La Matapédia is a regional county municipality (RCM) in eastern Quebec, Canada at the base of the Gaspé peninsula, in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. Its seat is in Amqui. It is named after the Matapédia River which runs through the western part of the RCM.

La Matapédia was created on January 1, 1982, succeeding from the former Matapédia County Municipality. The region was subject to one of the last waves of colonization in Quebec, settled mostly by people from the Lower Saint-Lawrence between 1850 and 1950. It is a rural region in the Matapedia Valley crossed by the Notre Dame Mountains. Agriculture and logging, and its related industries (forestry and wood products), are the main economic activities.

Subdivisions

There are 25 subdivisions within the RCM:

Demographics

Population

Historical Census Data - La Matapédia Regional County Municipality, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1991 20,887 —     1996 20,883 −0.0% 2001 19,920 −4.6%	Year Pop. ±% 2006 19,199 −3.6% 2011 18,573 −3.3% 2016 17,925 −3.5%

Language

Canada Census Mother Tongue - La Matapédia Regional County Municipality, Quebec
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2016		17,790		17,635	3.2%	99.13%		70	6.7%	0.39%		35	16.7%	0.20%		50	100.0%	0.28%
2011		18,345		18,215	2.4%	99.29%		75	36.4%	0.41%		30	200.0%	0.16%		25	68.8%	0.14%
2006		18,810		18,665	3.4%	99.23%		55	57.1%	0.29%		10	75.0%	0.05%		80	700.0%	0.43%
2001		19,405		19,320	4.7%	99.56%		35	41.7%	0.18%		40	42.9%	0.21%		10	60.0%	0.05%
1996		20,435		20,280	n/a	99.24%		60	n/a	0.29%		70	n/a	0.34%		25	n/a	0.12%

Transportation

Access routes

Highways and numbered routes that run through the municipality, including external routes that start or finish at the county border:

See also

• List of regional county municipalities and equivalent territories in Quebec