Municipality
of
Cascapedia-St-Jules
 

LOCATION

The Municipality of Cascapedia-Saint-Jules is situated in the administrative region of Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine. It is within the MRC of Bonaventure on the southern shores of the peninsula. The municipality covers 106.44 squared kilometres of territory.

The territory is bordered in the north by the Gaspésie National Park, in the south-east by New Richmond, and the south-west by Maria.

One can access the municipality by Route 299 which crosses the Peninsula from south to north, starting in New Richmond, passing through Cascapedia-Saint-Jules, reaching the park, and finishing in St. Anne des Monts on the north side. Route 132 is the main highway on both sides of the peninsula.

There are two sites of natural beauty present in Cascapedia-Saint-Jules. The first is a majestic view of the Chic-Choc Mountains. The second, which crosses the town from one side to the other, is the Cascapedia River, known worldwide for its Atlantic salmon. An important feature of Cascapédia-St-Jules: It is almost surrounded by water, in fact, bordering the Bay of Chaleur to the south, Cascapedia River in the center and the Anger River to the north. There are also many lakes and streams.

HISTORY

In 1929, George V, King of England, officially declared that this territory, which had been part of the New Richmond Township, be detached and a separate municipal organization be created under the name "Grand Cascapedia."

In 1948, George VI, King of England, officially declared that this territory, which had been part of the Maria Township, be detached and a separate municipal organization be created under the name "Saint-Jules."

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Long before that, however, the proximity of the forest and its abundant resources encouraged the Irish, Scottish, Acadian and Loyalist people to found and build a village here.

In 1878, the Cascapedia River, a country lifestyle and large green fields brought the Marquis of Lorne and his wife, Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria, to build "The Guide House" which exists today as the "Lorne Cottage." Between 1878 and 1893, governor generals benefited from the use of exclusive fishing rights on the Cascapedia River.

In 1883, the Marquis of Lansdowne, Governor-General had built the fishing camp "New Derreen," named for his estate in Ireland. In 1893, New Derreen and its fishing rights were sold and divided along the River. Also around 1893, Lord Aberdeen, Governor General of the time, sold Lorne Cottage and its outfitters to the Americans, Barnes and Spalding. Since then, fishing camps and the Cascapedia River have been the main source of income for residents of both municipalities.

Since the end of the nineteenth century, Gaspesians also exploited the resource of the forest, and thus the municipalities of Saint-Jules and Grand Cascapedia opened its sawmill, which ensured the survival of part of the population. In the 1960s, economic progress and the development of commercial, public and parapublic services created new employment opportunities for residents. In 1965, the Consolidated Bathurst mill opened and became one of the driving forces of economic life of the two municipalities.

Finally, in 1999, the municipalities of Saint-Jules and Grand Cascapedia were officially combined (merged) by the Minister of Municipal Affairs to become the municipality of Cascapedia-Saint-Jules.

STATISTICS
 

• 33% of the population is francophone, 50% of the population is anglophone and 17% of the population is bilingual.

• The median age of the population is 45 years old and 85% of the population is older than 15 years (according to the census of 2006)

• The municipality is made up of 338 private lodgings and 315 are occupied

• The majority of the residents work in agriculture or in industrial resources.

• The municipality has become a tourist destination for Americans and Europeans who come to visit for the sport of salmon fishing.
   

  Development index 2006

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STRATEGIC PLANNING APPROACH
 

The priorities for the Municipality of Cascapedia-Saint-Jules are the development and maintenance of our culture, such as: sports and leisure, artistic, heritage and family services. Beautification, such as: signs, activities that encourage the beautifying of properties, keeping our community clean. And development in residential, tourist, agriculture and municipal infrastructure.

Based on the development priorities chosen by the Municipal Council, from a list of ideas provided by our residents at a public consultation meeting, a list was made up to include possible partners, the approximate amounts and an approximate time frame for each idea. The Municipality, along with its partners, will try and complete each project in the time frame allotted, however, these all depend on funding being available. (See Annex A)

STRENGTHS

Fire department
First responders
Many volunteers
Monthly municipal newsletter
Library
The Cascapedia River and its fishing camps
Musée de la Rivière Cascapédia and Lady Amherst Tea Room
Fallfest !
Open spaces
New constructions and a positive migratory growth
Located on Route 299
Snowmobile and ATV trails passing through
Bilingual community which is very important for tourist destinations
Located near the Appalachian Hiking Trail and the ChicChocs Mountains
Low tax rate

PREOCCUPATIONS

One of the main preoccupations of the Municipality is to maintain the low tax rate, as this has been found to be a main reason for people choosing to live here and raise their families. While it is important for our development to keep the tax rate low, it is also essential to maintain and improve services to our citizens. This leads us to our development plan and to focus on completing as many of our projects as possible.
 

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VISION

One of the main reasons for joining the two towns was the fact that together they would be a stronger Municipality. The positive forces of each community would benefit the new Community and together it would be better able to move forward and succeed in all aspects of Community life as each individual would be able to enjoy the economic and social advantages of the new arrangement.

One of the objectives of every Municipality is to promote itself; its responsibility is to encourage the economic development and growth of the Town so that it can provide better services to its people.