# Roberval, Quebec

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**Roberval** (ʁɔbɛʁval) is a city on the south-western shore of [Lac Saint-Jean](/source/Lac_Saint-Jean) in the [Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality](/source/Le_Domaine-du-Roy_Regional_County_Municipality) of [Quebec](/source/Quebec), Canada. With a population of 9,840 in the [Canada 2021 Census](/source/Canada_2021_Census), it is the fourth largest city on this lake after [Alma](/source/Alma,_Quebec), [Dolbeau-Mistassini](/source/Dolbeau-Mistassini) and [Saint-Félicien](/source/Saint-F%C3%A9licien,_Quebec). It is the seat of the Domaine-du-Roy RCM and the main service centre for the region with a [hospital](/source/Hospital) and some government services. It is also the seat of the [judicial district](/source/Judicial_districts_of_Quebec) of Roberval.[1]

It is the only Lac Saint-Jean town whose core is directly on the lakeshore.

[Benoît Bouchard](/source/Beno%C3%AEt_Bouchard), former cabinet Minister and Canadian Ambassador in France, and [Michel Gauthier](/source/Michel_Gauthier), former federal [Leader of the Opposition](/source/Leader_of_the_Opposition_(Canada)), represented the area in the federal parliament. [Bernard Lord](/source/Bernard_Lord) the former [Premier](/source/Premier) of [New Brunswick](/source/New_Brunswick) was born here.

Roberval was the 2008 winner of *[Kraft Hockeyville](/source/Kraft_Hockeyville)*. In their newly renovated arena, Roberval hosted an NHL preseason game between the [Montreal Canadiens](/source/Montreal_Canadiens) and the [Buffalo Sabres](/source/Buffalo_Sabres) on September 23, 2008.

Roberval is the home of the Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean, an annual swimming competition held since 1955. The major competition feature the crossing of Lake St-Jean over a distance of 32 km (20 mi). The [2010 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships](/source/2010_FINA_World_Open_Water_Swimming_Championships) were also hosted in Roberval.[2]

## History

Circa 1850, the first settlers began to colonize the area, followed afterwards by families especially from the [Charlevoix](/source/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](/source/Lieutenant_General_of_New_France) [Jean-François de la Roque de Roberval](/source/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Roberval) (1496–1560). In 1862, the Roberval post office opened.[3]

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](/source/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](/source/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.[3]

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.[3]

## Geography

### Climate

Roberval has a cold and highly seasonal [humid continental climate](/source/Humid_continental_climate) ([Köppen](/source/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification) *Dfb*), with mild summers, cold winters and high annual snowfall. Due to [seasonal lag](/source/Seasonal_lag) and influence from the nearby lake, September is well above the [subarctic](/source/Subarctic_climate) threshold as the fourth warmest month.

## Demographics

In the [2021 Census of Population](/source/2021_Canadian_census) conducted by [Statistics Canada](/source/Statistics_Canada), Roberval had a population of 9,840 living in 4,520 of its 4,838 total private dwellings, a change of -2.05% from its 2016 population of 10,046. With a land area of 151.36 km2 (58.44 sq mi), it had a population density of in 2021.[4]

In 2021, the median age was 52.4, as opposed to 41.6 for all of Canada. [French](/source/French_language) was the [mother tongue](/source/Mother_tongue) of 98.0% of residents in 2021. The next most common mother tongues were [Atikamekw](/source/Atikamekw_language) at 0.8%, followed by [Arabic](/source/Arabic), [English](/source/English_language), and [Spanish](/source/Spanish_language) 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](/source/First_Nations_in_Canada) comprised 11.0% of the population, most of whom were [First Nations](/source/First_Nations_in_Canada), 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](/source/Catholic_Church), a 14.6% decrease from 2011, while 13.6% said they had no religious affiliation. [Baptists](/source/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:

Ethnic origin 2021 Canadian 42.2% French 18.1% Québécois 15.9% French Canadian 10.9% First Nations 6.1% Innu 3.5% Métis 1.4%

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

Historical Census Data - Roberval, Quebec Year Pop. ±% 1891 783 — 1901 1,248 +59.4% 1911 1,737 +39.2% 1921 2,068 +19.1% 1931 2,770 +33.9% 1941 3,220 +16.2% 1951 4,897 +52.1% 1956 6,648 +35.8% 1961 7,739 +16.4% 1966 8,552 +10.5% 1971 8,330 −2.6% 1976 8,543 +2.6% 1981 11,391 +33.3% 1986 11,448 +0.5% 1991 11,628 +1.6% 1996 11,640 +0.1% 2001 10,906 −6.3% 2006 10,544 −3.3% 2011 10,227 −3.0% 2016 10,046 −1.8% 2021 9,840 −2.1%

## Education

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

### The Ursulines

Founded in 1882 by Sister [Saint-Raphaël](/source/Malvina_Gagn%C3%A9), the [Ursuline](/source/Ursulines) convent was the first domestic sciences school in Canada. There was also an agricultural school.[5][6]

Fires in 1897 and 1919 led to rebuilding and improvement of facilities.[5]

Following a fire in 2005, a portion of the convent was replaced by the Jardin des Ursulines, a craft vendors market.[7] In 2011, after 129 years of service to the community, the Ursuline community left Roberval.

## See also

- [Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean](/source/Roberval%E2%80%94Lac-Saint-Jean), a Canadian federal electoral district
- [Ouiatchouaniche River](/source/Ouiatchouaniche_River)
- [Ouiatchouan River](/source/Ouiatchouan_River)
- [List of towns in Quebec](/source/List_of_towns_in_Quebec)

## References

1. [*Territorial Division Act*](http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=2&file=/D_11/D11_A.HTM) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180926125200/http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=2&file=%2FD_11%2FD11_A.HTM) 2018-09-26 at the Wayback Machine. *Revised Statutes of Quebec* D-11.

1. [Roberval 2010 - Information Center - Championnat](https://archive.today/20120908224653/http://www.roberval2010.com/)

1. ["Roberval (Ville)"](http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/fiche.aspx?no_seq=53753) (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2010-12-03.

1. ["Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec"](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000202&geocode=A000224). [Statistics Canada](/source/Statistics_Canada). February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.

1. ["Ursulines de Roberval"](http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=25517&type=pge) (in French). *Répertoire dupatrimoineculturel du Québec*. Government of Quebec.

1. ["Ursulines"](http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/QuebecHistory/encyclopedia/Ursulines-QuebecHistory.htm). *The Quebec History Encyclopedia*. Marionopolis College.

1. ["Jardin des Ursulines"](http://ville.roberval.qc.ca/tourisme/jardin-des-ursulines-2) (in French). Ville de Roberval.

## External links

- (in French) [Ville de Roberval](http://www.ville.roberval.qc.ca/)
- [La Traversée du lac St-Jean](http://traversee.qc.ca/en/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Roberval, Quebec](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberval%2C_Quebec) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberval%2C_Quebec?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.