Roberval, Quebec

Circa 1850, the first settlers began to colonize the area, followed afterwards by families especially from the Charlevoix area. The settlement, the oldest village on the shores of Lake Saint-Jean, was first known as Notre-Dame-du-Lac-Saint-Jean, named after the parish founded in 1854. A few years later in 1857, the Municipality of Lac-Saint-Jean was formed but in 1859 was split into several municipalities including the Municipality of Roberval. It was named after the geographic township of Roberval, which in turn was named by surveyor Joseph Bouchette in honour of the first Lieutenant General of New France Jean-François de la Roque de Roberval (1496–1560). In 1862, the Roberval post office opened.{{cite web |url=http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/fiche.aspx?no_seq=53753 |title=Roberval (Ville) |publisher=Commission de toponymie du Québec |access-date=2010-12-03 |language=fr}}

File:Lac Saint-Jean 1928.jpg

In 1884, the settlement separated from the municipality to form the Village Municipality of Roberval. It experienced rapid growth in the 1880s when Horace Jansen Beemer, an American entrepreneur from Philadelphia, came to Roberval. He established logging and sawmill businesses and led the construction of the railroad to Quebec City in 1888. Beemer personally took care of logging, land speculation, and construction of railway bridges. He also built a tourist complex in Roberval in 1898, centred on fishing for landlocked salmon and organized excursions to the Grande Décharge (outlet of Lake Saint-Jean). A fire destroyed the Grand Hotel Roberval in 1908, putting an abrupt end to luxury tourism in the Lake Saint-Jean area.

In 1903, the village of Roberval gained town (ville) status, and in 1956, city (cité) status. In 1976, it merged with the Municipality of Roberval to form the current city.

Roberval has a cold and highly seasonal humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), with mild summers, cold winters and high annual snowfall. Due to seasonal lag and influence from the nearby lake, September is well above the subarctic threshold as the fourth warmest month.

