'Rouyn-Noranda' (2001 population 39,621) is a city on
Osisko Lake in northwestern
Quebec,
Canada.
The city of Rouyn 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 public university
UQAT since
1983.
The population tends to increase or decrease dramatically depending on the economic situation, and so it has dropped by 5% between the
1996 and
2001 census.
Since
1982, the city has been host to the International Cinema Festival of Abitibi-Témiscamingue and since 2003, the host of the Emerging Music Festival in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
Rouyn-Noranda is also known as a "Capital of Metal" since the metal scene is very active and popular. Many metal bands played in Rouyn-Noranda, like
Behemoth,
Sonata Arctica,
Kreator,
Napalm Death,
Cryptopsy,
Quo Vadis,
Kataklysm,
1349,
Anonymus,
Suffocation,
Vader,
Martyr,
Neuraxis,
Aborted,
Leng Tch'e and
Decapitated.
Descend Into Nothingness,
Abitabyss,
Cryptik Howling,
Decrepity and many other metal bands from Rouyn-Noranda have great success in the metal scene.
The Roman Catholic diocese of Rouyn-Noranda was erected on November 29, 1973 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.
The
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies have played in the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League since the
Saint-Hyacinthe Laser relocated to the town in 1996. Rouyn-Noranda has produced a high amount of
NHLers for its size with former and current NHL stars
Pierre Turgeon,
Sylvain Turgeon,
Dale Tallon,
Pit Martin,
Jacques Laperriere,
Dave Keon,
Rejean Houle, and
Eric Desjardins all hailing from the city.
Communities
On
January 1,
2002 Rouyn-Noranda amalgamated with the municipalities of the Regional County Municipality of Rouyn-Noranda, including
Cadillac,
Arntfield,
Bellecombe,
Cléricy,
Cloutier,
D'Alembert,
Destor,
Évain,
McWatters,
Mont-Brun,
Montbeillard,
Rollet,
Lac-Montanier,
Lac-Surimau and
Rapides-des-Cèdres
Politics
Federally, Rouyn-Noranda is part of the
Abitibi—Témiscamingue riding. Its MP is currently
Marc Lemay of the
Bloc Québécois Party.
Provincially, Rouyn-Noranda is part of the
Rouyn-Noranda—Témiscamingue riding, which is currently represented by
Johanne Morasse of the
Parti québécois. This part of the province is known to vote most of the time for the Bloc québécois (federal) and for the Parti québécois (provincial).
The city's mayor is Roger Caouette. His current term is 2005-2009.
Media
Radio
★
FM 88.7 -
CHIC, religious
★ FM 89.9 -
CBFX-4,
Espace musique
★ FM 90.7 -
CHLM,
La Première Chaîne
★ FM 95.7 -
CHGO-1, "Go FM"
★ FM 96.5 -
CHOA, Radio X
modern rock
★ FM 99.1 -
CJMM,
Énergie FM
★ FM 99.9 -
CBMA,
CBC Radio One
Television
★ Channel 2:
CBMA,
CBC
★ Channel 4:
CKRN,
SRC
★ Channel 8:
CIVA,
Télé-Québec
★ Channel 13:
CFEM,
TVA
★ Channel 20:
CFVS-1,
TQS
Newspapers
★
La Dépêche
★
Le Citoyen
★
La Frontière
Images
See also
★
Municipal reorganization in Quebec
External links
★
Ville de Rouyn-Noranda official website (in French and English)
★
Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (in French and English)
★
Festival de musique émergente en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (in French and English)