La Malbaie

La Malbaie
City
Coat of arms
Motto: In Fide Plantati et Radicati
Location within Charlevoix-Est RCM Location within Charlevoix-Est RCM
La Malbaie Location in central Quebec.
Coordinates:
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Capitale-Nationale
RCM	Charlevoix-Est
Constituted	December 1, 1999
Government
• Mayor	Michel Couturier
• Federal riding	Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix
• Prov. riding	Charlevoix–Côte-de-Beaupré
Area
• Total	695.90 km2 (268.69 sq mi)
• Land	459.34 km2 (177.35 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	8,862
• Density	19.3/km2 (50/sq mi)
• Pop 2006–2011	1.1%
• Dwellings	4,455
Time zone	EST (UTC−5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code(s)	G5A
Area code(s)	418 and 581
Highways	Route 138 Route 362
Website	www.ville.lamalbaie.qc.ca

La Malbaie is a municipality in the Charlevoix-Est Regional County Municipality in the province of Quebec, Canada, situated on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River, at the mouth of the Malbaie River. It was formerly known as Murray Bay.

The development of tourism in this area is said to date back to 1760, when the Scottish feudal lords John Nairne and Malcolm Fraser began receiving visitors to the region at their estates.

The Fairmont Manoir Richelieu hotel and Casino de Charlevoix are both located in the neighbourhood and former municipality of Pointe-au-Pic.

History

In 1608, Samuel de Champlain visited the area. He could not find suitable anchorage for his ship in the bay and therefore named it Malle Baye (archaic French for "bad/poor bay"), a name further justified when during low tide the bay dried up and his ships ran aground.

In 1761, two Scottish officers of the British Army were attracted to the beauty of the place, and they each sought to obtain a concession. John Nairne (1731–1802) received the western shores of the Malbaie River, that he thereafter called the Seignory of Murray Bay that included the settlement of La Malbaie. Malcolm Fraser (1733–1815) was granted the eastern part that became the Seignory of Mount Murray. They also renamed the bay, the settlement, and river after James Murray (1721–1794), British General and successor of Wolfe. Although this name never received official approval, in the 18th and 19th centuries Murray Bay had become the internationally accepted toponym, but La Malbaie remained in local use.

File:Quai de La Malbaie 1912.jpg

Murray Bay wharf, circa 1912

In 1774, the Parish of Saint-Étienne was formed. In 1845, the place was first incorporated as the Municipality of La Malbaie, but it was abolished in 1847. It was reestablished in 1855 as the Parish Municipality of Saint-Étienne-de-Murray-Bay. In 1896, the village itself separated from the parish municipality and was incorporated as the Village Municipality of La Malbaie.

In 1957, Saint-Étienne-de-Murray-Bay was renamed to Saint-Etienne-de-la-Malbaie. A year later, the Village Municipality of La Malbaie changed status and became the Town of La Malbaie, that annexed the parish municipality in 1965.

On February 15, 1995, the Town of La Malbaie and the Village Municipality of Pointe-au-Pic merged to form the Town of La Malbaie–Pointe-au-Pic. On December 1, 1999, the Municipalities of Rivière-Malbaie and Saint-Fidèle, the Village Municipality of Cap-à-l'Aigle, the Parish Municipality of Sainte-Agnès, and the Town of La Malbaie–Pointe-au-Pic were amalgamated to form the new Town of La Malbaie.

La Malbaie is the seat of the judicial district of Charlevoix.

Seismic hazard

La Malbaie is located in the Charlevoix Seismic Zone, which is the most active seismic zone in eastern Canada. La Malbaie is notable for having an extremely high seismic risk, although a significant earthquake has not occurred in the region recently.

Demographics

Population

Historical Census Data – La Malbaie, Quebec
Year Pop. ±% 1996 9,274 —	Year Pop. ±% 2001 9,143 −1.4%	Year Pop. ±% 2006 8,959 −2.0%	Year Pop. ±% 2011 8,862 −1.1%

Language

• Mother tongue:
  • English as first language: 0.4%
  • French as first language: 98.0%
  • English and French as first language: 0%
  • Other as first language: 1.6%

List of mayors

File:Église La Malbaie.jpg

The church of La Malbaie near city hall

View of Malbaie from the Manoir Richelieu

The mayors of La Malbaie were:

• Joseph Couturier, 1905–1906
• Alphonse Guay, 1907–1914
• Joseph-Arthur Lapointe, 1915–1916; 1921–1924
• Joseph-Edouard Cauchon, 1917–1920
• Rolland Warren, 1920
• Joseph T. Tremblay, 1925–1930
• Ernest Carré, 1930–1939
• Ludovic Couturier, 1939–1941
• Jean-Charles Rochette, 1941–1948
• Alcide Harvey, 1948–1951
• Henri-Paul Couturier, 1951
• Boris Maltais, 1951–1958
• Martial Asselin, 1958–1963
• Louis-Philippe Dufour, 1964–1965
• Paul X. Laberge, 1966–1970
• Lucien Harvey, 1970–1986
• Claudette B. Bergeron, 1986–1989
• Jules Maltais, 1989–1995
• Jean Lajoie, 1995
• Louis Bergeron, 1995–2002
• Jean-Luc Simard, 2002–2009
• Lise Lapointe, 2010

Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu

File:Manoir Richelieu01.jpg

Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu

Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu is a hotel under the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts banner. Originally built in 1899, the current building was completed in 1929 to replace the first building destroyed by a fire.

The building was acquired by Fairmont in 1998 and re-opened under the current banner in 1999.

Famous people from La Malbaie

• Laure Conan (1845–1924), pen name of Marie-Louise-Félicité Angers, French-Canadian novelist

See also

• List of cities in Quebec
• 1925 Charlevoix–Kamouraska earthquake

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons