Les Cèdres, Quebec

Les Cèdres is a small village in Quebec, Canada, located north of the Saint Lawrence River in the Montérégie region. It is close to the town of Vaudreuil-Dorion and had a population of 7,184 people as of the 2021 Census. The name "Les Cèdres" means "The Cedars" in French.

The area around Les Cèdres has a special feature—an extensive rapid on the Saint Lawrence River. During the American Revolution, an important battle called the Battle of the Cedars took place nearby. Many years later, from 1959 to 1960, a famous Swedish writer named Stig Claesson lived in a place called Point Charlie in the village and wrote a book about his experiences titled My friend Charlie.

History

This place was well-known in the late 1600s because of the big rapids on the St. Lawrence River, which were marked by tall cedars that grew there in large numbers. Because of this, the area was first called Cedars Rapids, or as cartographer Deshayes wrote in 1695, Rapide du Costeau des Cèdres. Later, it was also known as Coteau-des-Cèdres, Portage-du-Coteau-des-Cèdres, or simply Les Cèdres. Many explorers and military groups passed through here to portage around the rapids. People began to live here in 1715.

In 1845, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Joseph-de-Soulanges was created, named to honor Joseph-Dominique-Emmanuel Le Moyne de Longueuil, Seigneur of Soulanges. Then, in 1852, the Village Municipality of Soulange was formed. In 1967, the Village Municipality of Soulange was renamed to Les Cèdres. Finally, in 1985, Les Cèdres and Saint-Joseph-de-Soulanges joined together to become the current Municipality of Les Cèdres.

Demographics

Les Cèdres is a small community in Quebec, Canada. The 2021 census counted 7,184 people living there.

The community is located north of the Saint Lawrence River, near a place called Vaudreuil-Dorion. Its name, "Les Cèdres," means "The Cedars" in French.

References: 2021 2016 2011

Language

Government

Les Cèdres has had several mayors since it became a municipality. Some of the past mayors include Joseph Adolphe Jean Paul Séguin, Joseph Osie Armand Levac, Lucien Daoust, Géraldine Tremblay Quesnel, Raymond Larouche, and Bernard Daoust. The current mayor is Michel Proulx.

Infrastructure

The west end of Quebec Autoroute 30, a road that goes around the island of Montreal, passes through Les Cèdres. It connects to Autoroute 20. There is also an airport called Montréal/Les Cèdres Airport in the area. This airport has one runway and is used for small private planes, known as general aviation.

Education

The Francophone schools in Les Cèdres are operated by the Commission Scolaire des Trois-Lacs. One school is called École Marguerite-Bourgeoys. Some areas are served by École Du Papillon-Bleu (with pavillons Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Sainte-Trinité) in Vaudreuil-Dorion and by École Des Étriers in Saint-Lazare.

Anglophone schools are operated by the Lester B. Pearson School Board. Students go to Birchwood Elementary School and Evergreen Elementary School in Saint-Lazare, and St. Patrick Elementary School in Pincourt.