Shannon, Quebec

{{Infobox settlement

|name = Shannon

|official_name =

|settlement_type = City

|image_skyline = Réserve écologique de la Tourbière-de-Shannon 03.JPG

|image_caption = Tourbière-de-Shannon

|image_flag =

|image_seal =

|nickname = Shannon City

|motto =

| image_map = Shannon Quebec location diagram.png

| map_caption = Location within La Jacques-Cartier RCM

| pushpin_map = Canada Central Quebec

| pushpin_label_position = left

| pushpin_label =

| pushpin_map_caption = Location in central Quebec

|coordinates = {{coord|46|53|N|71|31|W|region:CA-QC|display=inline,title}}

|coor_pinpoint =

|coordinates_footnotes =

|subdivision_type = Country

|subdivision_name = {{CAN}}

|subdivision_type1 = Province

|subdivision_name1 = {{QC}}

|subdivision_type2 = Region

|subdivision_name2 = Capitale-Nationale

|subdivision_type3 = RCM

|subdivision_name3 = La Jacques-Cartier

|established_title = Settled

|established_date = 1830s

|established_title1 = Constituted

|established_date1 = January 1, 1947

| government_footnotes = Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire - [http://www.mamrot.gouv.qc.ca/repertoire-des-municipalites/fiche/municipalite/22020/ Répertoire des municipalités: Shannon]

|leader_title = Mayor

|leader_name = Sarah Perreault

| leader_title1 = Federal riding

| leader_name1 = Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier

| leader_title2 = Prov. riding

| leader_name2 = La Peltrie

|area_footnotes =

|area_magnitude =

|area_total_km2 = 64.80

|area_land_km2 = 63.78

|area_water_km2 =

|area_water_percent =

|area_urban_km2 =

| elevation_footnotes =

| elevation_m =

|population_footnotes = {{cite web |url= https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=2422020&Geo2=POPC&Code2=0859&SearchText=Shannon&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1&type=0 |title= 2016 Community profiles - Shannon|accessdate=2022-04-05 |author= Statistics Canada|date= November 29, 2017}}

|population_total = 6031

|population_as_of = 2016

|population_density_km2 = 94.6

|population_urban =

|population_blank1_title= Pop 2011-2016

|population_blank1 = {{increase}} 18.6%

|population_blank2_title= Dwellings

|population_blank2 = 2277

|population_note =

| timezone = EST

| utc_offset = −5

| timezone_DST = EDT

| utc_offset_DST = −4

| postal_code_type = Postal code(s)

| postal_code = G3S

| area_code = 418 and 581

| blank_name = Highways

| blank_info = {{jct|state=QC|QC|369}}

| website = {{Official URL}}

|footnotes =

}}

Shannon is a city in Quebec, Canada, and is along the Jacques-Cartier River northwest of Quebec City.

It was formed in December 1946, when it separated from the territory of Sainte-Catherine-de-Fossambault, following protests of this part of the population against the municipal taxes. The community was founded by Irish immigrants and once contained a substantial English-speaking population though it is today chiefly French-speaking. Its longtime principal economic activity was the exploitation of wood bound for the shipyards of Quebec. The town is located near CFB Valcartier, an important Canadian military base.

History

The area was first settled in the 19th century, by mostly Irish immigrants. The place may have been named after a prominent settler family, as religious records indicated the death of a certain Richard Shannon in 1831 and Simon Shannon the next year. Further impetus to its development came around 1850, when the timber industry began, and in 1860, when a sawmill was built. Around 1861, about two thirds of the population was Irish and by 1900 half of the population.{{cite web |url=http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/CT/toposweb/fiche.aspx?no_seq=59377 |title=Shannon (Municipalité) |publisher=Commission de toponymie du Québec |accessdate=2010-04-12 |language=French}}

In 1905, the Shannon Post Office opened. In 1914, part of Shannon's territory was expropriated to enlarge the Valcartier military base.

In 1947, the Municipality of Shannon was officially established, when it separated from the Parish Municipality of Sainte-Catherine-de-Fossambault.

Demographics

{{stack|{{Historical populations

| title= Historical Census Data - Shannon, QuebecStatistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016 census

| percentages =

| shading = off

| align = none

| cols =

| 1991 |3535

| 1996 |3751

| 2001 |3668

| 2006 |3825

| 2011 |5086

| 2016 |6031

}}}}

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Shannon had a population of {{val|6432|fmt=commas}} living in {{val|2332|fmt=commas}} of its {{val|2437|fmt=commas}} total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:6432-6031}}|6031|1}} from its 2016 population of {{val|6031|fmt=commas}}. With a land area of {{convert|63.54|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|6432|63.54|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}}

Mother tongue:

English as first language: 6.2%
French as first language: 90.5%
English and French as first language: 1.6%
Other as first language: 1.4%

Cancer cluster

In 1997, it was discovered that the chemical trichloroethylene seeped into the town's water supply from a nearby munitions factory.{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/why-living-in-shannon-quebec-is-bad-for-your-health-8773342.html|title=Why living in Shannon, Quebec, is bad for your health|date=2013-08-18|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2020-03-04}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/water-contam-shannon-1.5432129|title=More residents eligible for compensation after Shannon water contamination|last=|first=|date=18 Jan 2020|website=CBC News|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}} That was claimed to increase the rates of cancers in the area, with more than 3,000 people taking part in a group lawsuit against the federal government in 2003.

After years of campaigning, compensation was later awarded to some local residents, but the court did not endorse the link between the contamination and cancers. Instead, compensation was awarded for the contamination of water supplies.