Fermont

Fermont
—  Ville  —

Coat of arms
Motto: Faire front, faire face
Fermont
Coordinates:
Country  Canada
Province  Quebec
Region Côte-Nord
Regional county Caniapiscau
Settled 1971
Incorporated October 15, 1974
Government[1]
 • Mayor Lise Pelletier
 • Federal riding Manicouagan
 • Prov. riding Duplessis
Area[1][2]
 • Total 497.45 km2 (192.1 sq mi)
 • Land 470.67 km2 (181.7 sq mi)
Elevation 610 m (2,001 ft)
Population (2006)[2]
 • Total 2,633
 • Density 5.6/km2 (14.5/sq mi)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Postal Code G0G 1J0
Area code(s) 418
Website www.caniapiscau.net/fermont

Fermont is a town in northeastern Quebec, Canada, near the Quebec-Labrador border about 23 kilometres (14 mi) from Labrador City on Route 389, which connects to the Trans-Labrador Highway (Route 500). It is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of Caniapiscau.

Fermont (French contraction of "Fer Mont", meaning "Iron Mountain") was founded as a company town in the early 1970s to exploit rich iron ore deposits from Mont Wright, that is about 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the west from the town site.

The town is notable for the huge self-contained structure containing apartments, stores, schools, bars, a hotel, restaurants, a supermarket and swimming pool which shelters a community of smaller apartment buildings and homes on its leeward side. The structure was designed to be a windscreen to the rest of the town. It permits residents (other than mine workers) to never leave the building during the long winter, which usually lasts about seven months. The town, designed by Maurice Desnoyers and Norbert Schoenauer, was inspired by similar projects in Sweden designed by Ralph Erskine, notably that of Svappavaara, a copper mining town in Sweden. The building measures 1.3 kilometres (4,300 ft) long and stands 50 metres (160 ft) high.[3]

Contents

History

Following the depletion of the Jeannine Lake Mine at Gagnon in the late 1960s, the Québec Cartier Mining Company began to develop the Mont Wright Mine. This was a large-scale project that involved mining, processing, and transporting iron ore. Some 1600 employees would be needed, and the town of Fermont was constructed to house them and their families. By the end of 1972, the first people settled there. That same year, the Fermont post office opened, and in 1974, the place was incorporated as Ville de Fermont.[4][5]

City Council

The city council is composed of a mayor and six city councilors. The current mayor is Lise Pelletier, and the councilors are Dave Bouchard, Janelle Gauthier, Claude Meilleur, Brigitte Poitras, Martin St-Laurent and Yan St-Pierre.

Demographics

Population trend:[6]

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 1156 (total dwellings: 1436)

Mother tongue:[2]

Economy

The local economy is entirely dependent on the Mont Wright and Fire Lake Mines owned by Québec Cartier Mining Company.[7] Over 80% of municipal revenues come from mining operations.[5]

Average earnings for full-time workers was $63,982 in 2001, compared to $39,217 in Quebec as a whole.[8] This went up to $70,102 in 2006, whereas the provincial average dropped to $37,722.[2]

The mine product is shipped to Port-Cartier on the Cartier Railway where it is converted to pellets. In 2006 the mine was affected by a labour dispute which lasted from early April to early June. It was amicably resolved with a six-year contract renewal.[9]

Climate

Fermont has a harsh subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc) with long, severe winters and short, mild summers. Although overall not as heavy as in most other parts of the Labrador Peninsula, snowfall is still heavy at around 2.9 metres (114.2 in) and average maximum depth of 0.85 metres (33.46 in) which is actually deeper than some other North Shore locations with heavier snowfall like Sept Îles.

