Quebec in nearly three times larger than France, its
surface area of
1 540 680km²
covers nearly 15% of the country making it Canada’s
largest province.
It has a population of
7 200 000,
25% of the overall population of Canada. Four out of
five Quebecois live in towns situated in the south
of the province. Eighty percent of the population
claim to be of French origin.
THE
LANAUDIERE AREA
The Lanaudière is a region covering
13 537km²
in which live 400 000 people.
The area is long and rectangular in form and
was named by the Seigneurs of 14th century
New France. The Atikamekw people live in the
Mamawan region in the extreme north.
Its name comes from that of Marie-Charlotte
de Lanaudière, daughter of Seigneur de
Lavaltrie and wife of the lawyer, Barthélémy
Joliette.
The Lanaudière Seigneurs were amongst the
first to settle in the St Laurent Valley :
D’AUTRAY 1637
REPENTIGNY 1640
SAINT SUPLICE 1640
Lanaudière is divided in six ‘Regional County
Municipalities’ (MRC)
L ASSOMPTION
D’AUTRAY
LES MOULINS
JOLIETTE
MONTCLAM
MATAWINE
Lanaudière maintains a healthy balance
between town and country, industry and
agriculture. The area enjoys several major
entrance points to a variety of attractions
throughout the territory. Examples of most
of Quebec’s land types are found in the
Lanaudière and, set between mountain and
river, the area forms one of the bread
baskets of Quebec. It is a region of hills
and forest-covered mountains, of lakes and
rivers, of hunting and fishing, a region
with a broad range of activities
characterised by its warm and enthusiastic
people.
The area ratified the pact of friendship
between QUEBEC - PERIGORD, a regional
division of the FRANCE-QUEBEC,
pact , on 4th July 1995 at Monbazillac thus
facilitating exchanges and close ties.
SITUATION
Repentigny is situated to the south of the
Lanaudière region on the banks of the St Laurent
River at the confluence of the Prairies and
Assumption rivers.
Repentigny is a town of Montreal’s eastern suburbs
and its southern neighbourhood is crossed by Route
138 which follows the original Roy path linking
Montreal to Quebec along the Saint Laurent River.
To the north, Repentigny is served by Freeway 40.
Repentigny is 15km from the centre of Montreal
240km from Quebec
Mirabel Dorval Airport
A
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TOWN
Repentigny took its name from the Seigneury
granted, on 16 April 1647, to
Pierre Le
Gardeur de Repentigny.
The town was continually occupied from 1670 when
the son of the original Seigneur,
Jean Baptiste le
Gardeur de Repentigny
settled there. This founding date makes it the
oldest town of the area.
The Church of the
Purification,
a twin-towered building classed as an Historical
Monument, was built in 1723 under the French
regime. It was extended and redecorated several
times but suffered extensive fire damage in 1984.
Other ruins from the town’s past include
two windmills dating
from 1820.
Whether it is an irony or a justice is a moot
point but, in 2001, the towns of Repentigny and Le
Gardeur joined as one under the name REPENTIGNY.
DEMOGRAPHY
A
French-speaking (98%)
residential town.
Repentigny provides a gateway to the
Lanaudière
Region
which counts a population of 400 000 settled in a
13 537 km²-strip of land divided into six Regional
County Municipalities (MRC) The most heavily
populated MRC of the area.
