Antoine Labelle

François-Xavier-Antoine Labelle (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃swa ɡzavje ɑ̃twan labɛl]; November 24, 1833 – January 4, 1891) was a Roman Catholic priest and the person principally responsible for the settlement (or "colonization") of the Laurentians.

Labelle immediately sought the construction of a railway line along the Rivière du Nord in the Laurentians to encourage the area's economic development.

Labelle received support from journalist Arthur Buies (fr) and coureur des bois Isidore Martin.

On May 16, 1888, Quebec premier Honoré Mercier named Labelle deputy minister of the province's department of agriculture and colonization.

His efforts to colonize the Laurentides region figure prominently in the 1956-1970 television series Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut, in which he was portrayed by Paul Desmarteaux, and in the 2016-2021 remake Les Pays d'en haut, in which he was portrayed by Antoine Bertrand.

Alfred Laliberté 's statue of Antoine Labelle in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec .
This shield is identified as the Labelle family coat of arms, but it is not clear whether the shield or a variation of it was used by Labelle. (See Ecclesiastical heraldry for a discussion of coats of arms used by members of the Roman Catholic clergy.)