Chapais is a community in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, located on Route 113 near

Chibougamau Chibougamau () is the largest town in Nord-du-Québec, central Quebec, Canada. Located on Lake Gilman it has a population of 7,504 people (2016 Canadian Census). Chibougamau is surrounded by, but not part of, the local municipality of Eeyou Istc ...

in the

Jamésie Jamésie is a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) of Nord-du-Québec, Canada. Its geographical code is 991 and together with Kativik TE and Eeyou Istchee TE it forms the administrative région and census division (CD ...

region. It is surrounded by, but not a part of, the local municipality of

Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government (french: Gouvernement régional d’Eeyou Istchee Baie-James, cr, ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᐊᔅᒌ ᒉᐃᒥᔅ ᐯᐃ ᐊᔅᒌᐤ ᑎᐹᔨᐦᒋᒑᐎᓐ, italic=no ) is a local municipality in the (TE) in ...

. The community was first settled in 1929, when prospector Léo Springer discovered deposits of copper, silver and gold in the area, and was incorporated as a city in 1955. It was named for

Thomas Chapais Sir Joseph Amable Thomas Chapais (March 23, 1858 – July 15, 1946) was a French Canadian author, editor, historian, journalist, professor, and politician. Born in Saint-Denis, Quebec (then Canada East), the son of Jean-Charles Chapais, a ...

History

Opémisca Copper Mines operated the community's mine until 1991. More recently, with the closure of the mines the community's primary industry has been forestry, and the community opened the first

cogeneration Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elect ...

plant in Quebec to produce electricity from the sawmill's waste matter. On the night of January 1, 1980, at 1:30 a.m., 48 people were killed when a fire destroyed the Opémiska Community Hall. Fifty others were injured and rushed to

hospital. This fire was the worst to occur in Quebec for more than 40 years. The fire started in wreaths of dried branches and other Christmas decorations, and the ensuing chaos that followed quickly blocked access to the main entrance. Several people managed to escape in time, but the tragedy left deep scars in the community. Chapais had a population of 1,610 in the Canada 2011 Census. A crater on Mars is named after this community.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Chapais had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Population: * Population in 2011: 1610 ** 2006 to 2011 population change: −1.2% * Population in 2006: 1630 * Population in 2001: 1795 * Population in 1996: 2030 * Population in 1991: 2391 Mother tongue: * English as first language: 0.6% * French as first language: 94% * English and French as first language: 0% * Other as first language: 5.4%

Climate

Chapais has a marginal

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

(

Koppen Koppen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Dan Koppen (born 1979), American football offensive lineman * Erwin Koppen (1929–1990), German literary scholar * Luise Koppen (1855–1922), German author * Wladimir Köppen (1846� ...

: Dfc) just a shade colder than the

humid continental A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(

: Dfb) areas to the south. Winters are bitterly cold, but summers are relatively warm during daytime, but nights remain relatively cool. As such the yearly mean is just above freezing. Summers have high rainfall and winters are quite snowy.

References

External links

Ville de Chapais
{{authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Incorporated places in Nord-du-Québec James Bay Jamésie