La Malbaie, Quebec
Encyclopedia
Charlevoix-Est Regional County Municipality, Quebec
Charlevoix-Est is a regional county municipality in northeastern Quebec, Canada. The regional county municipality seat is Clermont.According to the 2001 Statistics Canada Census:*Population: 16,624*% Change : -1.9*Dwellings: 6,893...
in the province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, situated on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
, at the mouth of the Malbaie River
Malbaie River
There are two Malbaie Rivers in the province of Quebec in Canada.The Malbaie River in the Charlevoix region empties into the Saint Lawrence River at La Malbaie. Up until 1985, the river was used to transport logs downstream. The river flows through a steep valley known as Les Hautes Gorges...
. It was formerly known as Murray Bay.
The development of tourism in this area is said to date back to 1760, when the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
feudal lords
Seigneurial system of New France
The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...
John Nairne
John Nairne
Lieutenant-Colonel John Nairne was a Scottish-Canadian soldier and seigneur. Nairne came to Canada in 1758 as a lieutenant, and participated in the captures of Louisbourg and Quebec City...
and Malcolm Fraser began receiving visitors to the region at their estates.
The Fairmont Manoir Richelieu
Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a Canadian-based operator of luxury hotels and resorts. Currently, Fairmont operates properties in 18 countries including Canada, the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, Barbados, United Kingdom, Monaco, Germany, Switzerland, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, the...
hotel and Casino de Charlevoix
Casino de Charlevoix
The Casino de Charlevoix is located in Pointe-au-Pic, now part of La Malbaie, about east of Quebec City. The historic Manoir Richelieu is located right next to the casino...
are both located in the neighbourhood and former municipality of Pointe-au-Pic.
History
In 1608, Samuel de ChamplainSamuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
visited the place and didn't find suitable anchorage for his ship in the bay and therefore named it Malle Baye (archaic French for "bad/poor bay"), a name further justified when during low tide the bay dried up and his ships ran aground.
In 1761, two Scottish officers of the British Army were attracted to the beauty of the place, and they each sought to obtain a concession. John Nairne
John Nairne
Lieutenant-Colonel John Nairne was a Scottish-Canadian soldier and seigneur. Nairne came to Canada in 1758 as a lieutenant, and participated in the captures of Louisbourg and Quebec City...
(1731-1802) received the western shores of the Malbaie River, that he thereafter called the Seignory of Murray Bay that included the settlement of La Malbaie. Malcolm Fraser (1733-1815) was granted the eastern part that became the Seignory of Mount Murray. They also renamed the bay, the settlement, and river after James Murray (1721-1794), English General and successor of Wolfe. Although this name never received official approval, in the 18th and 19th centuries Murray Bay had become the internationally accepted toponym, but Malbaie remained in local use.
In 1774, the Parish of Saint-Étienne was formed. In 1845, the place was first incorporated as the Municipality of La Malbaie, but it was abolished in 1847. It was reestablished in 1855 as the Parish Municipality of Saint-Étienne-de-Murray-Bay. In 1896, the village itself separated from the parish municipality and was incorporated as the Village Municipality of La Malbaie.
In 1957, Saint-Étienne-de-Murray-Bay was renamed to Saint-Etienne-de-la-Malbaie. A year later, the Village Municipality of La Malbaie changed status and became the Town of La Malbaie, that annexed the parish municipality in 1965.
On February 15, 1995, the Town of La Malbaie and the Village Municipality of Pointe-au-Pic merged to form the Town of La Malbaie–Pointe-au-Pic. On December 1, 1999, the Municipalities of Rivière-Malbaie and Saint-Fidèle, the Village Municipality of Cap-à-l'Aigle, the Parish Municipality of Sainte-Agnès, and the Town of La Malbaie–Pointe-au-Pic were amalgamated to form the new Town of La Malbaie.
La Malbaie is the seat of the judicial district
Judicial districts of Quebec
The province of Quebec is divided into 36 judicial districts by the , R.S.Q., chapter D-11. Each district has a seat where the courthouse is located, although some have more than one courthouse, service point, or itinerant court location....
of Charlevoix.
Demographics
According to the Canada 2006 CensusCanada 2006 Census
The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...
:
- Population: 8,959
- % Change (2001-2006): -2.0
- Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 3721 (total dwellings: 4182)
- Area (km²): 459.34 km²
- Density (persons per km²): 19.5
- Mother tongue:
- English as first language: 0.4 %
- French as first language: 98.0 %
- English and French as first language: 0 %
- Other as first language: 1.6 %
Population trend:
- Population in 2006: 8959 (2001 to 2006 population change: -2.0 %)
- Population in 2001: 9143
- Population total in 1996: 9274
- Cap-à-l'Aigle (village): 713
- La Malbaie-Pointe-au-Pic (Ville): 4918
- Rivière-Malbaie (municipality): 2022
- Sainte-Agnès (parish municipality): 675
- Saint-Fidèle-de-Mont-Murray (parish municipality): 946
- Population in 1991:
- Cap-à-l'Aigle (village): 761
- La Malbaie-Pointe-au-Pic (Ville): 4920
- Rivière-Malbaie (municipality): 2061
- Sainte-Agnès (parish municipality): 640
- Saint-Fidèle-de-Mont-Murray (parish municipality): 994
List of mayors
The mayors of La Malbaie were:- Joseph Couturier, 1905-1906
- Alphonse Guay, 1907-1914
- Joseph-Arthur Lapointe, 1915-1916; 1921-1924
- Joseph-Edouard Cauchon, 1917-1920
- Rolland Warren, 1920
- Joseph T. Tremblay, 1925-1930
- Ernest Carré, 1930-1939
- Ludovic Couturier, 1939-1941
- Jean-Charles Rochette, 1941-1948
- Alcide Harvey, 1948-1951
- Henri-Paul Couturier, 1951
- Boris Maltais, 1951-1958
- Martial Asselin, 1958-1963
- Louis-Philippe Dufour, 1964-1965
- Paul X. Laberge, 1966-1970
- Lucien Harvey, 1970-1986
- Claudette B. Bergeron, 1986-1989
- Jules Maltais, 1989-1995
- Jean Lajoie, 1995
- Louis Bergeron, 1995-2002
- Jean-Luc Simard, 2002-2009
- Lise Lapointe, 2010
Famous people from La Malbaie
- Laure ConanLaure ConanLaure Conan, pen name of Marie-Louise-Félicité Angers, , is regarded as the first true French-Canadian female novelist. She was born in Murray Bay, Canada East....
(1845-1924), pen name of Marie-Louise-Félicité Angers, French-Canadian novelist