Saint-Léon-le-Grand, Bas-Saint-Laurent

Not to be confused with Saint-Léon-le-Grand, Mauricie, Quebec.

Saint-Léon-le-Grand
Parish municipality
Location within La Matapédia RCM.
Saint-Léon-le-Grand Location in eastern Quebec.
Coordinates: 48°23′N 67°30′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Bas-Saint-Laurent
RCM	La Matapédia
Settled	1896
Constituted	August 12, 1903
Named for	Pope Leo I[1]
Government [2]
• Mayor	Jean-Côme Lévesque
• Federal riding	Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia
• Prov. riding	Matane-Matapédia
Area [2][3]
• Total	128.50 km^2 (49.61 sq mi)
• Land	128.26 km^2 (49.52 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	968
• Density	7.5/km^2 (19/sq mi)
• Pop 2016-2021	1.6%
• Dwellings	447
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	G0J 2W0
Area code(s)	418 and 581
Highways	R-195
Website	www.saintleon legrand.com

Saint-Léon-le-Grand (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ leɔ̃ lə ɡʁɑ̃]) is a parish municipality in Quebec, Canada.

History

The territory was first a logging concession belonging to the Price company. The first settlers arrived in 1896 from Baie-des-Sables, Cap-Chat, Sainte-Félicité, Chicoutimi and Lac Saint-Jean. In the late 1880s, Jos Néron, François Gagné, Eusèbe Gagnon, Polyte Bouchard, Louis Girard, Henri Desbiens, Achille Potvin, Polyte Bouchard (the great) and Hector Desbiens were the first pioneers of the region. The Catholic mission was founded in 1901. Contrary to custom, the civil erection took place before the canonical erection of the parish. The municipality was officially founded civilly on August 12, 1903 while the parish was canonically established four years later, on December 9, 1907. However, the parish registers had been open since 1905. For its part, the post office was created in 1903. In 1941, a major fire broke out in a business and destroyed a dozen homes.

Geography

Saint-Léon-le-Grand is located on the southern slope of the St. Lawrence River, 430 km northeast of Quebec City and 110 km southeast of Rimouski. Important towns near Saint-Léon-le-Grand are Amqui at 12 km and Lac-au-Saumon at 16 km to the east. Causapscal at 27 km to the east as well as Sayabec at 33 km to the north. Saint-Léon-le-Grand is located on Route 195 halfway between Amqui and Saint-Zénon-du-Lac-Humqui. The territory of Saint-Léon-le-Grand covers an area of 127 km2. Most of this territory is mountainous and covered with forests.

The municipality of Saint-Léon-le-Grand is located in the regional county municipality (RCM) of La Matapédia in the administrative region of Bas-Saint-Laurent. The eponymous parish of Saint-Léon-le-Grand is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rimouski and, more specifically, in the pastoral region of La Matapédia. Saint-Léon-le-Grand is part of the Gaspésie tourist region in the Matapédia Valley tourist sub-region.

Demographics

Population

Historical Census Data - Saint-Léon-le-Grand, Quebec^[4]

Year	Pop.	±%
1911	2,310	—
1921	1,902	−17.7%
1931	1,494	−21.5%
1941	1,177	−21.2%
1951	2,068	+75.7%
1956	2,119	+2.5%
1961	2,139	+0.9%
1966	1,933	−9.6%
1971	1,570	−18.8%
1976	1,325	−15.6%
1981	1,335	+0.8%
1986	1,277	−4.3%
1991	1,150	−9.9%
1996	1,145	−0.4%
2001	1,144	−0.1%
2006	1,073	−6.2%
2011	970	−9.6%
2016	953	−1.8%
2021	968	+1.6%

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Léon-le-Grand had a population of 968 living in 420 of its 447 total private dwellings, a change of 1.6% from its 2016 population of 953. With a land area of 128.26 km² (49.52 sq mi), it had a population density of 7.5/km² (19.5/sq mi) in 2021.^[5]

Canada census – Saint-Léon-le-Grand community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	968 (+1.6% from 2016)	953 (-1.8% from 2011)	970 (-9.6% from 2006)
Land area	128.26 km^2 (49.52 sq mi)	128.47 km^2 (49.60 sq mi)	128.50 km^2 (49.61 sq mi)
Population density	7.5/km^2 (19/sq mi)	7.4/km^2 (19/sq mi)	7.5/km^2 (19/sq mi)
Median age	51.6 (M: 54.4, F: 48.8)	51.3 (M: 51.8, F: 50.6)	47.7 (M: 49.4, F: 46.3)
Private dwellings	420 (total)	440 (total)	434 (total)
Median household income	$62,000	$48,256	$43,349

Notes: 2011 income data for this area has been suppressed for data quality or confidentiality reasons.
References: 2021^[3] 2016^[6] 2011^[7]

Language

Canada Census Mother Tongue - Saint-Léon-le-Grand, Quebec[4]
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2021		950		940	0.5%	98.9%		10	100.0%	1.1%		0	0.0%	0.0%		0	0.0%	0.0%
2016		940		935	2.6%	99.5%		5	0.0%	0.5%		0	0.0%	0.0%		0	0.0%	0.0%
2011		960		960	7.7%	100.0%		5	n/a%	0.5%		0	0.0%	0.0%		0	100.0%	0.0%
2006		1,050		1,040	7.6%	99.0%		0	0.0%	0.0%		0	0.0%	0.0%		10	n/a%	1.0%
2001		1,130		1,125	1.7%	99.6%		0	100.0%	0.0%		0	0.0%	0.0%		0	0.0%	0.0%
1996		1,145		1,145	n/a	100.0%		10	n/a	0.9%		0	n/a	0.0%		0	n/a	0.0%

Attractions

There are several footpaths in the mountains at Saint-Léon-le-Grand.

See also

• List of parish municipalities in Quebec

References

1. "Banque de noms de lieux du Québec: Reference number 57073". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec.
2. "Saint-Léon-le-Grand". Répertoire des municipalités (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire. Retrieved 2012-01-30.
3. "2021 Community Profiles". 2021 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. February 4, 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
4. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 census
5. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
6. "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
7. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019. Retrieved 2014-02-06.