Thetford Mines (;

Canada 2021 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 ...

population 26,072) is a city in south-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 the seat of

Les Appalaches Regional County Municipality Les Appalaches () is a regional county municipality (RCM) in the Chaudière-Appalaches region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It was established in 1982 from parts of the historic counties of Beauce, Frontenac, Mégantic, and Wolfe. The coun ...

. The city is located in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

, 187 km east-northeast 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 ...

and 79 km south 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 ...

.Thetford Mines
thecanadianencyclopedia.ca It is known mostly as the

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

capital of Canada.

History

Before

European colonization The phenomenon of colonization is one that stretches around the globe and across time. Ancient and medieval colonialism was practiced by various civilizations such as the Phoenicians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Han Chinese, and A ...

, the

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pred ...

inhabited the Thetford Mines region. A village was founded in 1876 after the discovery of large

deposits in the area. The village incorporated as Kingsville (named after William King, an important mine owner) in 1892. A few years later, in 1905, Kingsville was renamed after the Township of Thetford in which it was founded, which was named after the town of

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, England. During the 20th century, Thetford Mines became a hub for one of the world's largest asbestos-producing regions. back then being called "Asbestos Capital of the World" and the "City of White Gold". In the boom times, there were seven mines operating in the area, employing 4,000 workers.Canada's Chrysotile Business Is Dying Out
thecanadianencyclopedia.ca In 1949 and in 1975, asbestos miners in Asbestos and Thetford Mines began strikes each lasting for almost five months which were the most violent labor conflicts in the history of Quebec. In 2001 the city expanded to its current boundaries, incorporating the nearby towns of Black Lake, Robertsonville, Pontbriand and Thetford-Sud. When Canada banned the use of asbestos in schools and homes, after using it for years as insulation, the mines of Thetford Mines largely exported their asbestos to areas such as southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South and Central America. However, in 2012, the city's last mine closed and Thetford Mines has developed other sectors, namely manufacturing. The city of Thetford Mines 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 Frontenac.''Territorial Division Act''
''Revised Statutes of Quebec'' D-11.

Climate

The Köppen–Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as

humid continental Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

(Dfb). Winters are very cold and snowy, while summers are warm and rainy when it receives more

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

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 ...

, Thetford Mines 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.

Activities

Winter

Given the abundance of snow for several months in winter, it is a popular area for snowmobiling and four-wheel drive vehicles as well as for downhill and cross-country skiing. The city is home to the minor-pro

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team the Thetford Mines Assurancia, who are members of the

Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey The Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH, ''"North American Hockey League"'') is a semi-Professional sports league organization, professional ice hockey league based in the Canadian province of Quebec. Teams in the LNAH compete for the Vertdu ...

(LNAH). They play home games at

Centre Mario Gosselin The Centre Mario Gosselin is a multi-purpose arena in Thetford Mines, Quebec. It was built in 1964 and has a capacity of 2,500. It was first called the Centre des Loisirs but, in the middle of the 80's, it was renamed for NHL and Team Canada goal ...

. Thetford Mines is the only city to have hosted an LNAH team in every season since the league's 1996 inception. The city has

ringette Ringette is a winter team sport played on an ice rink using ice hockey skates, straight sticks with drag-tips, and a blue, rubber, pneumatic ring designed for use on ice surfaces. While the sport was originally created exclusively for female c ...

and hockey organisations for the youth, and there are yearly tournaments for ringette and minor Hockey players, as well as old-timers hockey tournaments. Thetford Mines was chosen as a top-five finalist for ''

Kraft Hockeyville ''Kraft Hockeyville'' is an annual competition sponsored by Kraft Heinz, the National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Association in which communities compete to demonstrate their commitment to the sport of ice hockey. The winning community ...

'' for 2009 on the February 21, 2009

Hockey Night In Canada ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') is a long-running program of broadcast ice hockey play-by-play coverage in Canada. With roots in pioneering hockey coverage on private radio stations as early as 1923, ...

