Granby, Quebec
Granby | |
|---|---|
| Ville de Granby | |
 Rue Principale (Main Street) | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto: Pour y parvenir | |
 Location within La Haute-Yamaska RCM | |
  Granby Location in southern Quebec | |
| Coordinates: 45°24′N 72°44′W / 45.400°N 72.733°WCoordinates: 45°24′N 72°44′W / 45.400°N 72.733°W[2] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Estrie[1] |
| RCM | La Haute-Yamaska |
| Constituted | January 1, 2007 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Julie Bourdon |
| • Federal riding | Shefford |
| • Prov. riding | Granby |
| Area | |
| • Town | 156.10 km2 (60.27 sq mi) |
| • Land | 152.72 km2 (58.97 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 90.53 km2 (34.95 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 396.52 km2 (153.10 sq mi) |
| Population (2016) | |
| • Town | 66,222 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area code(s) | 450 and 579 |
| Highways |  Route 112  Route 137  Route 139 |
Granby is a town in southwestern Quebec, located east of Montreal. The population as of the Canada 2016 Census was 66,222. Granby is the seat of La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality. It is the second most populated city in Estrie after Sherbrooke. The town is named after John Manners, Marquess of Granby; today it is most famous for the Granby Zoo and its landmark fountain of Lac Boivin.
History
The territory on which Granby is found was described as natural prairies and forests composed of ash, fir, maple, hemlock and birch, there was also a small swamp a kilometre and half uphill.[8] The area was inhabited sporadically by nomadic First Nations.[9]
In 1792, Loyalists were granted permission to colonize the Eastern Townships. On January 29, 1803, the Executive Council of Quebec conceded the Township of Granby to Colonel Henry Caldwell and his 97 associates.[10] John Horner, the first inhabitant who settled on the site of the current town arrived in 1813. Horner built a sawmill near the Yamaska River. Twelve years later, in 1825, he opened a general store with Richard Frost.[10] Frost traced the official plans later that same year.[11]
Granby became an incorporated municipality in 1816, and a town in 1971.
Field areas have been exploited for agricultural use and the North Yamaska river's flow has been used for its hydraulic energy since the construction of a first dam in 1815 by large industrial companies; the use of dams along the stream has provoked the formation of a large shallow swamp, called Lac Boivin, often cited as one of Granby's landmarks.
In May 2006, the citizens of Granby and Granby Township held a referendum on a possible merger. A majority of citizens of the two municipalities approved the merger, which took effect on January 1, 2007.[12]
Geography
Granby is a flat region located approximately halfway between Montreal and Sherbrooke along Autoroute 10; historically a land covered by forests and prairies, it has transformed into an urbanized core surrounded by fields and suburban neighborhoods. The North Yamaska river, which crosses lake Boivin (this lake took shape after the construction of a series of dams and later changed into a large swamp praised for its biodiversity.[8] It connects to nearby villages by a network of roads and has two access points from the highway at exit 68 (through Saint-Alphonse-de-Granby) and 74 (via Bromont).
Parks and green spaces
Granby has many parks and fountains, including the Daniel-Johnson, Victoria, Terry Fox, Miner, Pelletier, and Kennedy parks.
- Lake Boivin, Daniel-Johnson park, and the Centre d'interprétation de la nature du lac Boivin (nature interpretation centre of lake Boivin), take shape in the 1980s, landscaped with paths all around for bikers and pedestrians, they become a haven for all lovers of nature for they harbour many lifeforms. Touching the heart of the town, lake Boivin has park Daniel-Johnson on its northern shores, from which citizens and tourists practice recreational sports such as navigation and cycling, the park also hosts events for Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Earth day; as well as a self-proclaimed fête de la rivière (river festival) to honour and clean the North Yamaska River; characteristic hills on the park's premises are very popular for picnicking during the summer and sleighing in the winter. The Centre d'interprétation de la nature du lac Boivin is a non-profit devoted to conservation of the territory, habitat, fauna and flora of lake Boivin.
- Yamaska National Park is a vast protected humid zone around the Choinière reservoir with forest, beach, walking and biking paths, as well as navigable waters (only light non-motorized vehicles are permitted); it is an important bird sanctuary.
- Park Victoria is the oldest urban garden in town. Purchased in 1889, and park landscaped in 1900, its name honours Queen Victoria (1876-1901).[13] There are war memorials to Latimer (1901), for the soldiers killed in the Second Boer Wars, and the monument to the Braves, both accompanied by canons. Selbach fountain, inaugurated in 1982, rises on the corner of Dufferin street and Mountain boulevard. Two ponds connected by a small stream, large rock outcrops and a hilly terrain are its main geographical characteristics; its northeastern tip is fragmented by Lorne street; at its southernmost limits, the park touches Parkview, an English elementary school. In the warm months, free concerts are sometimes played in a gazebo.
