Sherbrooke is a city located in the southern part of the province of Quebec within Canada. Sherbrooke lies at the convergence of the Magog and St. Francis or Saint-Francois rivers. The City of Sherbrooke is found in the center of the Estrie administrative area.
According to the census of 2011, there were around 154,601 inhabitants in Sherbrooke, making it the sixth biggest city in Quebec Province and the 30th biggest city in the country. That same year, the Sherbrooke Census Metropolitan Area has roughly 201,890 inhabitants. This made it the 4th largest metropolitan area in Quebec and the 19th biggest in Canada. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent, or also referred to as TE, to a regional county municipality and census division, or CD, of Quebec, coextensive with the city of Sherbrooke.
The city of Sherbrooke is the main political, institutional, cultural and economic centre of Estrie. At the start of the 20th century, Sherbrooke was additionally referred to as the Queen of the Eastern Townships.
The city is a main center for universities, because the City of Sherbrooke supports 8 institutions that employ over 11,000 individuals. 3,700 of these employees are professors, teachers and researchers. There are over 40,000 students at the university. The direct economic impact of all of these institutions exceeds more than one billion dollars. There are around 10.32 students per 100 residents for the proportional breakdown. The city has the largest concentration of students in the entire province in proportion to its population.
Since the 19th century, the City of Sherbrooke has been an essential manufacturing center. This economic sector has experienced a major transformation in recent decades, because of the decline of Sherbrooke's traditional manufacturing areas. Currently, the service sector occupies a big place within Sherbrooke's economy, along with a prominent knowledge based economy.
There is plenty of mountains, lakes and rivers within the Sherbrooke area. The region provides many visitors several ski hills and amenities. Mont-Bellevue Park is a big park located in the city that is known for outdoor recreation and downhill skiing.
American Loyalists were the initial settlers to Sherbrooke during 1793. Part of the area has been historically referred to as the Eastern Townships. Farmer Gilbert Hyatt was originally from Schenectady, New York. During the year 1802, he built a flour mill. The community was known as "Hyatt's Mills" until the year 1818. At that time, the village was renamed after Governor General Sir John Sherbrooke, when he retired and returned to England. Most of the residents in the city of Sherbrooke speak French, despite the town's Anglophone name and heritage; there are hardly any traces of Sherbrooke's English past remaining.
The city grew considerably during the year 2002 after the mergers of: Deauville, Sherbrooke, Lennoxville, Ascot, Saint-Elie-d'Orford, Bromptonville, Rock Forrest and Fleuimont.