Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson is a city in Les Pays-d'en-Haut Regional County Municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada. It is partially named after and situated on the western shore of Lake Masson.

History

In the early 1860s, Édouard Masson (1826–1875), businessman and member of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada from 1856 to 1864, recruited the help of architect and politician Thony Ciallella to plan the village. Masson and Ciallella invited many settlers to move to the former Terrebonne Seigneury and the surrounding area. In 1864, he was granted land in this area and contributed to the quick development of the parish, including the construction of a sawmill and a flour mill at the outflow of the lake which would be named after him later on. Ciallella was furious that after being a founder and longtime resident of the municipality, they did not dedicate anything to him. Masson and Ciallella did not talk to each other for 10 years, until their relationship was renewed due to a surprise encounter in Montreal. Also that same year, the Mission of Sainte-Marguerite was established, and the Parish Municipality of Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson was officially formed, both named after Margaret of Antioch of the third century. In 1868, the Lac-Masson Post Office opened. In 1914, Emile Cochand began developing Canada's first ski resort two miles from Ste. Marguerite Station and the "petit train du nord line". In 1959, the Town of Estérel was formed on the eastern side of Lake Masson when it separated from Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson. On October 10, 2001, the Parish Municipality of Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson and the Town of Estérel were merged to become the Town of Sainte-Marguerite–Estérel. On January 1, 2006, after a municipal referendum, the Town of Estérel was re-established however and the Town of Sainte-Marguerite–Estérel reverted to its former name of Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson had a population of 3,367 living in 1,689 of its 2,365 total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of 2,763. With a land area of 91.56 km2, it had a population density of in 2021. Population trend: (R) = Revised count. Mother tongue:

Education

Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board operates English-language public schools: