Sainte-Foy, Quebec City

Sainte-Foy is a former city in central Quebec, Canada on the Saint Lawrence River. It was amalgamated into Quebec City on January 1, 2002. Most of Sainte-Foy is in the Borough of Sainte-Foy—Sillery, but part of it is in the Borough of Laurentien.

Sainte-Foy is a major suburban neighbourhood west of downtown Quebec City. It is a great part of Quebec City's economic life by the presence of the Jean Lesage International Airport, Université Laval, many shopping malls and both bridges to the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, Sainte-Foy has a:
*Population of 72,547

History

At Sainte-Foy in April 1760, the French won a pyrrhic victory over the British during the last days of French and Indian War - the Battle of Sainte-Foy. This battle was actually of a larger scale and bloodier outcome than the earlier battle of September 1759 known as the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Both battles were essentially fought on the same field but with different results - the British victorious at the Plains of Abraham and the French victorious at Sainte-Foy.

Sainte-Foy's long-time and flamboyant mayor, the late Andrée Boucher, was defeated when she tried to run for mayor of the amalgamated Quebec City. She then became a radio host. In 2005, she tried once again to run for mayor when Jean-Paul L'Allier retired. This time she succeeded, without a team or advertisement and with very few public appearances or debates.

Amalgamation With Québec City

On January 1, 2002 the city was merged, along with many other suburbs, with Québec City. However, this was done without any form of public referendum or widespread public approval. Consequently, a vote was finally held on June 20, 2004 offering cities to disband from the new setup. Only Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures and L'Ancienne-Lorette disbanded from the newly formed city. Many believed that a "defusion" would only lead to an eventual and inevitable "refusion". The prospect of having to spend a lot of money undoing what had just been done discouraged most people to go vote, and in most of the old suburb cities not enough votes were cast for the vote to be valid.

Education

Sainte-Foy is also the sight of many educational institutions:

*Université Laval
*Cégep Sainte-Foy
*Cégep Garneau
*Saint-Lawrence College
*Rochebelle High School
*Compagnons de Cartier High School

Recreation

Sainte-Foy possesses 3 Ice Hockey Rinks, 1 Sports Center, 33 Soccer Fields, 2 Interior Pools, 13 Exterior Pools, 3 Cinemas, 1 Theatre, Laurier Québec, Place de La Cite, la Pyramide. Sainte-Foy also has the pride of having excellent sports representations in all sports. It has the mighty Governors at Hockey, the Caravelles and Arsenal at Soccer, and the Warriors at Basketball.

Notable Residents

*Théophile Hamel (1817-1870), portrait artist, was born here.
*Sylvie Bernier - won the gold medal in diving at the 1984 Olympics
*Patrick Roy - NHL Goaltender
*Simon Gagné - NHL Left Winger

ee also

* Municipal reorganization in Quebec