Mont-Laurier, Quebec
Encyclopedia
Mont-Laurier is a town and incorporated municipality in northwest 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...

, located on the banks of the Rivière du Lièvre, a tributary of the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...

. Known as the “Capital of the Haute-Laurentides”, the motto of the town is Laurus elationis praemium, which translates to “Lift the laurels of reward”. The demonym
Demonym
A demonym , also referred to as a gentilic, is a name for a resident of a locality. A demonym is usually – though not always – derived from the name of the locality; thus, the demonym for the people of England is English, and the demonym for the people of Italy is Italian, yet, in english, the one...

 for its inhabitants is Lauriermontois.

In 2003, Mont-Laurier merged with the neighbouring towns Des Ruisseaux and Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles
Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles, Quebec
Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles is a municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality....

, with the name Mont-Laurier being chosen for the combined municipality. Following a 2004 demerger referendum vote, Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles left Mont-Laurier in 2006 to be reconstituted as an independent municipality. The deamalgamation did not affect Des Ruisseaux, which remains within Mont-Laurier.

According to the Canada 2006 Census
Canada 2006 Census
The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...

, the population of Mont-Laurier is 13,405. Mont-Laurier is one of the largest municipalities in Quebec in terms of area
Area
Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...

. It is the seat of Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality
Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality, Quebec
Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality is located in central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentides region. The Regional County Municipality seat is Mont-Laurier.-Municipalities:* Chute-Saint-Philippe* Ferme-Neuve* Kiamika* La Macaza* Lac-des-Écorces...

 and the judicial district
Judicial districts of Quebec
The province of Quebec is divided into 36 judicial districts by the , R.S.Q., chapter D-11. Each district has a seat where the courthouse is located, although some have more than one courthouse, service point, or itinerant court location....

 of Labelle.

History

The territory was originally inhabited by Oueskarinis, a sub tribe of Algonquians. The white settlers came from Sainte-Adèle in 1866. Rapide-de-l'Orignal was founded at the current location of Mont-Laurier, on the Lievre River
Du Lièvre River
The du Lièvre River is a river in western Quebec which flows south from the Mitchinamécus reservoir and empties into the Ottawa River at Masson-Angers. The river is 330 km in length and drains an area of 10,400 km²...

, in 1885, by Solime Alix. The name was changed in 1909 to honour Canadian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

 Sir Wilfrid Laurier. In 1940, a road from Mont-Laurier to Abitibi
Abitibi Regional County Municipality, Quebec
Abitibi Regional County Municipality is located in Northwestern Quebec. The Regional County Municipality seat is Amos.-Municipalities:*Barraute*Berry*Champneuf*La Corne*La Morandière*La Motte*Preissac*Rochebaucourt*Saint-Dominique-du-Rosaire...

 was built. This facilitated the growth of the trucking industry.

Law and government

Elected in 2003, the current mayor of Mont-Laurier is Michel Adrien, a black immigrant to Canada from Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

. He was elected mayor with an 80% majority (in a town where more than 95% of the population are Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...

, and less than 1% of the population are African-Canadian). With no opponent running against him, Adrien was reelected through acclamation in 2005, 2007 and 2009. In addition to a mayoral leader, the municipality is governed by a city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...

.

Geography

In addition to Mont-Laurier, the municipality also consists of the following population centres: Lac-Gatineau, Saint-Jean-sur-le-Lac, and Val-Limoges.

Mont-Laurier is located on the banks of the Rivière du Lièvre, a tributary of the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...

, about 200 kilometres (124.3 mi) from the river delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...

. Its location in the Laurentians
Laurentian mountains
The Laurentian Mountains are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of 1166 metres at Mont Raoul Blanchard, north east of Quebec City in the Reserve Faunique des Laurentides. The Gatineau, L'Assomption, Lièvre,...

 places it at an altitude of 244 metres above mean sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...

