Cléricy

You are currently standing in the center of the village at Cléricy Park, which is at the heart of the neighborhood’s community life. This park, equipped with a playground, picnic tables, and public restrooms, is the perfect place for a refreshing break. You’ll also find the Balbuzard there, a gathering place for social and community activities created by the neighborhood residents!

Taken at the village’s west entrance, the photo above shows a panoramic view of the village with the church perched on a hilltop. The church was demolished in 2013.

Today, Cléricy is known for the vitality of its residents and stands out, among other things, for the cultural activities organized within its boundaries. Make the most of your stop in the village by taking a walk to explore its streets and head down to the riverbank to admire the rapids.

Photo source: BAnQ

A view of the village of Cléricy from 1941.

Photo source: BAnQ

The first bridge over Rapid No. 3 on the Kinojévis River in 1938.

Photo source: BAnQ

In 2018, an anniversary edition of the Kinojévis raft race was organized to mark the 40th anniversary of the first race. The event was a huge success, with between 8,000 and 10,000 spectators turning out to watch the various teams tackle the rapids of the Kinojévis in their makeshift rafts!

Photo: Stefya Gilbert

Born in New Brunswick but a longtime resident of Cléricy, Jocelyne Saucier is undoubtedly one of the leading authors of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region. Since 1996, she has been a finalist on numerous occasions for prestigious Canadian literary awards. With her novel Il pleuvait des oiseaux, published in 2011, she has won, in succession, the Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie, the Prix littéraire des collégiens, the Prix France-Québec, and the Prix Ringuet awarded by the Académie des lettres du Québec, to name just a few.

Photo credit: Ariane Ouellet

This artwork depicts the Kinojévis River, a waterway on which many settlers floated logs. These logs, processed into beams and planks at the Cléricy sawmills, were then transported by horse-drawn carts and used, among other things, to build settlers’ homes. At that time, in the 1940s, men would come together and work in shifts to build houses for the first settlers, who would then return the favor by helping them in turn.

Artist: Marie-Anna Allen

Year: 2016

Material: acrylic on UHD panel

Marie-Anna Allen was born in Cléricy. She lived there until 1963 and returned in 2001. After retiring from teaching, she took painting classes in 1998 with René-André Baillargeons.

1925: The Frontenac, Cléricy, Copper Hill, Bouchard, and Continentale mines began operations

1927: The CIP created the Dépôt-Cléricy at the junction of the Rouyn railway line and the river flowing from Taschereau

1935: The Saint-Joseph-de-Cléricy parish was founded by the first settlers from Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, who settled in the region as part of the Vautrin Plan.

1938: The road to Noranda was extended

1946: Telephone service was introduced

1950: Electrification

1951: A forest fire burned more than 100 km²

1974: Protest to keep the village school open; and they succeeded

1978: Incorporation as a municipality

1983: Construction of the fire station

2002: Merger with the other municipalities of the MRC