Drummondville () 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

Centre-du-Québec Centre-du-Québec (, ''Central Quebec'') is a region of Quebec, Canada. The main centres are Drummondville, Victoriaville, and Bécancour. It has a land area of and a 2016 census population of 242,399 inhabitants. Description The Centre-du- ...

region of

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, ...

, located east of

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 ...

on the

Saint-François River The Saint-François River (, ) is a right tributary of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. Its source is Lake Saint-François in Chaudière-Appalaches, southeast of Thetford Mines. It flows southwest towards Sherbrooke, where it changes ...

. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 79,258. The mayor of Drummondville is Stéphanie Lacoste. Drummondville is the seat of

Drummond Regional County Municipality Drummond () is a regional county municipality in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, Canada. The seat is Drummondville. Subdivisions There are 18 subdivisions within the RCM: ;Cities & Towns (1) * Drummondville ;Municipalities (12) * Dur ...

, and of the

judicial district A judicial district or legal district denotes the territorial area for which a legal court (usually a district court) has jurisdiction. By continent Europe Austria In texts concerning Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Aus ...

of Drummond.

History

Drummondville was founded in June 1815 by Lieutenant-Colonel

Frederick Heriot Frederick George Heriot (11 January 1786 – 30 December 1843) was a British army officer, who fought in the War of 1812 and subsequently became a landowner and administrator in Canada. Biography Of mixed Scottish and Irish ancestry, he ...

. The purpose of the town was to provide a home for

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

soldiers in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, and to guard the Saint-François (St Francis) River against

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

attacks. The town was named after Sir

Gordon Drummond General Sir Gordon Drummond, GCB (27 September 1772 – 10 October 1854) was a Canadian-born British Army officer and the first official to command the military and the civil government of Canada. As Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, Drum ...

, the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

between 1813 and 1816. The construction of the Hemmings Falls hydro-electric dam in 1920 brought a new wave of industrial growth to the Drummondville area. Several outlying municipalities have been amalgamated into Drummondville since the 1950s: *1955: Saint-Joseph de Grantham, Saint-Jean-Baptiste *1966: Drummondville-Ouest *1982: Drummondville-Sud *1993: Grantham *2004: Saint-Nicéphore, Saint-Charles-de-Drummond, Saint-Joachim-de-Courval

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 ...

, Drummondville 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. In 2021, Drummondville was 92.7% White/European, 5.6% visible minorities and 1.7%

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

. The largest visible minority groups were

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

(2.1%),

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

(1.5%) and

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

(1.3%).

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

was the mother tongue of 93.8% of the population. The next most common first languages were

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

(1.4%),

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

(1.1%), and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

(0.9%). 0.7% of residents listed both French and English as mother tongues, while 0.4% listed both French and a non-official language. 71.9% of residents were

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

in 2021, down from 90.8% in 2011. 64.4% were

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, 5.6% were Christian n.o.s, 0.8% were

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, and 1.0% belonged to other Christian denominations or Christian-related traditions. 26.0% of the population was non-religious or secular, up from 8.4% in 2011. Other religions and spiritual traditions accounted for 2.0% of the population, up from 0.8% in 2011. The largest non-Christian religion was

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(1.7%).

Attractions and culture

Drummondville markets itself as Quebec's Capital of Expression and Traditions, with attractions focusing on culture, both past and present. The main attractions are the Village Québécois d'Antan. Since 2008 Drummondville has hosted ''Festival de la Poutine'', towards the end of August; during three days people are invited to attend concerts there, and to savour several kinds of

poutine Poutine () is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with a hot brown gravy. It emerged in Quebec in the late 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec region, though its exact origins are uncertain, and there are several competing claims regar ...

, a Canadian dish of provincial origin. From 1982 to 2017, Drummondville was home to the Mondial des Cultures, one of the largest folk dance festivals in the world. Founded in 2017, Drummondville has also a huge amusement fun park named Laser Force which offers laser tag, indoor mini golf, arcades, virtual reality, indoor climbing and arcades. This 18000 square feet facility is located inside Swift Galey.

Climate

Drummondville 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 DFB may refer to: Music * Dem Franchize Boyz, an Atlanta hip hop group * Dysfunctional Family BBQ, a New York festival Sport * DFB-Pokal, a football cup competition in Germany Organisations * Furka Steam Railway (), Switzerland * German Footbal ...

) with warm, rainy summers and cold, snowy winters.

Sports

Drummondville is home to the

Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

(QMJHL)'s

Drummondville Voltigeurs The Drummondville Voltigeurs are a Canadian junior ice hockey team of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The franchise was originally granted for the 1982–83 season, and is based in Drummondville, Quebec, playing its home game ...

, founded in 1982. The team plays its home games at

Centre Marcel Dionne The Centre Marcel Dionne is a 4,000 capacity (3,038 seated) multi-purpose arena in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada. It is home to the Drummondville Voltigeurs Ice hockey team. It is named in honour of Marcel Dionne Marcel Elphège Dionne (born ...

