Fermont

Following the depletion of the Jeannine Lake Mine at Gagnon in the late 1960s, the Québec Cartier Mining Company began to develop the Mont Wright Mine. This was a large-scale project that involved mining, processing, and transporting iron ore. Some 1,600 employees would be needed, and the town of Fermont was constructed to house them and their families. By the end of 1972, the first people settled there. The same year, the Fermont post office opened, and in 1974, the place was incorporated as Ville de Fermont. The town, mine and wall were featured in the television crime drama series La Faille (2019). ==Geography==

Fermont is settled about 30 km (18 mi) from Labrador City, about 565 km (351 mi) from Baie-Comeau, and about 550 km (341 mi) from Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Fermont is in an area of rounded hills and flat areas with peat bogs, wetlands and many lakes and small streams. The valleys show the influence of glacial action and contain undifferentiated glacial till and fluvioglacial deposits of sand and gravel. Lake Perchard, to the north of Fermont, supplies the town with drinking water. The Fermont waste water treatment plant discharges through lakes Daviault and Sans-Nom into Carheil Lake, in the Moisie River watershed. In April 2011 it was reported that water management experts in Sept-Îles were concerned about cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, that had been found in Carheil Lake and had potential to further affect the Moisie River. The bloom was due to phosphorus discharge from the treatment plant, which has since been reduced. Climate Fermont has a harsh subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc) with long, severe winters and short, mild summers. Although overall not as heavy as in most other parts of the Labrador Peninsula, snowfall is still heavy at around and average maximum depth of which is actually deeper than some other North Shore locations with heavier snowfall like Sept-Îles. == Demographics ==

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Fermont 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. Languages ==Economy==

The local economy is entirely dependent on the Mont Wright and Fire Lake mines owned by ArcelorMittal. Over 80% of municipal revenues come from mining operations. This went up to $70,102 in 2006, whereas the provincial average dropped to $37,722. The mine product is shipped to Port-Cartier on the Cartier Railway where it is converted to pellets. In 2006, the mine was affected by a labour dispute which lasted from early April to early June. It was amicably resolved with a six-year contract renewal. Because of the town's disproportionately high number of (relatively prosperous) men compared to women and the few entertainment options in Fermont's climate, the adult entertainment industry is extremely lucrative in Fermont; as such, strippers can make a substantial amount of money for their profession. ==Local government==

The city council is composed of a mayor and six city councillors. , the mayor is Martin St-Laurent. The councillors are Bernard Dupont, Danny Bouchard, Cindy Vignola, Marco Ouellet, Daniel Bergeron, and Shannon Power. List of former mayors: • Robin Bélanger (...–2003) • Lise Pelletier (2003–2013) • Martin St-Laurent (2014–present) ==Transportation==

The Trans-Quebec–Labrador Route (route 389 on the Quebec side and route 500 on the Labrador side) is the only road access to Fermont. Route 389 begins in Baie-Comeau and goes north along the Manicouagan Reservoir. The town is accessible by scheduled passenger airline service via the Wabush Airport; it is located in Labrador West. The Cartier Railway connects Port-Cartier to the Mont-Wright min. However, it is only used for transporting iron ore concentrate and bulk equipment. The train no longer carries passengers. ==See also==