{{Weather box

|location = Roberval, Quebec

|metric first = yes

|single line= yes

|Jan record high C = 14.5

|Feb record high C = 11.5

|Mar record high C = 17.8

|Apr record high C = 30.9

|May record high C = 34.2

|Jun record high C = 35.8

|Jul record high C = 36.5

|Aug record high C = 37.8

|Sep record high C = 33.1

|Oct record high C = 25.8

|Nov record high C = 20.8

|Dec record high C = 12.2

|year record high C = 37.8

|Jan high C = −11.1

|Feb high C = -8.0

|Mar high C = -1.5

|Apr high C = 7.0

|May high C = 15.8

|Jun high C = 21.5

|Jul high C = 23.7

|Aug high C = 22.5

|Sep high C = 17.4

|Oct high C = 9.8

|Nov high C = 1.5

|Dec high C = -6.3

|year high C = 7.7

|Jan mean C = −16.4

|Feb mean C = −13.4

|Mar mean C = −6.9

|Apr mean C = 1.9

|May mean C = 9.9

|Jun mean C = 15.6

|Jul mean C = 18.3

|Aug mean C = 17.1

|Sep mean C = 12.3

|Oct mean C = 5.4

|Nov mean C = -2.3

|Dec mean C = -10.9

|year mean C = 2.6

|Jan low C = −21.7

|Feb low C = -18.8

|Mar low C = -12.2

|Apr low C = -3.2

|May low C = 3.9

|Jun low C = 9.7

|Jul low C = 12.9

|Aug low C = 11.6

|Sep low C = 7.1

|Oct low C = 1.0

|Nov low C = -6.1

|Dec low C = −15.4

|year low C = -2.6

|Jan record low C = -38.6

|Feb record low C = −38.9

|Mar record low C = −33.1

|Apr record low C = -24.5

|May record low C = -10.6

|Jun record low C = -2.2

|Jul record low C = 3.9

|Aug record low C = 0.0

|Sep record low C = -4.4

|Oct record low C = -11.7

|Nov record low C = -24.2

|Dec record low C = -39.2

|year record low C = -39.2

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 54.5

|Feb precipitation mm = 43.7

|Mar precipitation mm = 51.7

|Apr precipitation mm = 63.2

|May precipitation mm = 73.9

|Jun precipitation mm = 82.9

|Jul precipitation mm = 105.7

|Aug precipitation mm = 86.2

|Sep precipitation mm = 84.0

|Oct precipitation mm = 71.2

|Nov precipitation mm = 84.2

|Dec precipitation mm = 63.8

|year precipitation mm = 864.9

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm= 4.5

|Feb rain mm= 3.3

|Mar rain mm= 13.6

|Apr rain mm= 36.0

|May rain mm= 69.0

|Jun rain mm= 82.9

|Jul rain mm= 105.7

|Aug rain mm= 86.2

|Sep rain mm= 83.9

|Oct rain mm= 63.5

|Nov rain mm= 36.3

|Dec rain mm= 9.4

|year rain mm= 594.2

|snow colour = green

|Jan snow cm= 51.6

|Feb snow cm= 41.6

|Mar snow cm= 39.7

|Apr snow cm= 26.2

|May snow cm= 4.8

|Jun snow cm= 0.0

|Jul snow cm= 0.0

|Aug snow cm= 0.0

|Sep snow cm= 0.1

|Oct snow cm= 7.7

|Nov snow cm= 48.5

|Dec snow cm= 56.9

|year snow cm= 277.1

|source 1 = Environment Canada{{cite web

|url = https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?searchType=stnName&txtStationName=roberval&searchMethod=contains&txtCentralLatMin=0&txtCentralLatSec=0&txtCentralLongMin=0&txtCentralLongSec=0&stnID=5934&dispBack=1| title = Roberval, Quebec Climate | work = Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010| date = 31 October 2011 | publisher = Environment Canada| language = en, fr| access-date = June 19, 2015}}

|date=August 2010

}}

File:Mairiederoberval.jpg{{CRHP|14507|Roberval Town Hall|9 April 2012}}]]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Roberval had a population of {{val|9840|fmt=commas}} living in {{val|4520|fmt=commas}} of its {{val|4838|fmt=commas}} total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:9840-10046}}|10046|1}} from its 2016 population of {{val|10046|fmt=commas}}. With a land area of {{convert|151.36|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|9840|151.36|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.{{cite web | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000202&geocode=A000224 | title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=February 9, 2022 | accessdate=August 29, 2022}}

In 2021, the median age was 52.4, as opposed to 41.6 for all of Canada. French was the mother tongue of 98.0% of residents in 2021. The next most common mother tongues were Atikamekw at 0.8%, followed by Arabic, English, and Spanish at 0.3%. 0.2% reported both English and French as their first language. Additionally there were 0.5% who reported both French and a non-official language as their mother tongue.

As of 2021, Indigenous peoples comprised 11.0% of the population, most of whom were First Nations, and visible minorities contributed 0.8%. The largest visible minority groups in Dolbeau-Mistassini are Latin American (0.3%) and Black (0.2%).

In 2021, 79.8% of the population identified as Catholic, a 14.6% decrease from 2011, while 13.6% said they had no religious affiliation. Baptists were the largest religious minority, making up 0.3% of the population.

Counting both single and multiple responses, the most commonly identified ethnocultural ancestries were:

(Percentages may total more than 100% due to rounding and multiple responses).

Population trend:Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 census

• Population in 2021: 9,840 (2016 to 2021 population change: -2.1%)
• Population in 2016: 10,046
• Population in 2011: 10,227
• Population in 2006: 10,544
• Population in 2001: 10,906
• Population in 1996: 11,640
• Population in 1991: 11,628
• Population in 1986: 11,448
• Population in 1981: 11,391
• Population in 1976: 8,543
• Population in 1971: 8,330
• Population in 1966: 8,552
• Population in 1961: 7,739
• Population in 1956: 6,648
• Population in 1951: 4,897
• Population in 1941: 3,220
• Population in 1931: 2,770
• Population in 1921: 2,068
• Population in 1911: 1,737
• Population in 1901: 1,248
• Population in 1891: 783

Roberval has two primary schools: Notre-Dame et Benoît-Duhamel and a secondary school la Cité Étudiante. There are also two centres for adult training: Ste-Ursules et le Centre de formation professionnelle (CFP).

Founded in 1882 by Sister Saint-Raphaël, the Ursuline convent was the first domestic sciences school in Canada. There was also an agricultural school.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/QuebecHistory/encyclopedia/Ursulines-QuebecHistory.htm |title=Ursulines |encyclopedia=The Quebec History Encyclopedia |publisher=Marionopolis College}}

Fires in 1897 and 1919 led to rebuilding and improvement of facilities.{{cite web |url=http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=25517&type=pge |title=Ursulines de Roberval |work=Répertoire dupatrimoineculturel du Québec |publisher=Government of Quebec |language=fr}}

Following a fire in 2005, a portion of the convent was replaced by the Jardin des Ursulines, a craft vendors market.{{cite web |url=http://ville.roberval.qc.ca/tourisme/jardin-des-ursulines-2 |title=Jardin des Ursulines |publisher=Ville de Roberval |language=fr}} In 2011, after 129 years of service to the community, the Ursuline community left Roberval.

• Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, a Canadian federal electoral district
• Ouiatchouaniche River
• Ouiatchouan River
• List of towns in Quebec

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.ville.roberval.qc.ca/ Ville de Roberval]
• [http://traversee.qc.ca/en/ La Traversée du lac St-Jean]

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{{succession box | before = North Bay, Ontario | title = Kraft Hockeyville | years = 2008 | after = Terrace, British Columbia}}

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{{Geographic location

| Centre = Roberval

| North = Mashteuiatsh

| East = Lac Saint-Jean

| Southeast = Chambord

| South = Saint-François-de-Sales

| West = Sainte-Hedwidge

| Northwest = Saint-Prime

}}

{{Le Domaine-du-Roy|state=expanded}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cities and towns in Quebec

Category:Populated places established in 1855

Category:1855 establishments in Canada