Shawinigan (; ) is a city located on the

Saint-Maurice River The Saint-Maurice River (, ; ) is one of the main tributaries of the St. Lawrence River, after the Ottawa River, Ottawa and the Saguenay River, Saguenay Rivers and drains an area of 42,735 km2. It touches the Lac Saint-Jean, Lake Saint John waters ...

in the

Mauricie Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making tourism in Mauricie popular. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km2 (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...

area in

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 had a population of 49,620 as of the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, 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%, whic ...

. Shawinigan is also a

territory equivalent to a regional county municipality An equivalent territory (, ), formally known as territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (), is a territorial unit used by Statistics Canada and the Institut de la statistique du Québec. Quebec is divided into 87 regional county m ...

(TE) and

census division Census divisions, in Canada and the United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-level census geographic uni ...

(CD) of

, coextensive with the city of Shawinigan. Its geographical code is 36. Shawinigan is the seat 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 Saint-Maurice. The name Shawinigan has had numerous spellings over time: Chaouinigane, Oshaouinigane, Assaouinigane, Achawénégan, Chawinigame, Shawenigane, Chaouénigane. It may mean "south portage", "portage of beeches", "angular portage", or "summit" or "crest". Before 1958, the city was known as Shawinigan Falls. Shawinigan is the birthplace of former

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

History

In 1651, the Jesuit priest Buteaux was the first European known to have travelled up the Saint-Maurice River to this river's first set of great falls. Afterwards, missionaries going to the Upper Saint-Maurice would rest here. Before Shawinigan Falls was established, the local economy had been largely based on

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

and

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

Boomtown

In the late 1890s, Shawinigan Falls drew the interest of foreign entrepreneurs such as John Joyce and

John Edward Aldred John Edward Aldred (May 15, 1864 – November 21, 1945) was an American business executive and financier. He was director of United Railways and Electric Company of Baltimore, Maryland. Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city ...

of the

Shawinigan Water & Power Company Established in 1898, the Shawinigan Water & Power Company was one of the dominant, privately owned Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric companies in Canada until 1963, when it became a part of Hydro-Québec. History Shawinigan Water & Power Company ...

(SW&P), and of Hubert Biermans of the Belgo Canadian Pulp & Paper Company because of its particular geographic situation. Its falls had the potential to become a favorable location for the production of

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

. In 1899, the SW&P commissioned

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 ...

engineering firm Pringle and Son to design a

grid plan In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogon ...

for a new industrial town on the banks of the

, providing the ground work for what would become Downtown Shawinigan. In 1901, the place was incorporated as the Village Municipality of Shawinigan Falls and gained town (''ville'') status a year later in 1902. The hydro-electric generating station contributed to rapid economic growth and the town achieved several firsts in

Canadian history The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians to North America thousands of years ago to the present day. The lands encompassing present-day Canada have been inhabited for millennia by Indigenous peoples, with di ...

: first production of

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

(1901),

carborundum Silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum (), is a hard chemical compound containing silicon and carbon. A wide bandgap semiconductor, it occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite, but has been mass-produced as a powder ...

(1908),

cellophane Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria, and liquid water makes it useful for food packaging. Cellophane is highly permeable to water vapour, but may be coate ...

pellets (1932). Shawinigan Falls also became one of the first Canadian cities with electric

street lighting A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, streetlamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution b ...

Urban growth

For decades, the local

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit * Pulp (band), an English rock band Engineering * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture ...

and

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

and

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

industries created thousands of jobs and stimulated city growth (see Sketch Map of Urban in Shawinigan, 1899-1951). Urban development steadily increased in Downtown Shawinigan Falls. By 1921, this sector was densely filled with commercial buildings on Fourth and Fifth street, as well as Station Avenue, one-family residences along the Riverside corridor (current-day St-Maurice Drive) and multi-story tenements elsewhere. The

Olmsted Brothers The Olmsted Brothers company was a Landscape architecture, landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape ar ...

design firm was hired by the city to implement a beautification program. By the late 1920s, Downtown Shawinigan Falls was home to a public market, a fire station, a technical school, several church buildings and two landscaped public parks, including the Saint-Maurice Park. Many of the opulent uphill homes located in the somewhat secluded areas of Maple Street and Hemlock Avenue were occupied by more affluent people, many of whom happened to belong to the once vibrant

English-speaking The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

community, which at times comprised more than 30% of the local population. As industrial plants began operation eastward and northward, neighbourhoods were established in Uptown Shawinigan Falls. The emergence of these new districts was defined by and intertwined with the parish structure of the Roman Catholic Church. The Saint-Marc neighbourhood, originally known as Village St-Onge, was annexed in 1902, extending the city limits to Dufresne Street. The uptown presence of the Canadian Carborundum and Alcan no. Two plants favoured the foundation of the Christ-Roi neighbourhood, which was annexed in 1925, extending the city limits to St Sacrement Boulevard. The land now occupied by the section of town currently known as Shawinigan-Est was annexed in 1932. Uptown Shawinigan Falls had its own fire station by 1922 and its own landscaped public park and swimming pool by 1940. Westside near the Shawinigan River, the existence of the pulp and paper Belgo plant attracted enough residents to form a small, yet stable independent urban community called Baie-de-Shawinigan. Across the Saint-Maurice River,

Shawinigan-Sud Shawinigan-Sud is a predominantly French-speaking settlement in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River. In 1996, its population was 11,804. History Shawinigan-Sud was incorporated as a village in 1912 and was called Alm ...

(then Almaville) maintained home-rule and developed as a residential hub.

Great Depression

Local

prosperity Prosperity is the flourishing, thriving, good fortune and successful social status. Prosperity often produces profuse wealth including other factors which can be profusely wealthy in all degrees, such as happiness and health. Competing notions ...

was interrupted by the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

in the 1930s. Many plants were forced to temporarily reduce or stop their production, which left many residents jobless. Many families needed public assistance to survive. The City Council enacted a

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

program to help families. The promenade along the Saint-Maurice River was a project to create work during the depression.

World War II

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

put Shawinigan Falls, and many others cities in Canada, back on the path of

economic recovery An economic recovery is the phase of the business cycle following a recession. The overall business outlook for an industry looks optimistic during the economic recovery phase. During the recovery period, the economy goes through a process of ec ...

. During hostilities, the windows of local

power plants A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many power ...

were painted black to prevent any possible

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

aerial attack. The Shawinigan-based 81st Artillery Battery was called to active duty during World War II. Its members were trained in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

from 1940 to 1944 and contributed to the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

' effort in the

Normandy Landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

in 1944-45, which led to the Liberation of

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 ...

. In 1948, a

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...

, known as Monument des Braves, was erected in downtown Shawinigan Falls at the intersection of Fourth Street and Promenade du Saint-Maurice (then Riverside Street) near the

, in honour of soldiers who died during that conflict as well as

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Rise of the working class

By the early 1950s, the industrial growth in Shawinigan Falls was such that the city offered the steadiest employment and the highest wages in Quebec. Due to this advantageous position, Shawinigan Falls became a hot bed for

organized labor The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

and bargaining power. The rise of its working class also favoured the presence of numerous independently owned taverns.

Labour unions

As its working class gained economic ground and political leverage, Shawinigan Falls became fertile ground for labour unions. The workers of the Belgo pulp and paper plant went on strike in 1955. In the 1952 provincial election,

Shawinigan Shawinigan (; ) is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 49,620 as of the 2021 Canadian census. Shawinigan is also a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) ...

sent a Liberal member to the

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

. The gesture was largely considered an affront to

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis, (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959) byname "Le Chef" (, "The Boss"), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A Conservatism in Canada, conservative, Quebec nationalism, ...

, who responded by refusing to approve the construction of a new bridge between Shawinigan Falls and Shawinigan-Sud. The new bridge was not built until after the Liberal Party won the 1960 election. It was completed on September 2, 1962.

Taverns

In the 1950s, a number of taverns provided a male-only social environment for industrial workers. They were mostly concentrated in Downtown Shawinigan Falls (Saint-Bernard and Saint-Pierre), as well as in the Saint-Marc neighbourhood, as Shawinigan-Sud remained a

dry town In the United States, a dry county is a county whose local government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. The vast majority of counties no ...

until 1961. In 1951, the local tavern keepers formed a business association. In 1981, the provincial government enacted a law that gave women access to most taverns. By 1986, women had already been admitted in most taverns. While a handful of local taverns evolved into bistros or restaurants, most of them did not survive the industrial decline that characterized the last third of the 20th Century.

Decline

In the 1950s, Shawinigan Falls entered a period of decline that would last for several decades. Technological improvements made industries less dependent on Shawinigan Falls' geographic location. Therefore, many employers would relocate to nearby larger cities or close down. In 1958, it received city (''cité'') status, and its name was abbreviated to just Shawinigan. As a reaction to declining opportunities, many residents, many of whom were English-speakers, left the area. Shawinigan High School is the only remaining English-language school in the city following the closure of St. Patrick's (closed circa 1983). Shawinigan's last English-language newspaper, the Shawinigan Standard, ceased publication at the end of 1970. In 1963, the provincial government of

Jean Lesage Jean Lesage (; June 10, 1912 – December 12, 1980) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the 19th premier of Quebec from July 5, 1960, to June 16, 1966. Alongside Georges-Émile Lapalme, René Lévesque and others, he is often v ...

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

eleven privately owned electricity companies, including SW&P. While benefiting the population in general, the decision may have been damaging to local interests.

Emerging hospitality industry

In order to offset the decline of the heavy industry, leaders have promoted the expansion of the local

hospitality industry The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and beverage services, event planning, theme parks, travel agency, tourism, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, and bars. Sector ...

. The most notable example of that initiative is the establishment of La Cité de l'Énergie, a theme park based on local industrial history, with a

observation tower An observation tower is a tower used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and woo ...

. Since it opened in 1997, it has attracted thousands of visitors to the area. It currently hosts bus tours and cruises, as well as entertainment shows and interactive exhibits. Since 2012, it is also home to the Museum of Prime Minister

, a venue similar to those operated by the U.S. presidential library system and which focuses on the gifts received by the former

(1993-2003) during his official duties.

Mergers

In 1998, Shawinigan merged with the Village Municipality of Baie-de-Shawinigan. On January 1, 2002, Shawinigan amalgamated with much of the Regional County Municipality of Le Centre-de-la-Mauricie. The following municipalities were part of the merger:

Geography

Climate

Shawinigan 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 ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfb'') featuring cold and snowy winters coupled with warm and humid summers. Precipitation is moderate to high year round, resulting in heavy winter snowfall, typical of Eastern Canada.

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 ...

, Shawinigan 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.

Economy

* an

Alcan Alcan was a Canadian mining company and aluminum manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company, renamed Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925, and Alcan Aluminum in 1966. It took the name Alcan Incorporated in 2001. During ...

aluminum plant: built in 1941 and located at 1100 Boulevard Saint-Sacrement, it took over the production of a 1901 structure which is located near the Saint-Maurice River and is currently managed by La Cité de l'Énergie. It has since shut down in 2015; * the Belgo pulp and paper plant: AbitibiBowater Inc. ceased its production on February 29, 2008; * The Laurentide Paper Company: AbitibiBowater Inc. the last major paper mill still active in Shawinigan, located in the Grand-Mère district. * large

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

complex at Shawinigan Falls: the Shawinigan 2 (1911) and Shawinigan 3 (1948)

, established by the

, they have been the property of

Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec () is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada#Quebec, Crown corporation public utility headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. It manages the electricity generation, generation, electric power transmission, transmission and electricity ...

since 1963 and are also located near the Saint-Maurice River.

