Sorel-Tracy | |
|---|---|
| Ville de Sorel-Tracy | |
 Aerial view of Sorel-Tracy | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location within Pierre-De Saurel RCM. | |
  Sorel-Tracy Location in southern Quebec. | |
| Coordinates:46°02′N73°07′W / 46.033°N 73.117°W /46.033; -73.117[1] | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Quebec |
| Region | Montérégie |
| RCM | Pierre-De Saurel |
| Constituted | March 15, 2000 |
| Government | |
| • Federal riding | Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel |
| • Prov. riding | Richelieu |
| Area | |
| • Land | 57.28 km2 (22.12 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 30.61 km2 (11.82 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 170.31 km2 (65.76 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[4] | |
• City | 35,165 |
| • Density | 614/km2 (1,590/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 36,650 |
| • Urban density | 1,197.3/km2 (3,101/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 41,934 |
| • Metro density | 246.2/km2 (638/sq mi) |
| • Pop 2016–2021 |  0.7% |
| • Dwellings | 17,069 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area code(s) | 450 and 579 |
Highways A-30 |  R-132 R-133 R-223 |
| Website | www |
Sorel-Tracy (/sɔːˈrɛltræˈsiː/;French:[sɔʁɛltʁaˈsi]) is a city in southwesternQuebec, Canada and the geographical end point of theChamplain Valley. It is located at the confluence of theRichelieu River and theSt. Lawrence River, on the western edge ofLac Saint-Pierre, downstream and northeast ofMontreal. The population as of theCanada 2021 Census was 35,165. Its mayor is Patrick Péloquin and it is the seat of thePierre-De Saurel Regional County Municipality and thejudicial district of Richelieu.[7]
The city is the result of a voluntary merger in March 2000 between two former municipalities, Sorel and Tracy, which developed on opposite shores of theRichelieu River: Tracy on the west shore and Sorel on the east shore. Sorel itself had annexed in 1992 the municipality of Saint-Pierre-de-Sorel; today it forms the southern part of its territory.
Sorel was founded in 1642. Tracy was founded on February 10, 1954, but prior to that, it was aparish municipality known as Saint-Joseph de Sorel. (This is not to be confused with the town ofSaint-Joseph-de-Sorel, an independent municipality north of Tracy).
Sorel-Tracy is known for manufacturing related to thesteel industry andmetallurgy. It has aferry linking the city to the village ofSaint-Ignace-de-Loyola. Its shipyard built units of three frigates for the Canadian forces, and two ships in the late 1960s.
Early exploration in this area by the French was a catalyst for armed conflict with various indigenous peoples. The French also learned about existing rivalries among these nations and sought to build its own alliances with First Nations. TheBattle of Sorel occurred on June 19, 1610:Samuel de Champlain had some French regulars or local militia, as well as First Nations allies, theWyandot (also known as Huron by the French),Algonquin andInnu peoples. Together they held off the powerfulMohawk people inNew France.[8]
Sorel is the fourth-oldest city in the province of Quebec. Its formation began in 1642 whenCharles Huault de Montmagny, first Governor and Lieutenant-Governor ofNew France, builtFort Richelieu here as a defense for settlers and river travellers against theIroquois, primarily the Mohawk, the powerful easternmost nation in the Confederacy based south of the Great Lakes.
In 1647, the original fort was destroyed by the Mohawk, but it was rebuilt by theCarignan-Salières Regiment on the same site in 1665.[9]
The name Sorel comes from the first seigneur of the area, Pierre de Saurel. He was in command of a company of theCarignan-Salières Regiment that landed in New France in August 1665. He was granted a seigneury byKing Louis XIV in 1672, after having already built a manor house four years prior. The parish of Tracy was named for Lieutenant GeneralAlexander de Prouville, Sieur de Tracy, who was overall in command of theCarignan-Salières Regiment directly under the Governor.[10]
AfterPrince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester visited Sorel in 1787, the town took the name of William-Henry, a name it retained until 1845.
It is probable that before theAmerican Revolution, there were no English-speaking, Protestant people in Sorel, as it had been settled by French-speaking colonists and their descendants, who were primarily Catholic. Although a hamlet or small village, it was the scene of much activity during the war and after.
