Aguanish is a municipality located in

Côte-Nord Côte-Nord (Region 09) (, ; ) is an List of regions of Quebec, administrative region of Quebec, on the Quebec-Labrador peninsula, Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, Canada. The region runs along the St. Lawrence River and then the Gulf of St. Lawrence, ...

region on the banks of the Aguanish River, on the north shore of Jacques Cartier Strait, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in Minganie Regional County Municipality,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In addition to Aguanish itself, the municipality includes the hamlet of L'Île-Michon, to the east. Aguanish has barely 300 inhabitants, the Aguanishoises and Aguanishois live in one of the smallest municipalities in Quebec.

Toponymy

Aguanish is named after the Goynish or Aguanish River (formerly Aguanus River), that flows through the village and drains into the Strait of Jacques Cartier of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The word, of Innu origin, came from ''aguanus'', in turn from ''akwanich'', from the roots ''akwan'' (shelter) and ''ich'' (small). It has undergone many different spellings, including: Goines (17th century); Guanis, Goinis (1744 map by Bellin); Goynish (1776 map by Carver); Agwanus, Aguanus or Agouanus (maps of the 19th century).

History

The main prehistoric cultures, called " archaic," were based on three sets of groups coming from the southwest, from as far away as the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

via the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

, those coming from the great plateaus of the interior and

James Bay James Bay (, ; ) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. It borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and is politically part of Nunavut. Its largest island is Akimiski Island. Numerous waterways of the ...

, and those from

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

and

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. From the 14th to the 17th century, the presence of

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...

in the regions of the North Shore and the Gulf of St. Lawrence began with the periodic visits of the

Basques The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...

and

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

fishermen. In 1831, the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

opened the Nabisipi trading post (also spelled Nabaysepie, Nabaysippi, or Nabaysipieat) at the mouth of the Nabisipi River (just west of the current town site). After a brief closure, it was reopened in 1832, and operated until circa 1860. The first European inhabitants, fishermen from the

Magdalen Islands The Magdalen Islands (, ) are a Canadian archipelago in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Since 2005, the 12-island archipelago is divided into two municipalities: the majority-francophone Municipality of Îles-de-la-Madeleine and the majority-angloph ...

, settled in the area circa 1849. They were joined in 1875 by people from Kégashka (today Kegaska) and from Nabisipi River. Until the advent of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(1939-1945) the growth of the population occurred in concert with the development of the

pulp and paper The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood, specifically pulpwood, as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard, and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process In the manufacturing process, pulp is introd ...

industry. The place was incorporated as a municipality in 1957.

L'Île Michon

The hamlet of L'Île Michon is located opposite the island of the same name, from the coast and downstream from Aguanish, on the coast of the Jacques Cartier Strait, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. According to certains sources, Île-Michon was founded by Jean Michon, a craftsman who landed on the island opposite the village to build fishing boats.

Demographics

Population

Language

Economy

Economic activity primarily centers on crab and salmon fishing.

Transportation

By Route 138, according to Google Map, Aguanish is from

Havre-Saint-Pierre Havre-Saint-Pierre () is a municipality located on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in Côte-Nord region, Minganie RCM, Quebec, Canada. History In 1857, a group of Acadian families arrived, in 1872, the Parish of Saint-Pierre-d ...

and from Sept-Îles. Until the arrival of The Whale Route ( Route 138) in 1996, a regular means of access to the area was the boat service maintained during the navigation season by Clarke Steamship Company, Ltd, sailing from

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and

. Also, numerous lakes of the area provide suitable landings for

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

based at Mingan and

Canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

travel is difficult in the region and require several portages.

References

External links

*Duhaime Gérard (dir.), 2001,
Historical Atlas of Quebec. The North, inhabitants and changes
'. Quebec, University Press, Laval - 227 p. (French) * , Welcome to Aguanish * Father Victor Lachance

important dates, Association des Familles Laroche et Rochette Inc. (French) *

Royal Canadian Geographical Society The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS; French: ''Société géographique royale du Canada'') is a Canadian nonprofit educational organization. It has dedicated itself to spreading a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada, i ...

Maze to the Aguanish
a 680 kilometre

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

trip through the wilds of

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

and

, 2021 {{authority control Municipalities in Quebec Incorporated places in Côte-Nord Hudson's Bay Company trading posts