The municipality of the parish of Saint-Joseph-de-Chambly (1855) adopted the name of Carignan in 1965
The history of Carignan begins 350 years ago, in 1665, the year that marks the beginning of the colonization of the region.
In 1642, Thomas-François de Savoie, Prince of Carignan, raised a regiment. Around 1659, the Prince's regiment and that of Colonel Henri Chastelard de Salières formed the same corps which took the name of the Carignan-Salières regiment.
In June 1665, the regiment landed in Quebec. His arrival in New France represents a significant chapter in the history of Quebec. Indeed, from 1665 to 1667, soldiers secured French possessions in North America by building forts and leading military expeditions that led to the conclusion of peace with the various nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. This peace put an end to the tense relations that were compromising the development of New France, particularly that of Montreal.
In 1665, the soldiers of the Carignan-Salières regiment erected a first fort of stakes called Fort Saint-Louis at the foot of the rapids in the Chambly basin. The construction of Fort Sainte-Thérèse ended on October 15, 1665, the day marking the liturgical feast of Sainte-Thérèse. At the same time, the soldiers of the Carignan-Salières regiment opened a path between the fort and the future island of Montreal. Chemin de Chambly, now called Route 112, becomes the first road in Canada.
Nearly 400 soldiers chose to settle in the country after the demobilization of the regiment, thus contributing considerably to the expansion of the colony. In the years that followed their establishment, more than 280 of them married, in particular with Daughters of the King. These soldiers left their name to more than twenty towns and villages in Quebec, such as Chambly, Varennes and Berthier. Today, many of their descendants live in Quebec and North America.