. It is surrounded by numerous lakes and mixed forests that support hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 and leisure
Leisure
Leisure, or free time, is time spent away from business, work, and domestic chores. It is also the periods of time before or after necessary activities such as eating, sleeping and, where it is compulsory, education....

, and the mainstay logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...

 industry.

Mont-Laurier is located roughly at the halfway point of the major roadway from 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...

 to Abitibi
Abitibi
Abitibi may refer to:* Abitibi Canyon, Ontario, community adjacent to the Abitibi Canyon Generating Station* Abitibi Canyon Generating Station, Canadian hydroelectric power plant* Abitibi-Témiscamingue , a region of Quebec...

, 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...

, about 250 kilometres (155.3 mi) northwest 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...

. Route 309
Quebec Route 309
Route 309 is a provincial highway located in the Outaouais region in western Quebec. It starts at the junction of Autoroute 50 in the Buckingham sector, in the city of Gatineau's east end...

 follows the Lievre and leads to Hull
Hull, Quebec
Hull is the central and oldest part of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadian National Capital Region, it contains offices for twenty thousand...

 and Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, 216 kilometres (134.2 mi) to the south.

Economy

Mont-Laurier is the administrative and commercial centre of the Haute-Lievre area. Many residents are employed by the various governments, the schools and the hospital. Most of the economic activity is generated by tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

, road transport and forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...

. There is some agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

, mostly dairy farming
Dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...

, and dairy products manufacturing.

Demographics

Population:
  • Population in 2006: 13,405 (2001 to 2006 population change: 5.0 %)
  • Population in 2001: 12,766
    • Des Ruisseaux: 5401
    • Mont-Laurier: 7365
  • Population in 1996:
    • Des Ruisseaux: 5139
    • Mont-Laurier: 8007
  • Population in 1991:
    • Des Ruisseaux: 4449
    • Mont-Laurier: 7862


Private dwellings, excluding seasonal cottages: 5646 (total: 6480)

Mother tongue:
  • English as first language: 0.2 %
  • French as first language: 98.5 %
  • English and French as first language: 0.1 %
  • Other as first language: 1.2 %

Notable people from Mont-Laurier

  • Sylvain Pagé
    Sylvain Pagé
    Sylvain Pagé is a Quebec politician. He is the current Member of National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Labelle in the Laurentians. He is a member of the Parti Québécois....

    , member of L'Assemblée nationale du Québec
  • Yvon Charbonneau
    Yvon Charbonneau
    Yvon Charbonneau, PC is a Canadian politician.Charbonneau was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada in the Canadian House of Commons, representing the constituency of Anjou—Rivière-des-Prairies from 1997 to 2004. He is a former administrator, consultant, professor, and unionist...

    , Union leader
  • Dan Cloutier
    Dan Cloutier
    Dan Cloutier is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender. In his 10-year National Hockey League career, Cloutier played with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks, and Los Angeles Kings, spending the majority of his career in Vancouver...

    , National Hockey League
    National Hockey League
    The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

     Goaltender
    Goaltender
    In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...

  • Michel Melançon, Drummer
    Drummer
    A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

    , "Emerson Drive
    Emerson Drive
    Emerson Drive is a country music band founded in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada in 1995. The band is Brad Mates , Danick Dupelle , Mike Melancon , Dale Wallace , and David Pichette .Early on, the band found minor success in Canada, releasing two albums under the name of 12 Gauge, the first Open...

    "
  • Jocelyn Lemieux
    Jocelyn Lemieux
    Jocelyn Lemiux is a retired former professional ice hockey player who played for the St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Hartford Whalers, New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames and Phoenix Coyotes. He is the younger brother of fellow NHL player Claude Lemieux...

    , Retired NHL Player
  • Bobby Bazini
    Bobby Bazini
    Bobby Bazini is a French Canadian singer-songwriter from Mont-Laurier, Quebec, Canada.-Better in Time :...

    , singer-songwriter
    Singer-songwriter
    Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

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