Drummondville

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Drummondville
City
Quebec Route 122 through Drummondville
Quebec Route 122 through Drummondville
Coat of arms of Drummondville
Coat of arms
Location within Drummond RCM.
Location within Drummond RCM.
Drummondville is located in Quebec
Drummondville
Drummondville
Location in Quebec.
Coordinates: 45°53′N 72°29′W / 45.883°N 72.483°W / 45.883; -72.483Coordinates: 45°53′N 72°29′W / 45.883°N 72.483°W / 45.883; -72.483[1]
Country  Canada
Province  Quebec
Region Centre-du-Québec
RCM Drummond
Constituted July 7, 2004
Government[2][3]
 • Type Drummondville City Council
 • Mayor Alexandre Cusson
 • Federal riding Drummond
 • Prov. riding Drummond–Bois-Francs
and Johnson
Area[2][4]
 • City 260.10 km2 (100.43 sq mi)
 • Land 246.85 km2 (95.31 sq mi)
 • Metro[5] 803.81 km2 (310.35 sq mi)
Elevation 365 m (1,198 ft)
Population (2011)[4]
 • City 71,852
 • Density 291.1/km2 (754/sq mi)
 • Metro[5] 88,480
 • Metro density 110.1/km2 (285/sq mi)
 • Pop 2006-2011 Increase 6.6%
 • Dwellings 33,812
Time zone EST (UTC−5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code(s) J2A-J2C, J2E
Area code(s) 819
Highways
A-20 (TCH)
A-55

Route 122
Route 139
Route 143
Website www.ville.
drummondville.qc.ca

Drummondville is a city in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, located east of Montreal on the Saint-François River. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 71,852. The mayor of Drummondville is Alexandre Cusson.

Drummondville is the seat of Drummond Regional County Municipality, and of the judicial district of Drummond.[6]

History[edit]

Drummondville was founded in June 1815 by Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Heriot. The purpose of the town was to provide a home for British soldiers in the War of 1812, and to guard the Saint-François River against American attacks. The town was named after Sir Gordon Drummond, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada between 1813 and 1816.

The construction of the Hemmings Falls hydro-electric dam in 1920 brought a new wave of industrial growth to the Drummondville area. Several outlying municipalities have been amalgamated into Drummondville since the 1950s:

  • 1955: Saint-Joseph de Grantham, Saint-Jean-Baptiste
  • 1966: Drummondville-Ouest
  • 1982: Drummondville-Sud
  • 1993: Grantham
  • 2004: Saint-Nicéphore, Saint-Charles-de-Drummond, Saint-Joachim-de-Courval[7]

Demographics[edit]

Population trend:[8][N 1]
Census Population Change (%)
2011 71,852 Increase 6.6%
2006 67,392 Increase 6.9%
Merger 63,029 Increase 26.1%
2001 46,599 Increase 3.8%
1996 44,882 Increase 4.0%
1991 43,171 N/A
Mother tongue language (2011)[9]
Language Population Pct (%)
French only 67,930 96%
English only 780 1.1%
Both English and French 290 0.4%
Other languages 1745 2.4%

Attractions and culture[edit]

Drummondville markets itself as Quebec's Capital of Expression and Traditions, with attractions focusing on culture, both past and present culture. The main attractions are the Village Québécois d'Antan and Mondial des Cultures (formerly the Festival mondial de folklore), which takes place every year in Woodyatt Park. Since 2008 Drummondville hosts Festival de la Poutine, towards the end of august, during three days people are invited to attend concerts that are held in Drummondville and to savor several kinds of poutine, a French Canadian dish.

The show AO La Légende ceased its operations in 2010. The show and the old show, Légendes Fantastique, had over five hundred performances were presented from 1998 to 2010.

The Théâtre d'été Gilles Latulippe, Treego Drummondville, the Musée populaire de photographie, the St. Frederick Catholic Church, St. George's Anglican Church, the Maison des Arts Desjardins, the Ulverton Wool Mill as well as sugar shacks are the main focal points of the city.

Sports[edit]

Drummondville is home to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)'s Drummondville Voltigeurs, founded in 1982. The team plays its home games at Centre Marcel Dionne. Drummondville also has another arena, Olympia Yvan-Cournoyer.

Drummondville and Victoriaville co-hosted the 2013 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.

Prior to the Voltigeurs, Drummondville was home to the Drummondville Rangers of the QMJHL from 1969 to 1974.

Drummondville also was host to several baseball teams in the Quebec Provincial League in the 1940s and 1950s. The Drummondville Tigers in 1940, the Drummondville Cubs from 1948-1952, the Drummondville Royals in 1953 and the Drummondville A's in 1954.

The Autodrome Drummond, holds various automotive races throughout the summer season.

La Courvalloise is used for tubing, skiing and snowboarding.

Economy[edit]

Drummondville is home to the Promenades Drummondville regional shopping mall which has 109 stores.[10]

Girardin Minibus, has its headquarters in Drummondville.[11]

Transportation[edit]

Local transit

Intra-city transit has been assured since 1987 by the Drummondville Transit, which currently operates city bus services on five routes headquartered at the main bus terminal at Des Forges and Lindsay Streets.

Intercity buses

Intercity highway coach service is provided by Autobus Drummondville Ltée, a unit of Groupe Bourgeois.[12] Major destinations include the nearby cities of Montreal, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, Victoriaville, Saint-Hyacinthe, and Thetford Mines.

Intercity rail

Passenger train service towards Montreal and Quebec City is provided by Via Rail. Drummondville is part of the high-traffic Quebec City–Windsor Corridor, and trains run at a rate of about five per day in either direction from the Drummondville railway station.

Air

General aviation services are available at the Drummondville Airport and the Drummondville Water Aerodrome.

Education[edit]

Drummondville is home to the Cégep de Drummondville, a public French-language CEGEP.

Notable Drummondville natives[edit]

Sister cities[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ (+) Amalgamation of the Cities of Drummondville, Saint-Nicéphore, the Municipality of Saint-Charles-de-Drummond and the Parish of Saint-Joachim-de-Courval on July 7, 2004.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Reference number 287380 of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (French)
  2. ^ a b "Drummondville — Répertoire des municipalités — MAMROT". Mamrot.gouv.qc.ca. 2004-07-07. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  3. ^ "History of Federal Ridings since 1867". .parl.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  4. ^ a b "Census Profile — Census subdivision". 2.statcan.gc.ca. 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  5. ^ a b 2011 Statistics Canada Census Profile: Drummondville (Census agglomeration), Quebec The census agglomeration consists of Drummondville, Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Conseil (village), Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Conseil (parish), Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover, Saint-Germain-de-Grantham, Saint-Lucien, Saint-Majorique-de-Grantham, Wickham. In the 2006 census, the census agglomeration had not included the village or parish municipality of Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Conseil, nor Wickham.
  6. ^ "Territorial Division Act". .publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  7. ^ "Modifications aux municipalités du Québec. juillet 2004" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  8. ^ Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census
  9. ^ "Community Profiles from the 2006 Census, Statistics Canada — Census Subdivision". 2.statcan.gc.ca. 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  10. ^ "Promenades Drummondville". The Westcliff Group of Companies. 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  11. ^ "HISTORY". Retrieved 2010-01-23. 
  12. ^ Groupe Bourgeois

External links[edit]