Ville-Marie, Quebec

Ville-Marie is a town on Lake Temiscaming in western Quebec, Canada. It is the largest city and seat of the Témiscamingue Regional County Municipality. As one of the oldest towns in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, it is considered the cradle of north-western Quebec and nicknamed "Pearl of Témiscamingue".[1]

Ville-Marie
Location within Témiscamingue RCM.
Ville-Marie
Location in western Quebec.
Coordinates: 47°20′N 79°26′W[1]
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
RegionAbitibi-Témiscamingue
RCMTémiscamingue
Settled1870s
ConstitutedOctober 13, 1897
Government
  MayorMichel Roy
  Federal ridingAbitibi—Témiscamingue
  Prov. ridingRouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue
Area
  Total12.50 km2 (4.83 sq mi)
  Land6.11 km2 (2.36 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[3]
  Total2,595
  Density424.8/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
  Pop (2006–11)
3.7%
  Dwellings
1,238
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (EST)
  Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (EDT)
Postal code(s)
J9V 1A1
Area code(s)819
Websitewww.villevillemarie.org

CKVM-FM broadcasts from Ville-Marie. The town is home to the Junior "A" Ville-Marie Pirates of the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League.

History

Already in 1679, the place functioned as a trading post between the French and indigenous Algonquians. In 1720, the North West Company opened a trading post and built a store in 1785, which came into the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821 when the two companies merged. In 1836, a mission was established, followed in 1863, by a mission founded by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who gave it the name "Ville-Marie".[1]

Originally the area was called Kelly Bay in honour of its first settler, James Kelly, who lived as a hermit. In 1874, Oblate missionary Joseph Moffet (1852–1932) cleared some land and moved to Kelly Bay that came to be known as Baie-des-Pères (Bay of Fathers). In 1883, he was joined by a group of settlers from Nicolet. In 1886, the Parish of Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Rosaire-de-Ville-Marie was founded, and in 1891, the Baie-des-Père Post Office opened. The Village Municipality of Ville-Marie was incorporated in 1897 and the following year the post office was renamed to match the village's name.[1] In 1899, the HBC post closed.

On December 22, 1962, the Village Municipality of Ville-Marie became the Town of Ville-Marie.

Ville-Marie is the seat of the judicial district of Témiscamingue.[4]

Population

Population trend:[5]

  • Population in 2016: 2,584
  • Population in 2011: 2,595
  • Population in 2006: 2,696 (2001 to 2006 population change: -2.7%)
  • Population in 2001: 2,770
  • Population in 1996: 2,855
  • Population in 1991: 2,581

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 1206 (total dwellings: 1238)

Languages

Mother tongue:[6]

  • English as first language: 0.6%
  • French as first language: 98.1%
  • English and French as first language: 0.4%
  • Other as first language: 1.0%

Climate

Ville-Marie presents a typical continental climate, with extremely cold winters and relatively warm and humid summers. It benefits from the lake's influence in winter, its temperature being significantly higher than in other towns further from the lake. It still holds the record as the hottest day in Quebec with a temperature of 40° on July 6, 1921.

Climate data for Ville-Marie, Quebec
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 11.7
(53.1)
12.0
(53.6)
22.2
(72.0)
30.6
(87.1)
35.6
(96.1)
37.8
(100.0)
40.0
(104.0)
36.7
(98.1)
33.3
(91.9)
28.9
(84.0)
23.3
(73.9)
16.0
(60.8)
40.0
(104.0)
Average high °C (°F) −8.9
(16.0)
−6.9
(19.6)
−0.4
(31.3)
8.6
(47.5)
17.2
(63.0)
22.0
(71.6)
24.5
(76.1)
23.0
(73.4)
17.2
(63.0)
10.2
(50.4)
1.8
(35.2)
−5.2
(22.6)
8.6
(47.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) −15.2
(4.6)
−13.5
(7.7)
−6.5
(20.3)
2.6
(36.7)
10.4
(50.7)
15.5
(59.9)
18.2
(64.8)
17.0
(62.6)
11.9
(53.4)
5.7
(42.3)
−2.0
(28.4)
−10.5
(13.1)
2.8
(37.0)
Average low °C (°F) −21.4
(−6.5)
−20.1
(−4.2)
−12.6
(9.3)
−3.5
(25.7)
3.5
(38.3)
8.9
(48.0)
11.9
(53.4)
11.0
(51.8)
6.6
(43.9)
1.2
(34.2)
−5.8
(21.6)
−15.7
(3.7)
−3.0
(26.6)
Record low °C (°F) −50.0
(−58.0)
−50.0
(−58.0)
−41.1
(−42.0)
−28.3
(−18.9)
−17.8
(0.0)
−4.4
(24.1)
−1.7
(28.9)
−2.2
(28.0)
−6.0
(21.2)
−15.0
(5.0)
−36.7
(−34.1)
−43.9
(−47.0)
−50.0
(−58.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 51.1
(2.01)
37.2
(1.46)
51.8
(2.04)
59.7
(2.35)
74.1
(2.92)
87.1
(3.43)
87.1
(3.43)
88.0
(3.46)
87.5
(3.44)
78.4
(3.09)
64.3
(2.53)
53.2
(2.09)
819.5
(32.26)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 41.2
(16.2)
33.1
(13.0)
33.1
(13.0)
13.0
(5.1)
0.2
(0.1)
0.1
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.1
(0.0)
3.5
(1.4)
27.1
(10.7)
43.2
(17.0)
194.6
(76.6)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 80.5 121.5 143.3 170.8 225.9 245.9 261.5 228.9 143.8 103.4 61.8 65.5 1,852.9
Source: [7]

Economy

The main components of the local economy are agriculture, forestry, hydro-electricity, outdoor tourism (hunting and sport fishing).[1]

See also

References

  1. "Ville-Marie (Ville)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  2. "Ville-Marie". Répertoire des municipalités (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  3. "Ville-Marie census profile". 2011 Census data. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  4. Territorial Division Act. Revised Statutes of Quebec D-11.
  5. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census, and Population and dwelling count amendments
  6. "Ville-Marie community profile". 2006 Census data. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  7. "Ville Marie, Quebec". Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000. Environment Canada. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.