Saint-Damien (formerly named Saint-Damien-de-Brandon) is a parish municipality of 2,393 inhabitants in Quebec, Canada. It is located in Matawinie Regional County Municipality in the Lanaudière region.

Saint-Damien
Parish municipality
Lake Gauthier
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  Per fidem ad Augusta
Location within Matawinie RCM
St-Damien Location in central Quebec
Coordinates: 46°20′N 73°29′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Lanaudière
RCM	Matawinie
Constituted	September 6, 1870
Government [2]
• Mayor	Yves Giard
• Federal riding	Joliette
• Prov. riding	Berthier
Area [2][3]
• Total	268.50 km2 (103.67 sq mi)
• Land	252.28 km2 (97.41 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	2,393
• Density	9.5/km2 (25/sq mi)
• Pop 2016-2021	14.3%
• Dwellings	1,891
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J0K 2E0
Area code	888
Highways	Route 347
Website	www.st-damien.com

History

The town was founded the 6 September 1870. In French, people from the town are known as damiennois.[2]

Geography

Saint-Damien is located in the middle of Lanaudière region near Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon municipality, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Montreal, 270 kilometres (170 mi) west of Québec, and 63 kilometres (39 mi) south of Taureau Reservoir. The main street is named "Rue Principale" (meaning, literally, "main street")[4] and it is served by Quebec Route 347 which runs from Quebec Route 158 at Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier (2 km west of exit 144 on Autoroute 40) through Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon, Saint Damien, Sainte-Émélie-de-l'Énergie and Saint-Côme to Québec Route 125 in Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci.

The bordering municipalities [5] of Saint-Damien [6] are, starting from northwest and proceeding clockwise, Saint-Zénon (northwest), Mandeville (northeast, in D'Autray Regional County Municipality), Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon (southeast, in D'Autray Regional County Municipality), Saint-Jean-de-Matha (south) and Sainte-Émélie-de-l'Énergie (west).

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Damien had a population of 2,393 living in 1,220 of its 1,891 total private dwellings, a change of 14.3% from its 2016 population of 2,094. With a land area of 252.28 km² (97.41 sq mi), it had a population density of 9.5/km² (24.6/sq mi) in 2021.[8]

Canada census – Saint-Damien community profile 2021 2016 2011 Population 2,393 (+14.3% from 2016) 2,094 (+3.7% from 2011) 2,020 (-7.3% from 2006) Land area 252.28 km2 (97.41 sq mi) 255.87 km2 (98.79 sq mi) 255.16 km2 (98.52 sq mi) Population density 9.5/km2 (25/sq mi) 8.2/km2 (21/sq mi) 7.9/km2 (20/sq mi) Median age 57.2 (M: 58.4, F: 56.0) 56.6 (M: 56.6, F: 56.5) 53.7 (M: 54.3, F: 53.2) Total private dwellings 1,891 1,759 1,533 Median household income $58,800 $46,541 $41,129 References: 2021[3] 2016[9] 2011[10] earlier[11][12] Mother tongue:[13] English as first language: 1.3% French as first language: 95.6% English and French as first language: 0.8% Other as first language: 1.7% Education This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2017) The Commission scolaire des Samares operates francophone public schools, including: École Saint-Coeur-de-Marie[14] The Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board operates anglophone public schools, including: Joliette Elementary School in Saint-Charles-Borromée[15] Joliette High School in Joliette[16] Famous people Marie Jean-Eudes (1897-1981), Canadian nun and botanist Raymond Gravel (b. 1952), Canadian politician Jean-François Mills (b.1971), Local historian and maple syrup mogul See also List of parish municipalities in Quebec References "Reference number 55883 in Banque de noms de lieux du Québec". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. "Geographic code 62075 in the official Répertoire des municipalités". www.mamh.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation. Statistics Canada 2021 Census - Saint-Damien census profile Main Street (in French) Municipal affairs and regions – regional maps Archived 2008-05-02 at the Wayback Machine (in French) Repertory of municipalities of Archived 2009-01-09 at the Wayback Machine Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 census "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022. "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021. Retrieved 2022-08-02. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019. Retrieved 2022-08-02. "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019. "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021. Statistics Canada 2021 Census - Saint-Damien community profile "Saint-Coeur-de-Marie." Commission scolaire des Samares. Retrieved on September 23, 2017. "JOLIETTE ELEMENTARY ZONE." Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Retrieved on September 17, 2017. "Joliette High School Zone Sec 1-5." Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Retrieved on September 5, 2017. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint-Damien. (in French) Saint-Damien official website (in English) Town flag and informations at FOTW