Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage

48°34′33″N 68°10′20″W / 48.5757865°N 68.1721856°W / 48.5757865; -68.1721856^[1]Country CanadaProvince QuebecRegionBas-Saint-LaurentRCMLa MitisConstitutedSeptember 29, 1873Government • MayorMagella Roussel • Federal ridingHaute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia • Prov. ridingMatane-MatapédiaArea • Total32.00 km² (12.36 sq mi) • Land30.98 km² (11.96 sq mi)Population • Total590 • Density19/km² (50/sq mi) • Pop 2016-2021 12.8% • Dwellings260Time zoneUTC−5 (EST) • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)Postal code(s)Area code(s)418 and 581Highways R-132Websitewww.municipalite.saint-joseph-de-lepage.qc.ca

Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage is a parish municipality in La Mitis Regional County Municipality in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada.

It is located 5 km south-east of Mont-Joli in the Matapédia River Valley. The village is 350 km north east of Québec city and 360 km west of Gaspé. The nearest towns are Mont-Joli, and Rimouski which lies 40 km to the south-east.

Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage takes its name from the colonial lordship, the Seigneurie Lepage-et-Thibierge, which was the early governance of the area. Its 500 residents work largely in agriculture and forestry.^[4]

The ecclesiastical parish of the same name is in the Archdiocese of Rimouski.

The territory occupied by the parish municipality of Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage was first granted to Gabriel Thivierge and Louis Lepage and became known as the seigneury of Lepage-et-Thivierge. Later, this seigneury became the Seignory of Rimouski, which for a long time belonged to the Lepage family. The parish of Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage was canonically erected on 21 April 1873. The municipality of Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage was officially created on 29 September 1873 by a detachment from Sainte-Flavie. The presbytery was built in 1873. The wooden church was built in 1875. The caisse populaire was founded on March 7, 1940.^[1]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage had a population of 590 living in 223 of its 260 total private dwellings, a change of 12.8% from its 2016 population of 523. With a land area of 30.98 km² (11.96 sq mi), it had a population density of 19.0/km² (49.3/sq mi) in 2021.^[5]

Population trend:^[6]

• Population in 2021: 590 (12.8% increase from 2016)
• Population in 2016: 523 (0.8% decrease from 2011)
• Population in 2011: 527 (3.3% decrease from 2006)
• Population in 2006: 545 (7.0% decrease from 2001)
• Population in 2001: 586
• Population in 1996: 587
• Population in 1991: 590
• Population in 1986: 613
• Population in 1981: 507
• Population in 1976: 392
• Population in 1971: 379
• Population in 1966: 434
• Population in 1961: 450
• Population in 1956: 463
• Population in 1951: 447
• Population in 1941: 521
• Population in 1931: 583
• Population in 1921: 481
• Population in 1911: 400
• Population in 1901: 414
• Population in 1891: 401
• Population in 1881: 556

Private dwellings (occupied by usual residents): 223

Languages:

• French as first language: 98.3%
• English as first language: 0.8%

• List of parish municipalities in Quebec

• Media related to Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage at Wikimedia Commons