- Park Miner is the second oldest park in Granby; it was given to the town by mayor Stephen Henderson Campbell Miner in 1910; today, it lies downtown and houses Piscine Miner (Miner pool), the municipal indoor public pool. A monument to the founders of Saint-Jean-Baptiste society was erected in 1934. The first community public art gallery in the region is installed by Atelier 19 to celebrate its ten years.[14] During the summer, the park has tents installed to house different public activities such as dance and music.
Daniel-Johnson park
Monument to Latimer at park Victoria
Wallace fountain at Isabelle park.
Climate
Granby has a humid continental climate[15] (Dfb). It has significant variations of temperature with four distinct seasons. Summers are warm but short and winters are very cold. Transitional seasons have significant variations of temperature between adjacent months. Precipitation is quite high, resulting in rainy summers and snowy winters.
| Climate data for Granby | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 17.5 (63.5) |
16.5 (61.7) |
23.9 (75.0) |
29.0 (84.2) |
31.1 (88.0) |
34.4 (93.9) |
36.1 (97.0) |
35.6 (96.1) |
32.2 (90.0) |
28.9 (84.0) |
23.9 (75.0) |
18 (64) |
36.1 (97.0) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −5.5 (22.1) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
1.9 (35.4) |
10.0 (50.0) |
18.1 (64.6) |
22.6 (72.7) |
25.0 (77.0) |
23.6 (74.5) |
18.5 (65.3) |
11.8 (53.2) |
4.5 (40.1) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
10.4 (50.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −10.0 (14.0) |
−8.5 (16.7) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
5.4 (41.7) |
12.9 (55.2) |
17.6 (63.7) |
20.1 (68.2) |
18.9 (66.0) |
14.0 (57.2) |
7.7 (45.9) |
1.1 (34.0) |
−6.3 (20.7) |
5.9 (42.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −14.5 (5.9) |
−12.9 (8.8) |
−6.6 (20.1) |
0.7 (33.3) |
7.7 (45.9) |
12.6 (54.7) |
15.2 (59.4) |
14.1 (57.4) |
9.4 (48.9) |
3.6 (38.5) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
−10.3 (13.5) |
1.4 (34.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −37.0 (−34.6) |
−35.0 (−31.0) |
−31.1 (−24.0) |
−17.2 (1.0) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
1.7 (35.1) |
2.0 (35.6) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−8.9 (16.0) |
−18.9 (−2.0) |
−33.0 (−27.4) |
−37.0 (−34.6) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 103.9 (4.09) |
74.5 (2.93) |
92.8 (3.65) |
88.4 (3.48) |
93.2 (3.67) |
107.4 (4.23) |
128.1 (5.04) |
124.9 (4.92) |
110.2 (4.34) |
99.1 (3.90) |
105.8 (4.17) |
104.3 (4.11) |
1,236.6 (48.69) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 34.1 (1.34) |
22.0 (0.87) |
43.7 (1.72) |
68.7 (2.70) |
92.3 (3.63) |
107.4 (4.23) |
128.1 (5.04) |
124.9 (4.92) |
110.2 (4.34) |
96.1 (3.78) |
75.1 (2.96) |
38.9 (1.53) |
941.5 (37.07) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 69.8 (27.5) |
52.5 (20.7) |
49.1 (19.3) |
19.7 (7.8) |
0.9 (0.4) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
3.0 (1.2) |
30.7 (12.1) |
65.4 (25.7) |
291.2 (114.6) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 19 | 14.8 | 14.8 | 13.5 | 14.2 | 14.5 | 14.0 | 13.6 | 13.3 | 13.8 | 16.9 | 18.1 | 180.5 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 4.4 | 3.9 | 6.9 | 11.0 | 14.1 | 14.5 | 14.0 | 13.6 | 13.3 | 13.3 | 11.6 | 6.0 | 126.6 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 16.6 | 12.6 | 10.1 | 4.2 | 0.17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.82 | 7.3 | 14.1 | 65.89 |
| Source: Environment Canada[16] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Granby had a population of 69,025 living in 31,850 of its 32,766 total private dwellings, a change of 4.2% from its 2016 population of 66,222. With a land area of 152.69 km2 (58.95 sq mi), it had a population density of 452.1/km2 (1,170.8/sq mi) in 2021.[17]
| Language | Population | Pct (%) |
|---|---|---|
| French only | 43,550 | 94.47% |
| English only | 900 | 1.95% |
| Both English and French | 120 | 0.26% |
| Other languages | 1,530 | 3.32% |
Economy and attractions
Granby is a regional centre for industries (textile, lumber, dairy products) and commercial zone, but is also a tourist town, due to the presence of the important Granby Zoo, founded by the Mayor Horace Boivin. It hosts a Fête des Mascottes ("Mascot Festival") each year in July.
Granby is the host of the yearly "Festival de la chanson de Granby" ("Granby Song Festival") in which many well-known artists, such as Jean Leloup and Luc De Larochellière, have first gained public exposure.
