region of Labelle

Approximately 150 kilometres northwest of Montreal, this picturesque municipality recalls an important chapter in the history of this region. It all started with a project inspired by a priest Father Antoine Labelle.

During the last half of the 19th century, Father Labelle realized that thousands of French Canadians were immigrating to the USA. To counteract this exodus, he offered land to families if they would move north of St-Jerome and open up the area.

The first steam train moved people northward in October 1893 and the last train chugged through in 1985. The local train station is now a tourist attraction and the rail bed has become the famous linear park (1996) welcoming cyclists in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter.