Mont-Joli, Quebec, is a charming city nestled in the La Mitis Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. As the county seat, Mont-Joli is situated east of Rimouski, near the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River.
The history of Mont-Joli, Quebec, dates back to 1867 when the main condition for New Brunswick and Nova-Scotia to join the Canadian Confederation was to be connected to the rest of the country by railway. The following year, construction began on the Intercolonial Railway, with plans to have the railway turn at Saint-Octave-de-Métis in Gaspésie.
However, due to the rugged landscape of the village, it was deemed unsuitable for a train station and maintenance shops. The engineers then turned to the higher 2nd farming rank of Sainte-Flavie, where the train station was named Sainte-Flavie-Station. In 1880, Sainte-Flavie-Station became separate and was renamed Mont-Joli, a name the first settlers used to describe the area.
On 13 June 2001, Mont-Joli, Quebec, expanded when the neighbouring municipality of Saint-Jean-Baptiste merged with it.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Mont-Joli, Quebec, had a population of 6,384 living in 3,034 of its 3,173 total private dwellings. This represented a 1.6% increase from its 2016 population of 6,281. With a land area of 24.24 km2 (9.36 sq mi), Mont-Joli had a population density of 263.4/km2 (682.1/sq mi) in 2021.
Mont-Joli, Quebec, is the easternmost end of Autoroute 20, which connects with the city of Rimouski. Route 132 runs through the centre of Mont-Joli as part of a loop that circumnavigates the Gaspé Peninsula. It is about 3 km (2 mi) southeast of Sainte-Flavie, where Route 132 intersects with itself.
Mont-Joli Airport is the only airport with scheduled service in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. Mont-Joli is also served by the Mont-Joli railway station, adding to the city's accessibility and convenience for both residents and visitors.
