Port-Cartier

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Port-Cartier
City
Port-Cartier
Location in Côte-Nord region of Quebec.
Coordinates: 50°02′N 66°52′W / 50.033°N 66.867°W / 50.033; -66.867Coordinates: 50°02′N 66°52′W / 50.033°N 66.867°W / 50.033; -66.867[1]
Country  Canada
Province  Quebec
Region Côte-Nord
RCM Sept-Rivières
Settled 1910s
Constituted February 19, 2003
Government[2]
 • Mayor Laurence Méthot
 • Federal riding Manicouagan
 • Prov. riding Duplessis
Area[2][3]
 • Total 1,353.70 km2 (522.67 sq mi)
 • Land 1,101.31 km2 (425.22 sq mi)
Population (2011)[3]
 • Total 6,651
 • Density 6.0/km2 (16/sq mi)
 • Pop 2006-2011 Decrease 1.6%
 • Dwellings 3,093
Time zone EST (UTC−5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code(s) G5B
Area code(s) 418 and 581
Highways Route 138
Website www.villeport-cartier.com

Port-Cartier is a town in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Aux-Rochers River, exactly 63 kilometres (39 mi) southwest of Sept-Îles, Quebec.

Port-Cartier had a population of 6,651 as of the 2011 Canadian census.[3] It has a land area of 1,101 square kilometres (425 sq mi), ranking 27th in area among all Canadian cities and towns. Besides Port-Cartier itself, the communities of Rivière-Pentecôte (49°47′N 67°10′W / 49.783°N 67.167°W / 49.783; -67.167) and Pointe-aux-Anglais are also within its municipal boundaries, all located along Quebec Route 138.

History

In 1915, Colonel Robert R. McCormick, owner of the Chicago Tribune, visited the Rochers River area to evaluate its forest potential. Soon after, a settlement was established on the west side of the mouth of this river, originally called Shelter Bay.[4] The post office opened in 1916, followed by a sawmill in 1918 and a debarking factory of the Ontario Paper Company in 1920. Yet the exhaustion of timber led to the closure of the factory in 1955.[1]

In 1958, the Québec Cartier Mining Company constructed an iron ore processing plant and an artificial sea port near Shelter Bay, for shipping the iron ore mined from deposits at Lake Jeannine near Fermont. Port-Cartier, named after the mining company, was incorporated as a town in 1959 [1] and the next year, Shelter Bay was added to it.[5] The original town of Shelter Bay is now the suburb known as Port-Cartier West.[6] Today, the port handles approximately 18,000,000 tonnes (19,800,000 short tons; 17,700,000 long tons) of cargo per year [4] and ranks third in Quebec in terms of handled tonnage.[1]

Rivière-Pentecôte

Rivière-Pentecôte

In 1875, a mission called Saint-Patrice-de-la-Rivière-Pentecôte was established some 100 km south-west of Sept-Îles at the mouth of the Pentecôte River. This name is attributed to Jacques Cartier who arrived at the place on the day of Pentecost in 1535. In 1884, the "Penticost River" Post Office opened, frenchized to Rivière-Pentecôte in 1933. At the end of the 19th century, it was among the most important industrial centres along the North Shore. In 1972, the Municipality of Rivière-Pentecôte was formed out of unorganized territory.[7]

On February 19, 2003, the Municipality of Rivière-Pentecôte was amalgamated into the Town of Port-Cartier.[7]

Demographics

Population

Canada census – Port-Cartier community profile
 201120062001

Population:
Land area:
Population density:
Median age:
Total private dwellings:
Median household income:

6,651 (-1.6% from 2006)
1,101.31 km2 (425.22 sq mi)
6.0 /km2 (16 /sq mi)
43.1 (M: 42.6, F: 43.5)
3,093
$70,897

6,758 (+5.1% from 2001)
1,101.31 km2 (425.22 sq mi)
6.1 /km2 (16 /sq mi)
41.7 (M: 41.1, F: 42.2)
3,010
$56,801

6,412 (-9.3% from 1996)
292.86 km2 (113.07 sq mi)
21.9 /km2 (57 /sq mi)
38.2 (M: 38.2, F: 38.2)
2,764
$54,488

References: 2011[3] 2006[8] 2001[9]
View from Island Bridge
Port Cartier Mill

Population trend:[10]

  • Population in 2001:
    • Port-Cartier (town): 6412
    • Rivière-Pentecôte (municipality): 622
  • Population in 1996:
    • Port-Cartier (town): 7070
    • Rivière-Pentecôte (municipality): 640
  • Population in 1991:
    • Port-Cartier (town): 7383
    • Rivière-Pentecôte (municipality): 736

Language

Mother tongue:[8]

  • English as first language: 1.1%
  • French as first language: 97.1%
  • English and French as first language: 0%
  • Other as first language: 1.8%

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Port-Cartier (ville)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2010-07-30. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Port-Cartier". Répertoire des municipalités (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire. Retrieved 2012-05-07. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Port-Cartier census profile". 2011 Census of Population. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2012-05-07. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System : Port Cartier
  5. ↑ Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 22. Americana Corp. 1965. p. 378. 
  6. ↑ Brookes, Ivan (1974). The lower St. Lawrence: a pictorial history of shipping and industrial development. Freshwater Press. p. 165. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Rivière-Pentecôte (municipalité)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2010-07-30. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "2006 Community Profiles". Canada 2006 Census. Statistics Canada. March 30, 2011. Retrieved 2012-05-07. 
  9. ↑ "2001 Community Profiles". Canada 2001 Census. Statistics Canada. February 17, 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-07. 
  10. ↑ Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Port-Cartier.


Adjacent Municipal Subdivisions
Lac-Walker Sept-Îles
Lac-Walker Gulf of Saint Lawrence
   Port-Cartier  
Baie-Trinité


Cities & Towns
Unorganized Territories
Native reserves
(Unassociated with RCM)
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