Blanc-Sablon () is a municipality located on the shore of Blanc-Sablon Bay, in the Strait of Belle-Isle, Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent RCM,

Côte-Nord Côte-Nord (Region 09) (, ; ) is an List of regions of Quebec, administrative region of Quebec, on the Quebec-Labrador peninsula, Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, Canada. The region runs along the St. Lawrence River and then the Gulf of St. Lawrence, ...

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The municipality is made up of the merger of the villages Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon, Blanc-Sablon and Brador. With a population of 1,122 inhabitants in 2021, it is the most populous of Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent RCM.

History

The place was already known to early European explorers who may have named it after the fine white sand of the eponymous bay (''blanc'' means "white", whereas ''sablon'' is the diminutive form of ''sable'' meaning "sand"). Or it may be named after Blancs-Sablons Cove in

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

, home town of

Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier (; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French maritime explorer from Brittany. Jacques Cartier was the first Europeans, European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, wh ...

, who landed at the place in 1534 and set up a cross near the current site of Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Basque and Portuguese fishermen seasonally frequented the area. In 1704, Augustin le Gardeur de Courtemanche, landlord of the lower Côte-Nord at that time, built Fort Pontchartrain at the current location of Brador. Permanent settlement did not begin until the 19th century with the arrival of

French Canadians French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the provi ...

Acadians The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...

, and

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

settlers. In 1858, the Mission of Longue-Pointe-de-Blanc-Sablon was established and took the name Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon or Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes at the end of 19th century. In 1884, the post office opened. The area was first incorporated in 1963 as part of the Municipality of

Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent () is a municipality in the regional county municipality of Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. The municipality consists of two non-contiguous areas, both al ...

, but separated on January 1, 1990, and became the Municipality of Blanc-Sablon. 100 acres (50 hectares) of land in Blanc-Sablon were designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

in 2007, as they contain over 60 archaeological sites relating to 9000 years of human occupation, including the Archaic,

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

and European periods.

Geography

Blanc-Sablon is located on the north coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence near the entrance of the

Strait of Belle Isle The Strait of Belle Isle ( ; ) is a waterway in eastern Canada, that separates Labrador from the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Location The strait is located in the southeast of the ...

. Two significant bays, Brador and Blanc-Sablon, mark its shores and the headland that separates these bays is dominated by Mont Parent, a high flat-topped hill named after Martin Parent, a local fisherman in the middle of the 19th century. The municipality borders

to the south-west, and

L'Anse-au-Clair L'Anse-au-Clair is a town in the Labrador portion of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Touching the small portion of Labrador’s southern ocean, the town has a population of 219 in the 2021 census, up from 192 in 2011. It is located on Route ...

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

, to the north-east. Barrachois

The estuary of the Brador River and Blanc-Sablon River has a

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

designated barachois, separated from the sea by

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

or gravel. Seawater enters at high tide. The Blanc-Sablon archipelago is located off the coasts of the villages of Blanc-Sablon and Brador and includes Long Island, Lazy Island, Basin Island, Island of the Parrots, Wood Island and Greenly, housing the Bird Sanctuary of Brador Bay. The municipality of Blanc-Sablon has several land protrusions into the Gulf of St. Lawrence; from east to west, they are Point Saint-Charles, Morel's Point, Lazy Point, Hunting Point, "À la Barque" Point, Cape Crow and Point Jones.

Time zone

Blanc Sablon is located in the

Atlantic Time Zone The Atlantic Time Zone is a geographical region that keeps standard time—called Atlantic Standard Time (AST)—by subtracting four hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC), resulting in UTC−04:00. AST is observed in parts of North America ...

(Atlantic Standard Time or AST). The offset of the applicable time relative to UTC is -04:00 In accordance with the applicable time and longitude, the average solar noon in Blanc Sablon occurs at 11:48. Blanc Sablon is the only village where local time coincides with zone time.

Climate

Blanc-Sablon experiences a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfc''). It has short, cool summers, and very long and snowy winters: the mean snowfall is . Although its latitude is only 51 degrees north, and its climate is tempered by the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, it experiences a much colder climate than other localities at the same latitude due to the cold

Labrador Current The Labrador Current is a cold current in the North Atlantic Ocean which flows from the Arctic Ocean south along the coast of Labrador and passes around Newfoundland, continuing south along the east coast of Canada near Nova Scotia. Near Nova Sco ...

. For example,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, on the same latitude, has an annual mean that is nearly milder, and inland

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, despite being around above sea level, is still almost warmer despite recording extreme minima about colder.

Communities

The municipality includes three villages: Blanc-Sablon, Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon, and Brador Bay.

Blanc-Sablon

Blanc-Sablon is located about one kilometre (1000 yards) east of Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon directly on the Blanc-Sablon Bay. It had a population of 116 in 2016. The wharf and the ferry to St. Barbe, Newfoundland and Labrador are located in the town.

Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon

Indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

Basques The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...

Bretons The Bretons (; or , ) are an ethnic group native to Brittany, north-western France. Originally, the demonym designated groups of Common Brittonic, Brittonic speakers who emigrated from Dumnonia, southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwal ...

, English and

frequented, at different times, the waters of the territory of this important village on the Quebec-Labrador Peninsula. Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon () is the largest community in the municipality, and is located on the headland that separates Brador Bay from Blanc-Sablon Bay. It was originally known as Longue-Pointe (Long Point) until the beginning of the 20th century. It has a small natural harbour, and long depended on the fishing business.

Brador

Brador or Brador Bay () is on the eastern shore of the namesake bay, north of the village of Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon. While known in the 18th century as Fort Pontchartrain and Phélipeaux Bay, its current name is the shortened form of Labrador. In French, the syllable ''la'' is a

definite article In grammar, an article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech. In English, both "the" ...

