The historic downtown is a major touristic centre for the area.
Due to the presence of Lake St. Francis on the St. Lawrence River, St. Francis Bay in downtown, and of numerous rivers and canals all over the town, the city is nicknamed "The Venice of Quebec".[citation needed]
History
The actual city was founded in 1874, the first mayor was Moise Plante. The first settlers arrived in 1798. At that moment, the settlement was named Pointe-du-Lac (Lake Point). The colony was then renamed Saranac, then Sainte-Cécile. Salaberry-de-Valleyfield was officially named in 1874 after Colonel Charles de Salaberry who served with the British army during the War of 1812. "Valleyfield" came from the Valleyfield Mills, a paper mill south of Edinburgh in Scotland.
Salaberry-de-Valleyfield has a humid continental climate (Dfb) with warm summers and long, cold, and snowy winters.
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield had a population of 42,787 living in 20,073 of its 20,962 total private dwellings, a change of 5% from its 2016 population of 40,745. With a land area of 108.56 km2 (41.92 sq mi), it had a population density of 394.1/km2 (1,020.8/sq mi) in 2021.[4]
Canada census – Salaberry-de-Valleyfield community profile
Notes: Amalgamated with Saint-Timothée and Grande-Île in 2002. References: 2021[11] 2016[12] 2011[13] earlier[14][15]
Government
The city council is composed of the mayor and eight city councillors. The municipal elections are at each 4 years, each councillor stands for his/her district.
List of former mayors:[17]
Moise Laplante (1875–1878, 1880–1885, 1886–1890)
Alexander Anderson (1878–1880)
Zéphirin Boyer (1885–1886, 1890–1892)
John Hugh O'Sullivan (1892–1895)
Georges Madeiros Loy (1895–1899)
Narcisse Langevin (1899–1901)
Onésime Longtain (1901–1903)
Joseph Georges Henri Thibault (1903–1906)
James Alexander Robb (1906–1910)
Charles Ovide Ephrem Ostigui (1910–1912)
Noel Adélard Ostilly (1912–1916)
Stanislas Abraham Laroche (1916–1922)
Daniel Eusèbe Dion (1922–1924)
Joseph Donat Leboeuf (1924–1930)
Bernard Gustave Ludger Codebecq (1930–1932)
Olivier Philorum Billette (1932–1938)
Joseph Armand Larin (1938–1942)
Louis Major (1942–1944)
Joseph Abel Eugène Cauchon (1944–1948, 1960–1969)
Joseph Olivier Edmond Caza (1948–1954)
Joseph Mathias Louis Covignon (1954–1960)
Joseph-Henri Raphaël Barrette (1969–1975)
Marie Blanche Alberta Marcelle Besner-Trépanier (1975–1983)
Martinus Maria Petrus Mooijekind (1983–1987)
Joseph Eugène Gaetan Rousse (1987–1995)
Denis Lapointe (1995–2017)
Miguel Lemieux (2017–present)
Attractions
The Musée de Société des Deux-Rives (MUSO), which covers the economic and cultural history of the region, is located in the city.
The city houses one of the 10 minor basilicas in Quebec. Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Cecilia, built in 1934–1935, is one of the largest churches in the country.
The city has been the site of the Valleyfield Regattas since 1938. The event takes place every year at the beginning of July over a three-day period in the heart of the city on Bay Saint-François. It is an international hydroplane competition, in which power boats achieve speeds of up to 225 km/h. Attracting over 130,000 visitors per year, it also includes other cultural activities.[18]
Education
9 daycare facilities
3 pre-kindergarten centres
12 elementary schools (some with daycare services), of which one is English-language.
The Gault Institute was created by Andrew Frederick Gault. He created this school during the time that the Gault Cotton Mills were up and running. To heat the school at one time he used underground pipes connecting from the school to the Cotton Mills since at the time there was no electricity.
^ a b"Répertoire des municipalités: Salaberry-de-Valleyfield". www.mamh.gouv.qc.ca. Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
^ a b c d"Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Ville (V) Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
^ a b"Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Quebec [Population centre], Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
^2011 Statistics Canada Census Profile: Salaberry-de-Valleyfield (Census agglomeration), Quebec. The census agglomeration consists of only Salaberry-de-Valleyfield itself. This was unchanged from the 2006 census.
^Territorial Division Act. Revised Statutes of Quebec D-11.
^"Archived copy" (PDF). stat.gouv.qc.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 December 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Climate". Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010 (in English and French). Environment Canada. 31 October 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
^ a bStatistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census
^"2021 Community Profiles". 2021 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. February 4, 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
^"2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
^"2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
^"2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
^"2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.