. Drummondville also has another arena, Olympia Yvan-Cournoyer. Drummondville and

Victoriaville Victoriaville () is a town in south-central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of ...

co-hosted the 2013 World U-17 Hockey Challenge. Prior to the Voltigeurs, Drummondville was home to the

Drummondville Rangers The Drummondville Rangers were a junior ice hockey team that played in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada. They originally played in the Quebec Junior Hockey League, but became a founding member of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 1969. They we ...

of the QMJHL from 1969 to 1974. Drummondville also was host to several baseball teams in the

Quebec Provincial League The Provincial League, sometimes known as the Quebec Provincial League, was a minor league baseball league based in the Canadian province of Quebec. It went through a number of incarnations during the 20th century, spending time as both an independ ...

in the 1940s and 1950s. The

Drummondville Tigers The Drummondville professional baseball team was a member of the now extinct Provincial League (baseball), Quebec Provincial League and operated in Drummondville, in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec. The team went through many incarnations ov ...

in 1940, the Drummondville Cubs from 1948-1952, the Drummondville Royals in 1953, and the Drummondville A's in 1954. The Autodrome Drummond holds various automotive races throughout the summer season. La Courvalloise is used for tubing, skiing, and snowboarding.

Economy

Drummondville is home to the Promenades Drummondville regional

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

which has 109 stores. MicroBird by Girardin has its headquarters in Drummondville.

Transportation

;Highways Drummondville is served by Autoroutes 20 and 55. ;Local transit Intra-city transit has been operated since 1987 by Drummondville Transit, which currently operates city bus services on six routes headquartered at the main bus terminal at Des Forges and Lindsay Streets. Service runs at half-hour intervals Monday to Saturday and hourly on Sundays. ;Intercity buses Intercity highway coach service is provided by Orléans Express and Groupe La Québécoise. Major destinations include the nearby cities 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 ...

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-Hyacinthe ( , ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie regi ...

, and

Thetford Mines Thetford Mines (; Canada 2021 Census population 26,072) is a city in south-central Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of Les Appalaches Regional County Municipality. The city is located in the Appalachian Mountains, 187 km east-northeast of Mo ...

. ;Intercity rail Passenger train service towards Montreal and Quebec City is provided 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 ...

. Drummondville is part of the high-traffic

Quebec City–Windsor Corridor The Quebec City–Windsor Corridor () is the most densely populated and heavily industrialized region of Canada. As its name suggests, the -long region extends from Quebec City in the northeast to Windsor, Ontario in the southwest. With more tha ...

, and trains run at a rate of about five per day in either direction from the Drummondville railway station. ;Air General aviation services are available at the Drummondville Airport and the Drummondville Water Aerodrome.

Education

Drummondville is home to the

Cégep de Drummondville A CEGEP ( or ; , ; also written CÉGEP and cegep) is a publicly funded college providing general, professional, academic or a mix of programs; they are exclusive to the province of Quebec's education system. A loanword from French, it orig ...

, a public

French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...

CEGEP A CEGEP ( or ; , ; also written CÉGEP and cegep) is a publicly funded college providing general, professional, academic or a mix of programs; they are exclusive to the province of Quebec's education system. A loanword from French, it ori ...

. Drummondville is served by two school boards, the English-language

Eastern Townships School Board The Eastern Townships School Board, also known as the Commission Scolaire Eastern Townships, is an anglophone school board covering the Eastern Townships in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of 2010, it over ...

and the French Centre de services scolaire des chenes.

Notable people

Louise Bédard Louise Bédard (born 1955) is a Canadian dancer, choreographer and teacher who is active on the contemporary dance. Biography After completing her dance training, notably with Groupe Nouvelle Aire, Louise Bédard was quickly noticed as a talent ...

, dancer and choreographer *

Jean Bégin Jean Bégin (1944 – November 20, 1991) was a Canadian ice hockey coach and convicted sex offender. He worked six seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and one season in the Nationale 1A league in France. He was the first ...

, ice hockey coach * Serge Boisvert, professional hockey player *

Alex Bourret Alex Bourret (born October 5, 1986) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who most notably played in the American Hockey League (AHL). Playing career His first season in the QMJHL was in the 2002–03 season, where he played with ...

, professional hockey player *

Yvan Cournoyer Yvan Serge Cournoyer (born November 22, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens for 16 seasons, from 1963 to 1978, winning the Stanley Cup 10 times. In 19 ...

, professional hockey player *

Gilbert Dionne Gilbert Dionne (born September 19, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played six seasons in the National Hockey League from 1990–91 until 1995–96. He is the younger brother of Hockey Hall of Famer Marcel Dio ...

, professional hockey player *

Marcel Dionne Marcel Elphège Dionne (born August 3, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre (ice hockey), centre. He played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers be ...

, professional hockey player *

Nancy Drolet Nancy Drolet (born August 2, 1973) is a Canadian ice hockey player, international public speaker and philanthropist. She is the daughter of Denis Drolet and Viviane Dubé. Nancy has won 6 gold medals for Canada with the Canadian women's hockey te ...

