Fermont
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Fermont (Template:IPAc-en;[1] Script error: No such module "IPA".) is a mining city in Côte-Nord region, Quebec, Canada, near the Quebec-Labrador border about Script error: No such module "convert". from Labrador City on Route 389, which connects to the Trans-Labrador Highway (Newfoundland and Labrador Route 500). It is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of Caniapiscau.
The city is located about 565 km (351 mi) from Baie-Comeau, about 867 km (539 mi) from Saguenay, and about 1,000 km (621 mi) from Quebec City.
Fermont (French contraction of "Fer Mont", meaning "Iron Mountain") was founded as a company town in the early 1970s to exploit rich iron ore deposits from Mont Wright, which is about Script error: No such module "convert". to the west.
The town is notable for the huge self-contained structure containing apartments, stores, schools, bars, a hotel, restaurants, a supermarket and swimming pool; the large building shelters a community of smaller apartment buildings and homes on its leeward side. Popularly known as The Wall (Le Mur), the structure was designed to be a windscreen to the rest of the town. It permits residents (other than mine workers) to never leave the building during the long winter, which usually lasts about seven months. The town, designed by Maurice Desnoyers and Norbert Schoenauer, was inspired by similar projects in Sweden designed by Ralph Erskine, notably that of Svappavaara, an iron mining town in Sweden. The building measures Script error: No such module "convert". long [2] and stands Script error: No such module "convert". high.[3]
History
Following the depletion of the Jeannine Lake Mine at Gagnon in the late 1960s, the Québec Cartier Mining Company began to develop the Mont Wright Mine. This was a large-scale project that involved mining, processing, and transporting iron ore. Some 1,600 employees would be needed, and the town of Fermont was constructed to house them and their families. By the end of 1972, the first people settled there. The same year, the Fermont post office opened, and in 1974, the place was incorporated as Ville de Fermont.[4][5] The town, mine and wall were featured in the television crime drama series La Faille (2019).[6]
Geography
Fermont is in an area of rounded hills and flat areas with peat bogs, wetlands and many lakes and small streams. The valleys show the influence of glacial action and contain undifferentiated glacial till and fluvioglacial deposits of sand and gravel.Template:Sfn Lake Perchard, to the north of Fermont, supplies the town with drinking water.Template:Sfn The Fermont waste water treatment plant discharges through lakes Daviault and Sans-Nom into Carheil Lake, in the Moisie River watershed.Template:Sfn In April 2011 it was reported that water management experts in Sept-Îles were concerned about cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, that had been found in Carheil Lake and had potential to further affect the Moisie River. The bloom was due to phosphorus discharge from the treatment plant, which has since been reduced.Template:Sfn
Climate
Fermont has a harsh subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc) with long, severe winters and short, mild summers. Although overall not as heavy as in most other parts of the Labrador Peninsula, snowfall is still heavy at around Script error: No such module "convert". and average maximum depth of Script error: No such module "convert". which is actually deeper than some other North Shore locations with heavier snowfall like Sept-Îles. Script error: No such module "weather box".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Fermont had a population of Script error: No such module "val". living in Script error: No such module "val". of its Script error: No such module "val". total private dwellings, a change of Script error: No such module "Percentage". from its 2016 population of Script error: No such module "val".. With a land area of Script error: No such module "convert"., it had a population density of Template:Pop density in 2021.[7] Template:Canada census
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Languages
With French being the dominant language in the community, Fermont is the world's northernmost Francophone settlement of any considerable size, being located about one degree of latitude north of Dunkirk. Although fluency in French is common in Nunavik and other points north, most in that region have adopted English as their primary language for communication outside their communities. In addition, a Franco-Yukonnais community can be found in Dawson City, Yukon, but it forms only a minority of the total population.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Fermont can also be considered the northernmost town to speak a Romance language.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
| Canada Census Mother Tongue - Fermont, Quebec[8] | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Total | French Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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English Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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French & English Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| Year | Responses | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | Count | Trend | Pop % | |||||
2016 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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2,475 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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2,410 | Decrease 13.9% | 97.37% | 30 | Decrease 25.0% | 1.21% | 15 | Increase 50.0% | 0.61% | 20 | Steady 0.0% | 0.81% | |||||
2011 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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2,870 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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2,800 | Increase 9.8% | 97.56% | 40 | Decrease 33.3% | 1.39% | 10 | Steady 0.0% | 0.35% | 20 | Steady 0.0% | 0.70% | |||||
2006 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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2,640 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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2,550 | Decrease 10.1% | 96.59% | 60 | Increase 20.0% | 2.27% | 10 | Steady 0.0% | 0.38% | 20 | Steady 0.0% | 0.76% | |||||
2001 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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2,915 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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2,835 | Decrease 7.8% | 97.26% | 50 | Decrease 28.6% | 1.72% | 10 | Decrease 33.3% | 0.34% | 20 | Decrease 50.0% | 0.69% | |||||
1996 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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3,200 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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3,075 | n/a | 98.75% | 70 | n/a | 0.69% | 15 | n/a | 0.33% | 40 | n/a | 0.23% | |||||
Economy
The local economy is entirely dependent on the Mont Wright and Fire Lake mines owned by ArcelorMittal.[9] Over 80% of municipal revenues come from mining operations.[4]
Average earnings for full-time workers was $63,982 in 2001, compared to $39,217 in Quebec as a whole.[10] This went up to $70,102 in 2006, whereas the provincial average dropped to $37,722.[11]
The mine product is shipped to Port-Cartier on the Cartier Railway where it is converted to pellets. In 2006 the mine was affected by a labour dispute which lasted from early April to early June. It was amicably resolved with a six-year contract renewal.[12]
Because of the town's disproportionately high number of (relatively prosperous) men compared to women and the few entertainment options in Fermont's climate, the adult entertainment industry is extremely lucrative in Fermont, and strippers can make a substantial amount of money for their profession.[13]
Local government
The city council is composed of a mayor and six city councillors. since October 2020[update]Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". the mayor is Martin St-Laurent, and the councillors are Bernard Dupont, Danny Bouchard, Cindy Vignola, Marco Ouellet, Daniel Bergeron, and Shannon Power.[14]
List of former mayors: Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- Robin Bélanger (...–2003)
- Lise Pelletier (2003–2013)
- Martin St-Laurent (2014–present)
Transportation
The Trans-Quebec–Labrador Route (route 389 on the Quebec side and route 500 on the Labrador side) is the only road access. Route 389 begins in Baie-Comeau and goes north along the Manicouagan Reservoir.
The town is accessible by scheduled passenger airline service via the Wabush Airport located in Labrador West.
The Cartier Railway connects Port-Cartier to the Mont-Wright mine, but it is only used for transporting iron ore concentrate and bulk equipment. The train no longer carries passengers.
See also
References
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- ↑ Statistics Canada 2006 Census - Fermont community profile Template:Webarchive
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- ↑ Sunderland, Mitchell (January 3, 2015). Life as a Stripper in a Subarctic Indoor Mining Town . Vice Media, LLC. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
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Sources
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External links
- City of Fermont official site Template:In lang
- Official tourism site
- Map
- Additional photos
- Original site plan by Norbert Schoenauer
- Preparatory drawings and photographs during the development phase (Schoenauer papers at McGill).
- Documentary about innovative community design which features Fermont as an example
- Mur-Écran, The Windscreen on the CBC's Ideas.
