Saint-Alexis-de-Matapédia

Saint-Alexis-de-Matapédia is a village and municipality in the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region of eastern Quebec, Canada.

In addition to Saint-Alexis-de-Matapédia itself, the municipality also includes the communities of Léonard-de-Matapédia and Saint-Benoît-de-Matapédia.

Its name comes from Alexis Mailloux (1801-1877), a Roman Catholic vicar general who presided over the founding of the parish, and from the Matapedia river and township, in turn from the Mi'kmaq word matapegiag, meaning "river which forks".

History
The place was first incorporated in 1845 as the Township Municipality of Matapédia. Its first inhabitants were Acadians from Rustico, Prince Edward Island, who arrived around 1860. That same year, a mission was established that became a parish in 1870.

The local post office opened in 1866 under the name Avignon, but was renamed to Saint-Alexis-de-Matapédia in 1922. Sometime before the 1920s, the municipality had changed its status and name to the Parish Municipality of Saint-Alexis-de-Matapédia.

In 1966, the Municipality of Saint-Benoit was merged into Saint-Alexis-de-Matapédia.

In 2003, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Alexis-de-Matapédia changed statutes to become a regular municipality.