La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central

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 thirte ...

, Canada, on the

Saint-Maurice River The Saint-Maurice River (french: Rivière Saint-Maurice; Atikamekw: ''Tapiskwan sipi'') flows north to south in central Quebec from Gouin Reservoir to empty into the Saint Lawrence River at Trois-Rivières, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. ...

, between Trois-Rivières and

Chambord Chambord can refer to: * Chambord (liqueur), a brand of raspberry-flavored liqueur * Château de Chambord, a French ''château'' built in the 16th century * Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, the French commune where the ''château'' is located * Chambord, ...

. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

. At over 28,000 square kilometres, it is the largest city in Canada by area. The city is known as the Queen of Haute-Mauricie. The ''Classique internationale de canots de la Mauricie''

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

ing race begins at La Tuque.

Etymology

The name, which dates to the eighteenth century, originates from a nearby rock formation which resembles the well-known French-Canadian hat known as the tuque. The hat-shaped mountain which gave its name to the town of La Tuque is located between the

(left bank) and the WestRock paper mill. The summit of this mountain is about 245 metres. It is located 200 metres from the river and about 400 metres upstream (northeast side) of the La Tuque hydroelectric power plant. In 1823–24, the explorer François Verreault described the location as: In Canada, a ''tuque'' ("tuque" in French) is a knitted cap, often with a tassel at the top, worn as a head covering in winter.

History

The territory of La Tuque was first inhabited by Atikamekw Indigenous people. In the early 1850s, settlers were drawn to the area to exploit the forest resources. The La Tuque Post Office opened in 1887, but the area remained isolated from the rest of the Mauricie until the early 1900s when the National Transcontinental Railway was built, prompting industrial development and the growth of a community on the east bank of the

where there was a large set of falls. On November 15, 1909, the Village Municipality of La Tuque was incorporated, with Achille Comeau as first mayor. A few months later on April 4, 1910, the Village Municipality of La Tuque Falls was formed, with Wenceslas Plante as first mayor. Less than one year later in March 1911, both villages merged to form the Town of La Tuque, with Wenceslas Plante as first mayor. In the 1940s, the hydro-electric generating station on the

was built, resulting in the partial destruction of the rock formation that gave the town its name. In 1972, the Municipality of Haute-Mauricie was formed out of portions from the unincorporated Carignan and Malhiot Townships, in the proximity of the

Saint-Maurice Wildlife Reserve The Saint-Maurice Wildlife Reserve is a wildlife reserve to the north of Shawinigan, Quebec. The reserve is located west of the Saint-Maurice River in the territory of the Mekinac Regional County Municipality. Like all wildlife reserves, this a ...

. However, its low population and constantly rising administrative costs led to the merger of Haute-Mauricie with La Tuque in August 1993. On March 26, 2003,

Le Haut-Saint-Maurice Regional County Municipality Le Haut-Saint-Maurice Regional County Municipality was a former regional county municipality and census division in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada. It was formed on January 1, 1982, and dissolved on March 26, 2003, when it was amalgamated i ...

was dissolved and all its municipalities and unorganized territories were amalgamated into the new City of La Tuque, thereby becoming the largest municipality with city status in land area in Quebec, and largest in Canada (38,000 km²). On January 1, 2006, the municipalities of La Bostonnais and Lac-Édouard separated and were reestablished. In May 2010, some 120 forest fires broke out around La Tuque, burning until June. Smoke from these fires reached portions of Eastern Ontario and southern Quebec, including the cities of

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, as well as the northern US states.

Geography

While the urban area of La Tuque is relatively small, its entire territory is the largest city in Canada. It consists of almost all the entire former regional county municipality of Le Haut-Saint-Maurice, and includes the settlements of Carignan, Clova, La Croche, Fitzpatrick, Kiskissink, Oskélanéo, Parent, Rapide-Blanc, Rivière-aux-Rats, and Sanmaur. Enclosed by but not administratively part of the city are the three First Nations Reserves of Coucoucache, Obedjiwan, and

Wemotaci Wemotaci (designated as Weymontachie 23 until 1997) is a First Nations reserve on the north shore of the Saint-Maurice River at the mouth of the Manouane River in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada. Together with the Obedjiwan and the Coucou ...

. Notable bodies of water in La Tuque are: *

Gouin Reservoir The Gouin Reservoir () is a man-made lake, in La Tuque, in Mauricie, in the central portion of the Canadian province of Quebec, fully within the boundaries of the City of La Tuque. It is not one contiguous body of water, but the collective n ...

* Lake Kiskissink *

Lake Wayagamac The Wayagamac Lake is located in the city of La Tuque in La Tuque (census division), in Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. Until 2006, the territory of the lake was part of the former unorganized territory of Petit-Lac-Wayagamac (Little Wayagamac L ...

* Grand Lake Bostonnais * Ventadour Lake (La Tuque) Notable rivers in La Tuque are: *

* Vermillon River (La Tuque) *

Manouane River (La Tuque) The Manouane River flows from west to east in the Haute-Mauricie (Upper-Mauricie), at northwest of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Lanaudière and Mauricie, in the Province of Quebec, Canada. The river basin is mostly covered by forest. ...

* Croche River (La Tuque) *

Bostonnais River The river Bostonais or Bostonians is a river of Canada, located in Quebec, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in La Tuque (urban agglomeration). Geography This river of 96 km takes its sources in main lakes, located at almost high ...

