Baie-Comeau facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Baie-Comeau
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City
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Hotel Le Manoir
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Map of RCM with Baie-Comeau highlighted
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 Baie-Comeau
Location in Côte-Nord region, Quebec
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| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Côte-Nord |
| RCM | Manicouagan |
| Founded | 1936 |
| Constituted | June 23, 1982 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 434.54 km2 (167.78 sq mi) |
| • Land | 334.83 km2 (129.28 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 11.28 km2 (4.36 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 682.89 km2 (263.67 sq mi) |
| Urban area is for Baie-Comeau proper | |
| Elevation | 21.60 m (70.87 ft) |
| Population
(2021)
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| • Total | 20,687 |
| • Density | 61.8/km2 (160/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 9,100 |
| • Urban density | 806.5/km2 (2,089/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 26,643 |
| • Metro density | 39/km2 (100/sq mi) |
| • Change (2016-21) |  3.9% |
| • Dwellings | 10,163 |
| Urban population is for Baie-Comeau proper | |
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) |
G4Z, G5C
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| Area codes | 418 and 581 |
| Highways |  Route 138  Route 389 |
Baie-Comeau is a city in the Quebec province of Canada. It's located on the beautiful St. Lawrence River. This city is the main town of the Manicouagan Regional County Municipality. It sits near where the Manicouagan River meets the bay.
In 2021, about 20,687 people lived in Baie-Comeau. If you count the surrounding areas, the population is about 26,643. Baie-Comeau is also famous as the birthplace of Brian Mulroney, who used to be the Prime Minister of Canada.
Contents
What's in a Name?
The city's name, Baie-Comeau, honors Napoléon-Alexandre Comeau. However, the name actually came from his father, Antoine-Alexandre Comeau. Antoine worked for the Hudson's Bay Company and had a camp there. Travelers would call it "the bay of the Comeau camp." This name stuck, and later, maps showed it as Anse à Comeau (Comeau Cove). When Baie-Comeau was officially founded, people thought the name was for Napoléon-Alexandre Comeau.
A Look Back: Baie-Comeau's History
The oldest part of Baie-Comeau is called Vieux-Poste (Old Post). This area is near the Amédée River. In 1889, a mission was started there. Later, in 1898, the first sawmill in the Côte-Nord region was built by two brothers, Damase and Henri Jalbert. But it closed in 1907.
In 1916, Route 138 was extended to this area. In 1929, a post office opened with the name Comeau Bay. This name was later changed to the French Baie-Comeau in 1936.
The city of Baie-Comeau itself was founded in 1936. This happened when a paper mill was built by Colonel Robert R. McCormick, who published the Chicago Tribune newspaper. Arthur A. Schmon managed this big project, which included building a power station and homes for workers.
Baie-Comeau grew very quickly! It officially became a town on May 20, 1937. The Hudson's Bay Company opened its first small department store in Quebec here in 1937. The area kept growing with new projects. These included power stations on the Manicouagan and Outardes Rivers, starting in 1952. An aluminum factory opened in 1958, and huge grain warehouses were built in 1959. These warehouses are some of the biggest in Canada!
In 1950, the village of Saint-Eugène-de-Manicouagan became the Municipality of Hauterive. In 1982, Hauterive joined with Baie-Comeau, making the city bigger.
Where is Baie-Comeau?
Baie-Comeau is on the north side of the St. Lawrence River. It's about 400 kilometers (250 miles) northeast of Quebec City. It's also about 230 kilometers (140 miles) southwest of Sept-Îles.
The city has two main parts: Baie-Comeau proper and Hauterive. In 2021, about 9,100 people lived in Baie-Comeau proper. About 11,147 people lived in Hauterive.
Five rivers flow through Baie-Comeau: the Manicouagan River, the Amédée River, the Petit-Bras River, the Chasse River, and the English River. These rivers are fed by about thirty lakes.
Baie-Comeau's Climate
Baie-Comeau has a humid continental climate. This means it has warm summers and cold, snowy winters. Even though it's at the same latitude as cities like Vancouver or Paris, the cold Labrador Current makes the Gulf of St. Lawrence very chilly. This cools the summer weather.
The city gets a lot of snow, about 343 centimeters (135 inches) each year! The deepest average snow in March is around 56 centimeters (22 inches). The most snow ever recorded was 226 centimeters (89 inches) on January 10, 1969.
| Climate data for Baie-Comeau (Baie-Comeau Airport) Climate ID: 7040440; coordinates 49°08′N 68°12′W / 49.133°N 68.200°W; elevation: 21.6 m (71 ft); 1981–2010 normals |
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high humidex | 8.8 | 8.4 | 9.6 | 21.7 | 30.4 | 39.1 | 38.3 | 46.3 | 33.2 | 31.8 | 20.2 | 9.0 | 46.3 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 11.4 (52.5) |
8.2 (46.8) |
10.3 (50.5) |
21.8 (71.2) |
30.0 (86.0) |
31.8 (89.2) |
32.8 (91.0) |
31.1 (88.0) |
28.1 (82.6) |
21.7 (71.1) |
18.1 (64.6) |
13.9 (57.0) |
32.8 (91.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −8.7 (16.3) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
4.5 (40.1) |
11.9 (53.4) |
18.0 (64.4) |
20.9 (69.6) |
20.2 (68.4) |
15.2 (59.4) |
8.5 (47.3) |
1.9 (35.4) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
6.6 (43.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −14.3 (6.3) |
−12.7 (9.1) |
−6.5 (20.3) |
0.6 (33.1) |
6.8 (44.2) |
12.4 (54.3) |
15.6 (60.1) |
14.7 (58.5) |
10.1 (50.2) |
4.3 (39.7) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
−9.3 (15.3) |
1.7 (35.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −19.9 (−3.8) |
−18.6 (−1.5) |
−11.4 (11.5) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
1.7 (35.1) |
6.8 (44.2) |
10.3 (50.5) |
9.2 (48.6) |
5.0 (41.0) |
0.1 (32.2) |
−5.5 (22.1) |
−14.1 (6.6) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −47.2 (−53.0) |
−44.4 (−47.9) |
−35.6 (−32.1) |
−21.0 (−5.8) |
−8.3 (17.1) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
−11.0 (12.2) |
−22.8 (−9.0) |
−37.8 (−36.0) |
−47.2 (−53.0) |
| Record low wind chill | −53.0 | −56.9 | −48.3 | −29.5 | −19.0 | −4.8 | 0.0 | −2.7 | −8.4 | −15.1 | −31.1 | −51.5 | −56.9 |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 83.4 (3.28) |
65.2 (2.57) |
68.4 (2.69) |
79.7 (3.14) |
91.1 (3.59) |
88.7 (3.49) |
93.1 (3.67) |
75.4 (2.97) |
86.3 (3.40) |
95.3 (3.75) |
95.8 (3.77) |
78.7 (3.10) |
1,001 (39.41) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 12.3 (0.48) |
14.4 (0.57) |
23.7 (0.93) |
50.7 (2.00) |
88.3 (3.48) |
88.7 (3.49) |
93.1 (3.67) |
75.4 (2.97) |
86.3 (3.40) |
90.0 (3.54) |
57.7 (2.27) |
17.0 (0.67) |
697.6 (27.46) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 83.8 (33.0) |
59.1 (23.3) |
48.2 (19.0) |
30.3 (11.9) |
2.7 (1.1) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.01 (0.00) |
5.4 (2.1) |
40.2 (15.8) |
73.2 (28.8) |
342.9 (135.0) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 16.2 | 12.8 | 12.8 | 12.3 | 14.2 | 13.5 | 14.6 | 13.5 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 14.1 | 14.8 | 167.3 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 1.6 | 1.8 | 3.7 | 8.3 | 14.1 | 13.5 | 14.6 | 13.5 | 13.5 | 14.8 | 8.7 | 2.6 | 110.9 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 16.8 | 11.8 | 10.7 | 6.2 | 0.89 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.05 | 1.7 | 8.6 | 14.3 | 71.1 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 112.5 | 134.4 | 163.5 | 181.7 | 217.3 | 237.1 | 244.0 | 238.4 | 163.8 | 123.4 | 90.7 | 94.7 | 2,001.5 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 41.6 | 47.0 | 44.4 | 44.2 | 45.8 | 49.0 | 49.9 | 53.5 | 43.2 | 36.8 | 32.9 | 36.8 | 43.8 |
| Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada | |||||||||||||
Who Lives in Baie-Comeau?
