Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan is a parish municipality nestled in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada. This charming municipality is part of the Les Chenaux Regional County Municipality in Batiscanie and the administrative region of Mauricie. It is beautifully situated along the Batiscan River, offering a picturesque setting for visitors and residents alike.
The main village of Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan is situated on the northeast shore of the Batiscan River at the confluence of the Veillet River. A smaller village is located just opposite, on the southwest. The village center is approximately 6.3 km from the mouth of the Batiscan River and 7.6 km from the Batiscan railway station, on the former Canadian Pacific Railway line (now run in this area by Quebec Gatineau Railway). The Batiscan River flows through the village, splitting it into two parts.
The agricultural area of Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan extends to the foot of the Saint-Narcisse moraine, a mountainous line running in the east-west direction, between Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan, Saint-Stanislas, and Saint-Narcisse. Most of Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan is included in the Batiscanie, except for two areas: one in the east, at the limit of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, and the other to the southwest, near the limit of Saint-Luc-de-Vincennes.
The Catholic parish was initially named in honor of Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of France and the city of Paris, the largest French-speaking city in the world. In France, the French patron saint is also the Diocese of Nanterre and gendarmes. The name "Batiscan" was derived from the chief of the Algonquin people from around 1610 to 1629, for whom the river was named after.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan had a population of 1,028 living in 514 of its 571 total private dwellings, a change of 2.2% from its 2016 population of 1,006. With a land area of 97.65 km2, it had a population density of 10.5/km2 in 2021.
Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan boasts a rich archaeological potential. A manuscript source (Massicotte, 1935) mentions the discovery of artifacts from the prehistoric period (projectile point and others). Thus, the edge of the St. Lawrence River and its main tributaries have been occupied for several millennia. The Batiscan River remains a significant point of interest for prehistoric archaeology due to its importance as a possible route of circulation and penetration to the interior. The municipality of Sainte-Genevieve de Batiscan was erected on May 11, 1841, in the southeastern part of the Lordship of Batiscan under the Act 8 Vict. chap. 40, in July 1845. The territory of the municipality of Sainte-Geneviève was detached from the parishes of Saint-François-Xavier-de-Batiscan and La Visitation de Champlain.
From 1855 to 1982, the city was the seat of Champlain County. In 1982, the old county system was reformulated into the new regional county municipality (RCM) system, with Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan becoming part of the Francheville RCM. On December 31, 2001, it was transferred from the Francheville RCM to the new Les Chenaux RCM, following the creation of the new City of Trois-Rivières and the dissolution of the Francheville RCM.
