Rigaud, Quebec

Rigaud
Municipality

Location within Vaudreuil-Soulanges RCM
Rigaud

Location in southern Quebec

Coordinates: 45°29′N 74°18′W / 45.483°N 74.300°W / 45.483; -74.300Coordinates: 45°29′N 74°18′W / 45.483°N 74.300°W / 45.483; -74.300[1]
Country  Canada
Province  Quebec
Region Montérégie
RCM Vaudreuil-Soulanges
Constituted November 29, 1995
Government[2][3]
 • Mayor Hans Gruenwald Jr
 • Federal riding Vaudreuil-Soulanges
 • Prov. riding Soulanges
Area[2][4]
 • Total 114.00 km2 (44.02 sq mi)
 • Land 99.12 km2 (38.27 sq mi)
Population (2014)[4]
 • Total 7,566
 • Density 74.1/km2 (192/sq mi)
 • Pop 2006-2011 Increase 8.3%
 • Dwellings 3,254
Time zone EST (UTC−5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code(s) J0P 1P0
Area code(s) 450 and 579
Highways
A-40
Route 325
Route 342
Website www.ville.rigaud.qc.ca

Rigaud is a municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada in the county of Vaudreuil-Soulanges in Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent region. The municipality is located at the junction of Ottawa River and Rigaud River. It is situated about 70 kilometres west of downtown Montreal and 130 kilometres east of Ottawa. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 7,346.

History

The town was named for Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal, the last governor of New France.

Geography

Rigaud Bridge c. 1910

Rigaud is located at the northwestern part of the Suroît region, which is part of the Montérégie administrative region, on the Ontario-Quebec border. Across the Ottawa River lies the Laurentides region. Neighbouring municipalities are Hudson, Vaudreuil-Dorion (Hudson Acres), Sainte-Marthe, Très-Saint-Rédempteur, East Hawkesbury and Pointe-Fortune. The municipality located across Ottawa River is Saint-André-d'Argenteuil. The geographic location of Rigaud, at the head of the Ottawa River and then between the Montreal and Ottawa metropolitan areas, has contributed largely to its economic development throughout its history.

The land area of the municipality is 99 km². The relief is composed, on the North side, of the Ottawa River plain and, on the South side, of Mount Rigaud. The Ottawa River and Mount Rigaud are the main elements in the landscape. The plain is partly used for agricultural purposes and partly in bush. Mount Rigaud covers an area of 47 km². A lot of rock pieces scatter the woods all over the mountain. It is a moraine shaped by a glacier that, by moving, broke up from the bedrock of the Canadian Shield, fragments that it disaggregated and rounded by rolling over them, moving them and leaving them in this basin, some thousand years ago, at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation.

Demographics

Population

Canada census – Rigaud, Quebec community profile
2011 2006 2001
Population: 7,346 (+8.3% from 2006) 6,780 (+11.2% from 2001) 6,095 (+0.6% from 1996)
Land area: 99.12 km2 (38.27 sq mi) 99.08 km2 (38.26 sq mi) 99.08 km2 (38.26 sq mi)
Population density: 74.1/km2 (192/sq mi) 68.4/km2 (177/sq mi) 61.5/km2 (159/sq mi)
Median age: 45.1 (M: 44.8, F: 45.4) 43.4 (M: 42.9, F: 43.8) 42.3 (M: 41.4, F: 43.4)
Total private dwellings: 3,254 2,923 2,666
Median household income: $56,775 $48,332 $40,689
References: 2011[5] 2006[6] 2001[7]
Historical Census Data - Rigaud, Quebec[8]
YearPop.±%
1991 5,770—    
1996 6,057+5.0%
YearPop.±%
2001 6,095+0.6%
2006 6,780+11.2%
YearPop.±%
2011 7,346+8.3%

Language

Canada Census Mother Tongue - Rigaud, Quebec[8]
Census Total
French
English
French & English
Other
Year Responses Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop %
2011
7,260
 5,615 Increase 9.7% 77.34% 1,225 Increase 5.6% 16.87% 125 Increase 127.3% 1.72% 295 Increase 9.3% 4.06%
2006
6,605
 5,120 Increase 8.0% 77.52% 1,160 Increase 20.2% 17.56% 55 Decrease 8.3% 0.83% 270 Increase 54.3% 4.09%
2001
5,940
 4,740 Decrease 1.4% 79.80% 965 Increase 14.2% 16.24% 60 Decrease 14.3% 1.01% 175 Decrease 16.7% 2.95%
1996
5,930
 4,805 n/a 81.03% 845 n/a 14.25% 70 n/a 1.18% 210 n/a 3.54%

Attractions

Rigaud Mountain

Rigaud Mountain

The main attraction is Mont-Rigaud, a hill with downhill ski runs (at Ski Mont Rigaud), a private school (Collège Bourget), a monastery, and a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Sanctuaire Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes). The mountain is also home to an unusual, natural rock garden known as the "champs de patates", so named because of the local legend that it was once a potato field, turned to stone by God because the farmer worked on Sunday. On the opposite side of the mountain is a residential community known as "Mountain Ranches." The middle to upper-middle class community features large, mostly secluded building lots in a wooded setting that draws residents because of its isolated tranquility and privacy. As such, it was the hiding place for fugitive Charlie Wilson, one of the leaders of the notorious 1963 Great train robbery in England.

This area was also known for its "tree farms" in the 1960s and 1970s, providing a tax shelter for the well off, until the tax laws were later changed to require harvesting of those "tree farms". The "Pitcairn Tree Farm", was one such example.

Also located in Rigaud is the training center for the Canada Border Services Agency.

The communities of Dragon and Rigaud are found within the municipality.

Transportation

The Rigaud station was the former terminus of the AMT commuter train to downtown Montreal.

On July 1, 2010, service to Rigaud was discontinued, as the town was unable to pay the $300,000 annual fee to the AMT to allow service to continue to the town. After that date, the rail line ends at Hudson.[9]

The town is served by the 61 bus from the CIT La Presqu'Île.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Reference number 311423 of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (French)
  2. 1 2 Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire: Rigaud
  3. ↑ Parliament of Canada Federal Riding History: VAUDREUIL--SOULANGES (Quebec)
  4. 1 2 2011 Statistics Canada Census Profile: Rigaud, Quebec
  5. ↑ "2011 Community Profiles". Canada 2011 Census. Statistics Canada. July 5, 2013. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  6. ↑ "2006 Community Profiles". Canada 2006 Census. Statistics Canada. March 30, 2011. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  7. ↑ "2001 Community Profiles". Canada 2001 Census. Statistics Canada. February 17, 2012. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  8. 1 2 Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census
  9. ↑ Montreal Gazette: "All aboard for the last train to Rigaud", April 23, 2010.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rigaud, Quebec.
Adjacent Municipal Subdivisions
Pointe-Fortune Ottawa River
Saint-André-d'Argenteuil		 Ottawa River
Saint-Placide
Ontario East Hawkesbury, Ontario Hudson
Vaudreuil-Dorion (West)
   Rigaud  
Très-Saint-Rédempteur Sainte-Marthe Saint-Lazare
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