Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

, immediately across from

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's

National Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...

. As of 2021, Gatineau is the fourth-largest city in Quebec with a population of 291,041, and a census metropolitan area population of 1,488,307. Gatineau is coextensive with a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and

census division Census divisions, in Canada and the United States of America, United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-lev ...

(CD) of the same name, whose geographical code is 81. It is the seat of the judicial district of

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

History

The current city of Gatineau is centred on an area formerly called

. It is the oldest European colonial settlement in the

, but this area was essentially not developed by Europeans until after the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, when

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

made land grants to Loyalists for resettlement in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

. Hull was founded on the north shore of the

in 1800 by

Philemon Wright Philemon Wright (September 3, 1760 – June 3, 1839) was a farmer, lumberman and entrepreneur who founded the Ottawa River Timber Trade in 1806. He was also founder of what he named Columbia Falls Village, mostly known as (or Wrightstown) an ...

at the

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

around the

Chaudière Falls , image = Ottawa Chaudiere Falls.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = Chaudière Falls in June 2006, at summer water levels , map_image = , map_size = , coordinates = , coords_ref = , location ...

, just upstream (or west) from the confluence of the

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

and Rideau rivers with the Ottawa River. Wright brought his family, five other families, and twenty-five labourers to establish an agricultural community. They considered the area a mosquito-infested wilderness. Soon after settling here, Wright and his family took advantage of the large lumber stands and became involved in the

Ottawa River timber trade The Ottawa River timber trade, also known as the Ottawa Valley timber trade or Ottawa River lumber trade, was the nineteenth century production of wood products by Canada on areas of the Ottawa River and the regions of the Ottawa Valley and weste ...

. The original settlement was called Wrightstown, and was later renamed as Hull. In 2002, after amalgamation, it was part of a larger jurisdiction named the City of Gatineau. In 1820, before immigrants from Ireland and Great Britain arrived in great numbers, Hull Township had a population of 707, including 365 men, 113 women, and 229 children. The high number of men were related to workers in the lumber trade. In 1824, there were 106 families and 803 persons. During the rest of the 1820s, the population of Hull doubled, with the arrival of Protestant immigrants from

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

, now Northern Ireland. By 1851, the population of the County of Ottawa was 11,104, of which 2,811 lived in Hull. By comparison, Bytown had a population of 7,760 in 1851. By 1861, Ottawa County had a population of 15,671, of which 3,711 lived in Hull. Gradually

French Canadians French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

also migrated to the township; their proportion of the population increased from 10% in 1850, to 50% in 1870, and 90% in 1920. The Gatineau River, like the Ottawa River, was a basic transportation resource for the ''draveurs'', timber rafters who transported logs via the rivers from lumber camps to downriver destinations. (The

Gatineau River The Gatineau River (french: Rivière Gatineau, ) 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. The river is long and drains ...

flows south into the

, which flows east to the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

near

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

.) The log-filled Ottawa River, as viewed from Hull, was featured on the back of the Canadian one-dollar bill; the paper money was replaced by a dollar coin (the "

loonie The loonie (french: huard), formally the Canadian one-dollar coin, is a gold-coloured Canadian coin that was introduced in 1987 and is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint at its facility in Winnipeg. The most prevalent versions of the coin sh ...

") in 1987. The last of the dwindling activity of the draveurs on these rivers ended a few years later. Ottawa was founded after Hull, as the terminus of the

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal, also known unofficially as the Rideau Waterway, connects Canada's capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston. It is 202 kilometres long. The name ''Rideau'', French for "curtain", ...

. This was built under the command of Col.

John By Lieutenant-Colonel John By (7 August 1779 – 1 February 1836) was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was des ...

as part of fortifications and defences constructed after the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

against the United States. Originally named

Bytown Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a Grou ...

, Ottawa was not designated as the Canadian capital until the mid-19th century, after the original parliament in Montreal was torched by a rioting mob of Anglo-Canadians on 25 April 1849. Its greater distance from the Canada–US border was believed to make the new parliament less vulnerable to foreign attack. Nothing remains of the original 1800 settlement of Hull. The downtown Vieux-Hull sector was destroyed by a destructive fire in 1900. It also destroyed the original ''pont des Chaudières'' ('' Chaudière Bridge''). The bridge was rebuilt to join Ottawa to Hull at

Victoria Island Victoria Island ( ikt, Kitlineq, italic=yes) is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the List of islands by area, eighth-largest island in the world, ...

. In the 1940s, during World War II, Hull, along with various other regions within Canada, such as

Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (, ) is a region in Quebec, Canada. It contains the Saguenay Fjord, the estuary of the Saguenay River, stretching through much of the region. It is also known as Sagamie in French, from the first part of "Saguenay" and th ...

, and

Île Sainte-Hélène Saint Helen's Island (french: Île Sainte-Hélène) is an island in the Saint Lawrence River, in the territory of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It forms part of the Hochelaga Archipelago. It is situated immediately offshore from Old Mont ...

, was the site of

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...

s.Tremblay, Robert, Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, et al. "Histoires oubliées – Interprogrammes : Des prisonniers spéciaux" Interlude. Aired: 20 July 2008, 14h47 to 15h00. Hull's prison was identified only by a number, as were Canada's other war prisons. The prisoners of war (

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

s) were organized by nationality and status:

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

or military status. In the Hull camp, POWs were mostly Italian and German nationals who were detained by the government as potential threats to the nation during the war. As a result of the Conscription Crisis of 1944, Canadians who had refused conscription were also interned in the camp. The prisoners were required to perform hard labour, which included farming and lumbering the land. During the 1970s and early 1980s, the decaying old downtown core of Hull was redeveloped. Old buildings were demolished and replaced by a series of large office complexes. In addition some 4,000 residents were displaced, and many businesses uprooted along what was once the town's main commercial area. On 11 November 1992, Ghislaine Chénier, Mayoress by interim for the city of Hull, unveiled ''

War Never Again War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

'', a marble stele monument that commemorates the cost of war for the men, women and children of Hull.

Geography

Gatineau is located in southwestern

, on the northern bank of the

. Gatineau has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

( Köppen ''Dfb'') with four distinct seasons and is between Zones 5a and 5b on the Canadian Plant Hardiness Scale. The

Gatineau Hills The Gatineau Hills (french: Collines de la Gatineau) are a geological formation in Canada that makes up part of the southern tip of the Canadian Shield, and acts as the northern shoulder of the Ottawa Valley. They are also the foothills of th ...

are the foothills of the

Laurentian Mountains The Laurentian Mountains ( French: ''Laurentides'') are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of at Mont Raoul Blanchard, northeast of Quebec City in the Laurentid ...

and located in the region. They supply great

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

and

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

opportunities within minutes of the city. Gatineau is situated close to where the

Canadian shield The Canadian Shield (french: Bouclier canadien ), also called the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), the anc ...

and the

Saint Lawrence Lowlands In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

intersect. The area has several major fault lines and small earthquakes do occur somewhat regularly, including the

2010 Central Canada earthquake The 2010 Central Canada earthquake occurred with a moment magnitude of 5.0 in Central Canada on 23 June at about 13:41:41 EDT and lasted about 30 seconds. The epicentre was situated in the area of Buckingham, Quebec, approximately north of Ot ...

that occurred in Quebec.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Gatineau had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. According to the 2011 census the city of Gatineau had a population of 265,349. This was an increase of 9.6% compared to 2006. Most of the population live in the urban cores of Aylmer, Hull and the former Gatineau. Buckingham and Masson-Angers are more rural communities. Gatineau is the fourth largest city in Quebec after

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, and

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...

