Centre-du-Québec (, ''Central Quebec'') is a region 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 thirte ...

, Canada. The main centres are

Drummondville Drummondville is a city in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, located east of Montreal on the Saint-François River. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 79,258. The mayor of Drummondville is Stéphanie Lacoste. Drummondville is ...

Victoriaville Victoriaville is a town in central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of Arthabaska ...

, and Bécancour. It has a land area of and a 2016 Census population of 242,399 inhabitants.

Description

The Centre-du-Québec region was established as an independent administrative region of Quebec on July 30, 1997 (in effect August 20 upon publication in the Gazette officielle du Québec); prior to this date, it formed the southern portion of the

Mauricie–Bois-Francs Mauricie–Bois-Francs was a former administrative region of Quebec. It ceased to exist on July 30, 1997 (or August 20, 1997, upon publication in the Gazette officielle du Québec) when it was split into the modern-day administrative regions of M ...

region (the northern part of which is now known simply as

Mauricie Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making it a prime tourist location. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km² (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...

). Centre-du-Québec is not located in the geographic centre of Quebec, though it is approximately located in the centre of the southern portion of the province. Some consider the name Bois-Francs to be synonymous with the Centre-du-Québec region; others see it as being synonymous with

Arthabaska Regional County Municipality Arthabaska Regional County Municipality is a regional county municipality located in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec. Its seat is Victoriaville. Subdivisions There are 23 subdivisions within the RCM: ;Cities & Towns (4) * Daveluyvill ...

, with its main city

earning the title ''Capitale des Bois-Francs'' (capital of the Bois-Francs). The Centre-du-Québec is a primarily

agricultural 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 peopl ...

region known as the

breadbasket The breadbasket of a country or of a region is an area which, because of the richness of the soil and/or advantageous climate, produces large quantities of wheat or other grain. Rice bowl is a similar term used to refer to Southeast Asia; and C ...

of Quebec; major products include

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to ani ...

and

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, qu ...

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

products, as well as food crops such as

cereal A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the edible flower, flowers, ...

s, and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

s such as

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...

s and

cranberries Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry m ...

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

is also a major industry; the name "Bois-Francs" refers to the French term for

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

, referring to the high density of hardwood forests in the area. Other major industries of the area include

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The Energy recycling, recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability t ...

woodworking Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mate ...

and

cabinetmaking A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (so ...

. The Centre-du-Québec region derives great benefit from its central location; major centres such as

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- ...

and

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 ...

are within an hour and a half's drive, while secondary centres such as

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional cou ...

and

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

are close at hand.

Administrative divisions

Regional county municipalities

Nation Waban-Aki

The Centre-du-Québec region is home to several thousand members of the Wabanaki Nation. They are scattered throughout the region, with two major population centres: *

Odanak, Quebec Odanak is an Abenaki First Nations reserve in the Central Quebec region, Quebec, Canada. The mostly First Nations population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 481. The territory is located near the mouth of the Saint-François River at its conflu ...

* Wôlinak, Quebec

Major communities

* Bécancour *

Daveluyville Daveluyville () is a city in the Centre-du-Québec region of the Canadian province of Quebec. It was founded by Adolphe Daveluy, the grandfather of organist Raymond Daveluy and soprano Marie Daveluy. It is north of Autoroute 20. Its populatio ...

* Nicolet * Plessisville (city) * Plessisville (parish) * Princeville

Saint-Christophe-d'Arthabaska Saint-Christophe-d'Arthabaska is a parish municipality located in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, Canada. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistiqu ...

Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover is a Quebec municipality located in the Drummond Regional County Municipality just east of Drummondville in the Centre-du-Quebec region. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 4,389. The town is located alon ...

Saint-Germain-de-Grantham Saint-Germain-de-Grantham is a municipality in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 4,551. Saint-Germain-de-Grantham was the birthplace of Marie Rose Ferron. Demographics Population Populati ...

* Saint-Léonard-d'Aston *

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

* Wickham

Highways

Main highways in the region include: * Autoroute 20 * Autoroute 30 * Autoroute 55 * Route 116 * Route 122 * Route 132 * Route 161

References

External links

Centre-du-Québec official website

Centre-du-Québec government portalCentre-du-Québec tourist site

Toile Jeunesse
a regional youth-oriented portal *
CRÉ
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