Chicoutimi, Then and Now

The people are warm and welcoming, and the cultural depth of the Saguenay is as rich as ever. But the sense of remoteness that once guaranteed total French immersion has diminished.

Jun 24, 2025

In 1987, I spent six transformative weeks in Chicoutimi, Quebec, as a student at the École de langue française et de culture québécoise (ELFCQ) at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC). It was my first real immersion in French, a formative step toward becoming fluent (and a Quebec specialist who would study for a graduate degree in political science in French), and an experience rooted in a city known for its cultural purity and linguistic isolation. Chicoutimi, then an independent city, was a bastion of French Canada—a place where English simply did not factor into daily life.

Nearly four decades later, I finally returned, only to find that the Chicoutimi of my youth has become something else. While the city, now officially the borough of Chicoutimi within the larger city of Saguenay since the 2003 municipal amalgamation, still holds its charm and remains an attractive place to study French, its evolution has changed the nature of that immersion experience. In 2025, Chicoutimi is no longer the remote, self-contained cultural enclave it once was.

The End of Isolation

Perhaps the most significant transformation is the reimagining of the highway that links Saguenay to Quebec City. Highway 175, once a treacherous two-lane road notorious for winter closures, has been completely modernized. Today, it is a four-lane divided highway, comparable in quality and reliability to American interstate highways. While the Laurentian mountains and the occasional bear or deer still pose the occasional hazard, and massive signs at each end of the highway stand ready to announce weather-related closures, the route is much more dependable than it was in the past.

The improvement of this highway has, quite literally, closed the distance between Chicoutimi and the rest of Quebec. It is no longer the half-forgotten outpost perched at the edge of the province—it is connected, accessible, and increasingly cosmopolitan.

A Region Shaped by Settlement and Culture

Chicoutimi and the Saguenay region have always had a distinct history within Quebec. Unlike Quebec’s original settlements along the St. Lawrence River, the Saguenay’s significant population growth began only after 1870. Encouraged by Catholic nationalists, French Canadians settled the area as an alternative to emigration to the mills of New England, where many French Canadians ultimately assimilated into English-speaking America. The Saguenay, by contrast, remained staunchly Catholic and resolutely Francophone. Even today, the region’s population is reputed to be more than 99% French-speaking.

It was this cultural and linguistic purity that made Chicoutimi such an ideal destination for French immersion in the 1980s. Back then, English was not an option. Very few people in the city spoke it, and for students like me, the environment demanded that we speak French at all times. It was a true immersion experience. The biggest challenge for the program administrators was not keeping us from speaking English with locals—it was preventing us from slipping into English with one another. That intensity shaped my learning. I arrived in Chicoutimi with barely any French and left six weeks later speaking it fluently.

Chicoutimi Transformed

The Chicoutimi I encountered in 2025 is a city that has both grown and, in some ways, moved away from its isolated, monocultural past. The landmarks I remembered are largely gone. The snack stands where we would grab a quick poutine, including our beloved Monsieur Hot Dog, have disappeared. In fact, Monsieur Hot Dog is now a Lebanese restaurant—a sign of Chicoutimi’s gradual opening to global cultural influences.

The “bar-terrasses” where we would spend our evenings have also vanished. My host parents, who generously welcomed me into their home in 1987, have long since passed away. Their house still stands, but it now operates as a beauty salon. The local Catholic parish I attended has been consolidated into larger diocesan structures as part of the broader trend of church closures and mergers across Quebec, although the small neighborhood diner where I had breakfast a few times still serves the same hearty morning meal.

The most disorienting change came not from the city itself, but from the shifting linguistic environment. In 1987, English was so uncommon that speaking it outside the classroom was practically impossible. This time, I was surprised—and frankly, a little disappointed—by how quickly restaurant servers and shopkeepers would switch to English the moment they detected my American-accented French. I often had to explain that I had studied French in Chicoutimi decades earlier before they would resume speaking French with me.

It happened repeatedly over the three days I spent there. This subtle but persistent shift made me wonder: is Chicoutimi still the ideal place to learn French by immersion?

UQAC Reimagined

The biggest transformation is at UQAC itself. In 1987, it was a compact university with essentially one academic building and a separate athletic facility. Today, that original building—the Pavillon principal—remains, but it now anchors a much larger campus, with new buildings, sports facilities, and green spaces. The athletic complex has expanded, surrounded by sports fields, including a full-sized Canadian football field, reflecting the sport’s boom in Quebec since the early 2000s.

In the 1980s, the French immersion students dominated the campus in the summer. Outside our classes and social activities, the university was mostly quiet. Now, the campus is lively year-round, with numerous summer programs and a strong international student presence. UQAC has clearly positioned itself as a summer destination for students from around the world, including many francophone African students.

The French immersion program still exists, but its profile has diminished. In 1987, the École de langue française et de culture québécoise was a centerpiece of the university’s identity. It had a visible presence and a dedicated community. Today, it has been absorbed into UQAC’s continuing education office and is now run under the federal government’s rebranded “Explore” program. The days of large summer intakes under Canada’s Summer Language Bursary Program are gone, partly due to federal funding cuts that began in the 1990s.

The Explore program continues to offer cultural activities and excursions into the beautiful Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean countryside, but it operates on a much smaller scale. Fewer local families host students, which reduces opportunities to practice French outside the classroom. Many students now stay in university residences, which can unintentionally encourage English-speaking social circles to form.

Even the physical space reflects this change. The École de langue’s dedicated offices have disappeared. The program now shares space with other continuing education initiatives. The program has become one among many.

The Legacy of Ghislain Bouchard

The cultural and educational spirit of the program’s founder, Ghislain Bouchard, lingers in the city. Bouchard, who passed away in 2009, was a towering figure in both Chicoutimi’s cultural life and UQAC’s development. He was not only instrumental in creating the French immersion school but also in founding La Fabuleuse Histoire d’un Royaume, an epic theatrical spectacle chronicling the Saguenay region’s history.

Bouchard’s passing was widely mourned in Quebec, and his contributions to language education and cultural preservation remain highly respected. Yet, with his death and the dispersal of his original team, the program inevitably lost some of its distinctive energy.

Is Chicoutimi Still the Best Place to Learn French?

So, is Chicoutimi in 2025 still an exceptional place to learn French? The answer is complex. The region remains overwhelmingly French-speaking, the people are warm and welcoming, and the cultural depth of the Saguenay is as rich as ever. But the sense of remoteness that once guaranteed total immersion has diminished. English is now present in everyday life in a way it simply was not in 1987. The university’s French programs still exist but feel less central to the campus’s identity.

For students who want to learn French while experiencing Quebec’s natural beauty and distinct regional culture, Chicoutimi is still a worthy choice. But for those seeking the intense, no-escape immersion that once defined the experience, other, more rural corners of Quebec may now offer that better.

For me, the return to Chicoutimi was a bittersweet reminder of how places change over time—and of how the world, even in its more isolated corners, is never as static as we sometimes imagine.

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