Cap-Chat is a town in the Canadian province of Québec, in the Regional County Municipality of Haute-Gaspésie, and in the administrative region of Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Cap-Chat is found 16 km west of Sainte-Anne-des-Monts. , Cap-Chat's population is 2,516. In addition to Cap-Chat itself, the town's territory also includes the communities of Cap-Chat-Est, Capucins, and Petit-Fonds.

History

There are two theories about the origin of the town's name. One simply holds that the headland called Cap-Chat bore a likeness to a cat ("chat" in French). The other theory is a bit more fanciful. According to a local legend, a cat walking along the shore killed and ate various animals, whereupon the "cat fairy" accused him of having eaten her offspring. For his punishment, the cat was turned into stone for ever. It seems most likely, however, that the town's name is a corruption of "Aymar de Chaste", who was New France's lieutenant-general in 1603. Samuel de Champlain named this area C. de Chatte in 1612, then Cap de Chatte in 1626. The name became Cap de Chat in 1685. The waterfront boardwalk at Cap-Chat has a display of photographs and informative plaques regarding the Second World War Battle of the St. Lawrence between U-Boats and coastal defence ships. On October 19, 1968, The Town of Cap-Chat was formed through the merger of Parish Municipality of Saint-Norbert-du-Cap-Chat and the Village Municipality of Cap-Chat. Cap-Chat was one of the prime viewing areas for the total solar eclipse of July 10, 1972. Unfortunately, cloudy skies prevented most observers from viewing the total phase of the eclipse. On March 15, 2000, the Municipality of Capucins was amalgamated into the Town of Cap-Chat.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Cap-Chat had a population of 2,516 living in 1,225 of its 1,405 total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of 2,476. With a land area of 181.31 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

Economy

Cap-Chat has become synonymous with wind energy. There is a wind farm there containing 76 wind generators in revenue service. Each one of these is a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT), but there is also to be seen there one called Éole, which is the world's tallest vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) at 110 m. It is capable of producing 4 MW of power, but has not been in use for more than ten years following damages sustained during a wind storm. Everything that there is to know about wind power at Cap-Chat may be learnt at the interpretative centre at the wind farm. Cap-Chat has other things that are worth seeing, such as the aforesaid cat-shaped headland, and a lighthouse. Those interested in wilderness and spectacular scenery can explore the areas inland from Cap-Chat, where there was once a village called Saint-Octave-de-l'Avenir (which ironically means Saint Octavius of the Future, though it's long in the past now). Salmon fishing and moose hunting are other activities available in the Cap-Chat area, as are hiking, horseback riding, and off-road four-wheel drive excursions in the back country. In winter, Cap-Chat has a downhill skiing centre, as well as trails for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling.

Local government

List of former mayors:

Images