, Olympic silver medalist in hockey *

Jessica Dubé Jessica Dubé (born October 29, 1987) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater who is best known for her pairs career with Bryce Davison. They are the 2008 World bronze medallists, the 2009 Four Continents silver medallists, and three-ti ...

, Olympic ice skater * Robert Dupuis, 28th Canadian

Surgeon General Surgeon general (: surgeons general) is a title used in several Commonwealth countries and most NATO nations to refer either to a senior military medical officer or to a senior uniformed physician commissioned by the government and entrusted with p ...

* Mickaël Gouin, actor and comedian * Alan Haworth, professional hockey player * Gordie Haworth, professional hockey player *

Kaïn Kaïn is a folk rock group from Drummondville, Quebec, Canada."Kaïn : Pop culture"
''Voir'' ...

, musical group *

Patrick Lalime Patrick Lalime (born July 7, 1974) is a Canadian ice hockey commentator and former professional ice hockey player who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators, St. Louis Blues, Chica ...

, professional hockey player *

Yvon Lambert Yvon Pierre Lambert (born May 20, 1950) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward. Lambert was born in Drummondville, Quebec. Although drafted in 1970 by the Detroit Red Wings, Lambert started his Nat ...

, professional hockey player *

Bernard Lemaire Bernard Lemaire (May 6, 1936 – November 8, 2023) was a Canadian businessman. He was the Chairman of the Board of Cascades Inc., a Canadian manufacturer of packaging products, tissue products, and fine papers products. Biography Born in Dru ...

, businessman * Danick Martel, professional hockey player *

Renée Martel Renée Martel (26 June 1947 – 18 December 2021) was a French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in ...

, country singer *

Éric Messier Éric Messier (born October 29, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers. Playing career As a youth, Messier played ...

, professional hockey player * Louis Morissette, actor and screenwriter *

Lester Patrick Curtis Lester Patrick (December 31, 1883 – June 1, 1960) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach associated with the Victoria Aristocrats/Cougars of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA; Western Hockey League (WHL) after ...

, professional hockey player * Jean-Luc Pepin, politician * Mathieu Perreault, professional hockey player *

Michel Plante Michel Plante (born January 19, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the World Hockey Association (WHA). Drafted in the fifth round of the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Plante opted to play ...

, professional hockey player *

Kim Poirier Kim Jacinthe Poirier (born February 6, 1980) is a Canadian actress, singer, film producer, and television host. Biography Personal life Poirier is fluent in both French and English. Professionally trained in yoga, she has studied numerology, ...

, actress *

Patrick Senécal Patrick Senécal is a French-Canadian writer and scenarist known for his horror oriented drama novels. Senécal is well known in Québec for his unique dark genre; his work has often been compared to that of Stephen King. Three of his novels wer ...

, writer *

Karine Vanasse Karine Vanasse (, ; born 24 November 1983) is a Canadian actress, who had roles in the films '' Polytechnique'', '' Séraphin: Heart of Stone (Séraphin: un homme et son péché)'', ''Switch'' and '' Set Me Free (Emporte-moi)''. Internationally ...

, actress * John P. Webster, bank executive *

A Perfect Murder ''A Perfect Murder'' is a 1998 American crime thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and written by Patrick Smith Kelly. Loosely based on Frederick Knott’s 1952 stage play ''Dial M for Murder'', the film stars Michael Douglas and Gwynet ...

, musical group *

Les Trois Accords Les Trois Accords is a Canadian rock band from Drummondville, Québec. The band released their first album, '' Gros Mammouth Album,'' in 2003. In 2004, ''Gros Mammouth Album Turbo'' (certified Platinum by the Music Canada) was released with two e ...

, musical group *

Yves-François Blanchet Yves-François Blanchet (; born April 16, 1965) is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the Bloc Québécois (BQ) and member of Parliament (MP) for Beloeil—Chambly since 2019. Blanchet was born in Drummondville, Quebec, ...

, politician, Leader of the

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (, , BQ) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion o ...

Sister cities

La Roche-sur-Yon La Roche-sur-Yon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vendée Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire Regions of France, region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is '' ...

Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...

, France *

Braine-l'Alleud Braine-l'Alleud (; ; ) is a Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, about south of Brussels. The municipality consists of the following districts: Braine-l'Alleud ...

Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant ( ; ; ) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and the provinces of Liège, Namur and Hainaut. Walloon Br ...

, Belgium *

Community of Communes Ackerland The Community of Communes Ackerland (French: ''Communauté de communes Ackerland'') is a former France, French Communauté de communes, intercommunal structure gathering most of the commune of France, communes of the Ackerland natural region, next t ...

and

Kochersberg The Kochersberg () is a natural region of the French département of Bas-Rhin in Alsace and is a part of the hills found along the eastern side of the Vosges mountains. It gave its name to the Communauté de communes du Kochersberg, a cooperatio ...

History

Demographics

Attractions and culture

Climate

Sports

Economy

Transportation

Education

Notable people

Sister cities

See also

Notes

References

External links