Val-des-Bois

Val-des-Bois
Municipality
Municipal office
Location within Papineau RCM
Val-des-Bois Location in western Quebec
Coordinates: 45°55′N75°36′W / 45.917°N 75.600°W / 45.917; -75.600 [1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Outaouais
RCM	Papineau
Constituted	January 1, 1885
Government [2]
• Mayor	Roland Montpetit
•  Federal riding	Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel
•  Prov. riding	Papineau
Area [2] [3]
• Total	245.60 km2 (94.83 sq mi)
• Land	222.67 km2 (85.97 sq mi)
Population  (2021) [3]
• Total	920
• Density	4.1/km2 (11/sq mi)
• Pop 2016–2021	6.4%
• Dwellings	837
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J0X 3C0
Area code	819
Highways	R-309
Website	www.val-des-bois.ca

Val-des-Bois (French pronunciation: [valdebwa] ) is a town and municipality in the Papineau Regional County Municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. The town is located on the eastern shores of the Du Lièvre River, 47 kilometers (29 mi) north of Buckingham.

The main local economic activity depends on cottage tourism. ^[4] The eastern half of the municipality is part of the Papineau-Labelle Wildlife Reserve.

Geography

As part of the Laurentian Highlands, its territory is dotted with lakes such Écho, de l'Argile, de l'Aqueduc, Vert, and Delphis. Echo Lake lies at an altitude of 243 meters (797 ft), while the surrounding relief rises to 472 meters (1,549 ft) above sea level. ^[5]

History

In 1873, the Township of Villeneuve was formed and named after Léonard-Vincent-Léon Villeneuve (1808–1873), member of Society of Saint-Sulpice, professor at the Petit Séminaire de Montréal (1838–1846), and pastor of Oka from 1871 to 1873. ^[4]

In 1878, the local post office was named "Val-des-Bois". In 1883, the parish of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde was formed, and two years later, the United Township Municipality of Bowman-et-Villeneuve was established. In 1913, the townships separated, forming the Township Municipality of Bowman and the Township Municipality of Villeneuve. ^[4] In 1929, James Maclaren began construction on a dam at the High Falls of the Lièvre River, displacing 156 families because of the rising waters. The majority of them where German settlers, the average amount the families received from the MacLaren Co. were, depending on the acreage, between $1000 and $2000 each. ^[6]

In 1958, Villeneuve was renamed to Val-des-Bois (French for "Valley of the Woods"), in reference to the beautiful forest which decorated the banks of the Lièvre River. ^[4]

On 23 June 2010 a 5.0 earthquake struck the region, with its epicentre 8 km from Val-des-Bois, which was the closest settlement. ^[7]

Demographics

Canada census – Val-des-Bois community profile

	2016	2011
Population	865 (-7.8% from 2011)	938 (7.4% from 2006)
Land area	225.42 km2 (87.04 sq mi)	225.35 km2 (87.01 sq mi)
Population density	3.8/km2 (9.8/sq mi)	4.2/km2 (11/sq mi)
Median age	58.4 (M: 58.4, F: 58.4)	55.8 (M: 56.5, F: 55.3)
Private dwellings	851 (total)	1,003 (total)
Median household income	$46,592	$42,378

References: 2016 ^[8] 2011 ^[9] earlier ^{[10] [11]}

Historical census populations – Val-des-Bois, Quebec

Year	Pop.	±%
1986	544	—
1991	624	+14.7%
1996	668	+7.1%
2001	732	+9.6%
2006	873	+19.3%
2011	938	+7.4%
2016	865	−7.8%
2021	920	+6.4%
Source: Statistics Canada

Mother tongue: ^[3]

• English as first language: 5.8%
• French as first language: 91.9%
• English and French as first language: 1.2%
• Other as first language: 0.6%

Local government

List of former mayors:

• Marcel Proulx (2001–2013)
• Daniel Rochon (2013–2015)
• Roland Montpetit (2015–present)

References

1. "Banque de noms de lieux du Québec: Reference number 64777". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec.
2. "Répertoire des municipalités: Geographic code 80140". 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-des-Bois, Municipalité (MÉ) [Census subdivision], Quebec". 9 February 2022.
4. "Val-des-Bois (Municipalité)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
5. "Villeneuve (Canton)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
6. "Tracing their footsteps" by research-author Anne Schnurr
7. "Earthquake Details (2010-06-23)".
8. "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian census . Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
9. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian census . Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
10. "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian census . Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
11. "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian census . Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.

External links

Media related to Val-des-Bois at Wikimedia Commons