Saint-Félicien, Qué, Town, pop 10 622 (2001c), 10 797 A (1996c), area 363.57 km2, inc 1976, is located at the mouth of Rivière Ashuapmushuan on the west shore of Lac SAINT-JEAN. Founded in 1865, the colony of Saint-Félicien soon became a prosperous agricultural parish. Agriculture and lumber dominated its economy until World War II. The Canadian Northern Railway reached here in 1917.
The town profited from the Chibougamau-Chapais mining boom of the 1950s, since nearly all the copper extracted from Chibougamau and Chapais (280 km northwest of Lac Saint-Jean) left the region via Saint-Félicien. This transportation was at first by road (opened in 1949), then by railway to Chibougamau (1959). In 1960 local citizens founded the Zoo Saint-Félicien, which has become a major attraction in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region because of its innovative zoological approach (nature paths). Donohue Inc began operating a pulp mill here in 1978, and it now also owns the sawmill.