The international classic car show takes place at parc Daniel-Johnston, with over 2500 antiques, vintage, hot rods, muscle cars and classic imports cars every summer. Granby's annual classic car show
Granby is also home to the Galeries de Granby regional shopping mall which has 106 stores.[19]
The Autodrome Granby, one of Canada's largest dirt oval racing tracks, hosts professional racing teams every Friday night from May to September. Winner of many prizes Autodrome Granby is known worldwide in the racing community.
Sports
Granby is the location of the annual Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby of the ATP Challenger Tour, which takes place at the Club de Tennis des Loisirs de Granby.
The Granby Inouk of the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League are based in Granby. The Inouk play their home games at the Leonard Grondin Arena.
Granby is also home to the Ligue de Baseball Senior Élite du Québec's Granby Guerriers. The Guerriers play their home games at Napoléon Fontaine Stadium.
From 1981 to 1997, Granby was home to a QMJHL team, originally called the Granby Bisons but changed to the Granby Prédateurs in 1995. The team won the Memorial Cup in 1996. In 1997, the franchise relocated to Sydney, Nova Scotia and became the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Both teams played at Léonard Grondin Arena.
Transportation
The public transit department of the town is Transport urbain Granby. Until 1956, it was the eastern terminus of the Montreal and Southern Counties Railway's Montreal-Granby Line.
Twin towns – sister cities
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2019) |
Granby's twinned are:
- Ancona, Italy
- Bokito, Cameroon
- Coventry, England[20]
- Hammam-Lif, Tunisia
- Joal-Fadiouth, Senegal
- Marrakech, Morocco
- Rayne, United States
- Windsor, Ontario[21]
Notable people
- Benoit Coulombe, scientist and researcher.
- Palmer Cox, writer and illustrator of a popular series of children's books about supernatural creatures known as the Brownies, based on Scottish folklore.
- Pierre-Luc Dusseault, the youngest Member of Parliament in Canadian history;
- Rosie Valland, pop singer-songwriter.
See also
- List of census agglomerations by province or territory (Quebec)
- Granby, Quebec (township)
- List of cities in Quebec
- Municipal history of Quebec
- Granby Consolidated Mining, Smelting and Power Company
Notes
- ^ Amalgamation of the city and the township of Granby into the town of Granby on January 1, 2007.
References
- ^ "La Haute-Yamaska et Brome-Missisquoi entrent dans le giron de l'Estrie". La Tribune. 8 July 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ "Reference number 26164 in Banque de noms de lieux du Québec". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec.
- ^ a b "Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire: Granby". Archived from the original on 2013-09-29. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
- ^ "Parliament of Canada Federal Riding History: SHEFFORD (Quebec)". Archived from the original on 2009-06-05. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- ^ 2011 Statistics Canada Census Profile: Granby, Quebec
- ^ "2011 Statistics Canada Census Profile: Granby, Quebec (population centre)". 2012-10-22. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ^ 2011 Statistics Canada Census Profile: Granby (Census agglomeration), Quebec. The census agglomeration consists of Granby, Bromont, Saint-Alphonse-de-Granby, Saint-Paul-d'Abbotsford. In the 2006 census, the census agglomeration had not included Saint-Paul-d'Abbotsford.
- ^ a b Gendron, Mario (July 14, 2014). "Le lac Boivin, 1815-1980". SOCIÉTÉ D'HISTOIRE DE LA HAUTE-YAMAKS. Société d'histoire de la Haute-Yamaska. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
- ^ "Société d'histoire de la Haute-Yamaska". Société d'histoire de la Haute-Yamaska. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
- ^ a b Aimé Laurion, Un siècle d’histoire : Les bâtisseurs de Granby 1859-1959, La Voix de l'Est, 1959, 160 p
- ^ Mario Gendron, Johanne Rochon et Richard Racine, Granby : Patrimoine et histoire, Société d'histoire de la Haute-Yamaska, 2009, 154 p. (ISBN 978-2-9807338-6-4)
- ^ La ville et le canton de Granby fusionnent - LCN - Régional
- ^ "Parc Victoria". Commission de toponymie Québec. Commission de toponymie Québec. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
- ^ Tassé, Michel (October 6, 2011). "L'Atelier 19 transforme le parc Miner en galerie d'art communautaire publique". LA VOIX DE L'EST. La Voix de l'Est. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
- ^ "Granby, Quebec Canada Climate Summary". Weatherbase. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Canadian Climate Normals 1971-2000 - Canada's National Climate Archive". Environment Canada. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
- ^ 2006 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Granby, Quebec. The 2006 census figures applies to the old pre-merger city (not including the former township).
- ^ "Les Galeries de Granby". The Westcliff Group of Companies. 2007. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- ^ "Coventry's twin towns and cities – Granby, Canada". Coventry City Council. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
- ^ "Our Twin Cities". City of Windsor. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
External links
Adjacent Municipal Subdivisions | |
|---|---|
Granby
 Subdivisions of La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality | |
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| Cities | |
| Municipalities | |
| Townships | |
| Villages | |
- CS1 French-language sources (fr)
- Articles with short description
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- Granby, Quebec
- Incorporated places in La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality
- Cities and towns in Quebec