Amqui (; ) is a town in eastern

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada, at the base of the

Gaspé peninsula The Gaspé Peninsula, also known as Gaspesia (, ; ), is a peninsula along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River that extends from the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, Canada, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is separated from New Brunswick on it ...

Bas-Saint-Laurent The Bas-Saint-Laurent (, 'Lower Saint-Lawrence) is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlan ...

. Located at the confluence of the Humqui and Matapédia Rivers, it is the seat of

La Matapédia Regional County Municipality La Matapédia () is a regional county municipality (RCM) in eastern Quebec, Canada at the base of the Gaspé peninsula, in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. Its seat is in Amqui. It is named after the Matapédia River which runs through the western p ...

. The main access road is

Quebec Route 132 Route 132 is the longest highway in Quebec. It follows the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River from the border with the state of New York (state), New York in the hamlet of Dundee, Quebec, Dundee (connecting with New York State Route 3 ...

. The

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

word ''amgoig'', also written ''humqui'', ''unkoui'' and ''ankwi'', means "the place to have fun", "half wall" or "place of amusement and pleasure." Another

name for the area is ''Amkooĭk'' or ''Mkooögwĭk'' which aptly describes the area as "boggy." One source postulates that its name comes from the swirling water at the junction of the Humqui and Matapédia rivers. However, the most plausible explanation appears to be more pragmatic: Amqui was formerly a place where

Amerindians In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

gathered for

pow wow A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Inaugurated in 1923, powwows today are an opportunity for Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their ...

History

Originally

territory, the area was granted as a seignory by

Louis de Buade de Frontenac Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS Louis, HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy Se ...

to Charles-Nicolas-Joseph D'Amours in 1694. D'Amours died in 1728 and none of his descendants claimed the rights to the seigneury. So it remained a remote and undeveloped land until the 19th century. In 1830 construction began on the Kempt Road, a strategic military road between Quebec and the Maritimes, completed in 1833, that opened the area to colonization. But it was the construction of the

Intercolonial Railway The Intercolonial Railway of Canada , also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway (ICR), was a historic Canada, Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also compl ...

in the 1870s that brought real development. In 1879, the post office opened under the name Amqui. In 1881, the Mission of Saint-Benoît-Joseph-Labre was established, named after

Benedict Joseph Labre Benedict Joseph Labre, TOSF (, 25 March 1748 – 16 April 1783) was a French Third Order of Saint Francis, Franciscan tertiary, and Catholic Church, Catholic saint. Labre was from a well-to-do family near Arras, France. After attempting a monasti ...

. By 1884, the town became known as a great destination for salmon and trout fishing. In 1889, the mission became a parish and the following year it was incorporated as the Parish Municipality of Saint-Benoît-Joseph-Labre. In 1907, the village itself separated from the parish municipality and was incorporated as the Village Municipality of Saint-Benoît-Joseph-Labre, renamed to Amqui in 1948. It gained ''

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

'' status in 1961. In January 1991, the Parish Municipality of Saint-Benoît-Joseph-Labre was merged into the Town of Amqui. On March 13, 2023, a pickup truck hit eleven pedestrians along Route 132, killing three people and injuring eight.

Geography

Amqui is located to the south of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

in the Matapédia Valley, which was formed by the

Chic-Choc Mountains The Chic-Choc Mountains, also spelled Shick Shocks, form a mountain range in the central region of the Gaspé Peninsula, Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec, Canada. It is a part of the Notre Dame Mountains, which are a List of subranges of the Appalachian ...

. The valley is of glacial origin and was formed during the Paleozoic era millions of years ago. The region is characterized by gentle slopes through which the Matapédia river snakes from the northwest to the southeast. The city is located at the confluence of the Humqui and Matapédia rivers. The city is situated 415 km northeast of

Quebec City Quebec City 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 Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, 345 km west of Gaspé and 80 km north of

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. Neighbouring urban centres include

Rimouski Rimouski ( ; ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski, whose motto is ''Legi patrum fidelis'' (Faithful to ...

and

Mont-Joli Mont-Joli () is a city in the La Mitis Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It is the county seat. The city is located east of Rimouski near the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. History In ...

