Eastern Townships

Historic region in southeastern Québec, between the St Lawrence River (in the northwest) and the US border (in the south). The Eastern Townships lie south of Québec City and east of Montréal, with Granby at their western end and Lake Mégantic to the east. The regional centre is at Sherbrooke.

There are several low mountain ranges in the area of the Eastern Townships, and its rivers empty into the St Lawrence. This region was formerly home to the Abnaki people before European settlement. After the American Revolution, Loyalists moved into the area and were granted tracts of land in the form of ‘townships’. Many Irish immigrants followed in the 1840s. A major wave of French colonization occurred with industrial growth in the mid-19th century, and today the area is over 90% francophone. There are extensive mining operations in the Eastern Townships, especially at Asbestos and Thetford Mines). There are also textile, pulp and paper, and newer high-tech manufacturing industries. Tourism is important, as the area has many lakes, rivers, and ski slopes for leisure activities. In the 1940s the name Estrie (‘kingdom of the east’) was coined for the region.