. The Quebec part of Ottawa-Gatineau Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) – which includes various peripheral municipalities in addition to Gatineau – had a total population of 314,501. Between 2001 and 2006 there was a net influx of 5,205 people (equivalent to 2% of the total 2001 population) who moved to Gatineau from outside of the Ottawa – Gatineau area. There was also a net outmigration of 630 anglophones (equivalent to 2% of the 2001 anglophone population). Overall there was a net influx of 1,100 people from

, 1,060 from

, 545 from Saguenay, 315 from Toronto, 240 from

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

, 225 from

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, and 180 from

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

Language

The following statistics refer to the Quebec portion of the Ottawa–Gatineau CMA (as it was defined in the 2006 census): Counting both single and multiple responses, French was a

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

for 80.0% of residents in 2006, English for 13.9%,

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

for 1.7%, Portuguese for 1.1% and Spanish for 1.0%. (Figures below are for single responses only.)

Migration

Ethnic groups and ancestry

The 2001 census found that 4.3% of the population self-identified as having a

visible minority A visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada, in connect ...

status, including, among others, about 1.3% who self-identified as

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, about 1.0% self-identifying as

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

, 0.5% as

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

, 0.4% as

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

, 0.3% as

Southeast Asian Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

, 0.2% as

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, ...

, and about 0.1% as

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

. ''(

terminology is used throughout.)'' First Nations comprise 2.7% of the population. The area is home to more than five thousand recent immigrants (i.e. those arriving between 2001 and 2006), who now comprise about two percent of the total population. 11% of these new immigrants have come from

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, 10% from China, 7% from France, 6% from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, 6% from

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, 4% from

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, 3% from the United States and 3% from

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

. Canadians were able to self-identify one or more ethnocultural ancestries in the 2001 census. (Percentages may therefore add up to more than 100%.) The most common response was

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

/'' Canadien'' and since the term 'Canadian' is as much an expression of citizenship as of ethnicity these figures should not be considered an exact record of the relative prevalence of different ethnocultural ancestries. 43.1% of respondents gave a single response of Canadian / ''Canadien'' while a further 26.5% identified both Canadian/''Canadien'' and one or more other ethnocultural ancestries. 10.4% of respondents gave a single response of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, 1.1% gave a single response of Portuguese, 1.0% gave a single response of Irish, 0.9% gave a single response of Lebanese, 0.8% gave a single response of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, 0.7% gave a single responses of '' Québécois'' and 0.7% gave a single response of North American Indian. According to

, counting both single and multiple responses, the most commonly identified ethnocultural ancestries were: 70.7% North American, 37.8% French, 14.3% British Isles, 4.5% Aboriginal, 4.0% Southern European, 3.8% Western European, 1.9% Arab, 1.7% Eastern European, 1.0% East and Southeast Asian, 0.8% African, 0.7% Latin, Central and South American, 0.7% Caribbean and 0.5% Northern European.

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Gatineau included: *

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

(178,850 persons or 62.6%) *

Irreligion Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and a ...

(88,125 persons or 30.8%) *

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

(14,840 persons or 5.2%) *

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

(1,165 persons or 0.4%) *

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

(535 persons or 0.2%) *

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

(405 persons or 0.1%) * Indigenous Spirituality (200 persons or 0.1%) *

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

(185 persons or 0.1%) *Other (1,410 persons or 0.5%) About 83% of the population identified as

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

in 2001 while 7% said they had no religion and 5% identified as

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

(1.3%

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

, 1.3% United, 0.7%

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

, 0.3%

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

, 0.2%

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

, 0.2%

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

). About 1% of the population identified as

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, 0.5% as

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

, 0.3% as

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, and 0.2% as

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

Government and politics

The

Gatineau City Council The Gatineau City Council (french: Conseil municipal de Gatineau) is the governing body for the mayor–council government in the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is composed of 20 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, ...

(french: Conseil municipal de Gatineau) is the city's main governing body. It is composed of 17 city councillors and a mayor. The city serves as the seat of the judicial district of Gatineau, which encompasses the entirety of the city of Gatineau as well as several outlying municipalities such as Chelsea, Cantley and

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality **Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

. The superior court serving the Outaouais region is located in Gatineau across from City Hall on the corner of Laurier and Hôtel-de-Ville. Most of the law firms that represent local businesses throughout the region are also based in Gatineau.

