Rouyn-Noranda

Sister cities

• Caraquet

History

The city of Rouyn (named for Jean-Baptiste Rouyn, a captain in the Régiment Royal Roussillon of Louis-Joseph de Montcalm) appeared after copper was discovered in 1917. Noranda (a contraction of "North Canada") was created later around the Horne mine and foundry. Both were officially constituted as cities in 1926, then merged in 1986. Since 1966, Rouyn and Noranda constitute the capital of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region. It is also the seat of (UQAT) since 1983. The population tends to increase or decrease dramatically depending on the economic situation. The city's population dropped by 5 per cent between the 1996 and 2001 census, before increasing slightly by 0.8 per cent for the 2006 census. This more closely parallels the demographic patterns of Northern Ontario than those of Quebec during this period. Rouyn-Noranda also has other cultural affiliations with Northern Ontario, being the only municipality in Quebec that holds a membership in the Francophone Association of Municipalities of Ontario. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rouyn-Noranda was established on February 9, 1974, by Pope Paul VI, with Mgr. Jean-Guy Hamelin as its first bishop. It is part of the Metropolitan Province of Gatineau. Mgr. Dorylas Moreau was appointed as bishop on November 30, 2001, replacing Mgr. Hamelin. On September 15, 2003, a decree moved the cathedral from Saint-Michel-Archange Church to Saint-Joseph Church.

Geography

As part of the 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec, on January 1, 2002, the municipalities (including unorganized territories) of the former Rouyn-Noranda Regional County Municipality amalgamated into the new City of Rouyn-Noranda. These were: Arntfield, Bellecombe, Beaudry, Cadillac, Cléricy, Cloutier, D'Alembert, Destor, Évain, Lac-Montanier, Lac-Surimau, McWatters, Mont-Brun, Montbeillard, Rapides-des-Cèdres, Rollet, and the former Rouyn-Noranda. Rouyn-Noranda has a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb).