Shannon is a city 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 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 ...

, and is along the

Jacques-Cartier River The Jacques-Cartier River is a river in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is 161 km long and its source is Jacques-Cartier Lake in Laurentides Wildlife Reserve, and flows in a predominantly southern direction before ending in the Saint Lawr ...

northwest 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 ...

. It was formed in December 1946, when it separated from the territory of Sainte-Catherine-de-Fossambault, following protests of this part of the population against the municipal taxes. The community was founded by Irish immigrants and once contained a substantial English-speaking population though it is today chiefly French-speaking. Its longtime principal economic activity was the exploitation of wood bound for the shipyards of

. The town is located near

CFB Valcartier 2nd Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier (2 CDSB Valcartier), formerly known as and commonly referred to as Canadian Forces Base Valcartier (CFB Valcartier), is a Canadian Forces base located in the municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valc ...

, an important Canadian military base.

History

The area was first settled in the 19th century, by mostly Irish immigrants. The place may have been named after a prominent settler family, as religious records indicated the death of a certain Richard Shannon in 1831 and Simon Shannon the next year. Further impetus to its development came around 1850, when the timber industry began, and in 1860, when a sawmill was built. Around 1861, about two thirds of the population was Irish and by 1900 half of the population. In 1905, the Shannon Post Office opened. In 1914, part of Shannon's territory was expropriated to enlarge the Valcartier military base. In 1947, the Municipality of Shannon was officially established, when it separated from the Parish Municipality of Sainte-Catherine-de-Fossambault.

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 ...

, Shannon 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. Mother tongue: * English as first language: 6.2% * French as first language: 90.5% * English and French as first language: 1.6% * Other as first language: 1.4%

Cancer cluster

In 1997, it was discovered that the chemical

trichloroethylene Trichloroethylene (TCE) is an organochloride with the formula C2HCl3, commonly used as an industrial metal-degreasing solvent. It is a clear, colourless, non-flammable, volatile liquid with a chloroform-like pleasant mild smell and sweet taste.

seeped into the town's water supply from a nearby munitions factory. That was claimed to increase the rates of cancers in the area, with more than 3,000 people taking part in a group lawsuit against the federal government in 2003. After years of campaigning, compensation was later awarded to some local residents, but the court did not endorse the link between the contamination and cancers. Instead, compensation was awarded for the contamination of water supplies.

References

External links

{{authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Populated places established in 1946 Incorporated places in Capitale-Nationale Cancer clusters 1946 establishments in Canada

History

Demographics

Cancer cluster

See also

References

External links