Varennes | The Canadian Encyclopedia

Article

Varennes

Canada's largest concentration of researchers in the field of ENERGY is concentrated in Varennes.
Maison Saint-Louis
Varennes, Québec (courtesy Ville de Varennes).
Varennes

Varennes

Varennes, Québec, City, pop 20 950 (2006c), 19 653 (2001c), inc 1972. Varennes is located on the south shore of the St Lawrence River across from Montréal-Nord. Founded in 1672, it was named after René-Gaultier de Varennes, former owner of the Seigneurie de Varennes, who later became the governor of Trois-Rivières. The old village is well preserved and grouped around a large basilica dedicated to St Anne and is also the centre of devotion to Mother Marie-Marguerite D'YOUVILLE, canonized as a SAINT in 1990.

Canada's largest concentration of researchers in the field of ENERGY is concentrated in Varennes. The headquarters of the Québec Institute of Research on Electricity is located here as well as Université du Québec's Institute on Energy and Materials and the federal government's Energy Diversification Laboratory. Varennes is also the site of a large petrochemical and chemical industrial park which shelters over 10 large multinational industries.

Built along the St Lawrence, the city enjoys the quiet setting of a rural milieu, and corn fields abound.