BAIE-COMEAU, QUEBEC

'Baie-Comeau, Québec' (2006 city population 22,554; UA population 10,178; CA population 29,808) is a town located approximately 420 kilometers north-east of Quebec City in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Québec, Canada. Its population was of 25,554 at the 1996 census, and 23,079 at that of 2001. This slight decrease in population in the last decade is partly explained by the fact that many baby-boomers get retired then move elsewhere, often looking for warmer temperatures. The absence of University and many college-level courses forces the youth to get their education elsewhere; many of them will not find employment in their hometown (e.g. military, high-tech, etc.) or will prefer to establish themselves closer to a urban area (Usually Montreal or Quebec city). Baie-Comeau is also the seat of Manicouagan Regional County Municipality

Contents

Introduction

Location

City Council

Education

Sports

External links

Introduction

Baie-Comeau is located on the shores of the St. Lawrence River and of the Manicouagan River, which is home to several hydroelectric dams. The most important Manicouagan hydroelectric dam is Manic 5 located about 230 kilometers north of Baie-Comeau. Those dams are owned by Hydro-Québec and they create the Manicouagan Reservoir. The town was named after Napoléon-Alexandre Comeau, a local naturalist and was founded in 1936 by Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The region is a major center of lumbering for the pulp and paper industry, owned by Abitibi Consolidated, as of October 2006. Alongside hydro-electricity and the paper industry, an aluminum plant has fed the employment for decades.
In June 1982, Baie-Comeau was merged with the small town of Hauterive located about 6 kilometers west of Baie-Comeau. The eastern sector of Baie-Comeau is now known as Marquette, while the western sector of Baie-Comeau is entitled Mingan. They are separated by the 4km long 'boulevard Pierre-Ouellet'.
Baie-Comeau native Brian Mulroney was elected Prime Minister of Canada in 1984, serving in that office until his 1993 resignation.

Location

The town is located on Route 138 about 100 kilometers east of Forestville and about 230 kilometers west of Sept-Îles. A ferry service also links the town to Matane on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The town is also connected to Route 389, which leads to Manic 5, the town of Fermont, and the region of Labrador, part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

City Council

The Baie-Comeau city council consists of the mayor of Baie-Comeau and eight elected city councilors, four from each of the two sectors of town.
The current mayor of Baie-Comeau is 'Ivo Di Piazza', who was elected by acclamation on October 11, 2002. He was re-elected in the fall of 2005 for a four year term.

Education

Baie-Comeau is home to several French language public elementary schools, two French language public high schools, one French language private high school, and one English language public school that includes both the elementary and high school level of education.
The town is also home to one French language CEGEP called the CEGEP de Baie-Comeau.
'List of schools in Baie-Comeau:'

'School Name'	'Level'	'Sector'
École Bois-Du-Nord	Elementary	Western
École Boisvert	Elementary	Eastern
École Jean-Paul II	High School	Eastern
École Leventoux	Elementary	Eastern
École Mgr-Bélanger	Elementary	Western
École Saint-Coeur-de-Marie	Elementary	Western
École Serge-Bouchard	High School	Western
École Trudel	Elementary	Western
Polyvalente des Baies	High School	Eastern
Baie-Comeau High School	Elementary and high school	Eastern

Only private school in Baie-Comeau

Formerly known as Polyvalente des Rives

Only English language school in Baie-Comeau

Sports

The 1993 Quebec Winter Games were played in Baie-Comeau.
Many different sports are played in Baie-Comeau. The town offers many different spaces for a variety of sports. This section introduces some of them.

★ 'Hockey'
Baie-Comeau is home to the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, an ice hockey team playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League since 1997. They play in the Centre Henry-Leonard located in the eastern sector of the town.

★ 'Skiing'
Skiing is a very popular sport in Baie-Comeau. The 'Centre de ski du Mont-Tibasse' is the alpine ski centre located a few kilometers north of the town. It offers twelve slopes. Cross-country skiing is also popular.

★ 'Golf'
An 18 hole golf course is available in the western sector of the town. It is a semi-private golf club and is open for most of the summer. Sandbar Golf is a unique experience that was pioneered by local resident Mark Kerr. It involves golfing on Baie Comeau's pristine sandbars at low tide.

★ 'Swimming'
The two major high schools of the city each offer an indoor swimming pool. They are open to the public year round. Two outdoor swimming pools are also available to the public. These are open from the end of June until the middle of August each summer.
Some beaches are also available in the summer. One of them, the 'Plage Lac Aber', is on the shore of the lake that bears the same name. The beach offers many other activities such as tennis and volleyball. Some other beaches are along the shore of the St. Lawrence river: The 'Plage Champlain' and the 'Plage Pointe-Lebel', among others.

★ 'Tennis'
Several outdoor tennis courts are available to be used by anyone in the different parks across town. They are open for most of the summer.

★ 'Football'
The Baie-Comeau Vikings proudly defend the honor of the Polyvalente des Baies in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean League. They won championships in the eastern Quebec circuit in 2003, 2004 and 2006, and were finalists in 2005.

External links

★ Vikings de Baie-Comeau football club

★ City of Baie-Comeau

★ CEGEP de Baie-Comeau

★ Baie-Comeau Drakkar

★ Baie-Comeau & the North Shore: A Virtual Tour