Louiseville

Louiseville is a municipality of the Maskinongé Regional county municipality (MRC), in Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada.

Every spring and fall, hundreds of thousands of migratory birds stop off by landing on Lac Saint-Pierre (and its tributaries) and on the surrounding land, many of which are flooded during the snowmelt period.

History
In the fall of 1665, Charles Du Jay, Vicomte de Manereuil, settled in the company of soldiers and officers of the Carignan-Salières Regiment at the mouth of the large Rivière du Loup, on the north shore of Lac Saint-Rock. Some of these soldiers decide to settle permanently in the territory of the Seigneurie de la Rivière du Loup.

In 1721, the Parish of Saint-Antoine-de-la-Rivière-du-Loup was incorporated. The village grew slowly, thanks to the construction of Chemin du Roy on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. It was later named the Town of Louiseville, in honour of Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (1848-1939), who was the sixth of Queen Victoria's children and wife of the Governor General of Canada.

The Ferron family name includes several personalities from Louiseville: Jacques (1921-1985), doctor, writer, journalist and politician; Madeleine (1922-2010), writer and Marcelle (1924-2001), artist. Municipal authorities designated a street in honor of Marcelle Ferron.

Geography
Located on the edge of the north shore of Lake Saint-Pierre, the village of Louiseville is crossed by the course of the Petite rivière du Loup and the rivière du Loup. The village is also crossed by the Quebec-Gatineau rail section.

Economy
A riparian municipality of Lac Saint-Pierre, Louiseville's economy is based on agriculture, commerce, industry, public or parapublic services (e.g., schools, municipality, MRC office, retirement homes) and recreational tourism activities (vacation, swimming, hunting, fishing, boating, marinas). Throughout its history, recreational, commercial and fishing boating has been an economic vector. Boating is possible on the Loup river. The area bordering the Rivière du Loup is densified by vacationing and permanent residences. And each side of the river has an access road to serve residents.

Throughout history, industrial development has been significant in Louiseville and Saint-Antoine-de-la-Rivière-du-Loup, in particular through the establishment of the Empire Shirt which still operates.

Get in
Quebec Autoroute 40 provides access to Yamachiche with 3 interchanges.

The Express Bleu bus leaves from the Cégep in Trois-Rivières M-F at 07:55, 11:55, and 17:55, and stops 30-40 min later in Yamachiche at Porte de la Mauricie, Hôtel de Ville, and the Shell Station Service Shell (871, rue Ste-Anne). The fare is $6, children under 6 free (Apr 2019).

By car

 * From Montreal (. Time: 1 hr 23 min. Take highway 40 (north shore) heading east; take Chemin Caron (northbound); take route 138 (eastbound) to the village of Louiseville.
 * From Quebec City. (. Time: 1 hr 39 min. Take highway 40 westbound to the Brûlé road exit (northbound); take route 138 (westbound) to the village of Louiseville.

Collective transport by bus
The Express Bleu bus leaves from Cégep de Trois-Rivières (science pavilion) MF at 08:00, 12:00, 15:45 and 18:00, and later from Louiseville (at the corner of Boulevard Comtois, at the town hall and at the shopping center).

Get around
The village of Louiseville is accessible by road, boat (via the St. Lawrence River), seaplane, plane (via the local airport), snowmobile and all-terrain vehicles. The town is crossed by Chemin du Roy, Route 138 and Autoroute 40.

Louiseville Airport sits north of Highway 40 and on the east side of the Rivière du Loup.