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Chibougamau | |
|---|---|
 Chibougamau main street | |
 Flag .svg) Coat of arms | |
  Chibougamau Location in Quebec | |
| Coordinates (650, 3e Rue[2]):49°54′48″N74°22′07″W / 49.91333°N 74.36861°W /49.91333; -74.36861[1][3] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Nord-du-Québec |
| RCM | None |
| Settled | 1952 |
| Constituted | November 8, 1952 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Manon Cyr |
| • Federal riding | Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou |
| • Prov. riding | Ungava |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,039.89 km2 (401.50 sq mi) |
| • Land | 698.13 km2 (269.55 sq mi) |
| • Water | 341.76 km2 (131.95 sq mi) |
| • Population centre | 6.0 km2 (2.3 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[4] | |
• Total | 7,233 |
| • Density | 10.4/km2 (27/sq mi) |
| • Population centre | 6,491 |
| • Population centre density | 1,081.2/km2 (2,800/sq mi) |
| • Change (2016–21) |  3.6% |
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area code(s) | 418 and 581 |
| Climate | Dfc |
| Website | www |
Chibougamau (French pronunciation:[ʃibuɡamo]) is the largest town inNord-du-Québec, centralQuebec, Canada. Located on Lake Gilman, it has a population of 7,233 people (2021 Canadian census).[4] Chibougamau is surrounded by, but not part of, thelocal municipality ofEeyou Istchee James Bay.
Its remoteness fromLac Saint-Jean (over 200 km (120 mi) south-east) andAbitibi-Témiscamingue (over 250 km (160 mi) south-west) areas causes Chibougamau to provide services for a few smaller communities surrounding it (Mistissini,Oujé-Bougoumou, andChapais) and for the regionalresource-based industries. Despite Chibougamau's remoteness, it is only about as far north asWinnipeg and is south of any part of the mainland of England.
Nearby isLac Aux Dorés, which is fed by theChibougamau River from the largerChibougamau Lake after which the town was named.Chibougamau means "gathering place" in theCree language. The neighbouringCree village of Oujé-Bougoumou has the same name with a more traditional Cree spelling.
The area surrounding Lake Gilman isObalski Regional Park. Its many amenities include a beach, pier, picnic tables, and cabins. The many trails allow for hiking, cycling, cross-country skiing, or even snowmobiling through the park'sboreal forest.
Access to the town is byRoute 167 from Lac Saint-Jean and byRoute 113 fromLebel-sur-Quévillon.Chibougamau/Chapais Airport is along Route 113, about halfway to Chapais.
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The area has long been part of theCree territory. It was in the early 17th century that French explorers and traders, includingCharles Albanel in 1671, came to the Lake Chibougamau area. However, no permanent European settlements were established at that time.
Only in the late 19th century would the area attract the interest of miningprospectors. When gold was discovered in 1903, there were periods of intense exploration. The difficulty of access[5] caused no lasting development to take place at the time. Not until 1949 was copper first exploited,[6] with the opening of a multi-metallic mine in the area, and a permanent community was established in 1952.[6] Chibougamau started out as acompany town but soon afterward, in 1954, it was incorporated as a municipality. Many mines have exploited the area since. While still thought of as a mining town, Chibougamau is now also the centre of a largelogging andsawmill[6] industry.
From 1962 to 1988, theRoyal Canadian Air Force operatedCFS Chibougamau, a radar station in Chibougamau that was part of thePinetree Line. The complex has now been transformed into a golf complex and an office for a mining company.
Since December 2001, the mayor of Chibougamau has been also on the municipal council ofMunicipality of Baie-James.
The city is home to an annual "Folies frettes" festival ("Cold Follies") and asnowmobilerally.[6]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 8,855 | — |
| 1996 | 8,664 | −2.2% |
| 2001 | 7,922 | −8.6% |
| 2006 | 7,563 | −4.5% |
| 2011 | 7,541 | −0.3% |
| 2016 | 7,504 | −0.5% |
| 2021 | 7,233 | −3.6% |
| [7] | ||
In the2021 Canadian census conducted byStatistics Canada, Chibougamau had a population of 7,233 living in 3190 of its 3,557 total private dwellings, a change of-3.6% from its 2016 population of 7,504. With a land area of 694.87 km2 (268.29 sq mi), it had a population density of10.4/km2 (27.0/sq mi) in 2021.[4]
The median age is 40.8, as opposed to 41.6 for all of Canada. French was themother tongue of 92.5% of residents in 2021. The next most common mother tongues wereEnglish at 3.0%, followed byCree-Innu languages at 1.6%. A small number (0.9%) reported both English and French as their first language. Additionally there were 0.2% who reported both French and a non-official language as their mother tongue.