, at 105 km and 70 km to the west, respectively, and

Matane Matane () is a town on the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, Canada, on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Matane River. The town is the seat for the La Matanie Regional County Municipality. In addition to Matane itse ...

, 65 km to the north. Amqui is located 25 km east of Sayabec and 20 km northwest of

Causapscal Causapscal (; ) is a city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec, located in La Matapédia Regional County Municipality. It is located at the confluence of the Matapédia River, Matapédia and Causapscal Rivers, al ...

, the two largest municipalities of La Matapédia after Amqui. The city borders

Saint-Vianney Saint-Vianney () is a municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located in La Matapédia Regional Council Municipality. It was known as Saint-Jean-Baptiste-Vianney until 1988. History The first settlers arrived in 1918. In 1920, several ...

and Saint-Tharcisius to the north, Saint-Alexandre-des-Lacs to the east, Lac-au-Saumon and Saint-Léon-le-Grand to the south, as well as Sainte-Irène and Val-Brillant to the west. The Couturval hamlet is part of Amqui.

Climate

Amqui 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 cold ...

(''Dfb''). Being surrounded by the Chic-Chocs creates unique climatic conditions in the region: a long and snowy winter and a hot and humid summer.

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 Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Amqui 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. According to the Statistics Canada website, 6,090 of Amqui's 6,120 residents speak French as their first language. In addition, 12% can speak both French and English.

Government

Municipal

Members of the city council are elected every four years on the first Sunday of November and are conducted electronically. It is composed of seven members:

Federal and provincial

Provincially, Amqui is represented by Pascal Bérubé in the Matane-Matapédia electoral district. Federally, the city is represented by Kristina Michaud in the Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia electoral district.

Infrastructure

The two-storey

Amqui railway station Amqui station is a Via Rail station in Amqui, Quebec, Canada. Located on Boulevard Saint-Benoît Boulevard Ouest, it is a heated and semi-staffed shelter equipped with washrooms and is wheelchair-accessible. Amqui is served by Via Rail's ''Ocea ...

built in 1904, is served by

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

's ''

Ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

'', and Montreal – Gaspé trains (to 2013 when the latter service was suspended). Both trains share the same rail line between

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and Matapédia. The building was heritage-designated by the Canadian government under the ''

Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act The ''Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act'' () is an act of the Parliament of Canada. The ''Act'' was enacted in 1988 in response to a long-standing and widespread concern that Canada’s heritage railway stations were not being protected ...

'' in 1988. The station is representative of the boom at the turn of the century, and the associated expansion of the railways in general, the Intercolonial Railway of Canada (IRC) in particular. Amqui depended on the railway to transport their agricultural products and finished parts made of wood. Subsequently, Amqui became an important stop on the train's route from Montréal to Halifax, and from Montréal to Gaspé. The design of the station Amqui is unusual for a station of the IRC. It is distinguished by its two-storey design, housing the

station master The station master (or stationmaster) is the person in charge of a Train station, railway station, particularly in the United Kingdom and many other countries outside North America. In the United Kingdom, where the term originated, it is now lar ...

and his family on the top floor.Gare et wagon Lynnewood
" Ville d'Amqui. Retrieved on 25 June 2012.

Notable people

* Alfred Belzile - politician and farmer. *

Sébastien Caron Sébastien Caron , born on June 25, 1980, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He last played for the defunct Hamburg Freezers of the then Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Playing ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

for the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

* Cathy LeFrançois - IFBB professional bodybuilder

References

External links

Ville d'Amqui official site
{{Authority control 1870s establishments in Quebec Populated places established in the 1870s Cities and towns in Quebec Designated places in Quebec Incorporated places in Bas-Saint-Laurent La Matapédia Regional County Municipality