Amalgamation

As part of the

2000–06 municipal reorganization in Quebec The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, the five municipalities that constituted the ''Communauté urbaine de l'Outaouais'' (''Outaouais urban community'') were merged on 1 January 2002 to constitute the new city of Gatineau. They were: * Aylmer *

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

*Gatineau *

Masson-Angers Masson-Angers is a former municipality and now a sector within the city of Gatineau. It is located on the north shore of the Ottawa River, in Quebec, Canada, approximately northeast of downtown Ottawa, Ontario. According to the Canada 2011 Censu ...

Although Hull was the oldest and most central of the merged cities, the name Gatineau was chosen for the new city. The historic municipality of Gatineau had more residents than Hull, and this name was strongly associated with the area: it was the name of the former county, valley, hills, and park and the main river within the new city limits. Some suggested that the French name of Gatineau would appeal more to the French-speaking residents who comprise the majority of the merged population. After the 2003 election, the new

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

government of Jean Charest passed Bill 9, which created a process by which former municipalities could be reconstituted. Contrary to Charest's election promise of full de-amalgamation, Bill 9 restored only selected powers to the de-merged cities (e.g., animal control, garbage pickup, local street maintenance, some cultural facilities). The bigger expenses (e.g., police, fire, main streets, expansion programs) and the majority of the taxes remained in the hands of urban agglomerations. These are controlled by the central merged city because their larger populations give them greater voting weight. 10% of the eligible voters in each former municipality would have to sign a "register" in order to hold a referendum on de-amalgamation. Residents of Aylmer, Buckingham, Hull and Masson-Angers all surpassed this threshold and sought referendums on de-merge. A simple majority of "yes" votes, based on a turnout of at least 35% of voters, is needed to de-merge. All of the above jurisdictions had the required turnout. A majority of voters in each jurisdiction rejected the de-merger.

Economy

A number of federal and provincial government offices are located in Gatineau, due to its proximity to the national capital, and its status as the main town of the Outaouais region of Quebec. A policy of the federal government to distribute federal jobs on both sides of the

led to the construction of several massive office towers to house federal civil servants in downtown Gatineau; the largest of these are

Place du Portage 250px, The Place du Portage complex facing the Ottawa River. 250px, The Place du Portage model on display in the main lobby 2014 Place du Portage is a large office complex in the Hull sector of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, situated along Boulevard ...

and

Terrasses de la Chaudière Les Terrasses de la Chaudière is a complex of government office buildings in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The complex was built in 1978 as part of Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's initiative to see more federal workers base ...

, occupying part of the downtown core of the city. Some government agencies and ministries headquartered in Gatineau are the

Public Works and Government Services Canada Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC; french: Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada)''Public Services and Procurement Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Public Works ...

, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada,

Environment Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; french: Environnement et Changement climatique Canada),Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment ( ...

, Transportation Safety Board of Canada. The following federal government departments have their main offices in Gatineau: * Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada *

Canadian Heritage The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage (french: Patrimoine canadien), is the Ministry (government department), department of the Cabinet of Canada, Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to init ...

* Employment and Social Development Canada *

(includes offices of

Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...

) *

The following agencies have their main offices in Gatineau. * Transportation Safety Board of Canada (under

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportati ...

) *

Passport Canada Passport Canada was an independent, special operating agency of the Government of Canada with bureaucratic oversight provided through Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. Formerly known as the Passport Office prior to June 2006, Passpo ...

(under

Citizenship and Immigration Canada Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC; french: Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada)Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program since 2015; the legal title is Departm ...

) *

Competition Bureau The Competition Bureau (french: Bureau de la concurrence) is the competition regulator in Canada. It is an independent Canadian law enforcement agency that ensures that markets operate in a competitive, innovative manner. Headed by the Comm ...

