Dégelis () is a city in Témiscouata Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec. Its population in the Canada 2021 Census was 2,884. The Madawaska River flows from Lake Témiscouata, through Degelis, to join the Saint John River at to the east at Edmundston, New Brunswick.

Located on the banks of the Madawaska River (Saint John River), the city owes its name to a physical phenomenon: a zone of the river located in front the city, that never freezes.Commission de toponymie du Québec (Quebec Geographical Names Board) – Banque de noms de lieux (Bank of places names) – Toponym: "Dégelis"; page accessed on September 17, 2010 A Dégelis, in Old French, means a zone on the water free of icePascal Poirier, Le parler franco-acadien et ses origins (English: The Franco-Acadian talk and its origins), 1928 (which is the phenomenon observed in Dégelis), a local winter thaw (no apparent reason),Aubert de la Rue, Le français parlé aux îles St-Pierre et Miquelon (In English: French spoken to St. Pierre and Miquelon), 1944 meaning an opening in the ice during the seasonal thawing.

The area corresponding to Dégelis is named Dégelé (English: thawed) in a report by Joseph Bouchette in 1815. The spelling at the time varies considerably. Clerical and administrative documents dating from 1858 to 1878 refer to the parish under the name Dégely,Rapport sur les missions du diocèse de Québec (English: Missions Report of the Diocese of Québec), No. 18, 1868 Ste. Rose Dégely,Statement of the public accounts of the province of Quebec and annual report of the auditor of the province, 1878 or (Sainte-Rose-du) Dégeli.Report on the missions of the diocese of Quebec, number 13, 1859 Names "Sainte-Rose-du-Dégel" and "Dègelis" were also used for a period.

The inhabitants are appointed Dégelisiens for males and Dégelisiennes for females.

History Dégelis was founded in 1885 and its initial name was Sainte-Rose du Dégelé. Before its foundation, it was a military fort used to defend Canada's border with United States. Four families of British soldiers lived in two locations in the territory of the current city from 1814 to 1823 . In 1839, the construction of the fort began on the current city of Dégelis. The small fort was part of a series of forts which included Fort Ingall. Soldiers and settlers inhabited the fort and its surrounding area. Some settlers remained in the region after the Aroostook War.

The catholic mission Sainte-Rose-du-Dégelé was founded in 1860. The foundation's mission coincides with the beginning of colonization of the territory then known as Le Dégely.

The mission Catholic founded in 1860 took the name of "Sainte-Rose-du-Dégelé. The choice of Sainte-Rose as a protective was conducted by Langevin, bishop of Rimouski from 1867 to 1891 in honor of Rose Marquis, benefactress of the mission.Les noms géographiques de la province de Québec (English: Geographical names of the province of Quebec) The parish canonically was erected in 1885 and the municipality of parish was officially created the same year kept the same name. This does not prevent Le Naturaliste Canadien (English: The Canadian Naturalist), a scientific publication, refer to them as the Sainte-Rose-du-Dégelis in 1882. The post office of the place was called Sainte-Rose-du-Dégelé since 1879 and kept it until 1968. In fact, 1967, the name of the municipality was changed to Sainte-Rose-du-Dégelis for lexical considerations. In 1969, the name was shortened to Dégelis when the place received town status.

Geography

The town is situated on Autoroute 85, also known as the Trans-Canada Highway, close to the Quebec–New Brunswick border.

Dégelis is located on the south slope of St. Lawrence River in southeast of Quebec City and southwest of Gaspé near the border with New Brunswick. Most important cities near Dégelis are Rivière-du-Loup in northeast, La Pocatière, Quebec in to the west, and Edmundston in New Brunswick to southeast. Dégelis territory covers an area of .

City Dégelis is in the Témiscouata Regional County Municipality in administrative region of the Bas-Saint-Laurent. Parish Dégelis is part of the Archdiocese of Rimouski.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Dégelis had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Canada Census Mother Tongue – Dégelis, Quebec Census Total Year Responses Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % 2,835 0.2% 98.6% 30 100.0% 1.0% 15 200.0% 0.5% 0 100.0% 0.0% 2,830 4.1% 99.0% 15 0.0% 0.5% 5 0.0% 0.2% 5 0.0% 0.2% 2,950 3.6% 99.2% 15 25.0% 0.5% 5 50.0% 0.2% 5 50.0% 0.2% 3,060 4.2% 98.7% 20 n/a% 0.7% 10 66.7% 0.3% 10 0.0% 0.3% 3,195 4.1% 98.8% 0 100.0% 0.0% 30 200.0% 0.9% 10 n/a% 0.3% 3,330 n/a 99.4% 10 n/a 0.3% 10 n/a 0.3% 0 n/a 0.0% Religious affiliation: Christian 88.0% No religious affiliation 12.0% Experienced labour force: Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 5.9% Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction 1.8% Construction 4.3% Manufacturing 5.5% Wholesale trade 1.8% Retail trade 11.9% Transportation and warehousing 4.3% Information and cultural industries 0.7% Finance and insurance 2.5% Professional, scientific and technical services 4.0% Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services 3.2% Educational services 6.1% Health care and social assistance 15.5% Arts, entertainment and recreation 1.8% Accommodation and food services 5.8% Other services (except public administration) 4.3% Public administration 2.5%

Economy The economy of Dégelis revolves mainly around the forest industry. The city is home to a sawmill which produces hardwood briquettes of maple, oak, beech, and ash. The municipality has reduced hours of operation.

Government Local government comprises a mayor and councillors. The current mayor is Gustave Pelletier.

List of former mayors: Émilien Nadeau (1994-2009) Claude Lavoie (2009-2013) Normand Morin (2013-2021) Gustave Pelletier (2021–present)

See also Iroquois River (Saint John River) List of cities in Quebec

References

External links

Official municipality site