Victoriaville

Victoriaville (French pronunciation:[viktɔʁjavil]) is a town in south-centralQuebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat ofArthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of theCentre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of Arthabaska, Saint-Victoire-d'Arthabaska and Victoriaville, the name of the last being used for the merged town.^[5]

Victoriaville
City
Ville de Victoriaville
Victoriaville Town Hall
Logo
Motto: Santé urbaine
Location within Arthabaska RCM.
Victoriaville Location in southern Quebec.
Coordinates:46°03′N71°58′W / 46.050°N 71.967°W /46.050; -71.967^[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Centre-du-Québec
RCM	Arthabaska
Constituted	June 23, 1993
Government ^[2]
• Mayor	Antoine Tardif [fr]
• MP	Alain Rayes (IND)
• MNA	Éric Lefebvre (IND)
Area ^[2]^[3]
• City	86.20 km² (33.28 sq mi)
• Land	84.20 km² (32.51 sq mi)
• Urban	35.27 km² (13.62 sq mi)
• Metro ^[4]	153.29 km² (59.19 sq mi)
Elevation	148 m (486 ft)
Population (2016)^[3]
• City	45,309
• Density	516.2/km² (1,337/sq mi)
• Urban	46,322
• Urban density	1,313.4/km² (3,402/sq mi)
• Metro ^[4]	46,354
• Metro density	302.4/km² (783/sq mi)
• Pop 2011-2016	7.25%
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	G6P to G6T
Area code	819
Highways	R-116 R-122 R-161 R-162 R-263
Website	www.victoriaville.ca

Description

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Victoriaville's size and location have earned it the titleCapitale des Bois-Francs, referring to the Bois-Francs region of the province. Victoriaville produces numerous hardwood products, including furniture, caskets, andhockey sticks.^[6] The town was home to the famousVictoriaville hockey company.

SirWilfrid Laurier Museum

The Parc-Linéaire Des Bois-Francs bike trail traverses Victoriaville. There are many paths for cyclists throughout the town, including ones leading to the summit of Mont Arthabaska, at the southern limits of the town. The Laurier Museum is located in the home of former Prime MinisterWilfrid Laurier, which is designated Wilfrid Laurier HouseNational Historic Site.^[7]

Many festivals are held throughout the year including the Week-end En Blues series of concerts, theFestival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV) in the spring, and the Exposition Agricole in the summer.

Investment in the industrial park has buoyed the town and spurred new residential and commercial development. It is the home of a prominentLactantia dairy factory, two shopping malls ("La Grande Place des Bois-Francs" and "Le Carrefour des Bois-Francs", this one has been renamed and became "le Centre de Victoriaville"), theCégep de Victoriaville, and a quaint yet vibrant downtown core/shopping area on Rue Notre-Dame.Victoriaville Airport, located at the town's northern limits close toRoute 116, is a regional airport that receives business flights and light private planes.

The current mayor of Victoriaville isAntoine Tardif who was elected as mayor of Victoriaville in the2021 mayoral election.

Victoriaville is the seat of the judicial district of Arthabaska.^[8]

History

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Victoriaville railway station in 1909

Cross on top of Mount Arthabaska remade in 1929.

The Victoriaville area was known to the nativeAbenaki peoples as Arthabaska orAwabaska, meaning "place of bulrushes and reeds". The area was first claimed in 1802 by a fur trader named John Gregory; the first settlers began arriving several decades later, beginning around 1825. Early colonists from the banks of theSaint Lawrence River arrived slowly, blazing trails as they went; the first provincial road would be built in 1844. The parish of Saint-Christophe d'Arthabaska was established in 1851, an event that many see as marking the town's true foundation. In 1854 a train station was erected to serve theGrand Trunk Railway line fromRichmond toLévis, uniting the region withMontreal andQuebec City. The municipality of Victoriaville itself was created on May 8, 1861, named to honourQueen Victoria, the reigning monarch at the time. Victoriaville became a full-fledged town in 1890, having reached a population of 1,000.^[9]

Among the many milestones in the growth of Victoriaville are the establishment of a hospital, the Hôtel-Dieu d'Arthabaska, in 1931; the opening of a seminary, the Collège du Sacré-Coeur, in 1942; the creation of a school specialized in cabinet making and woodworking, the École Québécoise du Meuble et du Bois Ouvré (ÉQMBO), in 1965; and the inauguration of theCégep de Victoriaville in the space previously occupied by the Collège du Sacré-Coeur, in 1969. Train service through Victoriaville was discontinued in 1960; the disused train tracks were eventually removed and the space was transformed into bicycle paths, forming the Parc Linéaire — with a "Vélogare" replacing the old station. In March 1941, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) established No. 3 Initial Training School, at the Collège du Sacré-Coeur. The RCAF school trained potential pilots and Navigators on common topics and divided the trainees into their trades. The RCAF school was closed in November 1944.^[10]

In June 1993, after a referendum on amalgamation, the municipalities of Sainte-Victoire-D'Arthabaska, Arthabaska and Victoriaville merged to form the town of Victoriaville. The aboriginal name "Arthabaska", unique and well-appreciated by residents, was retained in several ways, notably in the name of the regional county municipality and in the name of the highest (and only) mountain that overlooks the town; as well, in 2004, the section ofRoute 116 that passes through Victoriaville was renamed boulevard Arthabaska.

Economy

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Textiles, wood products and furniture products have long been the heart of the economy, but their presence have declined in the past years. A large Lactantia factory producing butter, cheeses and other dairy products has been a major employer for decades. Water filtered from Réservoir Beaudet is said to be some of the best water worldwide.

Arts and culture

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The Carré 150 is Victoriaville's principal venue for professional performing and visual artists. Each year, the programme includes over 250 performances in music, theatre, comedy, dance, repertory films and more. The complex comprises four spaces: a large Italian-style auditorium with 855 seats, a black box cabaret with 260 seats or 500 standing for general admission, a rehearsal studio and a contemporary art exhibition centre, the Centre d'art Jacques-et-Michel-Auger. The Grand foyer Victoriaville-et-sa-région, remarkable for its vast windows, hosts numerous cocktail parties, often extending into the Lounge Laurier or the Terrasse Daniel-Gaudreau.^[11]

Media

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The weekly newspaperLa Nouvelle-Union, is a major source of the town's local news, since national news organisations tend to run larger stories affecting larger areas or cities.

Two radio stations,CFJO ("O97,3") andCFDA ("Passion-Rock 101,9") serve Victoriaville. Both stations air programming produced partially in Victoriaville and partially inThetford Mines.CKYQ ("KYQ FM"), a station licensed toPlessisville, also has a studio and a transmitter in Victoriaville.

Demographics

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In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Victoriaville had a population of47,760 living in21,864 of its23,106 total private dwellings, a change of3.5% from its 2016 population of46,130. With a land area of 84.33 km² (32.56 sq mi), it had a population density of566.3/km² (1,466.8/sq mi) in 2021.^[12]

Change in Population^[13]
Year	Population	Variation (%)
2011	43,462	7.4%
2006	40,486	4.2%
2001	38,841	1.7%
1996	38,174	4.9%
1991	36,392	4.4%
1986	34,869	–

Sports

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Jean Béliveau (August 31, 1931 – December 2, 2014), ten-timeStanley Cup winner with theMontreal Canadiens, was raised in Victoriaville after moving there fromTrois-Rivières at a young age.

The town is currently home to theVictoriaville Tigres junior hockey team, who have played in theQMJHL since 1987. They play at theColisée Desjardins.