Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is a vibrant city nestled in the eastern Montérégie region of the Canadian province of Quebec. Located approximately 40 kilometres southeast of Montreal, the city straddles both the west and east banks of the Richelieu River at the northernmost navigable point of Lake Champlain. As of December 2019, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu boasted a population of 98,036.
Historically, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu has been a significant transportation hub. The first railway line in British North America, established in 1836, connected the city with La Prairie. The city is also home to the annual International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, a hot air balloon festival that draws hundreds of tourists each August.
The Chambly Canal, extending 20 kilometres north along the west bank of the river, provides modern freight passage to Chambly and the St. Lawrence River. The canal features a lock near the downtown core of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. In winter, the city constructs a skating rink on the canal near the lock, while in summer, a 20-kilometre cycling path is available on the east side of the canal embankment.
The French built Fort Saint-Jean in the seventeenth century, providing an important communication link during the French and Indian Wars. During the American Revolutionary War, control of the town changed hands several times as British and American forces moved through the area.
In 2001, the city and several adjoining communities merged into a new regional county municipality, bringing the population to 79,600. This merger was requested by the five municipalities involved and was not part of the municipal fusions imposed by the Quebec government the following year.
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is situated on the banks of the Richelieu River. The city serves as the seat of Le Haut-Richelieu regional county municipality and of the judicial district of Iberville.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu had a population of 97,873 living in 42,913 of its 44,255 total private dwellings. This represented a change of 2.9% from its 2016 population of 95,114. With a land area of 226.93 km2, it had a population density of 431.3/km2 in 2021.
The amalgamated municipalities (with 2001 population) were:
Despite the racial diversity of nearby Montreal, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu had a large majority of white residents (~94.4%) in 2021. Visible minorities made up 4.1% of the population, and 1.5% identified as Indigenous. The largest visible minority groups were Black (1.4%) and Latin American (0.8%).
French was the mother tongue of 92.5% of residents, followed by English (2.5%), Spanish (0.8%), and Arabic (0.5%). A small percentage (1.4%) claimed both French and English as first languages, while 0.4% listed both French and a non-official language.
The majority of residents (68.9%) identified as Christian, down from 88.0% in 2011. Of these, 62.3% were Catholic, 4.3% were Christian n.o.s, and 0.8% were Protestant. Non-religious or secular individuals made up 29.3% of the population, up from 11.7% in 2011. All other religions and spiritual traditions accounted for 1.8% of the population. The largest non-Christian religion was Islam at 1.4%.
The city is divided into five sectors, each referring to the former municipalities. Each sector contains different neighbourhoods.
The Ville de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu public transit system provides commuter and local bus services. According to the 2016 Census, 56.7% of the labour force work within the city. An additional 12.7% commute to Montreal, while others work in Longueuil (5.7%), Brossard (3.6%), and Chambly (2.4%).
By contrast, only a small number of people commute from Montreal, Longueuil, Chambly, Saint-Alexandre, and Mont-Saint-Grégoire to work in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu each day.
The city is bisected by Autoroute de la Vallée-des-Forts (Autoroute 35), which runs north-south through the Saint-Luc district, turns east just south of Pierre-Caisse Boulevard in the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu district to cross the Richelieu River, and continues south through the St-Athanase and Iberville districts. The highway continues south for some 24 km before ending at Saint-Sébastien.
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu has its own municipal airport, Saint-Jean Airport, and is also close to Montreal Pierre-Elliot Trudeau International Airport.
The former International Railway of Maine runs through the town, now serving as the connecting point for the Central Maine and Quebec Railway with the Canadian Pacific Railway. The former Saint-Jean-d'Iberville railway station, which served the Ambassador to Boston and New York City and the Washingtonian to Washington, D.C., until 1966, is now a preserved building.
