Contrecœur (French pronunciation: [kɔ̃tʁəkœʁ]) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The population as of the Canada 2021 census was 9,480. Contrecœur is approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) northeast of Montreal and is accessible via Autoroute 30, the main road from the southwest, which continues on to Sorel-Tracy.
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History
In 1672, Antoine Pécaudy de Contrecœur, a soldier of the Carignan-Salières Regiment, originally from Saint-Chef, Isère, France, was granted a seigneury by King Louis XIV. He and 68 other pioneers founded the town in 1681, and it is named in his honour. A migratory bird sanctuary is located near the town on Contrecœur Island. Contrecœur is currently twinned with Saint-Chef, in southeast France, and has been since 1993.
The steel mill in Contrecoeur-West was in 1994 privatised by the Quebec government. The initial owner of Norambar was Stelco, until Mittal purchased it in 2004. The steel mill in Contrecoeur-Est, Sidbec-Dosco, was privatised in 1994 into Ispat International. Mittal purchased that too, and merged with Arcelor to form ArcelorMittal in 2006. The Contrecoeur-West and Contrecoeur-East were administratively merged into ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada.
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Contrecoeur had a population of 9,480 living in 4,116 of its 4,252 total private dwellings, a change of 20.2% from its 2016 population of 7,887. With a land area of 62.2 km2 (24.0 sq mi), it had a population density of 152.4/km2 (394.7/sq mi) in 2021.
Population trend:
Population in 2021: 9,480 (2016 to 2021 population change: 20.2%)
Population in 2016: 7,887
Population in 2011: 6,252
Population in 2006: 5,678
Population in 2001: 5,222
Population in 1996: 5,331
Population in 1991: 5,501
Population in 1986: 5,553
Population in 1981: 5,449
Education
Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes operates francophone public schools, including:
École des Coeurs-Vaillants
École Mère-Marie-Rose
The Riverside School Board operates anglophone public schools, including:
Harold Sheppard Elementary School in Sorel-Tracy
Heritage Regional High School in Longueuil