Estrie

Estrie
Administrative region
CountryCanada Canada
ProvinceQuebec Quebec
Regional County
Municipalities (RCM) and Equivalent
Territories (ET)
8 RCM, 1 ET
Government
 • Regional conference of elected officersJacques Demers (President)
Area
[1]
 • Land10,212.00 km2 (3,942.88 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[1][2]
 • Total
337,701
 • Density31.2/km2 (81/sq mi)
DemonymEstrien(ne)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal code
J
Area code819
Websiteestrie.gouv.qc.ca

Estrie (French pronunciation: [ɛstʁi]) is an administrative region of Quebec that comprises the Eastern Townships. Estrie, a French neologism, was coined as a derivative of est, "east". Originally settled by anglophones, today it is about 90 per cent francophone.[3] Anglophones are concentrated in Lennoxville, home of the region's only English-speaking university, Bishop's University. The Eastern Townships School Board runs 20 elementary schools, three high schools, and a learning centre.[4]

The region originally consisted of 6 regional county municipalities. In 2021, La Haute-Yamaska & Brome-Missisquoi joined Estrie, transferring from Montérégie.

Economy

While the economy of the area is mainly based on agriculture, forestry, and mining,[5] tourist attractions include four Sépaq parks: Yamaska, Mont-Orford, Frontenac, and Mont-Mégantic,[6] ski resorts at Mont Brome and Mont Orford, and agritourism.

Administrative divisions

Regional county municipalities

Regional County Municipality (RCM) Population
2021 Canadian census 		Land Area Density
(pop. per km2) 		Seat of RCM
Brome-Missisquoi 64,786 1,651 km2 (637 sq mi) 34.3 Cowansville
Coaticook 18,906 1,339.80 km2 (517.30 sq mi) 13.8 Coaticook
La Haute-Yamaska 92,796 637 km2 (246 sq mi) 136.0 Granby
Le Granit 21,948 2,735.21 km2 (1,056.07 sq mi) 7.8 Lac-Mégantic
Le Haut-Saint-François 22,926 2,273.39 km2 (877.76 sq mi) 9.8 Cookshire-Eaton
Le Val-Saint-François 31,551 1,403.43 km2 (541.87 sq mi) 21.9 Richmond
Les Sources 14,623 787.13 km2 (303.91 sq mi) 18.1 Val-des-Sources
Memphrémagog 54,797 1,319.29 km2 (509.38 sq mi) 38.2 Magog

Equivalent territory

Territory Equivalent to a RCM (TE) Population

2021 Canadian census[7]

Land Area Density
(pop. per km2) 		Seat of ET
Sherbrooke 172,950 367.10 km2 (141.74 sq mi) 456.0 Sherbrooke

Demographics


 
Largest cities or towns in Estrie
2021 census
Rank Regional county municipality Pop. Rank Regional county municipality Pop.
Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke
Granby
Granby 		1 Sherbrooke Sherbrooke 172,950 11 Lac-Mégantic Le Granit 5,747 Cowansville
Cowansville
2 Granby La Haute-Yamaska 69,025 12 Cookshire-Eaton Le Haut-Saint-François 5,344
3 Magog Memphrémagog 28,312 13 Windsor Le Val-Saint-François 5,294
4 Cowansville Brome-Missisquoi 15,234 14 Orford Memphrémagog 5,007
5 Bromont Brome-Missisquoi 11,357 15 Waterloo La Haute-Yamaska 4,920
6 Farnham Brome-Missisquoi 10,149 16 Saint-Denis-de-Brompton Le Val-Saint-François 4,594
7 Coaticook Coaticook 8,867 17 Sutton Brome-Missisquoi 4,548
8 Shefford La Haute-Yamaska 7,253 18 Roxton Pond La Haute-Yamaska 4,224
9 Val-des-Sources Les Sources 7,088 19 Danville Les Sources 3,888
10 Brome Lake Brome-Missisquoi 5,923 20 East Angus Le Haut-Saint-François 3,840
2021 Canadian Census First Official Language Spoken - [2]Estrie
Census French English French and English Other
2021 304,620 23,565 4,485 1,345
2016 289,040 21,745 3,110 1,115
2011 281,305 22,070 2,720 825

Estrie has a population of 377,701 according to the 2021 Canadian Census. Out of 326,955 singular responses the most common out of them are as follows.

2021 Canadian Cenus Mother Touge - Estrie[2]
Rank Language Population Percentage
1 French 291,685 89.2%
2 English 20,195 6.2%
3 Spanish 4,070 1.2%
4 Arabic 2,365 0.7%
2021 Canadian Census Knowledge of Official Languages - Estrie[2]
Census French Only English Only French and English Neither French Nor English
2021 181,810 7,645 142,755 1,345
2016 179,590 6,685 127,565 1,170
2011 179,480 6,970 119,595 865

Cultural or ethnic origin

Estrie has a majority European population but it does have a diverse group of minorities. The most commonly described ethnic groups amongst the 328,025 responses are as follows[2]

Rank Ethnic/Cultural Identity Population Percentage
1 Canadian 120,150 36.6%
2 French 85,115 26%
3 Quebecois 42,855 13%
4 French Canadian 28,290 8.6%
5 English 9,185 3%
6 Scottish 8,045 2.5%
7 First Nations 7,270 2.2%
Religion
2021 Canadian Census Religious identity - Estrie[2]
Rank Religion Population Percentage
1 Catholicism 193,700 59%
2 No Religion 97,435 29.7%
3 Islam 6,575 2%
4 Anglicianism 2,555 0.7%
5 United Church of Canada 1,830 0.5%

School Districts

Francophone:

  • Commission scolaire des Hauts-Cantons (Coaticook, East Angus and Lac-Mégantic).
  • Commission scolaire de la Région-de-Sherbrooke
  • Commission scolaire des Sommets
  • Commission scolaire Val-des-cerfs

Anglophone:

Major communities

References

  1. ^ a b "Census Profile, 2016 Census: Estrie [Economic region], Quebec". Statistics Canada. 8 February 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-02-09). "Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - Estrie [Economic region], Quebec". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
  3. ^ "Eastern Townships". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  4. ^ Elementary schools Archived 2010-11-30 at the Wayback Machine and High Schools Archived 2010-10-27 at the Wayback Machine, Eastern Townships School Board, accessed 19 November 2010.
  5. ^ "Community Snapshot – Eastern Townships" (PDF). The Community Information Database. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Best of the Townships". Tourism Eastern Townships. 25 May 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  7. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-02-09). "Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - Sherbrooke, Ville (V) [Census subdivision], Quebec". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-07-22.

Further reading

45°28′53.6″N 71°40′4.5″W / 45.481556°N 71.667917°W / 45.481556; -71.667917