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Métabetchouan–Lac-à-la-Croix
Métabetchouan–Lac-à-la-Croix
City
	Métabetchouan; –Lac-à-la-Croix Location in Lac-Saint-Jean Quebec
	Coordinates: 48°26′N 71°52′W / 48.433°N 71.867°W
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
RCM	Lac-Saint-Jean-Est
Settled	1861
Constituted	January 6, 1999
Government
• Mayor	Lili Simard
• Federal riding	Lac-Saint-Jean
• Prov. riding	Lac-Saint-Jean
Area
• Total	193.80 km2 (74.83 sq mi)
• Land	187.49 km2 (72.39 sq mi)
Population (2021)
• Total	4,121
• Density	22/km2 (60/sq mi)
• Pop 2016-2021	3.4%
• Dwellings	2,075
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	G8G
Area code(s)	418 and 581
Highways	R-169 ; R-170
Website	www.ville.; metabetchouan.qc.ca

Métabetchouan–Lac-à-la-Croix is a city in Quebec, Canada, in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region.

The city consists of the population centres of Métabetchouan, on the shores of Lac Saint-Jean at the mouth of the small Couchepaganiche River, and Lac-à-la-Croix, a few kilometres to the east on Cross Lake.

History

Historically the territory of the indigenous Innu, the first European, Jesuit Jean de Quen, visited the place in 1647, followed by Charles Albanel in 1671, during the meeting of twenty Indian nations. Five years later in 1676, a trading post and mission were established there. However, real colonization only began after the proclamation of Métabetchouan Township in 1857, and the first settlers arrived from the South Shore and Bagotville in 1861. That same year, Stanislas Drapeau reported the presence of 154 people including 36 "savages" in Métabetchouan Township.^[4]^[5]

The place was first called Saint-Jérôme, in honour of Jérôme Demers (1774-1853), vicar general of the Bishop of Quebec (1825-1853). In 1870, it was nearly destroyed by a great fire, that only spared some twenty houses. In 1872, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Jérôme was formed, and in 1898, the village itself separated and was incorporated as the Village Municipality of Saint-Jérôme.^[5]

As for Lac-à-la-Croix, the first settlers came in 1864, and by 1910, it had some 800 inhabitants. Its parish was established in March 1911 and in December that same year, it was incorporated as the Parish Municipality of Sainte-Croix. In 1953, the village itself separated and formed the Village Municipality of Sainte-Croix, later renamed to Lac-à-la-Croix (French for "Lake at the Cross"). It was named after the adjacent lake where, according to popular thought, a cross was planted on its shores by François de Crespieul in the 17th century. However, this has been proven untrue since missionaries never went through this place. The lake was probably named for having a resemblance to a cross.^[6]

In 1975, the Parish and Village Municipalities of Saint-Jérôme merged to form the new City of Métabetchouan, named after the township and the nearby Métabetchouane River. The following year, the Parish Municipality of Sainte-Croix and the Village Municipality of Lac-à-la-Croix also merged to form the Municipality of Lac-à-la-Croix. And on January 6, 1999, the City of Métabetchouan and the Municipality of Lac-à-la-Croix amalgamated to form the new city of Métabetchouan–Lac-à-la-Croix.^[5]^[6]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Métabetchouan—Lac-à-la-Croix had a population of 4,121 living in 1,806 of its 2,075 total private dwellings, a change of 3.4% from its 2016 population of 3,985. With a land area of 187.49 km² (72.39 sq mi), it had a population density of 22.0/km² (56.9/sq mi) in 2021.^[7]

Population trend:^[8]

Population in 2021: 4121 (2016 to 2021 population change: 3.4%)
Population in 2016: 3985
Population in 2011: 4097
Population in 2006: 4084
Population in 2001: 4198
Population total in 1996: 4487
- Métabetchouan (ville): 3474
- Lac-à-la-Croix (municipality): 1013
Population in 1991:
- Métabetchouan (ville): 3379
- Lac-à-la-Croix (municipality): 971

Mother tongue:^[9]