Maniwaki, Quebec
Encyclopedia
Maniwaki is a town north of Gatineau
Gatineau
Gatineau is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario, and together they form Canada's National Capital Region. Ottawa and Gatineau comprise a single Census...

 and located north-west of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, in the province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The town is situated on the Gatineau River
Gatineau River
The Gatineau River is a river in western Quebec, Canada, which rises in lakes north of the Baskatong Reservoir and flows south to join the Ottawa River at the city of Gatineau, Quebec...

, at the crossroads of Route 105
Quebec route 105
Route 105 is a north-south highway in Quebec, Canada. It runs from Hull , where it is known as Boulevard Saint-Joseph , to Grand-Remous where it ends at Route 117....

 and Route 107
Quebec route 107
Route 107 is a north/south highway on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River. Its southern terminus is in Maniwaki at the junction of Route 105 and its northern terminus is in Grand-Remous at the junction of Route 117...

, not far south of Route 117
Quebec route 117
Route 117 is a provincial highway within the Canadian province of Quebec, running between Montreal and the Quebec/Ontario border where it continues as Highway 66 east of Kearns, Ontario...

 (Trans-Canada Highway). It is the administrative centre for La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality, Quebec
La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality, Quebec
La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau is a Regional County Municipality in the Outaouais region of western Quebec, Canada. The seat is in Gracefield. It is named for its location straddling the Gatineau River north of Low. It was incorporated on January 1, 1983.It consists of two cities, fifteen...

.

History

The history of Maniwaki is closely linked to that of the adjacent Kitigan Zibi Reserve
Kitigan Zibi, Quebec
Kitigan Zibi is a First Nations Reserve of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, an Algonquin band. It is situated at the confluence of the Désert and Gatineau Rivers, and borders south-west on the Town of Maniwaki in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada...

, because the Town of Maniwaki was developed on land that was originally part of this reserve. Its municipal lands were included in historical land claims by Kitigan Zibi; some of which were settled as recently as 2007.

In the first half of the nineteenth century, Algonquins of the mission at Lake of Two Mountains, under the leadership of Chief Pakinawatik, came to the area of the Désert River. Shortly after in 1832, the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

 followed them and installed a trading post at the confluence of the Désert and Gatineau Rivers. A decade later, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816 by Saint Eugene de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, 1782. The congregation was given recognition by Pope...

 established the mission of Notre-Dame-du-Desert and, from 1849, they demanded of the authorities the demarcation of a township in order to establish a reserve for the Algonquins. The township limits are drawn in 1850 and given the name of Maniwaki by the Oblates at this time (Algonquian for "Mary's Land"). Soon after, wood merchants, farmers, trade workers, businessmen and professionals, drawn by the forest's wealth, came to live in Maniwaki. The Canadian Pacific Maniwaki subdivision linked Maniwaki with Wakefield and was abandoned in 1986.

In 1851, the Oblats founded the L'Assomption-de-Maniwaki parish. Forestry took root and became the livelihood of many settlers in this still virgin region. Irish, French and First Nations Peoples contributed to the development of the town and lived side by side in harmony. Maniwaki was officially founded in 1851 and became a township municipality in 1904. It obtained the status of "village" in 1930, and status of "ville" in 1957.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the region, like everywhere in Quebec, was hit by an epidemic of the Spanish influenza. In less than two weeks, some twenty deaths were related to this sickness. Scared, people refused to go outdoors, and for the first time in its history, a Sunday passed without any mass being celebrated at the Assumption church.

The flood of 1974 is an event remembered by the local population. On May 14 of that year, the waters of the Gatineau river and those of the Désert River overflowed. The water rose at an alarming rate of 3 to 6 inches an hour. Over 1,000 residences in the Maniwaki area were flooded and approximately 3,000 persons had to be evacuated. Although no one was injured, damages reached many millions of dollars.

Since 1974, no other major calamity has occurred. The area continues prospering every year in two predominant fields, namely forestry and tourism.

Demographics

Population:
  • Population in 2006: 4102
  • Population in 2001: 4020
    • 2001 to 2006 population change: 2.0 %
  • Population in 1996: 4527 (included additional area before ceded to Kitigan Zibi)
  • Population in 1991: 4605


Total private dwellings (excluding seasonal cottages): 1919

Languages:
  • English as first language: 5.5 %
  • French as first language: 90.7 %
  • English and French as first language: 0.7 %
  • Other as first language: 3.1 %
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