Land for sale in Mauricie, Quebec

About Mauricie

The area

The Mauricie is the administrative region on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, roughly halfway between Montréal and Québec City. It covers about 35,500 km² and had about 273,000 people in 2021. It is split into six territories: the MRCs of Maskinongé, Mékinac and Les Chenaux, and the cities of Trois-Rivières (about 139,200), Shawinigan (about 49,600) and La Tuque, whose municipal territory alone spans about 24,800 km². The provincial agricultural zone covers about 242,000 ha, roughly 7% of the region; most of the rest is forest drained by the Saint-Maurice River, which reaches the St. Lawrence at Trois-Rivières.

History

The Forges du Saint-Maurice, founded in 1730 at what is now the north end of Trois-Rivières, were the start of Canada's iron industry and ran until 1883. Around 1900 the Shawinigan Water and Power Company dammed the Saint-Maurice, and the towns of Grand-Mère, Shawinigan and La Tuque grew around power plants, an aluminium smelter, paper mills and chemical works; twelve power plants still run on the river. The upper Saint-Maurice is Atikamekw country: Wemotaci, founded in 1851 on the river, and Opitciwan, on the Gouin Reservoir, are two of the nation's three communities.

Services and access

Emergency departments open around the clock are at the Centre hospitalier affilié universitaire régional in Trois-Rivières, the Hôpital du Centre-de-la-Mauricie in Shawinigan and the Centre multiservices de santé et de services sociaux du Haut-Saint-Maurice in La Tuque. Autoroute 40 follows the St. Lawrence through Trois-Rivières toward Montréal and Québec City. Autoroute 55 crosses the river on the Laviolette bridge and runs north to Shawinigan, where Route 155 continues up the valley to La Tuque. Wemotaci is reached by 115 km of forest road from La Tuque.

Land and climate

The region has about 950 farms. Dairy, grain and oilseeds, and poultry and eggs bring in most of the farm revenue, and the province lists maple stands and blueberry land on public territory as untapped potential. Farming near Lac Saint-Pierre has to account for its shoreline wetlands.

Before you buy

Building permits and zoning come from the local municipality, within the land use plan of its MRC or city. Land in the agricultural zone falls under the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec (CPTAQ), and a house or other non-farm use there can need its authorization. A camp on public land is held under a provincial vacation lease: that is a right to occupy, not ownership, the rent is annual, and a transfer needs approval from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests.

Sources

• Statistics Canada, 2021 Census population and dwelling counts (table 98-10-0002)
• MAPAQ, Profil régional de l'industrie bioalimentaire 2023
• Parks Canada, Forges du Saint-Maurice designation
• Community Stories, Shawinigan: the city of hydroelectricity
• Conseil de la Nation Atikamekw, communities
• CIUSSS MCQ, emergency departments
• Gouvernement du Québec, acquiring an existing lease on public land
• CPTAQ

Written by AcreScout from the sources listed; facts checked September 30, 2026. Rules change: confirm anything that matters with the municipality.