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Saint-Cléophas
Parish municipality
Motto(s): Freedom, Love, Work
Location within La Matapédia RCM.
Saint-CléophasLocation in eastern Quebec.
Coordinates: 48°29′N 67°45′W / 48.483°N 67.750°W / 48.483; -67.750
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Bas-Saint-Laurent
RCM	La Matapédia
Settled	1908
Constituted	May 19, 1921
Government
• Mayor	Jean-Paul Bélanger
• Federal riding	Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia
• Prov. riding	Matane-Matapédia
Area
• Total	97.70 km (37.72 sq mi)
• Land	97.22 km (37.54 sq mi)
Population
• Total	321
• Density	3.3/km (9/sq mi)
• Pop 2016-2021	3.6%
• Dwellings	159
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	G0J 3N0
Area code(s)	418 and 581
Highways	No major routes
Website	www.stcleophas.com

Saint-Cléophas is a Parish municipality in the regional county municipality of La Matapédia in Quebec (Canada), situated in the administrative region of Bas-Saint-Laurent.

The name chosen for the parish during the municipal erection in 1921, highlights the work of Father Joseph Cleophas Saindon (1866-1941), a priest of the neighbouring parish of Saint-Nom-de-Marie-de-Sayabec from 1896 to 1941, serving the parish from 1918. It is also named in honour of Saint Cleophas.

History

In the early 1900s, the pioneers of Sayabec created the foundations for StCléophas in a town known as Awantjish, which was described as having good soil and timber (especially birch, maple and cedar.) By 1908, a group of settlers living in the territory of what is today St-Cléophas made offerings to the Bishop of Rimouski, Monsignor André-Albert Blais, to found a parish in the area. The prelate had considered that it was a premature gesture due to the low population of the area (about 300 people). Finally the parish opened at the end of the First World War. The mission of St-Cléophas to gain both parish and municipality status became a reality, and in 1921 the town detached from the Municipality of Sayabec. However, the pastor of Sayabec, Father Cléophas Saindon, served as the first pastor at St Cleophas until the vicar of Sayabec, Father Charles Pelletier could become pastor of St-Cléophas. It is also in 1921 that the town began to officially use a calendar to mark milestones.

In 1918 the parish founded the first mission of St-Cléophas. On the 17th of January 1921, the first priest was appointed and so began the canonical life of the parish.

In 1944, the church chapel was burned. That same year, Georges-Émile Côté built a new sawmill. Today, the mill is no longer in operation. In 1973 a zoo was built, the St-Cléophas Ecological Centre, funded through donations from nine parishioners. In 1976 the name St-Cléophas Ecological Centre became known as Naturanimo, which closed 1996.

Geography

The Parish Municipality of Saint-Cléophas is part of the La Matapédia Regional County Municipality in the Bas-Saint-Laurent. The parish of Saint-Céeophas is part of the Archdiocese of Rimouski.

Saint-Cléophas is located on a side of the mountain chain of the Appalachian specifically in the section of Mt Saint-Anne. The municipality is located 8 km south of the Highway 132 through Sayabec on Lacroix Road.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Cléophas had a population of 321 living in 145 of its 159 total private dwellings, a change of -3.6% from its 2016 population of 333. With a land area of 97.22 km (37.54 sq mi), it had a population density of 3.3/km (8.6/sq mi) in 2021.

Mother tongue (2021):

• English as first language: 1.6%
• French as first language: 100.0%
• English and French as first language: 0.0%
• Other as first language: 0.0%

Economy

The local economy is mainly based on forestry, sawmills, agriculture and cattle farms of both sheep and dairy. There are also many forests producing maple syrup. In addition, Panval plant in Sayabec provides many jobs.

Attractions

Saint-Cléophas is often visited in spring for its numerous maple groves. Moreover, this is a place for hiking, snowmobile and ATV through its many trails. Between 1973 and 1996, St-Cléophas was a very important tourist attraction in the region with the Naturanimo Centre . The zoo housed mainly Canadian animals. Its varieties of species, its large size, its development and activities such as horse pulls, 4x4, tractors and country meals, added to the popularity of Naturanimo Centre. The municipality is part of the tourist region of Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine in the Matapedia Valley.

Government

Municipal Council

The council consists of a mayor and six councilors who are elected every four year block without territorial division through rotation.

List of former mayors:

• Roland Saint-Pierre (-2005)
• Lise Dompierre (2005–2009)
• Jean-Paul Bélanger (2009-present)

Political representations

Provincially Saint-Cléophas is part of the provincial riding of Matane-Matapédia. In the Quebec general election of 2022, the outgoing MNA Pascal Bérubé, from the Parti Québécois was re-elected to represent the people of Saint-Cléophas in the National Assembly of Quebec.

Federally Saint-Cléophas is part of the federal riding of Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia. In the Canadian federal election of 2021, the incumbent Kristina Michaud of the Bloc Québécois, was elected to represent the people of Saint-Cleophas in the House of Commons of Canada.

Notable people

• Richard Joubert: He worked thirty years at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, in both Quebec City and Toronto, where he was host and producer. Since 1995, he is actively involved in the making of music both song and poetry. He also teaches lectures and courses on music and singing, and in recent years performs public poetry readings.

See also

• List of parish municipalities in Quebec
• Matapédia, Quebec
• Matapedia Valley
• Bas-Saint-Laurent
• Matapedia (provincial electoral district)
• Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia

References

1. "Banque de noms de lieux du Québec: Reference number 55843". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec.
2. ^ "Saint-Cléophas". Répertoire des municipalités (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
3. ^ "2021 Community Profiles". 2021 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. February 4, 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
4. The Lives of Saints. Thomas Meighan. 1729-01-01.
5. Langelier, Jean Chrysostôme (1884-01-01). A Sketch on Gaspesia. J. Dussault.
6. Duhamel, G.E. (1889). Description of the surveyed townships and explored territories of the province of Quebec. C.F. Langlois.
7. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 census
8. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
9. "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
10. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019. Retrieved 2013-05-12.
11. "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
12. "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.
13. "Saint-Cléophas". 2021 Canada census. Statistic Canada. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
14. "Uniboard™ to invest into particleboard capacity expansion and a new thermally fused laminate (TFL)... -- LAVAL, QC, July 14, 2015". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2016-03-09.

v t e Adjacent Municipal Subdivisions
Saint-Moïse Sayabec Val-Brillant Saint-Cléophas La Rédemption Lac-Alfred Sainte-Irène

v t e  Subdivisions of La Matapédia Regional County Municipality
Cities & towns	Amqui Causapscal
Municipalities	Albertville Lac-au-Saumon Sainte-Florence Sainte-Marguerite-Marie Saint-Vianney Sayabec Val-Brillant
Parishes	Saint-Alexandre-des-Lacs Saint-Cléophas Saint-Damase Sainte-Irène Saint-Léon-le-Grand Saint-Moïse Saint-Tharcisius Saint-Zénon-du-Lac-Humqui
Villages	Saint-Noël
Unorganized territories	Lac-Alfred Lac-Casault Lac-Matapédia Rivière-Patapédia-Est Rivière-Vaseuse Routhierville Ruisseau-des-Mineurs
Regional county municipalities in Bas-Saint-Laurent: Kamouraska La Matapédia La Mitis Les Basques La Matanie Rimouski-Neigette Rivière-du-Loup Témiscouata Indian reserves Cacouna Whitworth

• Parish municipalities in Quebec
• Incorporated places in Bas-Saint-Laurent
• La Matapédia Regional County Municipality