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Nord-du-Québec

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Nord-du-Québec (French pronunciation: [nɔʁ d͜zy kebɛk]; English: Northern Quebec) is the largest, but the least populous, of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada.

Nord-du-Québec
Region; also Census division
Location within Quebec and Canada (inset)
Location within Quebec and Canada (inset)
Coordinates: 56°10′N 74°25′W / 56.167°N 74.417°W / 56.167; -74.417[1]
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
Area
[2]
 • Land747,191.93 km2 (288,492.42 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
 • Total
45,740
 • Density0.06/km2 (0.2/sq mi)
 • Change
(2016–2021)
Increase 2.6%
 • Dwellings
17,325
WebsiteServices Québec: Nord-du-Québec
[3]

Spread over nearly 14 degrees of latitude, north of the 49th parallel, the region covers 860,692 km2 (332,315 sq mi) on the Labrador Peninsula, or just over half of the province's total land area.[4][5]

History

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Nord-du-Québec possesses 3,644 archaeological sites known and listed by the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine (MCCCF), along La Grande Rivière basin, the Otish Mountains sector and in the coastal areas of Quaqtaq, near Ungava Bay. These sites are mostly of First Nations origin and bear witness to several thousands of years of occupation of the territory of the Cree and Inuit ancestors of the region.[6]

Before 1912, the northernmost part of this region was part of the Ungava District of the Northwest Territories, and until 1987 it was referred to as Nouveau-Québec, or New Quebec.

Geography

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Nord-du-Québec lies entirely upon the Canadian Shield. It extends from 49°N latitude to beyond 62°N and is 98.4 percent public land.[7] The region is bordered by Hudson Bay and James Bay in the west, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay in the north, Labrador in the northeast, and the administrative regions of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Mauricie, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, and Côte-Nord in the south and southeast.

Nord-du-Québec is part of the territory covered by the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement of 1975; other regions covered (in part) by this Agreement include Côte-Nord, Mauricie and Abitibi-Témiscamingue administrative regions.

Subdivisions

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The three territories equivalent to a regional county municipality

Nord-du-Québec is divided for statistical and other purposes into three territories equivalent to a regional county municipality (TEs):

  1. Kativik (or Nunavik) north of the 55th parallel, predominantly Inuit
  2. Eeyou Istchee non-contiguously enclaved within Jamésie (with one community in Kativik), predominantly Cree
  3. Jamésie south of the 55th parallel

When the Grand Council of the Crees speaks of "Eeyou Istchee", they refer to a much larger and contiguous traditional territory and homeland that covers much of Jamésie.

Jamésie, extending from the eastern shore of James Bay to the Otish Mountains of the Laurentian Plateau, is mainly boreal forest. Eeyou Istchee is largely enclaved within Jamésie, although one of its communities is slightly to the north of the 55th parallel and geographically enclaved within Kativik. Kativik has some boreal forest in its southern portion but is mainly tundra which covers the entire Ungava Peninsula.

From the Canada 2011 Census, Eeyou Istchee has a land area of 5,586.25 square kilometres (2,156.86 sq mi) and a population of 16,350; Jamésie has a land area of 298,202.78 square kilometres (115,136.74 sq mi) and a population of 14,139; Kativik has a land area of 443,372.20 square kilometres (171,186.96 sq mi) and a population of 12,090. The most populous community overall is the town of Chibougamau in Jamésie. The most populous community in Eeyou Istchee is Chisasibi, while the most populous community in Kativik is Kuujjuaq.

Local government

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The administrative structure of Nord-du-Québec is divided between three equivalent territories to a regional municipality: Kativik, Eeyou Istchee, and Jamésie. At the local level exists five municipalities: The towns of Chibougamau (the largest town in this region), Chapais, Lebel-sur-Quévillon, and Matagami, and the special municipality of Eeyou Istchee James Bay, which was formerly the local municipality of Baie-James before a 2012 restructure of the government.

Kativik offers regional services to its 14 northern villages and associated Inuit reserved lands as well as the Naskapi village municipality of Kawawachikamach. Eeyou Istchee offers regional services to its 9 Cree village municipalities and their associated Cree reserved lands. The four towns of Jamésie are not covered by a regional government, and supply their own services. The special local municipality of Eeyou Istchee James Bay is governed jointly by the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government, which consists of 11 representatives from Eeyou Istche and 11 representatives from Jamésie.

Demographics

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In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Nord-du-Québec region had a population of 45,740 living in 14,543 of its 17,325 total private dwellings, a change of +2.6% from its 2016 population of 44,561. With a land area of 707,306.52 km2 (273,092.57 sq mi), it had a population density of 0.1/km2 (0.2/sq mi) in 2021.[8] If the region were its own province, it would be larger than all other Canadian provinces except for Ontario and British Columbia.

