# Estrie

Estrie (French pronunciation:) is an administrative region of Quebec that comprises the Eastern Townships. Estrie, a French neologism, was coined as a derivative of est, "east". Originally settled by anglophones, today it is about 90 per cent francophone. Anglophones are concentrated in Lennoxville, home of the region's only English-speaking university, Bishop's University. The Eastern Townships School Board runs 20 elementary schools, three high schools, and a learning centre.
The region originally consisted of 6 regional county municipalities. In 2021, La Haute-Yamaska & Brome-Missisquoi joined Estrie, transferring from Montérégie.

## Economy

While the economy of the area is mainly based on agriculture, forestry, and mining, tourist attractions include four Sépaq parks: Yamaska, Mont-Orford, Frontenac, and Mont-Mégantic, ski resorts at Mont Brome and Mont Orford, and agritourism.

## Administrative divisions
### Regional county municipalities

| Regional County Municipality (RCM) | Population 2021 Canadian census | Land Area | Density (pop. per km$^2$) | Seat of RCM |
| Brome-Missisquoi | 64,786 | 1,651 km$^2$ (637 sq mi) | 34.3 | Cowansville |
| Coaticook | 18,906 | 1,339.80 km$^2$ (517.30 sq mi) | 13.8 | Coaticook |
| La Haute-Yamaska | 92,796 | 637 km$^2$ (246 sq mi) | 136.0 | Granby |
| Le Granit | 21,948 | 2,735.21 km$^2$ (1,056.07 sq mi) | 7.8 | Lac-Mégantic |
| Le Haut-Saint-François | 22,926 | 2,273.39 km$^2$ (877.76 sq mi) | 9.8 | Cookshire-Eaton |
| Le Val-Saint-François | 31,551 | 1,403.43 km$^2$ (541.87 sq mi) | 21.9 | Richmond |
| Les Sources | 14,623 | 787.13 km$^2$ (303.91 sq mi) | 18.1 | Val-des-Sources |
| Memphrémagog | 54,797 | 1,319.29 km$^2$ (509.38 sq mi) | 38.2 | Magog |

### Equivalent territory

| Territory Equivalent to a RCM (TE) | Population 2021 Canadian census | Land Area | Density (pop. per km$^2$) | Seat of ET |
| Sherbrooke | 172,950 | 367.10 km$^2$ (141.74 sq mi) | 456.0 | Sherbrooke |

### Demographics

Largest cities or towns in Estrie 2021 census :
| | Rank | | Regional county municipality | Pop. | Rank | | Regional county municipality | Pop. | |
| Sherbrooke Granby | 1 | Sherbrooke | Sherbrooke | 172,950 | 11 | Lac-Mégantic | Le Granit | 5,747 | Cowansville |
| Sherbrooke Granby | 2 | Granby | La Haute-Yamaska | 69,025 | 12 | Cookshire-Eaton | Le Haut-Saint-François | 5,344 | Cowansville |
| Sherbrooke Granby | 3 | Magog | Memphrémagog | 28,312 | 13 | Windsor | Le Val-Saint-François | 5,294 | Cowansville |
| Sherbrooke Granby | 4 | Cowansville | Brome-Missisquoi | 15,234 | 14 | Orford | Memphrémagog | 5,007 | Cowansville |
| Sherbrooke Granby | 5 | Bromont | Brome-Missisquoi | 11,357 | 15 | Waterloo | La Haute-Yamaska | 4,920 | Cowansville |
| Sherbrooke Granby | 6 | Farnham | Brome-Missisquoi | 10,149 | 16 | Saint-Denis-de-Brompton | Le Val-Saint-François | 4,594 | Cowansville |
| Sherbrooke Granby | 7 | Coaticook | Coaticook | 8,867 | 17 | Sutton | Brome-Missisquoi | 4,548 | Cowansville |
| Sherbrooke Granby | 8 | Shefford | La Haute-Yamaska | 7,253 | 18 | Roxton Pond | La Haute-Yamaska | 4,224 | Cowansville |
| Sherbrooke Granby | 9 | Val-des-Sources | Les Sources | 7,088 | 19 | Danville | Les Sources | 3,888 | Cowansville |
| Sherbrooke Granby | 10 | Brome Lake | Brome-Missisquoi | 5,923 | 20 | East Angus | Le Haut-Saint-François | 3,840 | Cowansville |
2021 Canadian Census First Official Language Spoken -Estrie :
| Census | French | English | French and English | Other |
| 2021 | 304,620 | 23,565 | 4,485 | 1,345 |
| 2016 | 289,040 | 21,745 | 3,110 | 1,115 |
| 2011 | 281,305 | 22,070 | 2,720 | 825 |
Estrie has a population of 377,701 according to the 2021 Canadian Census. Out of 326,955 singular responses the most common out of them are as follows.
2021 Canadian Census Mother Tongue - Estrie :
| Rank | Language | Population | Percentage |
| 1 | French | 291,685 | 89.2% |
| 2 | English | 20,195 | 6.2% |
| 3 | Spanish | 4,070 | 1.2% |
| 4 | Arabic | 2,365 | 0.7% |
2021 Canadian Census Knowledge of Official Languages - Estrie :
| Census | French Only | English Only | French and English | Neither French Nor English |
| 2021 | 181,810 | 7,645 | 142,755 | 1,345 |
| 2016 | 179,590 | 6,685 | 127,565 | 1,170 |
| 2011 | 179,480 | 6,970 | 119,595 | 865 |

#### Cultural or ethnic origin

Estrie has a majority European population but it does have a diverse group of minorities. The most commonly described ethnic groups amongst the 328,025 responses are as follows
| Rank | Ethnic/Cultural Identity | Population | Percentage |
| 1 | Canadian | 120,150 | 36.6% |
| 2 | French | 85,115 | 26% |
| 3 | Quebecois | 42,855 | 13% |
| 4 | French Canadian | 28,290 | 8.6% |
| 5 | English | 9,185 | 3% |
| 6 | Scottish | 8,045 | 2.5% |
| 7 | First Nations | 7,270 | 2.2% |

##### Religion

2021 Canadian Census Religious identity - Estrie :
| Rank | Religion | Population | Percentage |
| 1 | Catholicism | 193,700 | 59% |
| 2 | No Religion | 97,435 | 29.7% |
| 3 | Islam | 6,575 | 2% |
| 4 | Anglicianism | 2,555 | 0.7% |
| 5 | United Church of Canada | 1,830 | 0.5% |

## School Districts

Francophone:
* Commission scolaire des Hauts-Cantons (Coaticook, East Angus and Lac-Mégantic).
* Commission scolaire de la Région-de-Sherbrooke
* Commission scolaire des Sommets
* Commission scolaire Val-des-cerfs
Anglophone:
* Eastern Townships School Board

## Major communities

* Bromont
* Coaticook
* Cookshire-Eaton
* Cowansville
* Farnham
* Granby
* Lac-Brome
* Lac-Mégantic
* Magog
* Orford
* Shefford
* Sherbrooke
* Val-des-Sources
* Windsor