Country Canada RCM Témiscamingue Constituted October 13, 1897 Population 2,595 (2011) Province Québec | Region Abitibi-Témiscamingue Settled 1870s Time zone EST (UTC−5) Postal code(s) J9V 1A1 Area code Area codes 819 and 873 | |
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Weather 4°C, Wind S at 14 km/h, 57% Humidity | ||
Ville-Marie is a town on Lake Temiscaming in western Quebec, Canada. It is the largest city and seat of the Témiscamingue Regional County Municipality, Quebec. As one of the oldest towns in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, it is considered the cradle of north-western Quebec and nicknamed "Pearl of Témiscamingue".
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Map of Ville-Marie, QC, Canada
CKVM-FM broadcasts from Ville-Marie. The town was home to the Junior "A" Ville-Marie Dragons of the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League in 2008-09.
History
Already in 1679, the place functioned as a trading post between the French and indigenous Algonquians. In 1720, the North West Company opened a trading post and built a store in 1785, which came into the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821 when the two companies merged. In 1836, a mission was established, followed in 1863, by a mission founded by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who gave it the name "Ville-Marie".
Originally the area was called Kelly Bay in honor of its first settler, James Kelly, who lived as a hermit. In 1874, Oblate missionary Joseph Moffet (1852-1932) cleared some land and moved to Kelly Bay that came to be known as Baie-des-Pères (Bay of Fathers). In 1883, he was joined by a group of settlers from Nicolet. In 1886, the Parish of Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Rosaire-de-Ville-Marie was founded, and in 1891, the Baie-des-Père Post Office opened. The Village Municipality of Ville-Marie was incorporated in 1897 and the following year the post office was renamed to match the village's name. In 1899, the HBC post closed.
On December 22, 1962, the Village Municipality of Ville-Marie became the Town of Ville-Marie.
Ville-Marie is the seat of the judicial district of Témiscamingue.
Population
Population trend:
Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 1206 (total dwellings: 1238)
Languages
Mother tongue:
Climate
Ville-Marie presents a typical continental climate, with extremely cold winters and relatively warm and humid summers. It benefits from the lake's influence in winter, its temperature being significantly higher than in other towns further from the lake. It still holds the record as the hottest day in Quebec with a temperature of 40° on July 6, 1921.
Economy
The main components of the local economy are agriculture, forestry, hydro-electricity, outdoor tourism (hunting and sport fishing).