SAGUENAY, QUEBEC

'Saguenay' (officially '''Ville de Saguenay''') is a city (2006 population: 143,692) in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, on the Saguenay River, about 200 kilometres north of Quebec City.

Contents

Description

Location in Quebec

Demographics

Economy

Education

Media

Radio

Television

Print

See also

External links

References

Description

The city was formed on February 18, 2002, by the merger of the cities of Chicoutimi, Jonquière, La Baie, and Laterrière, along with the municipalities of Lac-Kénogami and Shipshaw and part of the township of Tremblay.
The city is divided into three boroughs:

★ Chicoutimi (territories of Chicoutimi, Laterrière, and Tremblay township);

★ Jonquière (territories of Jonquière, Lac-Kénogami, Arvida, and Shipshaw);

★ La Baie (territory of La Baie).
The mayor of Saguenay is Jean Tremblay, mayor of Chicoutimi before the merger.
The term "the Saguenay" or (less commonly) "Saguenay Valley" is used for the whole Saguenay River region. See Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. The provincial riding of René-Lévesque on the Côte Nord was named Saguenay before 2003 elections.
Camrose, Alberta is the sister city of Saguenay.

Location in Quebec

Saguenay is located in a depression in the Canadian shield with a somewhat more temperate climate than the surrounding region, allowing agriculture and human settlement to take place. The relatively small and concentrated Lac St-Jean area where the city is located can be described as an isolated "oasis" in the middle of the vast remote wilderness of Northern Quebec. Few roads connect with the area from the south and east, and only one road connects from the west. No roads go north from the area into the wilderness; the last roads north end just a short distance from the city—still within the Lac St-Jean area. There are no human settlements due north of Saguenay all the way to the Canadian Arctic islands, except for a few isolated Cree and Inuit villages. However, roads do head northwest all the way to Hudson Bay and thence eastward deep into the interior of the province.

Demographics

''(Institut de la Statistique du Québec, 2006)''
Population density (2006) 127.0 inhab./km²

Total population (2006) 144,250 inhab.

Net interregional migration (2005-2006) -742 inhab.

Population projections(population changes 2026/2001) - 12.7%

Number of workers, 25-64 years(2004) 56,516

Rate of workers, 25-64 years(2004) 68.5%

Average employment income of workers, 25-64 years(2004) $39,723

Employment-assistance rate(2006) 9.2 %

Low-income rate among families (2004) 8.1 %

Per capita personal income (2005) $28,415

Total value of building permits(2006) $187,305k

Average assessed value of single-family dwellings(2006) $98,592

Standardized real estate wealth(2006) $8,245,923k

99% of Saguenay's inhabitants claim French as their first language.

Economy

Saguenay's economy is mainly based on the primary transformation of natural resources, including paper (under Abitibi-Consolidated) and aluminum (under Alcan). The city is also home to several hydro-electric power plants, notably the 800 MW plant at Shipshaw. Recent years have been hard on Saguenay's economy. Citing difficult market conditions (possibly arising from the United States-Canada softwood lumber dispute), Abitibi-Consolidated closed down several of its transformation plants in the area—including the Port-Alfred plant in La Baie, which was closed for good on January 26, 2005 after a little over a year of inactivity.

Education

Apart from hosting two Cégeps—one in Jonquière and one in Chicoutimi, the city also benefits from the presence of the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Several other schools have campuses in Saguenay, including the Université de Sherbrooke and the École nationale d'administration publique. Saguenay is also home to a music conservatory.

Media

Radio ★ AM 590 - CKRS, French talk ★ FM 92.5 - CKAJ, community/oldies ★ FM 93.7 - CBJ, La Première Chaîne ★ FM 94.5 - CJAB, Énergie FM ★ FM 96.9 - CFIX, Rock Détente ★ FM 99.3 - CJOR, Cégep de Jonquière[1] campus radio ★ FM 100.9 - CBJX, Espace musique ★ FM 102.7 - CBJE, CBC Radio One ★ FM 106.7 - CION-FM-2, religious

Television ★ Channel 4: CKTV, SRC affiliate ★ Channel 6: CJPM, TVA affiliate ★ Channel 8: CIVV, Télé-Québec affiliate ★ Channel 12: CFRS, TQS affiliate ★ Channel 58: CBJET, CBC affiliate

Print

The city's main daily newspaper is ''Le Quotidien''. Other newspapers now or formerly published in the city include ''Le lingot du Saguenay'' and student newspapers published at the city's colleges and at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.^[1]

See also

★ Municipal reorganization in Quebec

★ Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean

★ List of people from Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean

★ Chicoutimi—Le Fjord

★ Jonquière—Alma

★ Saguenay River

★ Saguenay Flood

★ Kingdom of Saguenay

External links

★ Ville de Saguenay

References

1. Canadian Newspapers on Microform held by Library and Archives Canada - Quebec