6%
• Dwellings	7,247
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J2K 1T4
Area code(s)	450 and 579
Highways	R-104 ; R-139 ; R-202 ; R-241
Geocode	46080
Website	www.ville.cowansville.qc.ca

Cowansville is a town in south-central Quebec, Canada, located on Lac Davignon 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of the U.S. border. It is the seat of Brome-Missisquoi, a regional county municipality. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 15,234.

In recent years, Cowansville has seen its commercial activity blossom mainly due to its proximity to a major freeway, Autoroute 10, and the Eastern Townships ski resort region.

History

Jacob Ruiter was the first person to settle on the current site of Cowansville. In 1800 he built a flour mill, and then a saw mill. In 1805, Ruiter named the small town as Nelsonville, in honour of British admiral, Lord Horatio Nelson, who was killed in the naval Battle of Trafalgar.

The city's current name is due to Peter Cowan, a merchant from Montreal who settled in the area in 1836 and become postmaster in 1841. In order to avoid the mail being sent inadvertently to another city named Nelsonville, close to Hamilton in Upper Canada, he decided to change its name.

During the 1870s, the construction of the South Eastern Railway linking Montreal to Cowansville and the opening of the first bank, the Eastern Townships Bank, contributed to the expansion of the small city, which allows many businesses settle in the area. The municipality detached from the district of Dunham, and incorporated on the January 1, 1876 and officially was named Cowansville. In February of the same year James O'Halloran was acclaimed as Mayor by the town council. Cowansville saw a strong industrial growth during the 20th century, and became a city on June 25, 1931, and has grown since World War II by various annexations, such as Sweetsburg in 1964.

The municipality has a current population of over 12,000. The main economy is based on the industrial sector, in particular textiles. There is also a hospital, Brome-Missisquoi-Perkins, a municipal court, a federal penitentiary, and a Nature Centre close to Davignon Lake.

Cowansville is the seat of the judicial district of Bedford.^[9] It is also the birthplace of the artist and botanist Faith Fyles.

Demographics

Historical Census Data - Cowansville, Quebec^[10]
Year	Pop.	±%
1881	573	—
1891	639	+11.5%
1901	699	+9.4%
1911	881	+26.0%
1921	1,094	+24.2%
1931	1,859	+69.9%
1941	3,486	+87.5%
1951	4,431	+27.1%
1956	5,242	+18.3%
1961	7,050	+34.5%
1966	10,692	+51.7%
1971	11,920	+11.5%
1976	11,902	−0.2%
1981	12,240	+2.8%
1986	11,643	−4.9%
1991	11,986	+2.9%
1996	12,051	+0.5%
2001	12,032	−0.2%
2006	12,182	+1.2%
2011	12,489	+2.5%
2016	13,656	+9.3%
2021	15,234	+11.6%

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Cowansville had a population of 15,234 living in 6,980 of its 7,247 total private dwellings, a change of 11.6% from its 2016 population of 13,656. With a land area of 46.87 km² (18.10 sq mi), it had a population density of 325.0/km² (841.8/sq mi) in 2021.^[11]

Canada census – Cowansville community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	15,234 (+11.6% from 2016)	13,656 (+9.3% from 2011)	12,489 (+2.5% from 2006)
Land area	46.87 km² (18.10 sq mi)	46.89 km² (18.10 sq mi)	46.09 km² (17.80 sq mi)
Population density	325/km² (840/sq mi)	291.2/km² (754/sq mi)	271.0/km² (702/sq mi)
Median age	48.8 (M: 46.0, F: 51.6)	46.2 (M: 43.7, F: 49.0)	45.5 (M: 43.2, F: 47.5)
Private dwellings	7,247 (total) 6,980 (occupied)	6,272 (total)	5,789 (total)
Median household income	$58,800	$49,508	$43,252

References: 2021^[12] 2016^[13] 2011^[14] earlier^[15]^[16]

Canada Census Mother Tongue - Cowansville, Quebec^[10]
Census	Total	French			English			French & English			Other
Year	Responses	Count	Trend	Pop %	Count	Trend	Pop %	Count	Trend	Pop %	Count	Trend	Pop %
2021	14,460	11,485	11.3%	79.4%	2,140	6.2%	14.8%	455	89.6%	3.1%	290	34.9%	2.0%
2016	12,810	10,315	5.5%	80.5%	2,015	2.3%	15.7%	240	23.1%	1.9%	215	13.2%	1.7%
2011	12,135	9,780	2.6%	80.6%	1,970	15.5%	16.2%	195	25.8%	1.6%	190	7.3%	1.6%
2006	11,600	9,535	0.6%	82.2%	1,705	10.7%	14.7%	155	18.4%	1.3%	205	156.2%	1.8%
2001	11,290	9,480	5.9%	84.0%	1,540	17.9%	13.6%	190	19.1%	1.7%	80	44.8%	0.7%
1996	11,205	8,950	n/a	79.9%	1,875	n/a	16.7%	235	n/a	2.1%	145	n/a	1.3%

Notable people

George Harold Baker (1877–1916), was a lawyer, political figure, soldier and Member in the Canadian House of Commons, as a Conservative Member of Parliament^[17]