The area was part of the Petite-Nation
Seigneury, formed in 1674 and originally owned by
François de Laval, the first bishop of
New France. The seigneury was acquired in 1803 by
Joseph Papineau, who became its first civilian seigneur, and later sold it to his son
Louis-Joseph Papineau. The area became of interest economically when England was forced to rely on its colonies for wood for construction of its vessels during the
Napoleonic blockade of 1807. It was full of oaks, pines, and maples regarding which Surveyor Joseph Bouchet wrote in 1815: "the terrain rises and is covered with wood of the best species: oaks are of high quality and particularly of large size, suitable for the construction of vessels." One of the new municipalities established was the Municipality of Petite-Nation, which included the Parish of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours-de-la-Petite-Nation. However, this municipality was abolished in 1847. which allowed the parish to get official civilian recognition, known as Parish Municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours-de-la-Petite-Nation. In the late 1890s, there was a dispute between the municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours and the Canadian Pacific Railway, which resulted in a court case that went all the way to the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Britain, the highest court of appeal for the British Empire. A ditch beside the rail-line had become clogged, resulting in flooding on the neighbouring land, owned by Julien Gervais. The municipality issued an order to the CPR, directing it to clean the obstruction. The CPR refused, arguing that as a federally incorporated railway, it was not required to comply with provincial law. The Quebec courts held that the provincial law did apply, and the CPR appealed to the Judicial Committee. In 1899, the Judicial Committee ruled in favour of the municipality and upheld the order to clean the ditch, in the case of
Canadian Pacific Railway Co. v Notre Dame de Bonsecours. The decision of the Judicial Committee continues to be cited with approval by the
Supreme Court of Canada. In 1918, the large rural and forested area of the parish municipality separated and formed the Parish Municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours-Partie-Nord. In 1951, the Parish Municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours became the
Municipality of Fassett. And in 2003, the Parish Municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours-Partie-Nord became the Municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours. ==Demographics==