Pont-Rouge

Pont-Rouge
City
Location within Portneuf RCM.
Pont-Rouge Location in central Quebec.
Coordinates:
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Capitale-Nationale
RCM	Portneuf
Constituted	January 3, 1996
Government
• Mayor	Claude Bégin
• Federal riding	Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier
• Prov. riding	Portneuf
Area
• Total	123.40 km2 (47.65 sq mi)
• Land	121.23 km2 (46.81 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	8,723
• Density	72.0/km2 (186/sq mi)
• Pop 2006-2011	16.0%
• Dwellings	3,617
Time zone	EST (UTC−5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code(s)	G3H
Area code(s)	418 and 581
Highways	Route 358 Route 365
Website	www.ville. pontrouge.qc.ca

Pont-Rouge is a city along the Jacques-Cartier River in southern Quebec, Canada. In the Canada 2011 Census the population was 8,723 inhabitants.

History

The first efforts to colonise the area came around 1769.

On April 15, 1867, the archbishop of Quebec, Charles-François Baillargeon, founded the parish of Sainte-Jeanne-de-Neuville from portions of Cap-Santé, Saint-Basile, and Neuville. After the separation of the parish in two in 1911 (the village of Pont-Rouge and the parish of Sainte-Jeanne-de-Pont-Rouge), the new City of Pont-Rouge was established when these two municipalities merged on January 3, 1996.

Transportation had considerable influence on the development of the parish, mainly the two bridges and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway bridge in 1874. The Royal Bridge (now called Pont Déry), was reconstructed several times because of the weakness of the centre of the bridge. This bridge served its purpose for the transportation of heavy loads and mail between Quebec and Montreal. The bridge was a toll bridge, and the money served the construction of a second bridge le pont Rouge, which was free. It united the western part to the eastern part of Dupont Street, named in honour of Father Charles-François Dupont, who was priest there from 1917 to 1933. A newer bridge has now replaced this bridge as of 2009.

Demographics

Population trend:

• Population in 2011: 8723 (2006 to 2011 population change: 16.0%)
• Population in 2006: 7518
• Population in 2001: 7146
• Population in 1996:
  • Sainte-Jeanne-de-Pont-Rouge (municipality): 2145
  • Pont-Rouge (village): 4676
• Population in 1991:
  • Sainte-Jeanne-de-Pont-Rouge (municipality): 1966
  • Pont-Rouge (village): 4133

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 3471 (total dwellings: 3617)

Mother tongue:

• English as first language: 0.7%
• French as first language: 98.2%
• English and French as first language: 0%
• Other as first language: 1.1%

Administration

List of successive mayors

Period		Name
2005		Claude Bégin
1996	2005	Paul-Eugène Parent
1973	1996	Marcel Bédard
1967	1973	Albert Picher
1965	1967	Louis Piché
1964	1965	Léopold Bussières
1961	1964	Clément Vaugeois
1941	1961	Joseph-Alfred Leclerc
1929	1941	Edward Hamel
1925	1929	Joseph Arthus Bussières
1921	1925	Edward Hamel
1919	1921	Arthur Galarneau
1917	1919	Thomas Savary
1916	1917	Louis-Georges Bussières
1915	1916	Napoleon Larue
1911	1915	Arthur Galarneau

Pont-Rouge railroad bridge over the Jacques-Cartier River