The seigneurie of Sainte-Marie-de-la-Nouvelle-Beauce was granted to Thomas-Jacques Taschereau in 1736. He chose the name in honour of his wife, Marie-Claire de Fleury de La Gorgendière. The religious parish was founded in 1737 and the municipality in 1845.
In 1913, the territory was split again, following the detachment of the village (urban part of the territory) from the parish municipality (rural part). In 1958, the village was constituted as a city and in 1959, Sainte-Marie-de-la-Nouvelle-Beauce was renamed as Sainte-Marie. In 1978, the city and the parish municipality governments amalgamated.
Demographics
Historical census population counts
Year
Pop.
±%
1921
1,311
—
1931
1,598
+21.9%
1941
1,736
+8.6%
1951
2,431
+40.0%
1956
3,094
+27.3%
1961
3,662
+18.4%
1966
4,192
+14.5%
1971
4,307
+2.7%
1976
4,462
+3.6%
1981*
8,936
+100.3%
1986
9,536
+6.7%
1991
10,542
+10.5%
1996
10,966
+4.0%
2001
11,320
+3.2%
2006
11,584
+2.3%
2011
12,889
+11.3%
2016
13,565
+5.2%
2021
13,134
−3.2%
(*) The Town of Sainte-Marie annexed the Parish of Sainte-Marie.
Source: Statistics Canada
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Sainte-Marie had a population of 13,134 living in 5,500 of its 5,630 total private dwellings, a change of -3.2% from its 2016 population of 13,565. With a land area of 107.55 km2 (41.53 sq mi), it had a population density of 122.1/km2 (316.3/sq mi) in 2021.[4]
