Trois-Pistoles, Quebec, is a charming city nestled in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Canada. As the county seat of Les Basques Regional County Municipality, this town offers a unique blend of history, culture, and natural beauty.
Located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River, Trois-Pistoles serves as a gateway to the river's north shore via a ferry crossing to Les Escoumins. The port facilities are not only used by fishing boats but also by scuba divers, making it a hub of aquatic activities.
Since 1932, Trois-Pistoles has been the site of the University of Western Ontario's annual French immersion program, the oldest of its kind in Canada. This program has made the town a significant contributor to the promotion and preservation of the French language.
Just offshore of Trois-Pistoles lies Île aux Basques, a National Historic Site of Canada. This island, used by Basque whalers in the 16th century, is now a migratory bird sanctuary under the jurisdiction of the surrounding Municipality of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges.
Since 2002, Trois-Pistoles has hosted the Festival Échofête de Trois-Pistoles every July. This environmentalism-themed music festival and fair is Quebec's largest environmental festival, attracting visitors from all over the province and beyond.
The town is conveniently accessible by Via Rail on the named train The Ocean, which runs between Montreal and Halifax.
The town's unique name is said to have originated from a silver goblet worth three pistoles, an old French coin, that was lost in the river in the 17th century.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Trois-Pistoles had a population of 3,115 living in 1,562 of its 1,727 total private dwellings. This represented a -4% change from its 2016 population of 3,246. With a land area of 7.63 km2 (2.95 sq mi), it had a population density of 408.3/km2 (1,057.4/sq mi) in 2021.
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