La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality

La Vallée-du-Richelieu
Regional county municipality
Location in province of Quebec.
Coordinates: 45°34′N 73°12′W / 45.567°N 73.200°W / 45.567; -73.200[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Montérégie
Effective	January 1, 1982
County seat	McMasterville
Government [2]
• Type	Prefecture
• Prefect	Gilles Plante
Area [3]
• Total	605.50 km2 (233.78 sq mi)
• Land	588.60 km2 (227.26 sq mi)
Population  (2016)[3]
• Total	124,420
• Density	211.4/km2 (548/sq mi)
• Change 2011-2016	6.5%
• Dwellings	49,971
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Area code(s)	450 and 579
Website	www.mrcvr.ca
[4]

La Vallée-du-Richelieu (French pronunciation: [la vale dy ʁiʃ(ə)ljø], The Valley of the Richelieu) is a regional county municipality in the Montérégie region in southwestern Quebec, Canada. Its seat is McMasterville.

It surrounds the Richelieu River as the river flows north from Lake Champlain in the United States to the Saint Lawrence River northeast of Montreal at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec. Dramatically different from the mountainous terrain to the south, the river valley is a vast plain that has been developed with extensive farmlands.

In the 21st century, the Richelieu River is very popular for both U.S. and Canadian recreational boaters, providing a connection that can bring boaters all the way from the outlet of the Saint Lawrence River to New York Harbor. A number of old fortifications exist dating back to the 17th century; they were built by the French in an effort to try to prevent the Iroquois from using the river as a way to attack the French settlers in the area. Fort Richelieu is at the mouth of the Richelieu River. Fort St. Louis (now Fort Chambly) at Chambly, Fort Sainte-Thérèse, and Fort Saint-Jean at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, are on the way. Fort St. Anne Isle La Motte, Vermont in Lake Champlain is near the river's source. The region is informally known as la Vallée-des-Forts.

There are 13 subdivisions within the RCM:^[2]

• Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville (now part of the Urban agglomeration of Longueuil)

Canada Census Mother Tongue - La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec[10]
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2016		123,485		114,405	5.7%	92.6%		3,990	1.7%	3.2%		1105	19.5%	0.80%		3985	61.0%	2.14%
2011		115,690		108,230	9.5%	93.55%		4,060	0.6%	3.51%		925	55.5%	0.80%		2,475	4.4%	2.14%
2006		105,870		98,870	8.6%	93.39%		4,035	41.9%	3.81%		595	43.3%	0.56%		2,370	2.1%	2.24%
2001		118,635		108,215	5.8%	91.22%		6,950	2.7%	5.86%		1,050	8.8%	0.88%		2,420	3.2%	2.04%
1996		112,920		102,310	n/a	90.60%		7,145	n/a	6.33%		965	n/a	0.85%		2,500	n/a	2.21%

Highways and numbered routes that run through the municipality, including external routes that start or finish at the county border:

• List of regional county municipalities and equivalent territories in Quebec

• Fort Richelieu official site^{[permanent dead link‍]}