Drummondville is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in the

Centre-du-Québec Centre-du-Québec (, ''Central Quebec'') is a region of Quebec, Canada. The main centres are Drummondville, Victoriaville, and Bécancour. It has a land area of and a 2016 Census population of 242,399 inhabitants. Description The Centre-du ...

region of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, located east of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

on the

Saint-François River The Saint-François River is a right tributary of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. Its source is Lake Saint-François in Chaudière-Appalaches, southeast of Thetford Mines. It flows southwest towards Sherbrooke, where it changes cour ...

. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 79,258. The mayor of Drummondville is Stéphanie Lacoste. Drummondville is the seat of

Drummond Regional County Municipality Drummond is a regional county municipality in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, Canada. The seat is Drummondville. Subdivisions There are 18 subdivisions within the RCM: ;Cities & Towns (1) * Drummondville ;Municipalities (12) * Durham ...

, and of the judicial district of Drummond.

History

Drummondville was founded in June 1815 by Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Heriot. The purpose of the town was to provide a home for British soldiers in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

, and to guard the Saint-François (St Francis) River against

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

attacks. The town was named after Sir

Gordon Drummond General Sir Gordon Drummond, GCB (27 September 1772 – 10 October 1854) was a Canadian-born British Army officer and the first official to command the military and the civil government of Canada. As Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, Dru ...

, the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North Americ ...

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

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...

, Drummondville had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Attractions and culture

Drummondville markets itself as Quebec's Capital of Expression and Traditions, with attractions focusing on culture, both past and present. The main attractions are the Village Québécois d'Antan. Since 2008 Drummondville hosts ''Festival de la Poutine'', towards the end of August; during three days people are invited to attend concerts there, and to savour several kinds of poutine, a Canadian dish of provincial origin. From 1982 to 2017, Drummondville was home to the Mondial des Cultures, one of the largest folk dance festivals in the world.

Climate

Drummondville has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

( Dfb) with warm, rainy summers and cold, snowy winters.

Sports

Drummondville is home to the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The ...

(QMJHL)'s

Drummondville Voltigeurs The Drummondville Voltigeurs are a junior ice hockey team of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The franchise was originally granted for the 1982–83 season, and is based in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, playing its home games a ...

, founded in 1982. The team plays its home games at

Centre Marcel Dionne The Centre Marcel Dionne is a 4,000 capacity (3,038 seated) multi-purpose arena in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada. It is home to the Drummondville Voltigeurs Ice hockey team. It is named in honour of Marcel Dionne Marcel Elphège "Little Beaver ...

. Drummondville also has another arena, Olympia Yvan-Cournoyer. Drummondville and

Victoriaville Victoriaville is a town in central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of Arthabaska ...

co-hosted the 2013 World U-17 Hockey Challenge. Prior to the Voltigeurs, Drummondville was home to the Drummondville Rangers of the QMJHL from 1969 to 1974. Drummondville also was host to several baseball teams in the

Quebec Provincial League The Provincial League, sometimes known as the Quebec Provincial League, was a minor league baseball league based in the Canadian province of Quebec. It went through a number of incarnations during the 20th century, spending time as both an indepen ...

in the 1940s and 1950s. The

Drummondville Tigers The Drummondville professional baseball team was a member of the now extinct Quebec Provincial League and operated in Drummondville, in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec. The team went through many incarnations over the years. They debuted as ...

in 1940, the Drummondville Cubs from 1948-1952, the Drummondville Royals in 1953, and the Drummondville A's in 1954. The Autodrome Drummond holds various automotive races throughout the summer season. La Courvalloise is used for tubing, skiing, and snowboarding.

Economy

Drummondville is home to the Promenades Drummondville regional

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that ...

which has 109 stores. MicroBird by Girardin has its headquarters in Drummondville.

Transportation

;Highways Drummondville is served by Autoroutes 20 and 55. ;Local transit Intra-city transit has been operated since 1987 by Drummondville Transit, which currently operates city bus services on six routes headquartered at the main bus terminal at Des Forges and Lindsay Streets. Service runs at half-hour intervals Monday to Saturday and hourly on Sundays. ;Intercity buses Intercity highway coach service is provided by Orléans Express and Groupe La Québécoise. Major destinations include the nearby cities of

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional cou ...

, Trois-Rivières,

, 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 The Quebec City–Windsor Corridor (french: link=no, Corridor Québec-Windsor) is the most densely populated and heavily industrialized region of Canada. As its name suggests, the region extends between Quebec City in the northeast and Windsor, ...

, and trains run at a rate of about five per day in either direction from the Drummondville railway station. ;Air General aviation services are available at the Drummondville Airport and the Drummondville Water Aerodrome.

Education

Drummondville is home to the

Cégep de Drummondville Cégep de Drummondville is a CEGEP in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada. Programs The Cégep de Drummondville offers types of programs: pre-university and technical. The pre-university programs, which take two years to complete, cover the subject m ...

, a public

French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in No ...

