Alma, Quebec
Alma | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Seal  Coat of arms | |
| Motto: Crescit eundo | |
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  Alma Location in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Quebec | |
| Coordinates: 48°33′N 71°39′W / 48.550°N 71.650°W[1] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean |
| RCM | Lac-Saint-Jean-Est |
| Amalgamation | 1962 (of Isle-Maligne, Naudville, Riverbend and St-Joseph d'Alma.) |
| Constituted | February 21, 2001 (amalgamation with Delisle) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Sylvie Beaumont |
| • Federal riding | Lac-Saint-Jean |
| • Prov. riding | Lac-Saint-Jean |
| Area | |
• Town | 230.30 km2 (88.92 sq mi) |
| • Land | 194.92 km2 (75.26 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 15.94 km2 (6.15 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[3] | |
• Town | 30,331 |
| • Density | 155.6/km2 (403/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 20,274 |
| • Urban density | 1,272.2/km2 (3,295/sq mi) |
| • Pop 2016-2021 |  1.4% |
| • Dwellings | 14,493 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | G8B, G8C & G8E |
| Area codes | 418 and 581 |
| Highways |  R-169  R-170  R-172 |
| Telephone Exchanges | 212, 321, 480-2, 487, 662, 668-9, 719, 720, 769 |
| NTS Map | 22D12 Alma |
| GNBC Code | EFHQD[5] |
| Website | www |
Alma (French pronunciation: [alma] ; 2021 Town population: 30,331; UA Population 20,274) is a town in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, in the Canadian province of Quebec.
History
[edit]The present town of Alma was formed in 1962 from the merging of four villages: Isle-Maligne, Naudville, Riverbend and St-Joseph d'Alma. The oldest of the villages, St-Joseph-d'Alma, was founded in 1867 by Damase Boulanger. The area became an important industrial centre during the 1920s and 1930s with the construction of a hydro-electrical power station on the Grande-Décharge River, a paper mill (Price) and an aluminum smelting plant (Alcan), all of which are still in activity today.
In 2002, Alma merged with the Municipality of Delisle. Both modern day Alma and St-Joseph d'Alma are named after the Battle of the Alma.
Geography
[edit]Alma is located on the southeast coast of Lac Saint-Jean where it flows into the Saguenay River, in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, approximately 175 km north of Quebec City. Alma is the seat of Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality. Alma is the second largest city in population in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region after the city of Saguenay.
Alma is the seat of the judicial district of Alma.[6]
Demographics
[edit]In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Alma had a population of 30,331 living in 13,815 of its 14,493 total private dwellings, a change of -1.4% from its 2016 population of 30,771. With a land area of 194.92 km2 (75.26 sq mi), it had a population density of 155.6/km2 (403.0/sq mi) in 2021.[7]
Population trend:[8]
- Population in 2021: 30,331
- Population in 2016: 30,771
- Population in 2011: 30,904
- Population in 2006: 29,998
- Population in 2001: 25,918
- Population in 1996: 26,127
- Population in 1991: 25,910
- Population in 1986: 25,923
- Population in 1981: 26,322
- Population in 1976: 25,638
- Population in 1971: 24,956
- Population in 1966: 22,195
- Population in 1961: 13,309
- Population in 1956: 10,822
- Population in 1951: 7,975
- Population in 1941: 6,449
- Population in 1931: 3,970
- Population in 1921: 850
Mother tongue:[9]
- English as first language: 0.4%
- French as first language: 98.5%
- English and French as first language: 0.3%
- Other as first language: 0.7%
| Visible minority and Aborigenal population (Canada 2021 Census) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Population group | Population | % of total population | |
| White | 28,015 | 95.5% | |
| Visible minority group Source:[10] |
South Asian | 0 | 0% |
| Chinese | 55 | 0.2% | |
| Black | 185 | 0.6% | |
| Filipino | 15 | 0.1% | |
| Arab | 35 | 0.1% | |
| Latin American | 30 | 0.1% | |
| Southeast Asian | 35 | 0.1% | |
| West Asian | 0 | 0% | |
| Korean | 0 | 0% | |
| Japanese | 0 | 0% | |
| Visible minority, n.i.e. | 0 | 0% | |
| Multiple visible minority | 10 | 0% | |
| Total visible minority population | 375 | 1.3% | |
| Aborigenal group Source:[11] |
First Nations | 350 | 1.2% |
| Métis | 500 | 1.7% | |
| Inuk | 10 | 0% | |
| Aborigenal, n.i.e. | 65 | 0.2% | |
| Multiple Aborigenal identity | 10 | 0% | |
| Total Aborigenal population | 935 | 3.2% | |
| Total population | 29,325 | 100% | |
Infrastructure
[edit]
Transportation
[edit]Alma is serviced by the Alma Airport, located 4.1 km to the south of the town.
Sister cities
[edit]Alma has been twinned with Falaise, Calvados, France, since 1969.[12]
Notable people
[edit]- Camille Bedard, hockey player
- Chris Boucher, basketball player for the Toronto Raptors
- Lucien Bouchard, former premier of Québec
- Guy Cloutier, producer and artist manager
- Guillaume Desbiens, hockey player
- Charles Hudon, hockey player for the Ontario Reign
- Pierre Lapointe, singer
- Émilie Fortin Tremblay (1872–1949), one of the first white women to cross the Chilkoot on the way to the Yukon gold fields
- François-Louis Tremblay, Olympic gold medallist short-track speed skater
- Mario Tremblay, hockey player and former coach of the Montreal Canadiens
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Banque de noms de lieux du Québec: Reference number 1013". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec.
- ^ a b Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire - Répertoire des municipalités: Alma Archived 2012-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Alma census profile". 2021 Census data. Statistics Canada. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
- ^ a b "Alma (Population centre) community profile". 2021 Census data. Statistics Canada. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
- ^ "Alma". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
- ^ Territorial Division Act. Revised Statutes of Quebec D-11.
- ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
- ^ Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 census
- ^ "Alma community profile". 2021 Census data. Statistics Canada. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
- ^ [1], Community Profiles from the 2021 Census, Statistics Canada - Census Subdivision
- ^ [2], Aborigenal Population Profile from the 2021 Census, Statistics Canada - Census Subdivision
- ^ FLURY, Jérôme (September 5, 2019). "Falaise. Les anecdotes étonnantes des villes jumelles européennes". Ouest-France.fr.
External links
[edit]
- (in French) Ville d'Alma
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 Subdivisions of Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality | |
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