As of 2021,Indigenous peoples, primarilyFirst Nations and someMétis, comprised 7.8% of the population and visible minorities contributed 3.9%. The largest visible minority groups in Chibougamau are Black (1.5%), Filipino (1.1%), and Arab (0.8%). The region is home to 555 recent immigrants (i.e. those arriving between 2016 and 2021).
In 2021, 67.7% of the population identified asCatholic, while 22.8% said they had no religious affiliation.Pentecostals were the largest religious minority, at 1.3% of the population, whileMuslims were the largest non-Christian religious minority, making up 0.8% of the population.[2][4]
Counting both single and multiple responses, the most commonly identified ethnocultural ancestries were:
| Ethnic origin | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Canadian | 33.8% |
| French | 22.1% |
| Québécois | 16.6% |
| French Canadian | 10.7% |
| First Nations | 4.4% |
| Cree | 4.2% |
| Irish | 3.9% |
| Italian | 1.3% |
| Métis | 1.2% |
| Filipino | 1.1% |
(Percentages may total more than 100% due to rounding and multiple responses).
| Visible minority and Indigenous population (2021 Canadian census)[4] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Population group | Population | % of total population | |
| White | 6,310 | 88.3% | |
| Visible minority group | South Asian | 0 | 0% |
| Chinese | 25 | 0.3% | |
| Black | 110 | 1.5% | |
| Filipino | 80 | 1.1% | |
| Arab | 55 | 0.8% | |
| Latin American | 0 | 0% | |
| Southeast Asian | 0 | 0% | |
| West Asian | 0 | 0% | |
| Korean | 0 | 0% | |
| Japanese | 0 | 0% | |
| Visible minority, n.i.e. | 0 | 0% | |
| Multiple visible minority | 0 | 0% | |
| Total visible minority population | 280 | 3.9% | |
| Indigenous group | First Nations | 350 | 4.9% |
| Métis | 170 | 2.4% | |
| Inuit | 0 | 0% | |
| Indigenous, n.i.e. | 10 | 0.1% | |
| Multiple Indigenous identity | 30 | 0.4% | |
| Total Indigenous population | 560 | 7.8% | |
| Total population | 7,150 | 100% | |
French-language schools in Chibougamau, past and present, are:
The English-language school is MacLean Memorial School.[8] formerly Chibougamau Protestant School. There also used to be a Catholic English-language school called Holy Family School.