, the

Canadian Patent Office The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO; French language, French: ''Office de la propriété intellectuelle du Canada, OPIC'') is responsible for the administration and processing of the greater part of intellectual property (IP) in Cana ...

and the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

(under Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada) In addition to housing a significant portion of federal government offices, the city is also an important regional centre for the Outaouais region. The city serves as the location for the Superior Court of the District of Gatineau, which encompasses all neighboring municipalities. It also houses two of the region's major hospitals as well as numerous provincial colleges. Gatineau's economy relies on a few important sectors. A majority of jobs are accounted for between the federal government, construction and service industries. There is however a large effort to modernize the economy in the region through recent initiatives in the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem. The

Innovation Gatineau Institute Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entity ...

is a regional innovation centre that boasts co-working space as well as startup incubation and acceleration programs to spur innovative business creation.

Recreation

Two important tourist attractions located in Gatineau are the

Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of C ...

and the Casino du Lac-Leamy. In August, the Casino hosts an international

fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...

competition which opposes four different countries with the winner being awarded a ''Prix Zeus'' prize for the best overall show (based on several criteria) and can return in the following year. At the beginning of September, on Labour Day weekend, Gatineau hosts an annual hot air balloon festival which fills the skies with colourful gas-fired passenger balloons. There are many parks. Some of them are well gardened playgrounds or resting spaces while others, like

Lac Beauchamp Park Lac Beauchamp Park in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada is a large wooded park of 172 hectares built around a small lake in the middle of the suburban sprawl of the eastern part of the city. In the winter it has 15 km of ski and snowshoe trail ...

, are relatively wild green areas which often merge with the woods and fields of the surrounding municipalities. Streams of all sizes run through these natural expanses. Most of the city is on level ground but the Northern and Eastern parts lie on the beginnings of the foothills of the massive

Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield (french: Bouclier canadien ), also called the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), the anc ...

, or

. These are the "

", and are visible in the background of the companion picture. One of Gatineau's urban parks,

Jacques Cartier Park Jacques-Cartier Park is a park in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, along the Ottawa River. It is at the base of the Alexandra Bridge, facing the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. It is named for French explorer Jacques Cartier, who arrived at th ...

, is used by the

National Capital Commission The National Capital Commission (NCC; french: Commission de la capitale nationale, CCN) is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec), i ...

during the popular festival,

Winterlude Winterlude is an annual winter festival held in Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec (collectively known as the National Capital Region). Winterlude is run by the Department of Canadian Heritage and was started in 1979. The event is one of Otta ...

. Nightlife within the city of Gatineau is mostly centered in the "Vieux-Hull" sector behind the Federal office complexes of downtown. The area features many bars and restaurants within a stone's throw from Ottawa. It is a popular spot for young Ontarians as the legal drinking age in Quebec is 18 (as opposed to Ontario's 19).

Education

The education system in Quebec is different from other systems in Canada. Between high school, which ends at grade 11, and university, students must go through an additional school called CEGEP, or ''Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel''. CEGEPs offer both pre-university (2-years) and technical (3-years) programs. The city of Gatineau, within its Hull neighborhood, houses the main campus of the

Université du Québec en Outaouais The Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO) is a constituent university of the Université du Québec system located in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. As of September 2010, combined enrolment at UQO's Gatineau and Saint-Jérôme campuses was 6,017, ...

(UQO), part of the Université du Québec network. The UQO counts over 5,500 students, mostly within its multiple social science programs. It is world-renowned for its cyber-psychology laboratory. Faced with a limited number of domains of study, many Quebec students attend other universities, either in

. Every year, the UQO hosts the Bar of Quebec course for certification of new lawyers. Gatineau is also the home of two CEGEPs, including the

francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

Cégep de l'Outaouais and the anglophone Heritage College. The main French-language school boards in Gatineau are the

Commission scolaire des Portages-de-l'Outaouais The Centre de services scolaire des Portages-de-l'Outaouais (CSSPO) is one of 4 public school service centres operating in the Outaouais, Quebec. The CSSPO was created after the former Commission Scolaire des Portages-de-l'Outaouais was abolish ...

