[4] Located in the Central Laurentians ecoregion of the Boreal Shield Ecozone, the hinterland is heavily forested and dominated by softwood species: black spruce (Picea mariana), balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and white spruce (Picea glauca).

[5][6] In 1937, the Quebec government granted a forest concession to the Anglo Canadian Pulp & Paper Co.[7] to supply its Forestville mill, on the coast.

[8] With a continued surge of demand, electricity supplies remained a concern at Hydro-Québec and other Quebec-based utilities in the mid-1950s, but the commissioning of the first 3 units at Bersimis-1 in the last quarter of 1956 somewhat alleviated the problem.

Not wanting to get caught in another potential shortage situation, company managers decided to proceed early with two more shovel ready projects: the first one was third and final phase of the Beauharnois generating station, southwest of Montreal which was made possible by the simultaneous construction of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, and Bersimis-2.

The decision to build the second plant on the north shore early had the extra benefit of having both labor and equipment in place.