Saint-Édouard-de-Fabre is a charming parish municipality nestled in the heart of western Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Témiscamingue Regional County Municipality and is named after Édouard-Charles Fabre. The municipality is not just home to the main population centre, but also includes the quaint hamlet of Fabre-Station and the vibrant community of Pointe-Martel.
The history of Saint-Édouard-de-Fabre dates back to the 17th century when a fur trading post was established on the eastern shore of Lake Temiskaming, 18 kilometres south of Ville-Marie. This post played a significant role in French-Canadian history, operating for nearly two centuries.
In 1870, the first settler arrived and cleared the land for agriculture, marking the beginning of farming in the Témiscamingue region. The end of the century saw the arrival of mining prospectors who discovered deposits of copper, cobalt, nickel, and silver, sparking a brief mining boom. However, this boom ended in 1904 when larger deposits were found in Cobalt, Ontario.
The parish of Saint-Édouard was founded in 1899, named in honour of Édouard-Charles Fabre. In 1904, the Township Municipality of Fabre was established, but it was dissolved in 1912 and divided into the Parish Municipalities of Saint-Édouard-de-Fabre and Saint-Placide.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Édouard-de-Fabre had a population of 671 living in 287 of its 320 total private dwellings. This represented a 6.8% increase from its 2016 population of 628. With a land area of 190.29 km2, the population density stood at 3.5/km2 in 2021.
The linguistic diversity of Saint-Édouard-de-Fabre is also noteworthy. The mother tongue of the majority of the population (97.0%) is French, while 2.2% of the population reported English as their first language. A small percentage (1.5%) reported other languages as their first language. No residents reported both English and French as their first language.
Saint-Édouard-de-Fabre, Quebec, with its rich history and diverse population, offers a unique blend of cultural heritage and natural beauty, making it a must-visit destination for history buffs and nature lovers alike.
