La Visitation-de-l'Île-Dupas is a municipality in the Lanaudière region of Quebec, Canada, part of the D'Autray Regional County Municipality. Its territory is located on several of the Sorel Islands in the Saint Lawrence River where it flows into Lac Saint-Pierre. The largest of these islands is Dupas Island, also known as Isle du Pads, Île d'Angoulème, and Île du Richelieu at various times in the past. The area is known for its geese, ducks, and muskrats, and it is suitable for farming, hunting and fishing.
History
The islands were already well known by the indigenous people as a good fishing and hunting location, and they used them to counter repeated attacks by the French. The first Frenchman settling on the largest island was reputedly Pierre Dupas, officier in the Carignan Regiment who arrived in Canada in 1665. Together with two servants, he settled in 1669 on the island which came to bear his name, and he became the first Lord of the l'Île-Dupas-et-du-Chicot Seignory in 1672. In 1677, his widow sold the seignory to Charles Aubert de La Chesnaye. On November 11, 1690, Louis Dandonneau-dit-Lajeunesse, Sieur de Sable, and his brother-in-law Jacques Brisset, both from Champlain, Quebec, purchased the island from Aubert. The following decade saw permanent settlement begin on the island. From 1712 to 1727, explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, lived on the island and his five children were born there. In 1834, the Parish of L'Isle-du-Pads was founded, followed by the civil parish in 1842. In 1845, the Municipality of L'Isle-du-Pads was established, but abolished in 1847, when it became part of the Berthier County Municipality. In 1855, it was reestablished as a parish municipality called La Visitation-de-la-Sainte-Vierge-de-l'Isle-du-Pads, one of the longest place names in Quebec history. In 1865, the area experienced a flood which killed 15 people and washed away 27 houses. By the end of the 19th century, more than 1,000 people lived on the island, and in the early 20th century, almost the entire island was used for growing hay, which was exported to the United States in large quantities. In 1897, the municipality lost about half of its territory when the new Parish Municipality of Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola was formed. In 1981, the parish municipality abbreviated its name and changed its status to become the Municipality of La Visitation-de-l'Île-Dupas.
Demographics
Population trend:
Population in 2011: 619
Population in 2006: 612
Population in 2001: 573
Population in 1996: 564
Population in 1991: 521
Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 274 Mother tongue:
