Municipal Category

Forty-two Municipalities Unite to Promote Healthy Living among Their Citizens


For the second year in a row, ACTI-MENU has called on Québec municipalities to promote healthy living within their communities. In 2010, 42 municipalities participated. Their common goal was to invite their citizens to think about their health and make positive changes in their lifestyle by registering for the 5/30 Health and Wellness Challenge in large numbers..


Carried out in partnership with the Union of Québec Municipalities, Fédération Québécoise des Municipalités, Réseau québécois de Villes et Villages en santé and the government of Québec (ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport and ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire), this pilot project enabled the 42 municipalities to move the healthy living cause forward among their citizens.


No matter their size, the participating municipalities all demonstrated their commitment to encourage their population to eat better, be more active and take care of themselves. Several municipalities were recognized during the 5/30 Health and Wellness Challenge closing event held in Montreal on April 23, 2010, which was attended by Dr. Yves Bolduc, Minister of Health and Social Services in Québec.

Dr. Louis Gagnon, Co-President, ACTI-MENU, Mr. Patrice Cossette, City Councillor, Ste-Marie-de-Beauce, Dr. Yves Bolduc, Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Jocelyne Guertin, City Councillor, President, Conseil de la culture and Member of Ville de Laval's Executive Committee, Mr. Alain Rayes, Mayor of Victoriaville, and Mr. Robert Pouliot, City Councillor and Deputy Mayor of Sherbrooke.


In the category of cities with 100,000 residents or more, 2 municipalities, Sherbrooke and Laval, participated in the challenge. We wished to recognize their commitment and celebrate the success of the efforts made among their citizens.

During the 5/30 Health and Wellness Challenge closing event held in Montréal on April 23, 2010, Dr. Louis Gagnon, Co-President, ACTI-MENU, Ms. Martine Beaugrand, Head of the 5/30 Health and Wellness Challenge's municipal category, and Ms. Marie-Claude Savard, 5/30 Health and Wellness Challenge Spokesperson, converse with Ms. Jocelyne Guertin, City Councillor, President, Conseil de la culture and Member of Ville de Laval's Executive Committee, as well as with Mr. Robert Pouliot, City Councillor and Deputy Mayor of Sherbrooke.


In the three other categories, we would like to highlight the participation of the elected representatives and decision-makers who promoted the 5/30 Health and Wellness Challenge. The municipalities that garnered the highest participation rates in their respective categories were honoured.


Participating municipalities with 40,000 to 100,000 residents

In this category, 7 municipalities participated: Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Drummondville, Saint-JĂ©rĂ´me, Blainville, Saint-Eustache, Repentigny et Victoriaville.

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Repentigny placed second and third, respectively, while Victoriaville obtained the highest participation rate in this category!

Mr. Alain Rayes, Mayor of Victoriaville


Participating municipalities with 5,000 to 40,000 residents

14 cities participated in this category: Saint-Georges-de-Beauce, Sainte-Julie, Boisbriand, Thetford Mines, Dorval, Rosemère, Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Mont-Laurier, Amos, Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce, Lachute, Otterburn Park, Chertsey and L’Épiphanie.


Amos and Mont-Laurier placed second and third, respectively, while Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce had the highest participation rate in this category!

Mr. Patrice Cossette, City Councillor, Municipality of Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce.


This category was special in that some towns teamed up to form three pairs, which made the competition even livelier! The Mayor of Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce challenged the Mayor of Saint-Georges-de-Beauce to win; the Mayor of Otterburn Park did the same with the Mayor of Sainte-Julie; and the Mayor of Amos did the same with the Mayor of Mont-Laurier.


Mont-Laurier’s Mayor, Mr. Michel Adrien, attended the closing event and explained the measures taken by his municipality to not only invite citizens to register for the 5/30 Health and Wellness Challenge but also to meet it.

Mr. Michel Adrien, Mayor of Mont-Laurier.


Participating municipalities with less than 5,000 residents


Finally, 21 municipalities participated in this category: Rivière-Rouge, Saint-Jacques, Saint-Isidore, Saint-Bernard, Saint-Elzéar, Saint-Cuthbert, Scott, Vallée-Jonction, Sainte-Élie-de-Caxton, Canton de Gore, Sainte-Élizabeth, Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc, Grenville, Saint-Norbert, Aumond, Canton de Harrington, Saint-Joseph-de-Kamouraska, Roquemaure and Nédélec.

The cities of Saint-Bernard and Saint-Joseph-de-Kamouraska placed third and second, respectively, while Saint-Elzéar had the highest participation rate in this category!

The towns of Sainte-Élie-de-Caxton and Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc also teamed up.

The winning municipalities and members of the Union of Québec Municipalities were honoured before their peers during the opening of the Union’s annual meeting held in Québec City on May 13, 2010.


The municipalities that are members of the Fédération québécoise des municipalités will be recognized during the annual conference in the fall.


Finally, the Réseau québécois des Villes et Villages en santé will also be recognizing the winning municipalities during its conference in mid-September.


With 15 municipalities participating in 2009 and 42 in 2010, the 5/30 Health and Wellness Challenge’s municipality category is in full stride! The objective for 2011: have more than 100 municipalities encourage their population to eat better, be more active and take care of themselves. Will you be on board?