L'Ancienne-Lorette () 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 central

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. It is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of and an enclave within

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 ...

. It was merged with Quebec City on January 1, 2002, as part of a 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec, but, after a 2004 referendum, it was reconstituted as a separate city on January 1, 2006. Its history dates to 1674, when a group of Huron (Wyandot) fleeing war with the Iroquois settled there under the protection of the French. It was founded as a mission village by the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

s. The Wyandot left after a few decades, and French settlers took over the land.

History

The

missionary Pierre Chaumonot in 1674 founded a settlement here when he built a chapel for the Huron (Wyandot). Following his third and final trip to the shrine of Loreto in Italy, Chaumonot was cured of a terrible headache. In gratitude, he placed the colony under the patronage of Our Lady of the

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

, but it is still commonly called Lorette. In 1697, the Huron left the village in search of better land for hunting and fishing. Afterward the site became known in French as ''Vieille-Lorette'' ("Old Loreto") or'' Ancienne-Lorette'' ("Former Loreto"). A new location became known as Nouvelle-Lorette ("New Loreto") or Jeune-Lorette ("Young Loreto"). That site roughly corresponds to the Loretteville of today. A year later in 1698, the Parish of Notre-Dame-de-l'Annonciation was established. In 1948, the place was incorporated as the village municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. In 1967, it gained town status and took back its original name, L'Ancienne-Lorette, to distinguish itself from the Notre-Dame-de-Lorette Lac-Saint-Jean region. Until 1971, L'Ancienne-Lorette was the gateway to Quebec's International Airport. It used to be known as L'Ancienne-Lorette Airport. In 1971 the rural section of the town that included the airport was annexed by Sainte-Foy. On January 1, 2002, L'Ancienne-Lorette was merged with Quebec City as part of a province-wide municipal reorganization and became part of the Laurentien borough of that city. After a 2004 referendum, it regained independent city status on January 1, 2006.

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 ...

, L'Ancienne-Lorette 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 Canada 2021 Census:Statistics Canada 2021 Census
L'Ancienne-Lorette community profile
/ref> *Population: 16,970 *% Change (2016–2021): +2.6 *Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 7,314 (total dwellings: 7,516) *Area (km²): 7.72 km² *Density (persons per km²): 2,197.0 *Mother tongue: ** English as first language: 1.1% ** French as first language: 94.2% ** English and French as first language: 0.8% ** Other as first language: 3.5% Population trend: * Population in 2021: 16,970 (2006 to 2011 population change: 2.6%) * Population in 2016: 16,543 * Population in 2011: 16,745 * Population in 2006: 16,516 * Population in 2001: 15,929 * Population in 1996: 15,895 * Population in 1991: 15,242 * Population in 1986: 13,747 * Population in 1981: 12,935 * Population in 1976: 11,694 * Population in 1971: 8,304 * Population in 1966: 5,691 * Population in 1961: 3,961 * Population in 1956: 3,464 * Population in 1951: 2,516 In 2021, L'Ancienne-Lorette was 94.3% White, 1.6% Black, 1.2% Latin American and 1% Arab.

Economy

Quebecair Express, prior to its disestablishment, had its headquarters in the city."World Airline Directory." ''Flight International''. 30 March - 5 April 2004
58

Notable people

* Félix Auger-Aliassime (raised in L'Ancienne-Lorette), Canadian professional tennis player, junior singles and doubles US Open champion * Patrice Bergeron, retired NHL hockey centre * Mario Marois, NHL defenceman, principally for the Quebec Nordiques * Antoine Plamondon (ca. 1804–1895), artist * Évelyne Viens, Olympic gold medal-winning soccer player

References

External links