# Grande-Vallée

Grande-Vallée (French pronunciation:) is a municipality in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine region of the province of Quebec in Canada.
Its name (French for "Great Valley") describes its location in a large fertile valley through which the Grand Vallée River flows.

## History

In 1691, Governor General Frontenac granted the area to François Hazeur, a prosperous merchant from Quebec City. The seignory, called La Grande-Vallée-des-Monts, stretched from Rivière-Magdeleine Seignory in the west to the Saint-Hélier portage in the east. It was inherited by Hazeur's son-in-law, Michel Sarrazin, a surgeon, biologist, and doctor of the King.
No colonization took place until the 1830s, when fishermen of Saint-Thomas-de-Montmagny occupied the place during the summer. In 1842, Alexis Caron and his family, also from Saint-Thomas-de-Montmagny, became the first permanent settlers. In 1846, the mission of Saint-François-Xavier-de-Grande-Vallée was founded. In 1872, the post office opened.
On September 15, 1927, the village was incorporated as a parish municipality, with Arthur S. Fournier as first mayor, although its status as parish municipality was not officially recognized until 1995. In 2005, Grande-Vallée changed its status from parish municipality to just municipality.

## Geography
### Communities

The following locations reside within the municipality's boundaries:
* Grande-Vallée-des-Monts (49°10′19″N 65°11′05″W﻿ / ﻿49.17194°N 65.18472°W﻿ / 49.17194; -65.18472﻿ (Grande-Vallée-des-Monts, Grande-Vallée, QC)) – a hamlet located along Rivière de la Grande Vallée
* L'Anse-à-Mercier (49°13′36″N 65°06′08″W﻿ / ﻿49.22667°N 65.10222°W﻿ / 49.22667; -65.10222﻿ (L'Anse-à-Mercier, Grande-Vallée, QC)) – a hamlet located on the Saint Lawrence River

### Lakes & Rivers

The following waterways pass through or are situated within the municipality's boundaries:
* Rivière de la Grande Vallée (49°13′31″N 65°07′39″W﻿ / ﻿49.22528°N 65.12750°W﻿ / 49.22528; -65.12750﻿ (Rivière de la Grande Vallée, Grande-Vallée, QC)) – a river that empties into Anse de la Rivière de la Grande Vallée
* Lac de la Confrérie (49°11′06″N 65°06′23″W﻿ / ﻿49.18500°N 65.10639°W﻿ / 49.18500; -65.10639﻿ (Lac de la Confrérie, Grande-Vallée, QC)) – a small lake located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) southeast of Grande-Vallée village
* Lac du Rocher (49°13′09″N 65°03′47″W﻿ / ﻿49.21917°N 65.06306°W﻿ / 49.21917; -65.06306﻿ (Lac du Rocher, Grande-Vallée, QC)) – a lake that lies just south of Route 132

## Demographics
### Population

| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1931 | 928 | — |
| 1941 | 827 | −10.9% |
| 1951 | 1,068 | +29.1% |
| 1956 | 1,263 | +18.3% |
| 1961 | 1,490 | +18.0% |
| 1966 | 1,461 | −1.9% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1971 | 1,412 | −3.4% |
| 1976 | 1,493 | +5.7% |
| 1981 | 1,612 | +8.0% |
| 1986 | 1,561 | −3.2% |
| 1991 | 1,420 | −9.0% |
| 1996 | 1,431 | +0.8% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 2001 | 1,309 | −8.5% |
| 2006 | 1,230 | −6.0% |
| 2011 | 1,137 | −7.6% |
| 2016 | 1,057 | −7.0% |
| 2021 | 1,077 | +1.9% |
Source: Statistics Canada :

### Language

Canada Census Mother Tongue - Grande-Vallée, Quebec :
| Census | Total | French | French | French | English | English | English | French & English | French & English | French & English | Other | Other | Other |
| Year | Responses | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % |
| 2021 | 1,075 | 1,065 | 1.4% | 99.1% | 5 | 0.0% | 0.5% | 0 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2016 | 1,160 | 1,050 | 6.7% | 99.1% | 5 | n/a% | 0.5% | 5 | n/a% | 0.5% | 0 | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| 2011 | 1,130 | 1,125 | 2.0% | 99.6% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 5 | n/a% | 0.4% |
| 2006 | 1,205 | 1,205 | 6.6% | 100.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2001 | 1,290 | 1,290 | 7.2% | 100.0% | 0 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1996 | 1,415 | 1,390 | n/a | 98.2% | 25 | n/a | 1.8% | 0 | n/a | 0.0% | 0 | n/a | 0.0% |

## Government

List of former mayors:
* Arthur S. Fournier (1927–1933)
* Wilfrid Fournier (1933–1945)
* Georges Fournier (1945–1951)
* Robert Lebreux (1951–1959, 1960–1969)
* Rodolphe Fournier (1959–1960)
* Rock Fournier (1969–1978)
* Jean Claude Côté (1978–1986)
* Nelson Fournier (1986–1993)
* Sylvain Bouchard (1993–2005)
* Gabriel Minville (2005–2009)
* Nathalie Côté (2009–2017)
* Noël Richard (2017–present)