Prévost, Quebec, is a charming town nestled in the Laurentian Mountains, north of Montreal. This town, part of the La Rivière-du-Nord Regional County Municipality, is a product of the 1973 amalgamation of the former villages of Shawbridge, Lesage, and old Prévost.
Prévost's history is deeply intertwined with the story of William Shaw, who settled in the township of Abercromby in 1847. Shawbridge, one of the villages that now form Prévost, was named after him. Shaw built the first bridge over the Rivière du Nord, a significant contribution that facilitated the area's development.
The town was known as Shawbridge until 1973, when it was renamed Prévost. The Prévost railway station, once served by the Canadian Pacific Railway's freight and passenger services, is now a community centre and a stop on the Parc Linéaire Le P'tit Train du Nord bicycle and hiking trail.
Prévost is renowned for its cross-country skiing and the Shawbridge Boys' Farm, a youth detention centre operated by Batshaw Youth Services. The town's main street, Route 117 or Curé-Labelle Boulevard, crosses the city from south to north. Autoroute 15, the Laurentian Autoroute, also serves the town, making it easily accessible for visitors.
Prévost's main roads include chemin du Lac-Écho and rue de la Station, both leading to nearby Saint-Hippolyte, Quebec. The town's police services are provided by the Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police force.
The Shaw bridge, built in 1923 as a replacement for William Shaw's wooden bridge, traditionally linked Shawbridge and old Prévost. The Quebec government closed the bridge in late June 2008 due to safety concerns. However, after local residents and the town's mayor, Claude Charbonneau, advocated for its reopening, the Quebec Ministry of Transport reopened the bridge on August 28, 2008, for pedestrians and bicyclists.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Prévost had a population of 13,692 living in 5,532 of its 5,722 total private dwellings. This represented a 5.3% increase from its 2016 population of 13,002. With a land area of 34.29 km2 (13.24 sq mi), it had a population density of 399.3/km2 (1,034.2/sq mi) in 2021.
The population trend in Prévost has been steadily increasing over the years. The town's population in 2001 was 8,280, which increased to 10,132 in 2006, and further to 11,747 in 2011.
In terms of language, 94.2% of the population speak French as their first language, while 2.3% speak English. A small percentage of the population (1.7%) speak both English and French as their first language, and 1.8% speak other languages.