During 1776 large bodies of troops passed through and at times were stationed in the area. For example, the English quartered in Sorel the German auxiliaries they hired after they reached Quebec. GovernorFrederick Haldimand wrote a letter to LordGeorge Germain in October 1778, from his camp in Sorel where fortifications were in progress, proposing his use of the Seigneurie,
It is my intention therefore, if time and circumstances favour me, to make Sorel a place of strength with Permanent Works, as the importance of it deserves. The Seigneurie of this Place is vested in merchants residing in England and the Inhabitants of it, people remarkable for their courage and resolution, have distinguished themselves very much by their attachment to the Government even at a time the Rebels were Masters of that Country, in which account I think it would serve the King's interest to bestow some Public mark of favour upon them such as remitting them the Quitrents which they pay for their land, to the Seigneur, and the Seigneurie being to be sold, and the purchase would not exceed 13,000, having been offered for that sum, I submit to Your Lordship whether it would not be best to give orders to treat immediately with the Proprietors, Messrs. Greenwood and Higgins in London, both for enabling me to effect the purchase...
The Crown purchased the land in 1781, at the end of the war, and Sorel became a clearing house for the steady stream ofLoyalist refugees from the south. A number settled in Sorel, forming the nucleus of the English-speaking population. Also, the Crown selected Sorel as one of the stations for "Military Invalids", or “OutsideChelsea Pensioners", as they were also called. Several hundred older veterans and their dependents were sent to Sorel under the medical care of Dr. Christopher Carter. There facilities had to be built for them.
The earliest British efforts for the propagation of theProtestant religion in Lower Canada started in Sorel. With the continued influx of Loyalists during 1783 into the Seigniory (as the English spell it), the settlement sought a permanent Protestant minister. That year they sent a petition to theSociety for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, of the Anglican Church, begging them to send a Minister of the Gospel to reside in the Seigniory.
The Reverend John Doty was assigned to the post, embarking during the month of April 1784 atGravesend, England, and arriving at Quebec in June. He reached Sorel on 4 July 1784, where he celebrated Divine Service (or communion) and preached his first sermon. This is the date of the foundation of theAnglican parish in Sorel and the firstAnglican mission in Canada.
They used as the chapel a wooden building located at the end of King Street, a few steps from the Richelieu market. This building had earlier served as a military storehouse. In 1819, the town's parsonage was declared dangerously unfit.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Sorel was a center offur traders, who had been established in Quebec and among the indigenous peoples from the earliest years of the colony. The character of the town changed over the next few decades as more permanent settlers arrived.
In the 1820s, Sorel was the site of the governor's house for theGovernor General of Lower Canada,[11] thenGeorge Ramsay, the Lord Dalhousie. (He is the namesake ofDalhousie University.) Ramsay quickly purchased land in the area to be developed for agriculture. Due to his presence, the small town became a centre for the turbulent politics of that time, in the period leading up to theLower Canada Rebellion.
Locally, thecolonial governor and parishpriestJean-Baptiste Kelly competed for power and influence among the different ethnic groups. Kelly oversaw a number of improvements and changes during his years in the town. The "dangerous" parsonage was rebuilt by 1832 (using stone from the original). The town changed its name back to Sorel from William-Henry in 1845, reflecting its demographics and predominately French Catholic population.
Kelly helped improve the parishlibrary, which contained four hundred volumes by 1846. In 1848 the community erected a monument totemperance. They established a society for the care of the poor and sick, and for the education of girls. Kelly retired in 1849, after the completion of a new clergy house. The older one was adapted for use as a college. In the long term, the town continued to be settled primarily by French Canadians, rather than developing any sizable Anglo-Canadian population.
In 1839 two residents were defendants in a murder trial. An American, George Holmes, who lived in Sorel, was linked toJoséphine d’Estimauville, a married woman who had been staying with her mother in Sorel after leaving her abusive husband.[12] The pair were arrested after Holmes became a suspect for killing her husbandLouis-Pascal-Achille Taché (21 June 1813 – 31 January 1839), seigneur ofKamouraska since 1833. This seigneury was located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of eastern Quebec. Holmes fled to theUnited States, escaped extradition, and disappeared. D’Estimauville was tried for complicity in the death of her husband, but acquitted.
In 1970,Anne Hébert published a novel,Kamouraska, inspired by the affair. It was adapted as a 1973film of the same name, directed byClaude Jutra and starringGeneviève Bujold andRichard Jordan.
The shipyards in Sorel were long important to its economy. In the late 20th century, the city was the site of construction of three of 12Halifax-classfrigates of theCanadian Forces. The three Canadian patrol frigates built in Quebec wereHMCS Ville de Québec,HMCS Regina andHMCS Calgary. The shipyard in Sorel-Tracy was calledM.I.L. Tracy. It built units for all three vessels and sent them by barge for final assembly atM.I.L. Davie inLauzon, Quebec.