, and in documents from the 17th and 18th century, this syllable was considered as such and separated from the rest of the name. François Martel de Brouague, the King's Commander of this region from 1714 to 1760, referred to this location as: "''A la Baye de Phélipeaux, coste de la Brador''" ("At the Bay of Phélipeaux, coast of the Brador").

Demographics

Population

Language

Transportation

Sea access

Being at the eastern end of

region, Blanc-Sablon is served by the '' Bella Desgagnés'' a passenger/cargo ship sailing, from the St. Lawrence Estuary to Gulf of St. Lawrence and

, connecting with the coastal communities of

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 ...

, Sept-Îles, Port-Menier (Anticosti Island),

Havre-Saint-Pierre Havre-Saint-Pierre () is a municipality located on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in Côte-Nord region, Minganie RCM, Quebec, Canada. History In 1857, a group of Acadian families arrived, in 1872, the Parish of Saint-Pierre-d ...

, Natashquan, Kegaska, La Romaine, Harrington Harbour, Tête-à-la-Baleine, La Tabatière, Saint-Augustin and Blanc-Sablon. This service is funded by the

Government of Quebec The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to refer to the executive of the day (i.e. Minister of the Crown, mini ...

. The ferry service's main goal is to make up for the gap in Route 138, which remains unbuilt between Kegashka and Old Fort (in Bonne-Espérance). Blanc-Sablon is also the northern terminus of a ferry service across the

to the island of Newfoundland, mainly serving as a connection with nearby

. This -long ferry service, operated by the

Roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

MV ''Qajaq W'', is funded entirely by the government of

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

and connects with a southern terminus at St. Barbe on Newfoundland island's

Great Northern Peninsula The Great Northern Peninsula (or simply just the Northern Peninsula) is the largest and longest peninsula of Newfoundland, Canada, approximately 270 km long and 90 km wide at its widest point and encompassing an area of 17,483 km2. ...

. During winter months, ice conditions sometimes require the service to divert to

Corner Brook Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,316 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrado ...

instead of St. Barbe. Ports of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on the

Shore: Blanc-Sablon, Harrington Harbor, Natashquan,

, Mingan, Port-Menier (

Anticosti Island Anticosti () is an island located between the Jacques Cartier and Honguedo Straits, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in L'Île-d'Anticosti (Municipality), Minganie MRC, Côte-Nord, Quebec, Canada. UNESCO's World Heritage On September 19, 2023, ...

Cap-aux-Meules Cap-aux-Meules (, "Grindstone") is a List of former municipalities in Quebec, former village, now a sector of the municipality of Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec. It is located on Cap aux Meules Island (Grindstone Island), part of the Magdal ...

( Îles-de-la-Madeleine). File:N.M. Bella-Desgagnés 2019-05-20 Rimouski.jpg, Motor vessel Bella-Desgagnes loading at Rimouski-Est, port, St. Lawrence Estuary, Quebec File:BlancSablon FerryWharf.JPG, Blanc-Sablon ferry terminal, Blanc-Sablon Bay,

File:2022-08-26 01 QAJAQ W - IMO 9474060.jpg, Labrador Marine

cargo, QAJAQ W, leaving the terminal at St. Barbe,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

Road access

At present, Blanc-Sablon is inaccessible directly via the rest of the Quebec road network. From the west, Route 138 has been built to the village of Kegashka; then following a gap, a segment restarts at the village of Old Fort and continues to Blanc-Sablon, ending at the border with Labrador near

where it becomes the

Trans-Labrador Highway The Trans-Labrador Highway (TLH) is the primary public road in Labrador, the mainland portion of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The highway's total length is . The paving of the entire highway was completed in July 2022. The ...

(Route 510). To travel to the rest of Quebec from Blanc-Sablon, a traveller can take the Relais Nordik ferry (not drive-on/off, but can accommodate cars in shipping containers), or drive via Route 510 through Labrador for approximately to re-enter Quebec at the town of

Fermont Fermont (; ) is a mining city in Côte-Nord region, Quebec, Canada, near the Quebec-Labrador border about from Labrador City on Route 389, which connects to the Trans-Labrador Highway (Newfoundland and Labrador Route 500). It is the seat o ...

; then of Route 389 from Fermont to

Baie-Comeau Baie-Comeau () is a city in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the shores of the St. Lawrence River, and is the seat of Manicouagan Regional County Municipality. It is near the mouth of the Manicouagan Ri ...

, passing to the east of

Manicouagan Reservoir Manicouagan Reservoir (also Lake Manicouagan ; ) is an annular lake in central Quebec, Canada, covering an area of . The lake island in its centre is known as René-Levasseur Island, and its highest point is Mount Babel. The structure was c ...

. From there Route 138 leads west to points further on like

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 ...

Montreal 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 ...

. This trip by the north (between Baie-Comeau and Blanc-Sablon) is . Once Route 138 is eventually completed, the road distance between Baie-Comeau and Blanc-Sablon is estimated to be between to ; thereby reducing the distance about 38%. The Quebec government annually plans, invests and works towards connecting Quebec with Labrador via Blanc-Sablon with the completion of Route 138.

Air travel

The Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon Airport provides scheduled air service to Blanc-Sablon.

Education

Centre de services scolaire du Littoral operates: * Mgr-Scheffer School (anglophone and francophone) in Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon * St-Theresa School (for adults) in Blanc-Sablon

References

External links

Blanc-Sablon tourist information page
{{authority control Municipalities in Quebec Incorporated places in Côte-Nord Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Designated places in Quebec Road-inaccessible communities of Quebec Populated coastal places in Canada