# Alma, Quebec

Alma (French pronunciation: ; 2021 Town population: 30,331; UA Population 20,274) is a town in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, in the Canadian province of Quebec.

## History

The present town of Alma was formed in 1962 from the merging of four villages: Isle-Maligne, Naudville, Riverbend and St-Joseph d'Alma. The oldest of the villages, St-Joseph-d'Alma, was founded in 1867 by Damase Boulanger. The area became an important industrial centre during the 1920s and 1930s with the construction of a hydro-electrical power station on the Grande-Décharge River, a paper mill (Price) and an aluminum smelting plant (Alcan), all of which are still in activity today.
In 2002, Alma merged with the Municipality of Delisle. Both modern day Alma and St-Joseph d'Alma are named after the Battle of the Alma.

## Geography

Alma is located on the southeast coast of Lac Saint-Jean where it flows into the Saguenay River, in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, approximately 175 km north of Quebec City. Alma is the seat of Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality. Alma is the second largest city in population in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region after the city of Saguenay.
Alma is the seat of the judicial district of Alma.

## Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Alma had a population of 30,331 living in 13,815 of its 14,493 total private dwellings, a change of -1.4% from its 2016 population of 30,771. With a land area of 194.92 km$^2$ (75.26 sq mi), it had a population density of 155.6/km$^2$ (403.0/sq mi) in 2021.
Population trend:
* Population in 2021: 30,331
* Population in 2016: 30,771
* Population in 2011: 30,904
* Population in 2006: 29,998
* Population in 2001: 25,918
* Population in 1996: 26,127
* Population in 1991: 25,910
* Population in 1986: 25,923
* Population in 1981: 26,322
* Population in 1976: 25,638
* Population in 1971: 24,956
* Population in 1966: 22,195
* Population in 1961: 13,309
* Population in 1956: 10,822
* Population in 1951: 7,975
* Population in 1941: 6,449
* Population in 1931: 3,970
* Population in 1921: 850
Mother tongue:
* English as first language: 0.4%
* French as first language: 98.5%
* English and French as first language: 0.3%
* Other as first language: 0.7%
Visible minority and Aboriginal population (Canada 2021 Census) :
| Population group | Population group | Population | % of total population |
| White | White | 28,015 | 95.5% |
| Visible minority group Source: | South Asian | 0 | 0% |
| Visible minority group Source: | Chinese | 55 | 0.2% |
| Visible minority group Source: | Black | 185 | 0.6% |
| Visible minority group Source: | Filipino | 15 | 0.1% |
| Visible minority group Source: | Arab | 35 | 0.1% |
| Visible minority group Source: | Latin American | 30 | 0.1% |
| Visible minority group Source: | Southeast Asian | 35 | 0.1% |
| Visible minority group Source: | West Asian | 0 | 0% |
| Visible minority group Source: | Korean | 0 | 0% |
| Visible minority group Source: | Japanese | 0 | 0% |
| Visible minority group Source: | Visible minority, n.i.e. | 0 | 0% |
| Visible minority group Source: | Multiple visible minority | 10 | 0% |
| Total visible minority population | Total visible minority population | 375 | 1.3% |
| Aboriginal group Source: | First Nations | 350 | 1.2% |
| Aboriginal group Source: | Métis | 500 | 1.7% |
| Aboriginal group Source: | Inuk | 10 | 0% |
| Aboriginal group Source: | Aboriginal, n.i.e. | 65 | 0.2% |
| Aboriginal group Source: | Multiple Aboriginal identity | 10 | 0% |
| Total Aboriginal population | Total Aboriginal population | 935 | 3.2% |
| Total population | Total population | 29,325 | 100% |

## Infrastructure
### Transportation

Alma is serviced by the Alma Airport, located 4.1 km to the south of the town.

## Sister cities

Alma has been twinned with Falaise, Calvados, France, since 1969.

## Notable people

* Camille Bedard, hockey player
* Chris Boucher, basketball player for the Toronto Raptors
* Lucien Bouchard, former premier of Québec
* Guy Cloutier, producer and artist manager
* Guillaume Desbiens, hockey player
* Charles Hudon, hockey player for the Ontario Reign
* Pierre Lapointe, singer
* Émilie Fortin Tremblay (1872–1949), one of the first white women to cross the Chilkoot on the way to the Yukon gold fields
* François-Louis Tremblay, Olympic gold medallist short-track speed skater
* Mario Tremblay, hockey player and former coach of the Montreal Canadiens