Hockey Day In Canada ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') is a long-running program of broadcast ice hockey play-by-play coverage in Canada. With roots in pioneering hockey coverage on private radio stations as early as 1923, ...

" special.

Spring

Spring is maple syrup producing time in the area. The numerous stands of maple trees in the region makes it one of the top maple syrup producing regions in the world. In March and early April, local citizens often make a ritual outing to one of the area's sugar camps (or ''cabanes à sucre'') for sugaring off parties where maple syrup, reduced and thickened by slow boiling, is poured over fresh snow to create a delightful taffy.

Summer

Summer brings a host of other outdoor activities. An abundance of lakes and rivers provide plenty of opportunities for outdoor gatherings and cool refreshment. A series of summer festivals add to the enjoyment of the season, with sporting events, concerts and fireworks.

Autumn

The same maples that produce syrup in spring, provide brilliant displays of colour in autumn.

Media

Two radio stations, CFJO ("O97,3") and CKLD ("Passion-Rock 105,5") serve Thetford Mines. Both stations air programming produced partially in Thetford Mines and partially in

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 ...

Notable people

Bob Fillion Joseph Louis Robert Edgar Fillion (July 12, 1920 – August 13, 2015) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played seven seasons for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1943 and 1950. He was a member of t ...

(1920–2015), late hockey player with the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

* Raymond Setlakwe (1928–2021), entrepreneur, lawyer, and former Quebec senator * Armand Vaillancourt (born 1929), Canadian sculptor, painter and performance artist *

Michel Louvain Michel Louvain, (July 12, 1937April 14, 2021) was a Canadian singer most popular in the 1960s and 1970s.

(1937–2021), French Canadian singer and television presenter *

Roch Thériault Roch Thériault (; May 16, 1947 – February 26, 2011) was a Canadian cult leader and convicted murderer. Thériault, a self-proclaimed prophet under the name Moïse (French for "Moses"), founded the Ant Hill Kids in 1977. They were a doomsday ...

(1947–2011), cult leader and polygamist known for his totalitarian leadership of the Ant Hill Kids. * Janel Gauthier (b. 1950), psychologist *

Michaëlle Jean Michaëlle Jean (; born September 6, 1957) is a Canadian former journalist who served as the 27th governor general of Canada from 2005 to 2010. She is the first Haitian Canadian and black person to hold this office. Jean was the Organisation i ...

(b. 1957), former

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...

and current Secretary-General of La Francophonie. *

Jean-François Lisée Jean-François Lisée (; born February 13, 1958) is a Canadian politician who served as the leader of the Parti Québécois from October 2016 until October 2018. He was first elected a member of the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2012 Queb ...

(b. 1958), former leader of the

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (PQ; , ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishi ...

, former Leader of the Opposition in Quebec, and former member of the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

for the electoral district of

Rosemont Rosemont may refer to: People Rosemont is a surname. Notable people with this surname include: * David A. Rosemont, American television producer * Franklin Rosemont (1943–2009), American poet, artist, historian * Norman Rosemont (1924–2018), ...

* Daniel Poudrier (b. 1964), retired hockey player, city councillor * Mario Gosselin (b. 1963), hockey player * Patrice Tardif (b. 1970), hockey player, formerly in the NHL *

Simon Gamache Simon Gamache (born January 3, 1981) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career As a youth, Gamache played in the 1995 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournam ...

(b. 1981), hockey player, formerly in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

* John Mervin Nooth (1737–1828), physician, army officer, scientist, and superintendent general of hospitals in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

. * Andrew Stuart Johnson (1848–1926) prominent farmer, lumber merchant, mining company founder and political figure in

Gallery

File:Downtown Thetford Mines.jpg File:Downtown Thetford Mines III.jpg File:Downtown Thetford Mines IV.jpg File:Asbestos mining thetford mines.jpg, Asbestos miners in Thetford Mines in the 1920s

References

External links

*
City of Thetford Mines
* {{Authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Populated places established in 1876 1876 establishments in Quebec