In 2021, the population of Baie-Comeau was 20,687 people. This was a small decrease from 2016. Most people in Baie-Comeau speak French. In 2016, about 20,840 people spoke French, and 4,415 people spoke English.
What Does Baie-Comeau Do? (Economy)
Baie-Comeau is a big center for the pulp and paper industry. This industry makes paper products. The paper mill is owned by Abitibi Consolidated.
Besides paper, the city also has a large aluminum factory. This factory has provided many jobs for decades. Cargill, a big company, has a huge grain elevator here. This elevator helps transfer grain from boats coming from the Great Lakes to larger ships that go out to the ocean.
Sports and Fun in Baie-Comeau
Baie-Comeau hosted the Quebec Winter Games in 1993. Many different sports are popular here.
Hockey
Baie-Comeau is home to the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. This is an ice hockey team that plays in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. They have been playing since 1997. The team plays their games at the Centre Henry-Leonard.
Skiing
The Centre de ski du Mont-Tibasse is an alpine ski center just a few kilometers north of the city. It has twelve ski slopes. Cross-country skiing is also very popular. Students often go to Mont-Tibasse as part of their school activities.
Golf
There is an 18-hole golf course in the western part of the city. It's a semi-private club and is open for most of the summer.
Swimming
The city's two main high schools each have an indoor swimming pool that is open to the public all year. There are also two outdoor swimming pools that are open from late June to mid-August every summer.
You can also find several beaches along the shore of the St. Lawrence River, like Plage Champlain and Plage Pointe-Lebel.
Tennis
Many outdoor tennis courts are available in different parks around town. They are open for most of the summer.
Football
The Baie-Comeau Vikings are a football team from Polyvalente des Baies. They play in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean League. The team won championships in 2003, 2004, and 2006. They were also finalists in 2005.
Getting Around Baie-Comeau (Transportation)
The city is located along Route 138. It's about 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Forestville and 230 kilometers (140 miles) west of Sept-Îles.
You can also take a ferry from Baie-Comeau to Matane on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. There's even a rail ferry service!
Baie-Comeau is the start of Route 389. This road leads to the Daniel-Johnson Dam, the town of Fermont, and the Labrador region of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Baie-Comeau Airport is nearby in Pointe-Lebel. You can catch flights from Air Liaison and Pascan Aviation there.
Learning in Baie-Comeau (Education)
Baie-Comeau has several French-language public elementary schools. It also has two French-language public high schools. There is one English-language public school that teaches both elementary and high school students.
The city is also home to a French-language CEGEP (a type of college in Quebec) called the Cégep de Baie-Comeau.
Here is a list of schools in Baie-Comeau:
| School name | Level | Sector |
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| École Bois-Du-Nord | Elementary | Western |
| École Boisvert | Elementary | Eastern |
| École Leventoux | Elementary | Eastern |
| École Mgr-Bélanger | Elementary | Western |
| École Saint-Cœur-de-Marie | Elementary | Western |
| École Serge-Bouchard | High School | Western |
| École Trudel | Elementary | Western |
| Polyvalente des Baies | High School | Eastern |
| Baie-Comeau High School | Elementary and high school | Eastern |
Famous People from Baie-Comeau
- Yves Bélanger, ice hockey player
- Jean-Claude Bergeron, ice hockey goaltender
- Sylvie Drapeau, actress
- Andrea Jourdan, author
- Pierre-Cédric Labrie, ice hockey player
- Brian Mulroney, 18th prime minister of Canada
- Dave Morissette, ice hockey player
See also
In Spanish: Baie-Comeau para niños
