Donnacona () is an industrial town located about west 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 ...

in Portneuf County,

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 ...

History

Some people believe the city was named after Donnacona, a 16th-century St. Lawrence Iroquois chief who was taken to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The chieftain lived further down-river in Stadacona. It was actually named after the first

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

erected at the mouth of the Jacques-Cartier River, The Donnacona Paper Ltd. It was located where the Jacques-Cartier River meets the

St. 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. Lawren ...

. The local paper mill played a key role in creating and quickly developing the local settlement to the point of making Donnacona the most populous urban town in Portneuf County. Economic difficulties affected the lumber and

pulp and paper industry The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood, specifically pulpwood, as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard, and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process In the manufacturing process, pulp is intr ...

and the local factory was sold a number of times. In 2007, Bowater had a debt of $7 billion and merged with Abitibi-Consolidated. The merger was to sell off Abitibi's assets and close its mills for liquidity to settle Bowater's debt. It closed in January 2008. It had employed 240 people manufacturing of 230,000 tonnes per annum of commercial grade paper. The demolition was scheduled to take 12 to 14 months. For three years, the town unsuccessfully tried to find an entrepreneur to restart the industry. Demolition began in March 2011. Prior to the chartering of Donnacona as a town in 1915, the area was named Pointe-aux-Écureuils. A

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

Seigneurie existed under the name of Les Écureuils as a surrounding rural parish municipality prior to its final merge with Donnacona in 1967.

Geography

The Jacques-Cartier River forms the north-western boundary of the municipality, flowing south-west to its mouth in the estuary of St. Lawrence. The Rivière aux Pommes crosses the centre of the municipality from east to west towards its confluence with the Jacques-Cartier River.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population 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 ...

, Donnacona 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: 7,436 (2016 to 2021 population change: 3.3%) * Population in 2016: 7,200 * Population in 2011: 6,283 * Population in 2006: 5,564 * Population in 2001: 5,479 * Population in 1996: 5,739 * Population in 1991: 5,659 * Population in 1986: 5,435 * Population in 1981: 5,731 * Population in 1976: 5,800 * Population in 1971: 5,940 * Population in 1966: 4,815 * Population in 1961: 4,812 * Population in 1956: 4,147 * Population in 1951: 3,663 * Population in 1941: 3,064 * Population in 1931: 2,631 * Population in 1921: 1,225 Mother tongue: * English as first language: 1.0% * French as first language: 95.8% * English and French as first language: 0.9% * Other as first language: 2.0%

Economy

A Canadian National rail line through Donnacona borders the St. Lawrence. There is no rail station. The Federal Correctional Service Canada maximum security Donnacona Institution is located along Route 138.

Infrastructure

* Autoroute 40 passes through the town.

Sister cities

Its sister city is Jarnac,

Notable people

Gérald Gallant Gérald Gallant (born 5 May 1950) is a Canadian contract killer who admitted to committing 28 murders and 12 attempted murders between 1978 and 2003. Gallant typically killed in public by gunshots to the head, neck or chest, which became his trad ...

, (May 5, 1950), a

contract killer Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

who admitted to committing 28 murders and 12 attempted murders between 1978 and 2003.

References

External links

*
City Of Donnacona
{{authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Incorporated places in Capitale-Nationale