Sutton is a town in southeastern

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, ...

. It is part of the

Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality Brome-Missisquoi () is a regional county municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec, Canada. It lies in the Eastern Townships area. The seat is Cowansville. In 2021, it was transferred to the Estrie region from Montérégie. In Parliament it is ...

in the administrative region of the

Estrie Estrie () is an List of Quebec regions, administrative region of Quebec that comprises the Eastern Townships. ''Estrie'', a French neologism, was coined as a derivative of ''est'', "east". Originally settled by anglophones, today it is about 90 pe ...

. The population as of the

Canada 2021 Census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

was 4,548. Known for its scenic landscapes and outdoor recreational activities, Sutton is part of the

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (, ) is a historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands, St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby, Quebec, Granby in ...

and a popular destination for tourists.

History

Like many other towns and villages in the Eastern Townships, Sutton became home to many

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec and Governor General, governor ...

, following the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. In 1799 the first recorded Loyalists immigrated to the area, among them Richard Shepherd, originally of

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. During the 19th century, new buildings were erected to serve the town's growing population, among them a school in 1808 (on the road linking the town to nearby Abercorn) as well as the

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

built in 1859. In the decades that followed,

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

churches were built as was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

. Sutton became a municipality in 1892, and later a town in 1962. In 2002, the township of Sutton merged with the town of Sutton, roughly doubling the town's population, and vastly expanding the town's area. The economy has moved from one largely based on farming to one that is heavily reliant on tourism due to the opening of Sutton Ski Resort in 1960. Sutton is now a popular year-round destination for road and mountain biking, hiking, visits to vineyards and micro-breweries.

Etymology

The name “Sutton” originates from the Anglo-Saxon language, a combination of two words: “sudh” or “suth”, and “tun”. “Sudh” or “suth” translates to “south”, while “tun” signifies a “town” or “settlement”. Thus, Sutton can be interpreted as “the southern town” or “southern settlement”. As this town is on the very south end of Quebec, it was named "Sutton" by English settlers.

Geography

Sutton is near the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

with

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, southeast of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, northwest of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and west of

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

. Mount Sutton, located in Sutton with an altitude of 3,176 feet, is known for its popular

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

. The resort has 60 ski trails and 9 ski lifts, making it a destination for many skiers across Quebec, as well as from neighboring American states. Sommet Rond (Round top), the mountain where the resort is located, is 960 meters high, but the ski network itself reaches a height of 870 meters. The municipality is bordered to the west by the Réserve Naturelle Montagnes Vertes which can be accessed by footpath provided by three separate organizations: Les sentiers du Corridor appalachien (Mont Singer to Mansonville), Les sentiers du Parc d'environnement naturel de Sutton (Round Top sector), Les sentiers de l’Estrie (Mont Echo sector or Bolton-Est to Mont Glen and Mont Singer). All three have an entry fee or membership obligation.

Mayors of Sutton

* Robert Benoît (2021-Present) * Michel Lafrance (2017-2021) * Louis Dandenault (2013-2017) * Pierre Pelland (2009-2013) * Keneth Hill (2005-2009) * Winston Bresee (2002-2005) * Keneth Hill (1996-2002)

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Sutton had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. According to 2021 Census data, Sutton has one of the highest median ages in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, at 60.4 years. A sizable percentage of the town's population is composed of artists, the highest proportion in Canada. Like many other communities in the southwestern quadrant of the province, Sutton has historically been an

anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

enclave in a predominantly

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

province. Today anglophones make up only 24% of the population, compared to 69% for francophones and 5% for allophones. Due to a large Swiss population in the town, Sutton has many people who speak German. Every year

Swiss National Day Swiss National Day (; ; ; ) is the national holiday of Switzerland, set on 1 August. Although the founding of the Swiss Confederacy was first celebrated on this date in 1891 and annually since 1899, it has only been an official holiday since ...

is celebrated at Mont Sutton ski resort on the last Saturday in July.

References

External links

Sutton municipality

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Incorporated places in Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality Designated places in Quebec