Climate data for Fermont
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 6.5
(43.7)		 6.5
(43.7)		 12.5
(54.5)		 17.5
(63.5)		 26
(79)		 36.5
(97.7)		 31
(88)		 34
(93)		 26
(79)		 16
(61)		 12
(54)		 3
(37)		 36.5
(97.7)
Average high °C (°F) −17
(1)		 −13.8
(7.2)		 −7.3
(18.9)		 2
(36)		 8.7
(47.7)		 15.6
(60.1)		 19
(66)		 17.8
(64.0)		 10.8
(51.4)		 3.5
(38.3)		 −4.4
(24.1)		 −13.1
(8.4)		 1.8
(35.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) −23.2
(−9.8)		 −20.6
(−5.1)		 −14
(7)		 −3.9
(25.0)		 3.1
(37.6)		 9.6
(49.3)		 13.2
(55.8)		 12.2
(54.0)		 6.2
(43.2)		 −0.5
(31.1)		 −8.7
(16.3)		 −18.7
(−1.7)		 −3.8
(25.2)
Average low °C (°F) −29.4
(−20.9)		 −27.4
(−17.3)		 −20.7
(−5.3)		 −9.8
(14.4)		 −2.7
(27.1)		 3.5
(38.3)		 7.5
(45.5)		 6.7
(44.1)		 1.6
(34.9)		 −4.4
(24.1)		 −13
(9)		 −24.4
(−11.9)		 −9.4
(15.1)
Record low °C (°F) −49
(−56)		 −49.5
(−57.1)		 −46
(−51)		 −31
(−24)		 −17.5
(0.5)		 −8
(18)		 −5
(23)		 −5
(23)		 −15
(5)		 −18
(0)		 −35
(−31)		 −45
(−49)		 −49.5
(−57.1)
Precipitation mm (inches) 51.2
(2.016)		 31.4
(1.236)		 42.8
(1.685)		 40.5
(1.594)		 46.6
(1.835)		 87.7
(3.453)		 118.7
(4.673)		 103.7
(4.083)		 106.0
(4.173)		 67.2
(2.646)		 58.6
(2.307)		 52.2
(2.055)		 806.5
(31.752)
Rainfall mm (inches) 1.1
(0.043)		 0.5
(0.02)		 0.9
(0.035)		 13.8
(0.543)		 35.3
(1.39)		 86.6
(3.409)		 118.7
(4.673)		 103.7
(4.083)		 102.9
(4.051)		 43.3
(1.705)		 6.8
(0.268)		 1.5
(0.059)		 515.1
(20.28)
Snowfall cm (inches) 50.1
(19.72)		 30.9
(12.17)		 42.0
(16.54)		 26.7
(10.51)		 11.3
(4.45)		 1.2
(0.47)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 3.0
(1.18)		 23.9
(9.41)		 51.8
(20.39)		 50.7
(19.96)		 291.6
(114.8)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 12.0 9.9 10.5 9.8 11.7 16.4 18.2 17.0 20.0 15.5 14.1 12.8 167.9
Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 0.11 0.06 0.35 2.7 8.7 15.9 18.2 17.0 19.0 8.8 1.5 0.12 92.44
Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 11.9 9.9 10.3 7.5 4.3 0.8 0.0 0.0 1.6 8.0 13.3 12.8 80.4
Source: Environment Canada[10]

References

  1. ^ a b Ministère des Affaires Municipales, Régions et Occupation du territoire - Répertoire des municipalités: Fermont
  2. ^ a b c d Statistics Canada 2006 Census - Fermont community profile
  3. ^ "The Windscreen (from Caniapiscau)". http://www.caniapiscau.net/tourism/index.html. Retrieved 2006-06-24. 
  4. ^ "Portrait de Fermont - Histoire" (in French). CLD de la MRC de Caniapiscau. http://www.caniapiscau.net/fr/fermont/portrait-fermont/. Retrieved 2010-10-07. 
  5. ^ a b "Fermont (Ville)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/fiche.aspx?no_seq=22297. Retrieved 2010-10-07. 
  6. ^ Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census
  7. ^ "Socio-economic profile CÔTE-NORD". Archived from the original on 2006-07-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20060719143900/http://www.dec-ced.gc.ca/complements/ProgrammesServices/profilsEN/profil-cote-nord-an/profil-cote-nord-an.htm. Retrieved 2006-06-24. 
  8. ^ "Statistics Canada Community Profile". http://www12.statcan.ca/english/profil01/CP01/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=2497035&Geo2=PR&Code2=24&Data=Count&SearchText=fermont&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=. Retrieved 2006-06-24. 
  9. ^ "Cartier Mining press release". Archived from the original on 2006-03-12. http://web.archive.org/web/20060312110517/http://www.qcmines.com/pc/www_en/default.html. Retrieved 2006-06-24. 
  10. ^ Environment Canada Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000, accessed 27 July 2009

External links

Div. No. 10 Subd. D (NL)
Rivière-Mouchalagane Div. No. 10 Subd. D (NL)
   Fermont    
Rivière-Mouchalagane
 Administrative divisions of Côte-Nord  (Region 09)
Regional county municipalities
and equivalent territories
Municipalities