Mission and History

Mission Statement

The Museum wants to underline the relationship that has arisen between the natural environment and human occupation by highlighting the various connections uniting the Saguenay Fjord and the regional community, particularly the La Baie and Bas-Saguenay areas.

The mission of the Musée du Fjord consists in preserving and promoting the historical, natural and artistic heritage of the area around the Saguenay Fjord and Baie des Ha! Ha!; to advance knowledge and understanding of their significance through dissemination and awareness raising efforts.

The Musée du Fjord achieves this mission by way of its permanent exhibitions, multimedia presentations, science corner, thematic temporary exhibitions, travelling exhibitions created by other institutions, and public programs.

Musée du Fjord, Mission Statement, August 2002.

History

Musée du Fjord, 40 years in action!

In the early 1960s, the scouts of the Saint-Alexis de Grande-Baie Parish collected over one thousand historical items from residents. The resulting exhibition had unprecedented success. The emerging collection had to be preserved and, to do so, the Port-Alfred Municipality acquired the home of Grande-Baie native Abbey Joseph-Wilbrod Dufour –anointed canon of the Chicoutimi Cathedral– from the Fabrique Saint-Alexis. That is where, in 1967, the Monseigneur-Dufour Museum was inaugurated, on the shores of Baie des Ha! Ha!. The subsequent years were spent holding exhibitions and educational programs, and classifying the collection.

The year 1983 was a time of transition for the Museum as it was renamed Musée du Fjord. It was moved into the Saint-Alexis Community Centre where permanent staff and professional equipment would further its development.

In July 1996, nature unleashed; the floods that hit the Saguenay region lay waste on the old neighbourhood of the Grande-Baie Sector. The Museum was heavily damaged and the equipment ruined. It had to be closed down.

If at first the destruction seemed a complete disaster, it was soon turned into an opportunity to reinvent. The community raised a substantial amount of money and numerous partners joined hands… The Museum was reborn. In 2004, following renovation and expansion of the building, the Museum reopened with state-of-the-art equipment. And its mission was restated, refocused on scientific, historical, and artistic heritage.