Previous to the construction of theHalifax-class frigates, MIL (Marine Industries Ltd, operated by the Simard family of Sorel, constructedHMCS Nipigon, which was commissioned there in 1964. MIL was also the site of construction ofHMCS Bras d'Or, an experimentalhydrofoil commissioned by theRoyal Canadian Navy. The construction of both these ships was overseen by Cmdr. Donald Clark CD RCN.
The city is home to theTracy Thermal Generating Station.[13]
The city is home to a shipyard, which built severalRoyal Canadian Navy ships in the 20th century.
The city is home toQIT-Fer et Titane, aTitaniumsmelter andrefinery now owned by theRio Tinto corporation.
Sorel-Tracy is within 75 kilometres (47 mi) of bothMontreal andTrois-Rivières and is easily accessible viaAutoroute 30 from the west and viaRoute 132 from the east and west. Autoroute 30 stops at Sorel and picks up again atBécancour, leaving an incomplete segment in between.
A year-round ferry operates on the St. Lawrence River between Sorel-Tracy andSaint-Ignace-de-Loyola on the way toBerthierville.[14]
| Climate data for Sorel-Tracy | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.8 (55.0) | 12.0 (53.6) | 21.1 (70.0) | 30.5 (86.9) | 34.4 (93.9) | 37.8 (100.0) | 36.7 (98.1) | 37.8 (100.0) | 33.9 (93.0) | 28.9 (84.0) | 22.8 (73.0) | 14.4 (57.9) | 37.8 (100.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −6.1 (21.0) | −4.1 (24.6) | 2.1 (35.8) | 10.5 (50.9) | 18.9 (66.0) | 24.1 (75.4) | 26.6 (79.9) | 25.1 (77.2) | 19.3 (66.7) | 12.3 (54.1) | 4.8 (40.6) | −2.8 (27.0) | 10.9 (51.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −11.2 (11.8) | −9.2 (15.4) | −2.9 (26.8) | 5.4 (41.7) | 13.1 (55.6) | 18.5 (65.3) | 21.2 (70.2) | 19.7 (67.5) | 14.3 (57.7) | 7.9 (46.2) | 1 (34) | −7.3 (18.9) | 5.9 (42.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −16.2 (2.8) | −14.4 (6.1) | −7.9 (17.8) | 0.3 (32.5) | 7.2 (45.0) | 12.8 (55.0) | 15.7 (60.3) | 14.3 (57.7) | 9.3 (48.7) | 3.5 (38.3) | −2.7 (27.1) | −11.7 (10.9) | 0.9 (33.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −41.0 (−41.8) | −37.8 (−36.0) | −35.0 (−31.0) | −28.9 (−20.0) | −6.1 (21.0) | −1.7 (28.9) | 4.4 (39.9) | 0.0 (32.0) | −4.5 (23.9) | −10.6 (12.9) | −25.0 (−13.0) | −40.6 (−41.1) | −41.0 (−41.8) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 74.3 (2.93) | 60.0 (2.36) | 66.8 (2.63) | 76.0 (2.99) | 85.8 (3.38) | 92.7 (3.65) | 90.9 (3.58) | 93.4 (3.68) | 81.1 (3.19) | 87.5 (3.44) | 89.3 (3.52) | 78.3 (3.08) | 976.1 (38.43) |
| Source:Environment Canada[15] | |||||||||||||
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Sorel-Tracy had a population of35,165 living in17,069 of its17,749 total private dwellings, a change of1.2% from its 2016 population of34,755. With a land area of 57.28 km2 (22.12 sq mi), it had a population density of613.9/km2 (1,590.0/sq mi) in 2021.[16]
French Canadians make up more than 90% of the city's population. Less than 7% of the population is foreign-born or second generation immigrants.Anglo-Canadians make up less than 2% of Sorel-Tracy's inhabitants.
Population trend:[17]
| Mother tongue language (2021)[18]
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The city is home to the historicColisée Cardin, an ice hockey arena built in 1954. TheSorel Éperviers played there from 1969–77 and 1980–81. They advanced to the league final in 1974, losing thePresident's Cup (QMJHL) to theQuebec Remparts. Since the foundation of theLNAH (formerly QSPHL) in 1996, Sorel-Tracy has hosted a team for all but two seasons, 2008–2010. The team was known variously as Dinosaures, Mission, Royaux, GCI and HC Caverna before taking the nameSorel-Tracy Éperviers in 2012.
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