Drummondville

Drummondville, city (1991 pop. 35,462), S Que., Canada, on the St. Francis River, NE of Montreal. Its manufactures include textiles, paper and wood products, and rubber goods.

Drummondville is a city in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, located east of Montreal on the Saint-François River. Drummondville is the seat of Drummond Regional County Municipality. As of 2006, the population was 67,392. The mayor of Drummondville is Francine Ruest-Jutras.

History

Drummondville was founded in June 1815 by Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick George Heriot. The purpose of the town was to provide a home for British soldiers in the War of 1812, and to guard the Saint-Francois River against American attack. The town was named after Sir Gordon Drummond, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada between 1813 and 1816.

The construction of the Hemmings Falls hydro-electric dam in 1920 brought a new wave of industrial growth to the Drummondville area. Several outlying municipalities have been amalgamated into Drummondville since the 1950s:

• 1955: Saint-Joseph de Grantham, Saint-Jean-Baptiste
• 1966: Drummondville-Ouest
• 1982: Drummondville-Sud
• 1993: Grantham
• 2004: Saint-Nicéphore, Saint-Charles-de-Drummond, Saint-Joachim-de-Courval

Demographics

(according to Statistics Canada 2001 census)

• Growth Rate (1996-2001): 3.8%
• Total Private Dwellings: 21783
• Area: 71.33 km².
• Density: 652.3 people per km².

Notable Drummondville natives

• Louise Bédard, dancer and choreographer
• Yvan Cournoyer, professional hockey player
• Yvon Lambert, professional hockey player
• Michel Cusson, musician and composer
• Gilbert Dionne, professional hockey player
• Marcel Dionne, professional hockey player
• Jessica Dubé, olympic ice skater
• Patrick Lalime, professional hockey player
• Louis Morissette, humourist
• Patrick Sénécal, horror writer
• Les Trois Accords, musical group
• Karine Vanasse, actress
• Bernard Lemaire, businessman
• Kaïn, musical group
• Carl Bouchard, vocalist, musician
• Kim Poirier, actress
• A Perfect Murder (band), musical group
• Alex Bourret,Professional Hockey Player
• Eric Messier, professional hockey player

Sports

Drummondville is home to the QMJHL's Drummondville Voltigeurs. The team plays its home games at Centre Marcel Dionne.

Transportation

Local transit

Intra-city transit has been assured since 1987 by the Commission de transport de Drummondville, which currently operates city bus services on five routes headquartered at the main bus terminal at Des Forges and Lindsay Streets.

Intercity buses

Intercity highway coach service is provided by Autobus Drummondville Ltée, a unit of Groupe Bourgeois. Major destinations include the nearby cities of Montreal, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, Victoriaville, Saint-Hyacinthe, and Thetford Mines.

Intercity rail

Passenger train service towards Montreal and Quebec City is provided by VIA Rail. Drummondville is part of the high-traffic Quebec City-Windsor Corridor, and trains run at a rate of about five per day in either direction.

Sister cities

• La Roche-sur-Yon, France
• Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium

See also

• List of mayors of Drummondville

External links

• Ville de Drummondville
• Les Légendes Fantastiques, an outdoor multimedia show based in Drummondville
• Le Village Québécois d'Antan, a historical village exhibition

References