Estrie could lose its name

Is Sutton in Estrie or in the Eastern Townships? Administrative region 05 could soon be called only Eastern Townships. But on the ground, the Estriens are divided as to the name to choose for their region.

Emilie Bilodeau
The Press

“I have always said Estrie and I will continue to say Estrie! “says Réal Rousseau, in front of a snack bar in Danville. The 78-year-old has always lived near Sherbrooke, and no one is going to make him change his mind, he said emphatically.

The debate over the name of the region was revived last July, when the MRCs of Haute-Yamaska ​​and Brome-Missisquoi, formerly in Montérégie, moved to Estrie at the request of the minister responsible for the region, François Bonnardel.

The boundaries of the administrative region of Estrie and the tourist region of the Eastern Townships have become exactly the same. The Table des MRC has therefore asked the government to use a single name: the Eastern Townships. A public consultation was launched in November and a report will be submitted to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Andrée Laforest, at the end of April.

The municipality of Stanstead, which has 2,800 inhabitants, half of whom are English-speaking, did not comment during the public consultation. “In my opinion, it’s a big debate that won’t make a big difference,” said Mayor Jody Stone, during the passage of The Press in his village.

“Even if the government chooses Eastern Townships, the word Estrie will continue to exist. As proof, we have plenty of companies that have the word Estrie in their name,” says the man who was born and has always lived in Stanstead, near the American border.

When discussing, the mayor uses the word “Estrie” more often in French, but ” Eastern Townships ” in English.

At the bazaar, a few streets away, Sylvie Boudreau says she uses both names to designate her region. “I say both, but I prefer Estrie, because it’s shorter,” she explains as she strolls through the antique, craft and trinket merchants.

However, the general manager of the bazaar wonders about the need to hold such a debate. According to her, there are more important issues, such as the economy. Businesses in the region are suffering from the pandemic and the absence of American tourists for two years. M^me Boudreau also criticizes the costs involved in public consultation and a name change.

Réal Rousseau shares this opinion. “Eille, how much does it cost to change the name of an administrative region? he asks himself before leaving La Reine de la patate snack bar with his poutine. “We should stay with Estrie because a change will cost money. […] It’s ridiculous ! It’s wasted money, wasted money. »

Eastern Townships for vacation

At the salon La Petite coiffure, customers rarely talk about the name that the region should bear – or not. “A lot is said about it in a hair salon, but that’s not a subject I’ve heard a lot about for two years,” says Catherine Théberge, owner of the business located on rue Principale, in Granby.

“I never really thought about it myself. I never stopped at that. I come from Quebec, but I have lived in Granby for 25 years. In my head, the Eastern Townships sounds like a vacation. Estrie sounds more administrative,” adds the hairdresser, scissors and comb in hand.

She’s not the only one to think so. The name “Estrie” is more often associated with economic development while “Eastern Townships” refers to tourism, reveals a survey conducted in 2019 by Vision Attractif, an organization founded by Tourisme Cantons-de-l’Est. More specifically, 52% of Estriens associated job opportunities with Estrie, compared to 12% with the Eastern Townships. On the other hand, 51% of respondents associated tourism with the Eastern Townships rather than the Eastern Townships (32%).

Charlotte Delorme, a client of the hair salon, still has a preference. “I was born in the Eastern Townships and I would like the Eastern Townships to become the Eastern Townships again. But hey, I won’t have a crisis for that, ”she says with a smile that can be guessed behind her mask.

The case of Granby

Granby has always been part of the Eastern Townships tourist region. The city of Haute-Yamaska, however, moved from the administrative region of Montérégie to Estrie in July 2021. It thus became the second largest city in Estrie, after Sherbrooke.

“Are we in Montérégie, in Estrie, in the Eastern Townships… it becomes confusing”, underlines Charlotte Delorme.

In one of the smallest villages in the Eastern Townships, Kingsbury, Amélie Tremblay also believes that the two names are confusing.

“It might be simpler for the region to have a single name, whether it’s Estrie or the Eastern Townships. When I write it, I prefer Estrie,” explains the woman in front of her century-old yellow and purple house.

More than 500 opinions

The president of the Table des MRC de l’Estrie brushes aside critics who believe that the region should focus on other priorities.

“With the addition of two new territories [en Estrie]if we want to close the question once and for all, that’s where we have to talk about it, not in two or four years, ”adds Hughes Grimard, on the phone.

The Table des MRCs came out in favor of the name Cantons-de-l’Est in 2019, but a very recent change among elected officials has meant that the organization no longer takes a public position. “The Minister has all the information and it will be up to the Government of Quebec to make a decision. The ball is in their court to make the best decision for the future of the region,” said Mr. Grimard.

During the public consultation that ended a week ago, the Commission municipale du Québec (CMQ) received more than 500 opinions. “Opinions were very divided,” notes Isabelle Rioval, strategic advisor to the CMQ. The administrative judge Alain Roy must submit a report by the end of April, and it is the Council of Ministers who will decide once and for all on the question of Estrie and the Eastern Townships. .