Alma, Quebec
Town in Quebec, Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Alma | |
|---|---|
Alma in 2026 | |
 Seal .svg) Coat of arms | |
| Motto: Crescit eundo | |
 | |
  Alma Location in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Quebec | |
| Coordinates: 48°33′N 71°39′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 | |
| 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] | |
| 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 |
History
The present town of Alma was formed in 1962 from the merging of four villages: Isle-Maligne, Naudville, Riverbend and St-Joseph d'Alma. In 2002, Alma merged with the Municipality of Delisle. The oldest of the villages, St-Joseph-d'Alma, was founded in 1867 by Damase Boulanger. Both modern day Alma and St-Joseph d'Alma are named after the Battle of the Alma.
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.
Geography
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
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 850 | — |
| 1931 | 3,970 | +367.1% |
| 1941 | 6,449 | +62.4% |
| 1951 | 7,975 | +23.7% |
| 1956 | 10,822 | +35.7% |
| 1961 | 13,309 | +23.0% |
| 1966 | 22,195 | +66.8% |
| 1971 | 24,956 | +12.4% |
| 1976 | 25,638 | +2.7% |
| 1981 | 26,322 | +2.7% |
| 1986 | 25,923 | −1.5% |
| 1991 | 25,910 | −0.1% |
| 1996 | 26,127 | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 25,918 | −0.8% |
| 2006 | 29,998 | +15.7% |
| 2011 | 30,904 | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 30,771 | −0.4% |
| 2021 | 30,331 | −1.4% |
| Statistics Canada[7] | ||
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.[8]
Language
As of the 2021 Census, 81% of residents in Alma reported their knowledge of official languages being French only. 18.8% had knowledge of both English and French, while a small number reported only knowing English (0.1%). English was the mother tongue for 0.4% of residents, while French was the mother tongue for 98.9%.[a]
| Language | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| English Only | 20 | 0.1% |
| French Only | 24,315 | 81.0% |
| Both English and French | 5,655 | 18.8% |
| Neither English nor French | 20 | 0.1% |
| Language | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| English | 115 | 0.4% |
| French | 29,855 | 99.5% |
| English and French | 25 | 0.1% |
| Neither English nor French | 20 | 0.1% |
Ethnicity
| Visible minority and Aboriginal 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% | |
| Aboriginal group Source:[11] | First Nations | 350 | 1.2% |
| Métis | 500 | 1.7% | |
| Inuk | 10 | 0% | |
| Aboriginal, n.i.e. | 65 | 0.2% | |
| Multiple Aboriginal identity | 10 | 0% | |
| Total Aboriginal population | 935 | 3.2% | |
| Total population | 29,325 | 100% | |
Infrastructure
Transportation
Alma is serviced by the Alma Airport, located 4.1 km to the south of the town.
Sister cities
Alma has been twinned with Falaise, Calvados, France, since 1969.[12]
Notable people
- 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
- Michel Harvey, hockey player for the Quebec Nordiques
- 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
Notes
- The 2021 Census of Population defines mother tongue as being the first language learn at home that is still understood by the person at the time the census was conducted.
- Mother tongue responses are separated by single responses and multiple responses. The data for English, French and non-official language as mother tongue reflect the population that gave single responses only.