Arts and culture

* The ''Classique internationale de canots de la Mauricie'': a prestigious marathon canoe race, held annually since 1934. * Grand-Mère's

Fête nationale du Québec Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (), also known in English as ''St John the Baptist Day'', is a holiday celebrated on June 24 in the Canadian province of Quebec. It was brought to Canada by French settlers celebrating the traditional feast day of the Na ...

celebration: consisting of a bonfire and a live performance from local musicians, its audience arguably ranks among the largest crowds in the

area. It takes place at the Parc de la rivière Grand-Mère. The tradition goes back decades ago.

Attractions

* The Trou du Diable (Devil's Hole): this mysterious location consists of a swirl in the

nearby the falls. Legend has it, the Trou du Diable has no bottom, making it impossible to rescue anyone who falls into it Brasserie Le Trou du Diable
/ref> * Parc Saint-Maurice: located in downtown Shawinigan, it was part of the city's original plan. * the 62nd (Shawinigan) Field Artillery Regiment: a Reserve unit of the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

which was called to active duty during

* La Cité de l'Énergie * the

Shawinigan Cataractes The Shawinigan Cataractes () are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Shawinigan, Quebec. The franchise plays their home games at the Centre Gervais Auto, and were originally known as ...

: the only

QMJHL 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 ...

franchise to have stayed in the same city since the league's inception in 1969. They play at the Centre Gervais-Auto * the Shawinigan-Sud Tax Centre

Sports

The

of 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 ...

play out of the Centre Gervais Auto in Shawinigan. It played host to the 2012 Memorial Cup hockey tournament and won the Championship, defeating the

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their ...

in the final.

Education

Shawinigan is served by the Centre de services scolaire de l'Énergie school board. Children who meet

Charter of the French Language The ''Charter of the French Language'' (, ), also known as Bill 101 (, ), is a law in the Canadian province of Quebec defining French, the language of the majority of the population, as the official language of the provincial government. It is th ...

requirements for instruction in English can attend Shawinigan High School, operated by the

Central Quebec School Board The Central Québec School Board (CQSB; ) is an English-language school board in the province of Quebec, Canada, with its headquarters at 2046 chemin Saint-Louis, Quebec City. It is one of nine English-language school boards in the province, havin ...

. Shawinigan is also home of the Séminaire Sainte-Marie, a private institution that provides the secondary curriculum and of the Collège Shawinigan, a

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 ...

Sister cities

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, Canada *

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Notable people

Marcel Pronovost Joseph René Marcel Pronovost (June 15, 1930April 26, 2015) was a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. He played in List of NHL players with 1000 games played, 1,206 games over 20 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons ...

, National Hockey League player *

Peter Blaikie Peter Macfarlane Blaikie is a Canadian lawyer and a bilingual politician from Quebec and founder of Heenan Blaikie. Genealogy Blaikie was born in Shawinigan, Quebec, Shawinigan, Mauricie on May 10, 1937. He was the son of Guy Blaikie, Kenneth Gu ...

, lawyer * Michaël Bournival, National Hockey League player * Aline Chrétien, wife of Jean Chrétien *

, 20th

from 1993–2003 *

Sylvain Cossette Sylvain Cossette (born May 8, 1963) is a French-Canadian singer from Grand-Mère, Quebec (located in the Mauricie region). He was a founding member of the Quebec-based English-language band Paradox in 1984 before becoming a French-language sol ...

, singer * Antoine Dufour, acoustic guitarist * Paul Dumont, founding father of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League * Louise Forestier, singer and actress *

Martin Gélinas Martin Gélinas (; born June 5, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played 1,273 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques, Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Fla ...

, National Hockey League player * Jacques Lacoursière, historian * Carole Laure, actress * Bryan Perro, author, known for the Amos Daragon series *

Jacques Plante Joseph Jacques Omer Plante (; January 17, 1929 – February 27, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947 to 1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey. He played ...

, National Hockey League player * André Pronovost, National Hockey League player * Camil Samson, leader of the Ralliement créditiste du Québec

Photos

File:Secteur_Lac_a_la_Tortue_035.jpg, Lac-à-la-Tortue, Turtle Lake, seaplane docked, Chemin de la Vigilance

Footnotes

External links

*
Shawinigan official site

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Territories equivalent to a regional county municipality