Victoriaville

Victoriaville
City

Victoriaville City Hall
Motto: Santé urbaine

Location within Arthabaska RCM.
Victoriaville

Location in southern Quebec.

Coordinates: 46°03′N 71°58′W / 46.050°N 71.967°W / 46.050; -71.967Coordinates: 46°03′N 71°58′W / 46.050°N 71.967°W / 46.050; -71.967[1]
Country  Canada
Province  Quebec
Region Centre-du-Québec
RCM Arthabaska
Constituted June 23, 1993
Government[2]
 • Mayor André Bellavance
 • MP Alain Rayes (C)
 • MNA Éric Lefebvre (C)
Area[2][3]
 • City 86.20 km2 (33.28 sq mi)
 • Land 84.20 km2 (32.51 sq mi)
 • Metro[4] 153.29 km2 (59.19 sq mi)
Elevation 148 m (486 ft)
Population (2016)[3]
 • City 45,309
 • Density 516.2/km2 (1,337/sq mi)
 • Metro[4] 46,354
 • Metro density 302.4/km2 (783/sq mi)
 • Pop 2011-2016 Increase 7.25%
Time zone EST (UTC−5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code(s) G6P to G6T
Area code(s) 819
Highways Route 116
Route 122
Route 161
Route 162
Route 263
Website www.victoriaville.ca

Victoriaville is a city in central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of Arthabaska, Saint-Victoire-d'Arthabaska and Victoriaville, with the name of the latter being used for the new merged city.[5]

Description

Victoriaville's size and location have earned it the title Capitale des Bois-Francs, referring to the Bois-Francs region of the province. Victoriaville produces numerous hardwood products, including furniture, caskets, and hockey sticks.[6]

Sir Wilfrid Laurier Museum

The Parc-Linéaire Des Bois-Francs bike trail traverses Victoriaville. There are many paths for cyclists throughout the city, including ones leading to the summit of Mont Arthabaska, at the southern limits of the city. The Laurier Museum commemorates the summer home of former Canadian Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier and is a National Historic Site of Canada.[7]

Many festivals are held throughout the year including the Week-end En Blues series of concerts, the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV) in the spring, and the Exposition Agricole in the summer.

Investment in the industrial park has buoyed the town and spurred new residential and commercial development. It is the home of a prominent Lactantia dairy factory, two shopping malls ("La Grande Place des Bois-Francs" and "Le Carrefour des Bois-Francs", this one has been renamed and became "le Centre de Victoriaville"), the Cégep de Victoriaville, and a quaint yet vibrant downtown core/shopping area on Rue Notre-Dame. Victoriaville Airport, located at the town's northern limits close to Route 116, is a regional airport that receives business flights and light private planes.

The current mayor of Victoriaville is Alain Rayes, who was elected in November 2009 and is also the Conservative Party Candidate for the Richmond-Arthabaska riding in upcoming the 2015 federal election.

Victoriaville is the seat of the judicial district of Arthabaska.[8]

History

Victoriaville railway station in 1909
Cross on top of Mount Arthabaska remade in 1929.

The Victoriaville area was known to the native Abenaki peoples as Arthabaska or Awabaska, meaning "place of bulrushes and reeds". The area was first claimed in 1802 by a fur trader named John Gregory; the first settlers began arriving several decades later, beginning around 1825. Early colonists from the banks of the Saint Lawrence River arrived slowly, blazing trails as they went; the first provincial road would be built in 1844. The parish of Saint-Christophe d'Arthabaska was established in 1851, an event that many see as marking the town's true foundation. In 1854 a train station was erected to serve the Grand Trunk Railway line from Richmond to Lévis, uniting the region with Montreal and Quebec City. The municipality of Victoriaville itself was created on May 8, 1861, named to honour Queen Victoria, the reigning monarch at the time. Victoriaville became a full-fledged town in 1890, having reached a population of 1,000.[9]

Among the many milestones in the growth of Victoriaville are the establishment of a hospital, the Hôtel-Dieu d'Arthabaska, in 1931; the opening of a seminary, the Collège du Sacré-Coeur, in 1942; the creation of a school specialized in cabinet making and woodworking, the École Québécoise du Meuble et du Bois Ouvré (ÉQMBO), in 1965; and the inauguration of the Cégep de Victoriaville in the space previously occupied by the Collège du Sacré-Coeur, in 1969. Train service through Victoriaville was discontinued in 1960; the disused train tracks were eventually removed and the space was transformed into bicycle paths, forming the Parc Linéaire — with a "Vélogare" replacing the old station.

In June 1993, after a referendum on amalgamation, the municipalities of Sainte-Victoire-D'Arthabaska, Arthabaska and Victoriaville merged to form the city of Victoriaville. The aboriginal name "Arthabaska", unique and well-appreciated by residents, was retained in several ways, notably in the name of the regional county municipality and in the name of the highest (and only) mountain that overlooks the city; as well, in 2004, the section of Route 116 that passes through Victoriaville was renamed boulevard Arthabaska.

Economy

Textiles, wood products and furnitures have long been the heart of the economy, but their presence have declined in the past years. A large Lactantia factory producing butter, cheeses and other dairy products has been a major employer for decades. Water filtered from réservoir beaudet is said to be some of the best water worldwide.

Media

The weekly newspaper La Nouvelle-Union, is a major source of the town's local news, since national news organisations tend to run larger stories affecting larger areas or cities.

Two radio stations, CFJO ("O97,3") and CFDA ("Passion-Rock 101,9") serve Victoriaville. Both stations air programming produced partially in Victoriaville and partially in Thetford Mines. CKYQ ("KYQ FM"), a station licensed to Plessisville, also has a studio and a transmitter in Victoriaville.

Demographics

Change in Population[10]
Year Population Variation (%)
2011 43,462 Increase7.4%
2006 40,486 Increase4.2%
2001 38,841 Increase1.7%
1996 38,174 Increase4.9%
1991 36,392 Increase4.4%
1986 34,869 –

Most residents speak French as their first language, and around half a percent speak English.

Sports

Jean Béliveau (August 31, 1931 – December 2, 2014), ten-time Stanley Cup winner with the Montreal Canadiens, was raised in Victoriaville after moving there from Trois-Rivières at a young age.

The city is currently home to the Victoriaville Tigres junior hockey team, who have played in the QMJHL since 1987. They play at the Colisée Desjardins.

Notable residents

See also

References

  1. ↑ Reference number 283446 of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (in French)
  2. 1 2 Geographic code 39062 in the official Répertoire des municipalités (in French)
  3. 1 2 "(Code 2439062) Census Profile". 2011 census. Statistics Canada. 2012.
  4. 1 2 Victoriaville (Census agglomeration), Quebec 2011 Census Profile. The census agglomeration consists of Victoriaville and Saint-Christophe-d'Arthabaska. In the 2006 census, the census agglomeration had also included Chesterville and Warwick.
  5. ↑ "Histoire d'Arthabaska". GrandQuebec.com. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  6. ↑ "Why Victoriaville’s vault into the Top 10 communities for entrepreneurs is no accident". Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  7. ↑ Wilfrid Laurier House. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  8. ↑ Territorial Division Act. Revised Statutes of Quebec D-11.
  9. ↑ Arthabaska Victoriaville-Les débuts. Société d'histoire et de généalogie de Victoriaville. (French)
  10. ↑ Données extraites des différents recensements de Statistique Canada et Institut de la statistique du Québec
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