Little Bostonnais River The Little Bostonnais river flows westbound in the city of La Tuque, in Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. Geography From the mouth of Little Wayagamac Lake, Little Bostonnais River runs on 4.4 km (measured on water) before emptying into t ...

* Trenche River

Climate

La Tuque has a

humid continental climate 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 ...

( Köppen ''Dfb'') with warm summers and cold, snowy winters.

Demographics

Town

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 cultu ...

, La Tuque 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.

Territorial equivalent

The population of the La Tuque territorial equivalent according to the Canada 2011 Census is 15,130.

Economy

The local economy centres on pulp and paper; the city has a pulp-milling centre as well as a major hydroelectric station. As the gateway to the upper Mauricie, La Tuque's economy also offers outdoor tourism opportunities and caters to hunting and fishing trips in its large

hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associate ...

, which is partially regulated by the following ZEC's: * Zec de la Croche *

Zec de la Bessonne The Zec de la Bessonne is a " zone d'exploitation contrôlée" (controlled harvesting area) (ZEC) near La Tuque in administrative region of Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. A territory of was assigned in 1978 to the Zec. The Zec is managed by the ...

* Zec Borgia *

Zec Frémont The ZEC Frémont is a "zone d'exploitation contrôlée" (controlled harvesting area) (ZEC) located in administrative region of Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. This public hunting and fishing area is managed by the "Association de chasse et pêch ...

* Zec du Gros-Brochet * Zec Jeannotte, Québec * Zec Kiskissink * Zec Menokeosawin * Zec Tawachiche * Zec Wessonneau

Transportation

The main highway is Quebec Route 155 that connects La Tuque with Shawinigan to the south and the

Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (, ) is a region in Quebec, Canada. It contains the Saguenay Fjord, the estuary of the Saguenay River, stretching through much of the region. It is also known as Sagamie in French, from the first part of "Saguenay" and t ...

region to the north. Numerous forest roads provide access to remote hunting and fishing camps, and the village of Parent is accessible by a long gravel road from

Mont-Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and i ...

in the Laurentides region. The

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

dissects La Tuque's territory. This railway, built in 1910 by the National Transcontinental Railway, connected

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

to the Canadian Prairies and goes through vast wilderness areas of northern Quebec and Ontario. While it was intended to ship grain from the prairies to the Port of Quebec and to open up virgin territories, it never carried much rail traffic. However, it is still serviced by Via Rail at the La Tuque railway station and Parent railway station, with request stops at Fitzpatrick, Oskélanéo, and Clova. Other sidings along the line are Casey, Hibbard,

Cann Cann may refer to: *Cann (surname), a list of people with the name *Cann River, a river of Victoria, Australia *Cann, Dorset, a village in England *Edward du Cann, British businessman and politician *Claire and Antoinette Cann pianists, known as t ...

, Sanmaur, Vandry, Windigo, and Rapide-Blanc-Station. The La Tuque Airport is located directly south of the town's centre on Route 155. La Tuque Water Aerodrome is located just north of the city centre.

Government

Urban agglomeration

La Tuque centre-ville et rivière Saint-Maurice

The Urban agglomeration of La Tuque is an urban agglomeration that consists of: *the city of La Tuque, *the municipality of La Bostonnais, *the municipality of Lac-Édouard. The agglomeration comprises the elements of the redefined city of La Tuque as it existed after amalgamation on March 26, 2003, including the two municipalities that chose to de-merge on January 1, 2006. The agglomeration of La Tuque succeeded to the regional county municipality of Haut-Saint-Maurice, which was created in 1982 from part of the Quebec ridings's (county's) of Champlain electoral district, of Quebec electoral district of Saint-Maurice and of Abitibi. Le Haut-Saint-Maurice was dissolved during the merger of all municipalities in 2003 to create the city of

La Tuque La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 sq ...

. Following the referendum on recreating La Bostonnais and Lac-Édouard, the agglomeration of La Tuque was created to allow municipalities to manage in common some competencies.

Census division

La Tuque is a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and census division (CD) of

, with geographical code 90. The TE of La Tuque consists of: *the municipalities of the urban agglomeration of La Tuque, namely :*the city of La Tuque :*the municipality of La Bostonnais :*the municipality of Lac-Édouard *three

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." In ...

s, namely :* Coucoucache :*

:* Obedjiwan

List of mayors

The Mayor is the municipality's highest elected official. La Tuque has had fifteen mayors, since its incorporation as a city. Liste des maires, Ville de La Tuque, 1909 à 2009

Notable residents

* (November 19, 1939 – May 28, 2009), animator, humourist and actor * , actor * Mathieu Fortin, writer * Maude Guérin, actress * , environmentalist *

Félix Leclerc Félix Leclerc, (August 2, 1914 – August 8, 1988) was a French-Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, writer, actor and '' Québécois'' political activist. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on December 20, 1968. Leclerc was posth ...

(August 2, 1914 – August 8, 1988), singer-songwriter, poet, writer, actor and Québécois political activist *

Sylvie Roy Sylvie Roy (November 4, 1964 – July 31, 2016) was a Canadian politician in Quebec and a Member of the National Assembly for the electoral district of Arthabaska. She previously represented the riding of Lotbinière from 2003 until 2012, initia ...

, politician * , TV reporter * James Renald, musician * Gaétan Barrette, politician

References

External links

*
City of La Tuque official website
*

*
service de publicitées...
*

*
Eau Quai Saint-Maurice (Kayaking on St. Maurice River)
*
Tourisme Mauricie
Regional tourist office *
Association des stations de ski du Québec
Ski area profile in English {{Authority control Cities and towns in Quebec