Albanel, Charles [key], 1616–96, French missionary explorer in Canada, a Jesuit priest. After arriving in Canada (1649), he was stationed many years at Tadoussac where he explored the surrounding wilderness. At the time when the English Hudson's Bay Company was beginning operations, he was a leader of a French party that went (1671–72) by the Saguenay River, Mistassini Lake, and the Rupert River to Hudson Bay. The region was claimed for France. On another journey there he was captured (1674) by the English and taken to England. After returning (1676) to Canada, he served at missions in western Canada and died at Sault Ste Marie.
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