Gaspé, Quebec

Demographics

thumb|right|Downtown Gaspé

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Gaspé had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

{| class="wikitable"

!colspan="19"|Canada Census Mother Tongue – Gaspé, Quebec

| 1881 |174

| 1891 |307

| 1901 |454

| 1911 |606

| 1921 |764

| 1931 |919

| 1941 |924

| 1951 |1692

| 1956 |2194

| 1961 |2603

| 1966 |2938

| 1971* |17211

| 1976 |16842

| 1981 |17261

| 1986 |17350

| 1991 |16402

| 1996 |16517

| 2001 |14932

| 2006 |14834

| 2011 |15163

| 2016 |14568

| 2021 |15063

| footnote = (*) Gaspé annexed the Municipality of Baie-de-Gaspé-Sud, the Municipality of Grande-Grève, the Municipality of Haldimand, the Municipality of L’Anse-aux-Griffons, the Municipality of Rivière-au-Renard, the Municipality of Saint-Alban-du-Cap-des-Rosiers, the Municipality of Saint-Majorique, the Municipality of York, the Parish of Saint-Maurice, the Township of Baie-de-Gaspé-Nord and the Township of Douglas.

Economy

thumb|Cap Bon-Ami in [[Forillon National Park]]

The regional hospital is the main employer in the city. Tourism is a very important part of the city and the region's economy. Many visitors come to the city to enjoy the environment and the surrounding attractions, such as Forillon National Park that is fully within the city's boundaries. One of the main summer attractions for tourists is salmon fishing. The York River, Saint John's River, and the Dartmouth River are where tourists and locals come to fish. It is not required to have a guide while fishing these rivers but a private guide can be hired upon request. Other tourist attractions include Haldimand Beach, Jacques Cartier's Cross (stone monument), and a local museum which shelters the World War I and World War II cenotaph commemorating Gaspésian veterans.

Another big employer is the LM Wind Power Canada Inc. factory that makes the windmill blades to then have them transported elsewhere. The windmill factory is a tourist attraction where tourist can see the big size of the blades and have the opportunity to take a picture next to one. The factory was expanded in 2015 by a joint venture with Senvion to produce long-blade turbine components for the Mesgi'g Ugju's'n wind farm, developed by Longueuil, Quebec-based Innergex in Avignon Township. The $365-million project, one of over two dozen financed by Hydro-Quebec and the provincial government, was completed on time in December 2016.

Attractions

Cross of Gaspé

thumb|right|The [[Cross of Gaspé]]

In 1934, the Canadian government commissioned the installation of a monolithic granite cross in Gaspé, for the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Jacques Cartier in Gaspé as of July 24, 1534. This high monolithic cross had been cut from a block of gray granite extracted from the stone quarry of Augustus Dumas, in Rivière-à-Pierre in the Portneuf region, on North Shore of the Saint Lawrence River. The Cross of Gaspé weighs more than 42 tons and was transported by two railcars of the Canadian National Railway from Rivière-à-Pierre. The cross was carried on a coaster to the Gaspé wharf. The cross was erected on its base using a rail system of pulleys and cables, driven by horses. The original craftsmen would be listed at the top of the cross. This cross is the largest monolithic granite cross crafted in Canada.

A commemorative plaque located at the foot of the Cross in Gaspé was inaugurated on August 23, 2009, in memory of artisans from Rivière-à-Pierre who extracted and cut the block of granite. A replica of the Cross of Gaspé was crafted by Rivière-à-Pierre craftsmen and erected in the heart of the village of Rivière-à-Pierre. That granite cross is half the height of the original cross.

Government

List of former mayors:

Arthur Drolet (–2003)
François Roussy (2003–2013)
Daniel Côté (2013–present)

Infrastructure

thumb|right|[[Quebec Route 132 in Gaspé]]

Gaspé is accessible by automobile or Orléans Express bus service via Quebec Route 132, and the Michel-Pouliot Gaspé Airport.

The town is also accessible by Quebec Route 198 that passes through the interior of the peninsula. Select travellers can also access the town during the winter via one of the many snowmobile trails that run through the interior and connect with many other towns on the northern and southern coasts of the peninsula. In the summer the same trails are open to all-terrain vehicle travellers as well.

thumb|right|[[Via Rail train station in Gaspé]]

Via Rail's Montreal–Gaspé train was terminated due to unsafe trackage sometime in 2013. The VIA Rail Train to Gaspé was being turned in New Carlisle, west of Gaspé. Via was offering bus service between New Carlisle and Gaspé. The line was undergoing repairs since December 2011. In March 2026, Mathieu Paquette, interim president of VIA Rail, announced that the company was evaluating the possibility of a partial and incremental return of passenger train services to Gaspé.

The Port of Gaspé has a two-sided wharf; on the one, it measures , with a depth of , and on the other measures with a depth of . The Port of Gaspé is accessible year-round with the occasional help of an icebreaker.

Its near neighbour Chandler is a port of call for Le Vacancier, a ferry which links Montréal to the Îles-de-la-Madeleine.

Education

Centre des services scolaire des Chic-Chocs operates Francophone schools.

École secondaire Antoine-Roy
École secondaire C.-E.-Pouliot
École Aux Quatre-Vents
École Notre-Dame-de-Liesse
École Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur
École Saint-Joseph-Alban
École Saint-Paul
École Saint-Rosaire et de la Découverte

Eastern Shores School Board operates Anglophone schools. It is zoned to Gaspé Polyvalent School and Gaspé Elementary School.

Sister cities

Gaspé is twinned with:

Puerto Montt, Chile (2005)
Saint-Malo, France (2009)

References

Notes

External links

Ville de Gaspé