Maria () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada.

History

Maria had been the location of a

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

summer coastal community prior to European settlement. In 1774, the area began to be settled by American

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

, and Scottish and Irish settlers. In 1842, the geographic township was formed, named in honour of Lady Maria Howard, wife of Guy Carleton and third daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Effingham. In 1845, the Township Municipality of Maria was established, dissolved, and re-established in 1855. In 1860, the place experienced rapid development when a group of

Acadians The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...

arrived and founded the Parish of Sainte-Brigitte-de-Maria. In 1977, Maria changed status from township municipality to just municipality.

Demographics

Mother tongue: * English as first language: 2.5% * French as first language: 95.1% * English and French as first language: 0.9% * Other as first language: 0.9%

Economy

The main economy of the municipality is the hospital which serves the entire region. The hospital of Maria was built between New Richmond and

Carleton-sur-Mer Carleton-sur-Mer () is the fifth largest town of the Gaspésie's south shore, in southeastern Quebec, Canada, located on Route 132, along Chaleur Bay. It is the seat of the Avignon Regional County Municipality. The town's territory includes ...

Notable people

Marie-Christine Lévesque, author

References

External links