Baie Comeau

Baie-Comeau, Québec is the hometown of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. It is a small town located approximately 420 kilometers north-east of Quebec City in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Québec, Canada. Its population was of 23,079 at the 2001 census. Baie-Comeau is also the seat of Manicouagan Regional County Municipality.

Baie-Comeau is located on the shores of the St. Lawrence River and of the Manicouagan River, which is home to several hydroelectric dams. The most important Manicouagan hydroelectric dam is Manic 5 located about 215 kilometers north of Baie-Comeau. Those dams are owned by Hydro-Québec and they create the Manicouagan Reservoir. The town was named after Napoléon-Alexandre Comeau, a local naturalist and was founded in 1936 by Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The region is a major center of lumbering for the pulp and paper industry.

In June 1982, Baie-Comeau was merged with the small town of Hauterive located about 6 kilometers west of Baie-Comeau. The eastern sector of Baie-Comeau is now known as Marquette, while the western sector of Baie-Comeau is entitled Mingan.

The town is located on Quebec route 138 about 100 kilometers east of Forestville and about 230 kilometers west of Sept-Îles. A ferry service also links the town to Matane on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The town is also connected to Quebec route 389, which leads to Manic 5, the town of Fermont, and the region of Labrador, part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.