Saint-Félicien is a city in the Canadian province of

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 ...

. The town is located within the

Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality Le Domaine-du-Roy ''(The King's Domain)'' is a regional county municipality in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada. Its seat is in Roberval, and it is named for the King of France, who owned the land at the time of the colonizat ...

in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. Its population as of 2021 is 10,089.

Geography

The municipality is located on the western shores of

Lac Saint-Jean Lac Saint-Jean (Canadian French: ) is a large, relatively shallow lake in south-central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated north of the Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the Saguenay River. It covers an are ...

north of Roberval, near the mouth of the

Ashuapmushuan River The Ashuapmushuan River is a river in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of the Canadian provinces of Quebec. It starts at the outlet of Lake Ashuapmushuan, and flows first in a north-easterly direction for about whereafter it continues south- ...

. It is accessible from

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 ...

and northern Quebec via

Quebec Route 167 Route 167 is an isolated provincial highway in Quebec, Canada. It begins at the shore of Lac Saint-Jean in Saint-Félicien. It proceeds north-west to Chibougamau away. There are no services along this long stretch. At Chibougamau, the highway tur ...

and from locations around the lake and elsewhere across central and southern Quebec via

Quebec Route 169 Route 169 begins south of Lac Saint-Jean, Quebec, Canada, at Route 175. It proceeds north to Lac Saint-Jean at Alma and encircles the lake, returning to Alma and its terminus in Hebertville. Municipalities along Route 169 * Lac-Pikauba * L ...

History

The town was founded in 1864 when the first settlers from

Charlevoix Charlevoix ( , ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands ...

and

Chicoutimi Chicoutimi () is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and com ...

arrived. It became a municipality in 1882 and the parish was established in 1884 before becoming a city in 1976 after a merger.

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and saw wood were the predominant economic activities across the region in addition to hunting, fishing and dairy. The railroad started to serve the area in 1917.

Wood pulp Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibers from wood, fiber crops, waste paper, or rags. Mixed with water and other chemical or plant-based additives, pulp is the major raw mate ...

became a major contributor in the local economy starting in the 1970s.Topos sur le Web : Résultat cartographique
/ref> In 1971, the Cégep de Saint-Félicien opened in the city. It continues to be the primary college for the city and neighbouring towns such as Normandin and

Dolbeau-Mistassini Dolbeau-Mistassini is a town in northern Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Mistassibi River, Riviere aux Rats and the Mistassini River, on Lac Saint-Jean. Dolbeau-Mistassini is in the Maria-Chapdelaine Regional County Municipality and i ...

. It is the only college in Québec that offers classes in forestry. In 1996, the municipality of Saint-Methode was merged with Saint-Felicien as part of a municipal re-organization in the area.

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 ...

, Saint-Félicien 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. In 2021, the median age was 48.4, as opposed to 41.6 for all of Canada. French was the

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

of 98.5% of residents in 2021. The next most common mother tongues were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; ht, kreyòl ayisyen, links=no, ; french: créole haïtien, links=no, ), commonly referred to as simply ''Creole'', or ''Kreyòl'' in the Creole language, is a French-based creole language spoken by 10–12million people wor ...

, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, all at 0.3%. 0.4% reported both English and French as their first language. As of 2021,

Indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

comprised 5.0% of the population, most of whom were

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

, and visible minorities contributed 1.6%. The largest visible minority groups in Saint-Félicien are Black (0.8%), Southeast Asian (0.3%), and Latin American (0.3%). In 2021, 74.0% of the population identified as

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, a 20.7% decrease from 2011, while 17.3% said they had no religious affiliation.

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

were the largest religious minority, making up 1.3% of the population. Counting both single and multiple responses, the most commonly identified ethnocultural ancestries were: ''(Percentages may total more than 100% due to rounding and multiple responses).'' Population trend:Statistics Canada:

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

census * Population in 2011: 10278 (2006 to 2011 population change: -1.9%) * Population in 2006: 10,477 * Population in 2001: 10,622 * Population total in 1996: 10,797 ** Saint-Félicien (''ville''): 9,599 ** Saint-Méthode (municipality): 1,198 * Population in 1991: ** Saint-Félicien (''ville''): 9,340 ** Saint-Méthode (municipality): 1,048

Zoo

The main attraction of the municipality is the wildlife zoo founded in 1960. The attraction contains about 80 different species including the

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

Arctic fox The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in co ...

Canada goose The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...

snowy owl The snowy owl (''Bubo scandiacus''), also known as the polar owl, the white owl and the Arctic owl, is a large, white owl of the true owl family. Snowy owls are native to the Arctic regions of both North America and the Palearctic, breeding mos ...

Canada lynx The Canada lynx (''Lynx canadensis''), or Canadian lynx, is a medium-sized North American lynx that ranges across Alaska, Canada, and northern areas of the contiguous United States. It is characterized by its long, dense fur, triangular ears ...

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), also called simply a black bear or sometimes a baribal, is a medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. American black bear ...

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs and ...

American bison The American bison (''Bison bison'') is a species of bison native to North America. Sometimes colloquially referred to as American buffalo or simply buffalo (a different clade of bovine), it is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the ...

and the

black-tailed prairie dog The black-tailed prairie dog (''Cynomys ludovicianus'') is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the United States-Canada border to the United States-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, ...

. Until 1994, the zoo contained various exotic animals but today it contains almost exclusively species native to the boreal climate. In the last years, the zoo acquired animal species living in boreal climate from all around the world, such as:

Siberian tiger The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies ''Panthera tigris tigris'' native to the Russian Far East, Northeast China and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korean Peninsula, but currently inhabit ...

Japanese macaque The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the gr ...

red-crowned crane The red-crowned crane (''Grus japonensis''), also called the Manchurian crane or Japanese crane (; the Chinese character '丹' means 'red', '頂/顶' means 'crown' and '鶴/鹤' means 'crane'), is a large East Asian crane among the rarest cran ...

and the

Bactrian camel The Bactrian camel (''Camelus bactrianus''), also known as the Mongolian camel or domestic Bactrian camel, is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of Central Asia. It has two humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped drom ...

References

External links

Website of the Saint-Felicien Wildlife Zoo

Commission de Toponymie du Quebec
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Felicien, Quebec Cities and towns in Quebec

Geography

History

Demographics

Zoo

See also

References

External links