, the Commission scolaire au Coeur-des-Vallées, and the

Commission scolaire des Draveurs The Centre de services scolaire des Draveurs is one of 4 public Francophone school service centres operating in the Outaouais region, Quebec. The school board was created in 1986 in the old city of Gatineau about 15 years before amalgamation. The ...

. There are also three private high schools: the all-girl Collège Saint-Joseph, the

Collège Saint-Alexandre Collège Saint-Alexandre is a private secondary school (high school) located in Gatineau, in the Outaouais region, in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is located on Rue Saint-Louis in the Gatineau sector in the Limbour neighbourhood. Once excl ...

, and École secondaire Nouvelles-Frontières. Elementary and secondary education in English is held under the supervision of the

Western Quebec School Board Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

. Since 1995, the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

(UNAM) has a campus in Gatineau.

Campus médical Outaouais

In 2019,

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

announced the construction of a new campus for its Faculty of Medicine in the Outaouais region, which will run the undergraduate medical education program in French and allow students to complete their undergraduate medical training entirely in the Outaouais. Official communication with politicians has been ongoing since 2016. The new facility will be erected above the emergency room at the Gatineau Hospital, part of the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l'Outaouais, in addition to new offices for the associated Family Medicine Unit for residency training. Although the preparatory year for students entering the undergraduate medical education program from CEGEP was initially planned to be offered solely at the McGill downtown campus in Montreal, collaboration with the

finally made it possible to offer the program entirely in Gatineau.

Transportation

The Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport is Gatineau's municipal airport, capable of handling small jets. There are Canada customs facilities for aircraft coming from outside Canada, a car rental counter and a restaurant. The airport has a few regularly scheduled flights to points within Quebec, but most residents of Gatineau use the nearby Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport or travel to Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal. Ottawa and Gatineau have two distinct bus-based public transit systems with different fare structures, OC Transpo and the

Société de transport de l'Outaouais Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) is the transit service of the Outaouais region of Quebec. It operates conventional services and the Rapibus, a bus rapid transit service, in Gatineau, Quebec, including the districts of Hull, Aylmer, G ...

. Tickets are not interchangeable between the two, however passes and transfers from one system to the other do not require payment of a surcharge on any routes. There is a proposed LRT system that would connect Gatineau to Bayview and Rideau Centre Stations in Ottawa. Many Gatineau highways and major arteries feed directly into the bridges crossing over to Ottawa, but once there the roads lead into the dense downtown grid or into residential areas, with no direct connection to The Queensway. This difficulty is further magnified by the lack of a major highway on the Quebec side of the

connecting Gatineau to Montreal, the

metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

of the province; most travellers from Gatineau to Montreal first cross over to Ottawa, and use Ontario highways to access Montreal. However, it is expected that since Autoroute 50 has been completed,Crews will work through winter to have Highway 50 open in 2012 , The Review
. Thereview.ca (21 October 2010). Retrieved 12 July 2013. the new link between Gatineau and the

Laurentides The Laurentides () is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 Cens ...

popular tourist area may serve as part of a Montreal by-pass by the north shore for Outaouais residents.

Key roads

Police and law enforcement

With more than 250 officers, the ''Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau'' (SPVG) provides day-to-day policing for the city, in collaboration with other agencies such as the '' Sûreté du Québec'' and the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

assisting as necessary. They are also responsible for patrolling sections of the highways located within the city limits, including Autoroute 50 and Autoroute 5. The SPVG is equipped with a CID unit, marine unit, drugs unit, gang suppression unit, and a tactical unit (Groupe d'intervention, or GI). Patrol officers are armed with Smith & Wesson M&P .40 calibre pistols. The SPVG uses the same vehicles as similar police forces throughout North America.