CEGEP. Drummondville is served by two school boards, the English-language

Eastern Townships School Board The Eastern Townships School Board, also known as the Commission Scolaire Eastern Townships, is an anglophone school board covering the Eastern Townships in the Canadian province of Quebec. As of 2010, it oversees twenty elementary schools, three ...

and the French Centre de services scolaire des chenes.

Notable people

* Louise Bédard, dancer and choreographer *

Jean Bégin Jean Bégin (1944 – November 20, 1991) was a Canadian ice hockey coach and convicted sex offender. He worked six seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and one season in the Nationale 1A league in France. He was the first ...

, ice hockey coach *

Serge Boisvert Pierre Serge Boisvert (born June 1, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. In Sweden, Boisvert played for Västra Frölunda, and for Frisk Tigers, Spektrum Flyers and Vål ...

, professional hockey player *

Alex Bourret Alex Bourret (born October 5, 1986) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who most notably played in the American Hockey League (AHL). Playing career His first season in the QMJHL was in the 2002–03 season, where he played with ...

, professional hockey player * Yvan Cournoyer, professional hockey player *

Gilbert Dionne Gilbert Marc Dionne (born September 19, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played six seasons in the National Hockey League from 1990–91 until 1995–96. He is the younger brother of Hockey Hall of Famer Ma ...

, professional hockey player *

Marcel Dionne Marcel Elphège "Little Beaver" Dionne (born August 3, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. Marcel ...

, professional hockey player *

Nancy Drolet Nancy Drolet (born August 2, 1973) is a Canadian ice hockey player, international public speaker and philanthropist. She is the daughter of Denis Drolet and Viviane Dubé. Nancy has won 6 gold medals for Canada with the Canadian women's hockey te ...

, Olympic silver medalist in hockey * Jessica Dubé, Olympic ice skater * Robert Dupuis, 28th Canadian Surgeon General * Mickaël Gouin, actor and comedian * Alan Haworth, professional hockey player * Gordie Haworth, professional hockey player * Kaïn, musical group * Patrick Lalime, professional hockey player *

Yvon Lambert Yvon Pierre Lambert (born May 20, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. Lambert was born in Drummondville, Quebec. Although drafted in 1970 by the Detroit Red Wings, Lambert started his National Hockey League (NHL) career ...

, professional hockey player * Bernard Lemaire, businessman *

Danick Martel Danick Martel (born December 12, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing under contract with the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League (AHL). He has previously played in the NHL for the Philadelphia Fly ...

, professional hockey player *

Renée Martel Renée Martel (26 June 1947 – 18 December 2021) was a French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco- ...

, country singer *

Éric Messier Éric Messier (born October 29, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers. Playing career As a youth, Messier pla ...

, professional hockey player * Louis Morissette, actor and screenwriter * Lester Patrick, professional hockey player * Jean-Luc Pepin, politician * Mathieu Perreault, professional hockey player * Michel Plante, professional hockey player * Kim Poirier, actress * Karine Vanasse, actress *

John P. Webster John Phillip Webster is a Canadian bank executive with The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), serving as President & CEO of the Scotia Mortgage Authority. He formerly served as the President & CEO of Maple Trust, who were acquired by Scotiabank in 2 ...

, bank executive *

A Perfect Murder ''A Perfect Murder'' is a 1998 American crime thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Viggo Mortensen. It is a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film '' Dial M for Murder'', though the characters ...

, musical group *

Les Trois Accords Les Trois Accords is a Canadian rock band from Drummondville, Québec. The band launched its first album, '' Gros Mammouth Album,'' in 2003. Some of the songs from that album, include "''Hawaïenne''", "''Saskatchewan''" and "''Lucille''". Their ...

, musical group *

Yves-François Blanchet Yves-François Blanchet (; born April 16, 1965) is a Canadian politician who has served as leader of the Bloc Québécois (BQ) since 2019. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Beloeil—Chambly since the 2019 election. Before federal ...

, politician, Leader of the

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , " Quebecer Bloc") is a federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was formed by Members of Parliament (MPs) who defected from the federal Prog ...

Sister cities

La Roche-sur-Yon La Roche-sur-Yon () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is ''Yonnais''. History The town expanded significantly after Napo ...

Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; ; br, Broioù al Liger) is one of the 18 regions of France, in the west of the mainland. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful of "balancing metropolises" (). ...

, France *

Braine-l'Alleud Braine-l'Alleud (; nl, Eigenbrakel ; wa, Brinne-l'-Alou) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, about south of Brussels. The municipality consists of the following districts: Braine-l'Alleud (includ ...

Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant (french: Brabant wallon ; nl, Waals-Brabant ; wa, Roman Payis) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and ...

, Belgium * Community of Communes Ackerland and

Kochersberg The Kochersberg () is a natural region of the French département of Bas-Rhin in Alsace and is a part of the hills found along the eastern side of the Vosges mountains. It gave its name to the Communauté de communes du Kochersberg, a cooperation o ...

History

Demographics

Attractions and culture

Climate

Sports

Economy

Transportation

Education

Notable people

Sister cities

See also

Notes

References

External links