Saint-Léonard is a geographic parish in Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Canada. For governance purposes it is divided between the town of Vallée-des-Rivières and the Northwest rural district, both of which are members of the Northwest Regional Service Commission. Before the 2023 governance reform, the parish was divided between the town of Saint-Léonard and the local service district of the parish of Saint-Léonard, part of which was included in Vallée-des-Rivières by the reform.

Origin of name

The parish's name may have been in honour of Leonard R. Coombes, local magistrate.

History

Saint-Léonard was erected as Saint Leonard in 1850 from Madawaska Parish. The parish was part of Victoria County and extended south of the modern county line. In 1862 the boundary with Grand Falls Parish was altered. In 1864 part of Saint-Léonard was included Gordon Parish. In 1873 all of the parish south of the new Madawaska County line was added to Drummond Parish. In 1875 the county line with Victoria was altered and part of Drummond added to Saint-Léonard. In 1877 part of Saint-Léonard was included in the new Sainte-Anne Parish. In 1907 the southern part of Saint-Léonard was erected as Saint-André Parish. In 1946 Saint-Léonard was affected by the major reorganisation of Madawaska County parish boundaries. In 1973 the legal name was changed to Saint-Léonard.

Boundaries

Saint-Léonard Parish is bounded:

Communities

Communities at least partly within the parish. bold indicates an incorporated municipality; italics indicate a name no longer in official use

Bodies of water

Bodies of water at least partly within the parish.

Other notable places

Parks, historic sites, and other noteworthy places at least partly within the parish.

Demographics

Parish population total does not include town of Saint-Léonard

Population

Population trend

Language

Mother tongue (2016)