The median age is 29.8, as opposed to 41.6 for all of Canada. It is the youngest region of Québec.

Most residents (58.7%) spoke Indigenous languages as their mother tongue. The Cree-Innu languages were the mother tongue of 31.7%, followed by Inuktitut at 26.9%. From Canada's official languages, French was the mother tongue of 29.9% of residents in 2021, while English was for 6.6%. 3.0% reported both English and a non-official language as their mother tongue, 0.4% reported both English and French as their first language, and 0.3% reported both French and a non-official language as their mother tongue.

As of 2021, Indigenous peoples comprised 68.5% of the population, and visible minorities contributed 1.9%. The largest visible minority groups in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean are Black (0.9%), Arab (0.3%), and Filipino (0.3%).

In 2021, 72.2% of the population identified as Christian. 36.3% were Anglican, 24.1% were Catholic, and 6.2% were Pentecostal. 24.9% said they had no religious affiliation. Traditional North American Indigenous spirituality practitioners were the largest non-Christian religious minority, making up 1.9% of the population.

Counting both single and multiple responses, the most commonly identified ethnocultural ancestries were:

Ethnic origin 2021
Cree 34.0%
Inuit 28.8%
Canadian 12.7%
Québécois 7.6%
French 7.5%
First Nations 6.4%
French Canadian 3.9%
Scottish 2.3%
Irish 1.9%

(Percentages may total more than 100% due to rounding and multiple responses).

Visible minority and Aboriginal population (Canada 2021 Census)
Population group Population % of total population
White 13,455 29.6%
Visible minority group South Asian 35 0.1%
Chinese 45 0.1%
Black 395 0.9%
Filipino 125 0.3%
Arab 155 0.3%
Latin American 40 0.1%
Southeast Asian 20 0%
West Asian 15 0%
Korean 0 0%
Japanese 10 0%
Visible minority, n.i.e. 10 0%
Multiple visible minority 15 0.1%
Total visible minority population 855 1.9%
Aboriginal group First Nations 17,520 38.5%
Métis 425 0.9%
Inuit 26,660 27.8%
Aboriginal, n.i.e. 370 0.8%
Multiple Aboriginal identity 200 0.4%
Total Aboriginal population 31,170 68.5%
Total population 45,480 100%

Transportation and access

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There is a limited network of roads in the Jamésie region which reaches most of the few, small communities. Most were constructed as part of the James Bay Project. The "main road" of the region is the 620 kilometres (390 mi) long James Bay Road, a paved (albeit remote) extension of Route 109 from Matagami to Radisson. The 407 kilometres (253 mi) long gravel Route du Nord connects the James Bay Road to Route 167 near Chibougamau. The 666 kilometres (414 mi) gravel Trans-Taiga Road branches off the James Bay Road to Caniapiscau, the northernmost connecting road in eastern North America.

The few provincial routes are concentrated in the far south of the region, including Route 109 to Matagami, Route 113, which ends near Chibougamau, and Route 167 to Mistissini.

There are no roads to Nunavik from the south. There are isolated roads in and around villages, as well as an isolated road running from Raglan Mine to Deception Bay, connecting to Salluit. Access is limited to air travel, sea travel to coastal areas, or hiking great distances. All villages have their own airport, with the Kuujjuaq Airport functioning as a regional hub.

Geographic hierarchy of census division

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[9]

Census
Code		 E/J/K? Name Type Population
2011		 Population
2006		 Total
dwellings		 Dwellings
usual res.		 Land
Area
2499883 K Akulivik TI 0 0 0 0 445.73
2499125 K Akulivik VN 615 507 148 137 76.87
2499891 K Aupaluk TI 0 0 0 0 544.03
2499105 K Aupaluk VN 195 174 59 56 30.12
2499904 K Baie-d'Hudson NO 0 16 0 0 129712.09
2499020 J Chapais V 1 610 1 630 728 674 63.64
2499025 J Chibougamau V 7 541 7 563 3 474 3 222 699.31
2499055 E Chisasibi VC 0 0 0 0 491.63
2499814 E Chisasibi TC 4 484 3 972 1 050 923 828.18
2499045 E Eastmain VC 0 0 0 0 316.91
2499810 E Eastmain TC 767 650 226 188 147.47
2499879 K Inukjuak TI 0 0 0 0 428.39
2499085 K Inukjuak VN 1 597 1 597 444 413 55.63
2499140 K Ivujivik VN 370 349 91 86 35.21
2499894 K Kangiqsualujjuaq TI 0 0 0 0 538.42
2499090 K Kangiqsualujjuaq VN 874 735 191 185 35.05
2499888 K Kangiqsujuaq TI 0 0 0 0 572.62
2499130 K Kangiqsujuaq VN 696 605 174 170 12.56
2499890 K Kangirsuk TI 0 0 0 0 529.40
2499110 K Kangirsuk VN 549 466 163 160 57.26
2499065 K Kawawachikamach VK 0 0 0 0 242.09
2499893 K Kuujjuaq TI 0 0 0 0 320.80
2499095 K Kuujjuaq VN 2 375 2 132 925 799 292.72
2499877 K Kuujjuarapik TI 0 0 0 0 293.66
2499075 K Kuujjuarapik VN 657 568 204 189 8.16
2499005 J Lebel-sur-Quévillon V 2 159 2 729 1 111 917 40.14
2499015 J Matagami V 1 526 1 555 719 625 66.85
2499030 E Mistissini VC 0 0 0 0 514.30
2499804 E Mistissini TC 3 427 2 897 952 845 865.76
2499040 E Nemaska VC 0 0 0 0 51.18
2499808 E Nemaska TC 712 642 226 200 96.57
2499818 E Oujé-Bougoumou TC 725 606 251 183 2.54
2499120 K Puvirnituq VN 1 692 1 457 489 389 85.74
2499889 K Quaqtaq TI 0 0 0 0 523.83
2499115 K Quaqtaq VN 376 315 91 89 26.54
2499902 K Rivière-Koksoak NO 0 15 0 0 307039.90
2499887 K Salluit TI 0 0 0 0 596.84
2499135 K Salluit VN 1 347 1 241 315 299 14.39
2499892 K Tasiujaq TI 0 0 0 0 502.11
2499100 K Tasiujaq VN 303 248 72 72 66.54
2499878 K Umiujaq TI 0 0 0 0 257.78
2499080 K Umiujaq VN 444 390 104 94 27.72
2499035 E Waskaganish VC 0 0 0 0 277.76
2499806 E Waskaganish TC 2 206 1 864 496 467 505.37
2499010 E Waswanipi VC 0 0 0 0 211.52
2499802 E Waswanipi TC 1 777 1 473 513 413 415.64
2499050 E Wemindji VC 0 0 0 0 171.06
2499812 E Wemindji TC 1 378 1 215 377 333 377.95
2499070 E Whapmagoostui VC 0 0 0 0 122.53
2499816 E Whapmagoostui TC 874 812 221 206 189.88
 
Nord-du-Québec CD 42579 39 817 14 515 12 925 747161.22
E Eeyou Istchee TE 16 350 14 131 4 312 3 758 5586.25
J Jamésie TE 14 139 14 871 6 733 6 029 298202.78
K Kativik TE 12 090 10 815 3 470 3 138 443372.20

In the rightmost column, the total area adds up to 747161.23 rather than the correct 747161.22 due to rounding error.

Administrative divisions

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Regional governments

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Independent cities

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Cree villages

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Native Reserve

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Major communities

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Nord-du-Québec". Wikimedia cloud services. GeoHack. Retrieved 7 June 2024. Global/Trans-national services Canada
  2. ^ a b "Census Profile, 2021 Census: Nord-du-Québec [Economic region], Quebec". Statistics Canada. 9 February 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  3. ^ "Nord-du-Québec (Code 2499) Census Profile". 2011 census. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada.
  4. ^ "Nord-du-Québec". Quebec Gouvernement (in French). Commission de Toponymy Quebec. 31 March 1994. Retrieved 11 June 2024. Settled mainly around the bay and the Ungava Peninsula, there are about 5,000 Inuit living in fourteen villages.
  5. ^ "Nord-du-Québec (région 10)" (in French). Government of Quebec. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024. The main cities are Chibougamau, Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Matagami, Mistissini, Kuujjuaq
  6. ^ "Territorial portrait, Nord-du-Québec" (PDF) (in French). 31 March 2010. pp. 52 of 105. Retrieved 6 June 2024. The Nord-du-Québec region is huge. Its 847,348 km2 of surface area would make it the 34th largest territory in the world, ahead of France or Spain, for example
  7. ^ "Nord-du-Québec, toponymy". Quebec Gouvernement (in French). Commission de Toponymy Quebec. 31 March 1994. Retrieved 7 June 2024. Northern Quebec has a hydroelectric potential that can exceed 30,000 MW, a little more than a third of which is currently exploited
  8. ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Quebec". Statistics Canada. October 25, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  9. ^ Nord-du-Québec (Census division)

Further reading

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  • Dana, Leo Paul 2010, "Nunavik, Arctic Quebec: Where Co-operatives Supplement Entrepreneurship,” Global Business and Economics Review, 12 (1/2), January 2010, pp. 42–71.
  • Landry, Michel K., et al. Équation Nord: formule gagnante pour des affaires prospères dans le nord du Québec. [Toronto, Ont.]: Deloitte, [2013]. Without ISBN
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