Pointe-des-Cascades, Quebec, is a charming village municipality nestled in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada. Part of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality, this picturesque village is situated where the mighty St. Lawrence River flows into Lake Saint-Louis. The river's significant drop forms several cascades, lending the village its distinctive name. The islands of Île des Cascades and Île des Joybert are connected by a narrow causeway, while Île des Cascades and Pointe-des-Cascades are linked artificially.
The history of Pointe-des-Cascades, Quebec, dates back to the mid-seventeenth century. From then until 1700, numerous military expeditions arrived at this location to portage around the cascades on the Saint Lawrence River. The first reference to Pointe-des-Cascades appeared in a text by Louis-Armand de Lahontan in 1684 and on a map by Deshayes in 1695. At that time, Pointe des Cascades was included in the Vaudreuil Lordship.
In 1893, the post office opened under the English name Cascades Point, which was renamed to Pointe-des-Cascades in 1951. Shortly after, construction began on the Soulanges Canal. Upon its completion in 1899, the village became the eastern, downstream terminus of the canal. However, the canal closed in 1958 when it was superseded by the new Beauharnois Canal. Today, the paths along the canal serve as a regional cycling route.
In 1961, the Village Municipality of Pointe-des-Cascades was formed on the territory of the Parish Municipalities of Saint-Joseph-de-Soulanges (now Les Cèdres) and Saint-Michel-de-Vaudreuil (now part of Vaudreuil-Dorion).
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Pointe-des-Cascades, Quebec, had a population of 1,775. This figure represents a 19.9% increase from its 2016 population of 1,481. The census recorded 743 occupied private dwellings out of a total of 762. With a land area of 2.74 km2 (1.06 sq mi), the village had a population density of 647.8/km2 (1,677.8/sq mi) in 2021.
