 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Bécancour, Quebec" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Bécancour | |
|---|---|
 Sainte-Angèle-de-Laval | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto(s): Vivre et grandir ("To live and to grow") | |
 Location within Bécancour RCM. | |
  Bécancour Location in southern Quebec. | |
| Coordinates:46°20′N72°26′W / 46.333°N 72.433°W /46.333; -72.433[1] | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Quebec |
| Region | Centre-du-Québec |
| RCM | Bécancour |
| Constituted | October 17, 1965 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Lucie Allard |
| • Federal riding | Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel |
| • Prov. riding | Nicolet-Bécancour |
| Area | |
• City | 494.60 km2 (190.97 sq mi) |
| • Land | 439.54 km2 (169.71 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 3.79 km2 (1.46 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 148 m (486 ft) |
| Population | |
• City | 13,561 |
| • Density | 30.9/km2 (80/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 4,748 |
| • Urban density | 1,252.8/km2 (3,245/sq mi) |
| • Pop 2016-2021 |  4.1% |
| • Dwellings | 6,348 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area code | 819 |
Highways A-30 A-55 |  R-132 R-226 R-261 |
| Website | www |
Bécancour (French pronunciation:[bekɑ̃kuʁ]) is acity in theCentre-du-Québec region ofQuebec, Canada; it is the seat of theBécancour Regional County Municipality. It is located on the south shore of theSaint Lawrence River at the confluence of theBécancour River, oppositeTrois-Rivières.
Wôlinak, anAbenakiIndian reserve, is anenclave within the town of Bécancour. They arrived fromNorridgewock,Maine (formerlyAcadia) in the aftermath ofFather Rale's War.
There was a small migration ofAcadians to the village (1759), after the British began theExpulsion of the Acadians from the Maritimes. Specifically, the Acadians migrated from present-dayNew Brunswick to avoid being killed or captured in theSt. John River Campaign.
The town of Bécancour was created October 17, 1965, from an amalgamation of eleven municipalities. Bécancour was one of the province of Quebec's firstamalgamated cities.[5] At the time, Bécancour was the largest city in Quebec in terms of land area (as of 2003, the title belongs toLa Tuque, Quebec).
Bécancour is now divided into sixsecteurs (lit. "sectors"):Bécancour,Saint-Grégoire,Gentilly,Précieux-Sang,Sainte-Angèle-de-Laval, andSainte-Gertrude. Bécancour, Saint-Grégoire and Gentilly, each located near the shore of theSaint Lawrence River, can be considered the main urban centres.Autoroute 55 intersectsAutoroute 30 andRoute 132 at Saint-Grégoire.
Bécancour is part of theTrois-Rivières metropolitan area; many residents work in Trois-Rivières and commute across theLaviolette Bridge daily.
Constituent municipalities of Bécancour included:[5]
And the villages of:
The town of Bécancour was created October 17, 1965, from an amalgamation of eleven municipalities. Bécancour was one of the province of Quebec's firstamalgamated cities.[5]
Anuclear power plant,Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station, was commissioned in 1983 in the Gentilly sector; it was decommissioned in 2012.[6]
Floral emblem:Lilac | Bird:Ruby-throated hummingbird | Slogan:De nature énergique |
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Bécancour had a population of13,561 living in6,034 of its6,348 total private dwellings, a change of4.1% from its 2016 population of13,031. With a land area of 439.54 km2 (169.71 sq mi), it had a population density of30.9/km2 (79.9/sq mi) in 2021.[7]
The economy of Bécancour, once mainly agricultural, shifted towards heavy industry andmanufacturing in the 1970s and 1980s. Anindustrial park was built in the area, attracting producers ofaluminum,magnesium,refractory metals, andpetroleum products;machine shops; and many related services, such asexcavators and sales of industrial parts.
The magnesium smelter was operated byNorsk Hydro,[8] and closed down by 2011.[9]
Despite its proximity to Trois-Rivières, Bécancour has a vibrant culture and identity of its own. The city hosts ahot air balloon festival,[10] a weekly public marketplace, abiodiversity museum and interpretation centre, and a maritimepumpkin race.[11]
Adjacent Municipal Subdivisions | |
|---|---|
| Subdivisions ofBécancour Regional County Municipality | |
|---|---|
| Cities | |
| Municipalities | |
| Parishes | |
| |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
