Alma ( 2021 Town population: 30,331; CA Population 33,018; UA Population 26,016) is a town in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, in the Canadian province of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, 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 ...

Geography

Alma is located on the southeast coast of Lac Saint-Jean where it flows into the

Saguenay River __NOTOC__ The Saguenay River () is a major river of Quebec, Canada. It drains Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian Highlands, leaving at Alma and running east; the city of Saguenay is located on the river. It drains into the Saint Lawrence River. ...

, in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of

, Canada, approximately 175 km north of

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

. Alma is the seat of Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality. Alma is the second city in population in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region after the city of Saguenay. Alma is the seat of the judicial district of Alma.

History

The present town of Alma was formed in 1962 from the merging of four villages: Isle-Maligne, Naudville, Riverbend and St-Joseph d'Alma. The oldest of the villages, St-Joseph-d'Alma, was founded in 1867 by Damase Boulanger. The area became an important industrial centre during the 1920s and 1930s with the construction of a hydro-electrical power station on the Grande-Décharge River, a paper mill (Price) and an aluminum smelting plant ( Alcan), all of which are still in activity today. In 2002, Alma merged with the Municipality of Delisle. Both modern day Alma and St-Joseph d'Alma are named after the Battle of the Alma.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, Alma 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 trend: * Population in 2021: 30,915 * Population in 2011: 30,904 (2006 to 2011 population change: 3%) * Population in 2006: 29,998 * Population total in 2001: 30,126 ** Alma (''ville''): 25,918 ** Delisle (municipality): 4,208 * Population in 1996: ** Alma (''ville''): 26,127 ** Delisle (municipality): 4,256 * Population in 1991: ** Alma (''ville''): 25,910 ** Delisle (municipality): 4,281 Mother tongue: * English as first language: 0.5% * French as first language: 98.5% * English and French as first language: 0.1% * Other as first language: 0.9%

Transportation

Alma is serviced by the Alma Airport, located 4.1 km to the south of the town.

Notable people

* Camille Bedard, hockey player * Chris Boucher, basketball player for the Toronto Raptors * Lucien Bouchard, former premier of Québec *

Guy Cloutier Guy Cloutier (born 11 February 1940 in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian music producer and talent manager. Cloutier adapted reality TV to the Quebec market. Entertainers Stéphanie Cloutier and Véronique Cloutier are his daughters. The f ...

, producer and artist manager *

Guillaume Desbiens Guillaume Desbiens (born April 20, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames. Playing career As a youth, Desbiens played in the 199 ...

, hockey player *

Charles Hudon Charles Simard-Hudon (born June 23, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Winger who is currently playing for the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was drafted 122nd overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2012 NHL Ent ...

, hockey player for the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

Pierre Lapointe Pierre Lapointe (born 23 May 1981) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. His work largely follows in the tradition of French chanson, though he is influenced by modern pop music. Defining himself as a "popular singer", he has built an egocentric pe ...

, singer *

Émilie Fortin Tremblay Émilie Tremblay (née, Marie-Émilie Fortin; January 4, 1872 – April 21, 1949) was one of the first white women to cross the Chilkoot on the way to the Yukon gold fields. She was French-Canadian and the founder, and first president, of the ...

(1872-1949), one of the first white women to cross the Chilkoot on the way to the Yukon gold fields * François-Louis Tremblay, Olympic gold medallist short-track speed skater * Mario Tremblay, hockey player and former coach of the

References

External links

Ville d'Alma
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Quebec