| Bécancour | |||
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| — Town — | |||
| Ville de Bécancour | |||
| Sainte-Angèle-de-Laval | |||
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| Motto: Vivre et grandir ("To live and to grow") |
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Bécancour
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Canada | ||
| Province | Quebec | ||
| Region | Centre-du-Québec | ||
| RCM | Bécancour | ||
| Constitution | October 17th, 1965 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Maurice Richard | ||
| • Governing Body | Bécancour City Council | ||
| • MPs | Louis Plamondon | ||
| • MNAs | Jean-Martin Aussant | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 441.00 km2 (170.3 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 148 m (486 ft) | ||
| Population (2006)[1] | |||
| • Total | 11,134 | ||
| • Density | 25.2/km2 (65.3/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| Postal code | G9H | ||
| Area code(s) | 819 | ||
| Website | Becancour.net | ||
("An energetic nature") |
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Bécancour (French pronunciation: [bekɑ̃kuʁ]) is a town in the Centre-du-Québec region of Québec, Canada; it is the seat of the Bécancour Regional County Municipality. It is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the confluence of the Bécancour River, opposite Trois-Rivières.
Wôlinak, an Abenaki Indian reserve, is an enclave within the town of Bécancour.
There was a small migration of Acadians to the village (1759), after the British began the Expulsion of the Acadians from the Maritimes. Specifically, the Acadians migrated from present day New Brunswick to avoid being killed or captured in the St. John River Campaign.
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Bécancour's was one of the province of Quebec's first amalgamated cities. The town was created October 17, 1965 from the amalgamation of eleven municipalities: La Nativité de Notre-Dame-de-Bécancour (1722), Saint-Édouard-de-Gentilly (1784), Saint-Grégoire-le-Grand (1802), Sainte-Gertrude (1845), Sainte-Angèle-de-Laval (1868), Très-Précieux-Sang-de-Notre-Seigneur (1903), and the villages of Larochelle (1863), Gentilly (1900), Villers (1901), Bécancour et Laval (1909).[1]. The city of Bécancour then became the largest city in area in Quebec (as of 2003, the title belongs to La Tuque, Quebec).
Bécancour is now divided into six secteurs (lit. "sectors"): Bécancour, Saint-Grégoire, Gentilly, Précieux-Sang, Sainte-Angèle-de-Laval, and Sainte-Gertrude. Bécancour, Saint-Grégoire and Gentilly, each located near the shore of the Saint Lawrence River, can be considered the main urban centres. Autoroute 55 intersects Autoroute 30 and Route 132 at Saint-Grégoire.
Bécancour is part of the Trois-Rivières metropolitan area; many residents work in Trois-Rivières and commute across the Laviolette Bridge daily. The economy of Bécancour, once mainly agricultural, shifted towards heavy industry and manufacturing in the 1970s and 1980s. An industrial park and a nuclear power plant (Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station) were built in the area. Industries in Bécancour include: producers of aluminum, magnesium, refractory metals, and petroleum products; machine shops; and many related services, such as excavators and sales of industrial parts.
Despite its proximity to Trois-Rivières, Bécancour has a vibrant culture and identity of its own. The city hosts a hot air balloon festival[2], a weekly public marketplace, a biodiversity museum and interpretation centre, and a maritime pumpkin race.[3]
According to the Canada 2006 Census:
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