Chibougamau has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classificationDfb), bordering very closely on a subarctic climate. Winters are long, very cold, and very snowy with a January high of −12.7 °C (9.1 °F) and a low of −24.1 °C (−11.4 °F). Summers are warm though short with a July high of 22.9 °C (73.2 °F) and a low of 10.2 °C (50.4 °F). The average temperature for the year is 0.4 °C (32.7 °F) (1991-2020), an increase of 0.2 °C (0.36 °F) from 1981-2010.[9][10] Overall precipitation is high for such a cold climate with an average annual precipitation of 995.8 mm (39.20 in) and 312.9 cm (123.2 in) of snow per season. Precipitation is significant year-round, though February through April are drier.[10]
| Climate data forChapais[a] WMO ID: 71824; climate ID: 7091299; coordinates49°49′21″N74°58′31″W / 49.82250°N 74.97528°W /49.82250; -74.97528 (Chapais); elevation: 381.1 m (1,250 ft) and Chapais 2; climate ID: 7091305; coordinates49°47′N74°51′W / 49.783°N 74.850°W /49.783; -74.850 (Chapais 2); elevation: 396.2 m (1,300 ft); 1991–2020 normals (precipitation normals from 1981-2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record highhumidex | 6.0 | 5.9 | 22.5 | 24.1 | 37.4 | 39.2 | 37.7 | 40.3 | 38.5 | 28.7 | 18.8 | 8.6 | 40.3 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 8.5 (47.3) | 9.0 (48.2) | 22.5 (72.5) | 28.0 (82.4) | 34.1 (93.4) | 35.0 (95.0) | 35.0 (95.0) | 33.3 (91.9) | 29.9 (85.8) | 24.8 (76.6) | 17.8 (64.0) | 11.0 (51.8) | 35.0 (95.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −12.7 (9.1) | −10.2 (13.6) | −3.0 (26.6) | 5.1 (41.2) | 14.7 (58.5) | 21.2 (70.2) | 22.9 (73.2) | 21.0 (69.8) | 15.9 (60.6) | 7.3 (45.1) | −1.1 (30.0) | −8.4 (16.9) | 6.1 (43.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −18.5 (−1.3) | −16.6 (2.1) | −9.9 (14.2) | −1.0 (30.2) | 8.1 (46.6) | 14.4 (57.9) | 16.6 (61.9) | 15.1 (59.2) | 10.4 (50.7) | 3.4 (38.1) | −4.5 (23.9) | −13.0 (8.6) | 0.4 (32.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −24.1 (−11.4) | −23.0 (−9.4) | −16.7 (1.9) | −7.0 (19.4) | 1.4 (34.5) | 7.5 (45.5) | 10.2 (50.4) | 9.2 (48.6) | 4.8 (40.6) | −0.5 (31.1) | −8.0 (17.6) | −17.6 (0.3) | −5.3 (22.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −43.3 (−45.9) | −42.8 (−45.0) | −40.9 (−41.6) | −28.9 (−20.0) | −16.9 (1.6) | −5.6 (21.9) | −0.7 (30.7) | −2.2 (28.0) | −7.3 (18.9) | −17.2 (1.0) | −30.0 (−22.0) | −42.0 (−43.6) | −43.3 (−45.9) |
| Record lowwind chill | −50.0 | −50.0 | −48.7 | −33.5 | −16.3 | −6.6 | −1.3 | −2.8 | −8.8 | −19.8 | −30.7 | −48.6 | −50.0 |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 61.9 (2.44) | 39.4 (1.55) | 50.3 (1.98) | 56.6 (2.23) | 82.4 (3.24) | 100.1 (3.94) | 124.3 (4.89) | 100.2 (3.94) | 129.7 (5.11) | 93.9 (3.70) | 93.2 (3.67) | 63.5 (2.50) | 995.8 (39.20) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 3.2 (0.13) | 2.4 (0.09) | 8.8 (0.35) | 28.7 (1.13) | 75.5 (2.97) | 100.1 (3.94) | 124.3 (4.89) | 100.2 (3.94) | 128.6 (5.06) | 70.9 (2.79) | 36.7 (1.44) | 5.0 (0.20) | 684.5 (26.95) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 58.8 (23.1) | 37.0 (14.6) | 41.6 (16.4) | 29.5 (11.6) | 6.9 (2.7) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 1.2 (0.5) | 23.0 (9.1) | 56.5 (22.2) | 58.5 (23.0) | 312.9 (123.2) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 18.1 | 13.6 | 12.1 | 12.3 | 14.8 | 16.3 | 17.4 | 17.1 | 20.2 | 19.8 | 19.9 | 19.3 | 200.9 |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.55 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 6.7 | 13.6 | 16.3 | 17.4 | 17.1 | 20.1 | 14.5 | 6.1 | 1.3 | 117.15 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.2 cm) | 18.0 | 12.9 | 10.4 | 7.9 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.47 | 7.4 | 16.1 | 18.5 | 94.17 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%)(at 1500LST) | 77.2 | 67.7 | 52.8 | 52.1 | 45.4 | 49.8 | 56.3 | 60.9 | 64.6 | 74.4 | 83.5 | 83.8 | 64.0 |
| Source:Environment and Climate Change Canada,[9] precipitation and precipitation days,[10] | |||||||||||||
Chibougamau travel guide from Wikivoyage| Regional county municipalities andequivalent territories |
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