Economic profile

With a population approaching 20,000, Rivière-du-Loup is the administrative centre of the Regional County Municipality (MRC) of the same name, home to 33,958 people. Its commercial and economic influence extends far beyond this territory.

Located in the heart of the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, the city is considered a veritable crossroads of regional services and development. Halfway between Montréal and Gaspé, it is close to New Brunswick, the State of Maine and, across the St. Lawrence River, Charlevoix, the Saguenay and the North Shore, connected by ferry service.

Rivière-du-Loup is easy to reach by a well-developed highway, rail, air and sea network. The hub of major highways in eastern Canada is also located in Rivière-du-Loup.

See the Transportation section

Although natural resource extraction and processing is a key component of the local economy, industrial, commercial and service sectors, such as tourism and culture, also form an integral part of our business mix.

Another interesting point: Rivière-du-Loup is home to many organizations and associations that support economic vitality and stimulate entrepreneurship.

 Our main economic sectors

• Peat and agro-environmental
• Ecoconstruction
• Food processing
• Metallurgy, glass
• Tourism
• Transportation
• Retail
• Information technology and remote sensing
• Financial services

An entrepreneurial crossroads with a promising future

In recent years, the City of Rivière-du-Loup has taken tangible initiatives to ensure its economic, social and environmental progress and position itself as an entrepreneurial crossroads with a strong future, and a sustainable development leader.

As a sign of the success of this strategy, Rivière-du-Loup was named Canada’s top entrepreneurial city in 2016 by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, based on:

• Future perspectives, reflected in forecast entrepreneurial performance, investment intentions, recruiting of full-time employees, general status of companies, and number of construction permits issued;
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• Actual entrepreneurial presence, measured in part by the increase in business establishments prorated to population and the share of total employment represented by self-employee workers;
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• Municipal policies in force (taxes, bylaws, administrative costs, etc.) that favour business development.

In 2015, Rivière-du-Loup was already ahead of the pack, taking first place in Québec in this same ranking. The number of companies (850, including self-employed workers) is clear evidence of this strong entrepreneurial spirit.

Données démographiques

General data

Sources : Recensement canadien de 2016 et Institut de la statistique du Québec.

Number of companies and organizations

 Source : CLD de la région de Rivière-du-Loup

Leading employers