Media

Gatineau is the city of licence for several television and radio stations serving the National Capital Region, which is a single media market. Many of the Ottawa-Gatineau region's TV and FM broadcast stations transmit from

Camp Fortune Camp Fortune is a commercial alpine ski centre located in the municipality of Chelsea in the Gatineau Hills north of Gatineau, Quebec, approximately fifteen minutes from Downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Camp Fortune is composed of three mountainsides ...

just north of Gatineau. All of the stations licensed directly to Gatineau broadcast in French. Weekly newspapers published in Gatineau include ''Le Bulletin d'Aylmer'' (bilingual) and ''The West Quebec Post''. Although Gatineau does not have its own daily newspaper, it is served by daily newspapers published in Ottawa, including the French ''

Le Droit ''Le Droit'' is a Canadian French-language daily newspaper, published in Gatineau, Quebec. Initially established and owned by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the paper was published by Martin Cauchon and his company, Capitales Médias ...

'' and the English ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'' and ''

Ottawa Sun The ''Ottawa Sun'' is a daily newspaper in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is published by Sun Media. It began publication in 1983 as the ''Ottawa Sunday Herald'', until it was acquired by (then) Toronto Sun Publishing Corporation in 1988. In Apri ...

''. The

, the Canadian regulatory agency for broadcasting, is based in Gatineau at

Sports

* Gatineau Olympiques of the ''QMJHL'' (

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

) *

Gatineau Jr. Olympiques Gatineau Hull-Volant is a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Gatineau, Quebec. They play in the National Capital Junior Hockey League. History The Express have joined the league for the 2006-07 season. The team, originally from Sainte-C ...

(also known as ''Gatineau Junior Express'') are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Gatineau, Quebec. They play in the

National Capital Junior Hockey League The National Capital Junior Hockey League (NCJHL) is a Junior ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by the Hockey Eastern Ontario and Hockey Canada. The league is meant to be an interprovincial league between Ontario and Quebec. Histo ...

(NCJHL) since 2006. *

Gatineau Vikings Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's Nat ...

, Canadian football team * Tyran de Gatineau, a junior elite baseball team of the

Ligue de Baseball Junior Élite du Québec The Ligue de Baseball Junior Élite du Québec (LBJEQ) is the top-level amateur summer baseball league in the Canadian province of Quebec. It is composed entirely of junior elite players - the best baseball players in the province under 22 year ...

. * L'Intrépides de Gatineau, are a Midget AAA hockey team. * La Machine de l'Outaouais: a

Kin-Ball Kimball, is a team sport created in Quebec, Canada in 1986 by Mario Demers, a physical education professor, in which the main distinctive characteristics are the large size of the ball (1.2m (48 inches) in diameter) and that the matches are played ...

team of the Ligue Senior élite de Kin-Ball du Québec. * Évènements Nordiques Gatineau Nordic Events
ENGNE
representing the regions cross country ski community

Notable people

Phillippe Aumont Phillippe Aumont (born January 7, 1989) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher, who played for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners 11th overall in the 2007 Major League Ba ...

* Dave Leduc * Eva Avila *

Daniel Brière Daniel Jean-Claude Brière (born October 6, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and executive. He was drafted in the first round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by the Phoenix Coyotes, and also played for the Buffalo Sabres, Ph ...

* Daniel Lanois *

Andrew Leamy Andrew Leamy (1816 in Drom, County Tipperary, Ireland – April 21, 1868 in Hull, Canada) was a pioneer industrialist and community leader in Wright's Town, Lower Canada, which became Hull, Quebec and is now incorporated into the City of Gatineau ...

(1816–1868), a pioneer industrialist and community leader in Lower Canada *

Champlain Marcil Champlain Marcil (19202010) was a French Canadian photojournalist best known for being the photographer of the daily newspaper ''Le Droit'' from 1948 to 1969. In addition, he was active from 1940 to 1985 in depicting the Outaouais region of wes ...

(1920–2010), photojournalist * Stéphane Richer * Denis Savard *

Maxim Tissot Maxim Tissot (born April 13, 1992) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a left-back for Atlético Ottawa. Club career Montreal Impact Born in Gatineau, Quebec and a product of the Montreal Impact Academy in the Canadian Soccer ...

(1760–1839), founder of Hull

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Quebec National Capital Region (Canada) Territories equivalent to a regional county municipality