Grande-Rivière (, literally ''Great River'') is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Québec Quebec is Canada's 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, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

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 ...

. In addition to Grande-Rivière itself at the mouth of the namesake , the town's territory also includes the communities of Grande-Rivière-Ouest, Petite-Rivière-Ouest, and Petit Pabos. Its economy is based on the

fishing industry The fishing industry includes any industry or activity that takes, cultures, processes, preserves, stores, transports, markets or sells fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including recreational, sub ...

. It is home to two processing plants, as well as offices of the provincial

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

and federal

Department of Fisheries and Oceans Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; ) is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and scientific interests in oceans and inland ...

. The Marine Agricultural Centre is also located there.

History

In 1697, Jacques Cochu was granted the seignory of Grande-Rivière, named after the namesake river that drains there into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. By the middle of the 18th century, about 70 families were living there, but in 1758, the place was destroyed by General James Wolfe's army during the Gulf of St. Lawrence campaign during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. By 1795, the seignory was owned by Charles Robin, whose company established fishery operations in Grande-Rivière, opening a fish processing plant in 1828. In 1840, the Parish of Assomption-de-Notre-Dame-de-la-Grande-Rivière was founded. In 1845, the Municipality of Grande-Rivière was created, abolished in 1847, and reestablished in 1855. In 1853, its post office opened under the English name Grand River (Francized in 1933). On December 19, 1931, the main population centre split off to form the separate Village Municipality of Grande-Rivière, but it was annexed into the Municipality of Grande-Rivière on February 1, 1967. On September 21, 1974, the City (''Ville'') of Grande-Rivière was formed through the merger of the Municipality of Grande-Rivière, the Municipality of Grande-Rivière-Ouest (founded in 1932 as Petite-Rivière-Ouest), and the Municipality of Petit-Pabos (founded in 1955).

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 ...

, Grande-Rivière 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.

Government

List of former mayors: * Romuald Boutin (...–2009) * Bernard Stevens (2009–2017) * Gino Cyr (2017–present)

Attractions

L'Église de Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption is a large Roman Catholic church with 1,500 seats, which was completed in 1893. The church has a Casavant organ dating from 1954.

Education

The

Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles is a bilingual college of general and vocational education (known by the French acronym CEGEP), with an English section, in Gaspé, Quebec, Canada. The CEGEP is affiliated with the ACCC, and CCAA. Campus Th ...

operates its ''École des pêches et de l’aquaculture du Québec'' (Quebec School of Fisheries and Aquaculture) in Grande-Rivière.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grande-Riviere, Quebec Cities and towns in Quebec Incorporated places in Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine