The Beginnings

Our Story

In the early 1980’s, two chapters of Alliance Québec were organized on the North Shore – one in the community of Baie-Comeau, the other in the communities of Sept-Îles and Port-Cartier. As the Anglophone communities decreased in population, it became increasingly difficult to fulfill the constitutional requirements of chapter status. So in the early 1990’s, Anglophones on the North Shore were represented in Alliance Québec through two community organizations.

In the late 1990’s, with the creation of the Provisional Council to organize linguistic school boards in the east of the province, discussions began between a North Shore Steering Committee and the Committee for Anglophone Social Action (CASA) in the Gaspé. During the year 1999, four community animators were hired to research and survey their respective communities of Baie-Comeau, Fermont, Port-Cartier, and Sept-Îles in order to compile a needs and services assessment.

On September 23rd, 2000, the North Shore Community Association was established at a founding meeting in Port-Cartier. The English-speaking population of the North Shore voted unanimously in favour of starting a Regional Association rather than being a chapter of CASA. The Steering Committee members had accomplished the first steps of what they set out to do…. NSCA was now a reality.

The Executive Committee held its first Executive Meeting on December 8th, 2000 in Baie-Comeau, and the first Annual General Meeting was held on November 10th, 2001 in Port-Cartier.

Mission

The North Shore Community Association is a non-profit regional organization dedicated to serving, representing, and instilling pride in the English-speaking community of Quebec’s North Shore. Our aim is to empower residents and to strengthen the community across the region by working to make information and resources available, by facilitating community initiatives, by encouraging and improving communication, by promoting access to services, by developing partnerships and by increasing the visibility of the English -speaking community. Together, we are building a vital, informed and strong community.

Objectives

  • Develop and maintain a knowledge base about the English-speaking community of the North Shore.
  • Increase access and knowledge of services and resources for the English- speaking community within the region.
  • Increase cohesion and participation in the English-speaking community.
  • Support and showcase the English-speaking community and its heritage and culture.
  • Strengthen communication and visibility within the community.

Our Staff

NSCA is made up of a dedicated staff that carries out the day-to-day operations of the office and ensures the overall success of projects and activities.

  • Jody Lessard

    Executive Director
  • Eveline Audy

    Executive Assistant
  • Annie Lafrenière

    Programs and Communications Coordinator
  • Charlene Lavallee

    Coordinator-Senior Wellness
  • Amber Dalby

    Community Coordinator
  • Louise Mansbridge

    Seniors Outreach
  • Alicia Buffitt

    Project Coordinator
  • Cynthia Dempsey

    Administrative & Outreach Assistant

2022-2023

Board of Directors

  • Mary-Ellen Beaulieu

    Chair
  • Edith O'Brien

    Vice-Chair
  • Donald Goodfellow

    Treasurer
  • Marilyn Miller

    Secretary
  • Walter Bisson

    Director
  • Marcella Beaudoin

    Director
  • Jackie Bizeau

    Director
  • Marie-Anne Bizeau

    Director
  • Aby Gaelle Jerome

    Youth Director

The Region

The North Shore region, located in northeastern Quebec, is the second largest region in the province. The territory stretches over 1,280 kilometres, from the city of Tadoussac to Blanc-Sablon, and includes Anticosti Island as well as the cities of Schefferville and Fermont located in the northernmost part of the region.

The North Shore Community Association (NSCA) is mandated to represent and serve the English-language minority communities in Quebec’s North Shore, a constituent territory composed of five MRCs (municipalités régionales de comté – regional county municipality), spanning from Tadoussac to Havre Saint-Pierre and including Fermont and Schefferville. The region’s population of 2,160 English speakers includes also the Naskapi population, the region’s first-official-language-anglophone First Nations.

Caniapiscau

The MRC of Caniapiscau contains five communities: the towns of Fermont and Schefferville, as well as two Montagnais communities—Matimekush and Lac-John—and the Naskapi community of Kawawachikamach.

Total population: 4,362
English-speaking: 602

Sept-Rivières

The MRC of Sept-Rivières consists of five communities: the territory of Lac-Walker, the town of Port-Cartier, the city of Sept-Îles, and the First Nation reserves of Maliotenam and Uashat.

Total population: 35,138
English-speaking: 1,029

La Haute-Côte-Nord

The MRC of la Haute-Côte-Nord consists of nine communities: the town of Forestville, the municipalities of Colombier, Les Bergeronnes, Les Escoumins, Longue-Rive, Portneuf-sur-Mer, Sacré-Coeur, the village of Tadoussac, and the First Nation reserve of Essipit.

Total population: 11,546
English-speaking: 32

Manicouagan

The MRC of Manicouagan consists of 10 communities: the city of Baie-Comeau, the villages of Baie-Trinité, Chute-aux-Outardes, Godbout, Pointe-aux-Outardes, Pointe-Lebel, and Ragueneau, the territory of Rivière-aux-Outardes, the municipality of Franquelin, and the First Nation reserve of Pessamit.

Total population: 32,012
English-speaking: 450

Minganie

The MRC of Minganie consists of 10 communities: the municipalities of Aguanish, Baie-Johan-Beetz, Havre-Saint-Pierre, l’Île-d’Anticosti, Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan, Rivière-au-Tonnerre, Rivière-Saint-Jean and Natashquan, and the First Nation reserves of Mingan and Natashquan.

Total population: 6,582
English-speaking: 47