Kegaska, population 138 (as of the 2011 census), is the easternmost point in the

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 of

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 ...

to be reachable by road without passing through

Newfoundland and Labrador 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 populatio ...

Quebec Route 138 Route 138 is a major highway in the Canadian province of Quebec, following the entire north shore of the St. Lawrence River past Montreal to the temporary eastern terminus in Kegashka on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The western terminus is in E ...

reached the community on September 26, 2013, with the inauguration of a bridge across the

Natashquan River The Natashquan is a river in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. It flows south into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Geography The river has its source just south of the boundary between the Atlantic and Saint Lawrence r ...

. An unconstituted locality (as defined by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

in the

Canada 2011 Census The 2011 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population on May 10, 2011. Statistics Canada, an agency of the Canadian government, conducts a nationwide census every five years. In 2011, it consisted of a mandatory short for ...

) within the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent () is a municipality in the regional county municipality of Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. The municipality consists of two non-contiguous areas, both al ...

Geography

Kegaska village is located about 60 km (40 miles) east of the town of

Natashquan Natashquan is a municipality located on the north shore of Jacques Cartier Strait, on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in the Côte-Nord region, Minganie RCM, Quebec, Canada. Natashquan stretches along the coast, on both sides of the Little Natashq ...

and 47 km (30 miles) (in direct line) west of the town of La Romaine. Kegaska is built on a point of land between two bays (Muddy Bay and Kegaska Bay). Located opposite of the village, the Black Isle (Île Noire, in French) is connected to the mainland by a bridge. This island has an old lighthouse used for navigation.

forms the western boundary of the municipality of

. Between that river and the village of Kegaska, we find there (from West to East): * several small rivers that empty into the Gulf of St. Lawrence: de l'Étang (Pond), Long, Clay, Sam, Kegaska and Belley; * the "Pointe du Vieux Poste" (Tip of Old post), Cape Tiennot (Mont Joli is in back), Mistanekau beach, Ehkuahiniu rocks, Kegaska Harbour (havre Kegaska, in French), Muddy Cove and Kippin islands. The east side, between the Kegaska village and the

Musquaro River The River Musquaro flows south in the municipality of Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent, Quebec, in the Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Côte-Nord (North-Shore), in Quebec, in Canada. ...

, there is situated (from West to East): * Kegaska Bay, Mount Hatsheuiat Tshehkahkau, le Havre Mistassini (harbourg), the Pepihtnahu bay and the tip Musquaro (located on the west side of the mouth of the river Musquaro); * a series of islands up to 4 km ( miles) away from the mainland: Island Black, Green Tshinahat, Parsons, Kakatshihipinukut, Uhatshistsh, Ketshinukuteuat, Tshiahkuehihat, Menahkunakat and islands kahakaut; * the area waterfowl gathering of part-Chicoutai Kégaska. The lake Kegaska (length of 11.7 km; miles) is located 16 km (10 miles) northwest of the town of Kegaska and its mouth is in the south of the lake. It empties into the Kegaska river (20 km; 12 miles long) flowing at first on 7.7 km ( miles) to the southwest; and 5.3 km ( miles) to the east; and finally a segment of 7 km ( miles) to the south, ending in a bay of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, at 7.2 km ( miles) west of the village of Kegaska. Kegaska village is the current eastern end of an over-1400 km (870 mile) segment of route 138 which starts south of Montreal at the

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

border. The road reached the village on September 26, 2013, following the inauguration of a bridge across the

. It is currently not possible to drive beyond Kegaska by road; the between Kegaska and Old Fort (Vieux-Fort) is accessible by a weekly coastal ferry which runs from

Rimouski Rimouski ( ; ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski, whose motto is ''Legi patrum fidelis'' (Faithful to ...

Toponymy

Its name derives from the

Innu The Innu/Ilnu ('man, person'), formerly called Montagnais (French for ' mountain people'; ), are the Indigenous Canadians who inhabit northeastern Labrador in present-day Newfoundland and Labrador and some portions of Quebec. They refer to ...

word ''quegasca'', first recorded on Franquelin's map of 1685.Tourism Lower North Shore: Kegaska
/ref> This place name is also used to refer to a river, a lake, an island, a haven, a tip, a bay and a canton (township).

History

In 1831, Kegaska was the site of a

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 ...

trading post, but the actual settlement was formed in 1852 when

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

settlers came 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 ...

. They abandoned the place in 1871-1873 to settle at Betchewun (now Betchouane between

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

Baie-Johan-Beetz Baie-Johan-Beetz is a municipality located near the mouth of the Piashti River on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in the Côte-Nord region, Minganie RCM, Quebec, Canada. History In 1854, Joseph Tanguay, originally from Berthie ...

) and were replaced by Newfoundland fishermen, almost all of Irish origin. They in turn left around 1887-1888, leaving the place completely deserted by 1890. Yet in 1898, a few families relocated from

Perth, Ontario Perth is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Tay River (Ontario), Tay River, southwest of Ottawa, and is the seat of Lanark County. History The town was established as a military settlement in 1816, shortly after the War of ...

, whose descendants now populate the area. At the end of the 19th century, predominantly English-speaking settlers came from the

Anticosti Island Anticosti () is an island located between the Jacques Cartier and Honguedo Straits, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in L'Île-d'Anticosti (Municipality), Minganie MRC, Côte-Nord, Quebec, Canada. UNESCO's World Heritage On September 19, 2023, ...

to settle in Kegaska.

Victor-Alphonse Huard wrote this description in 1897 of the region: At Kégashka begins a long trail of islands, which continues to near the entrance to the
Strait of Belle Isle The Strait of Belle Isle ( ; ) is a waterway in eastern Canada, that separates Labrador from the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Location The strait is located in the southeast of the ...
. There are large, but most are only islands that crowd in several rows along the coast and sometimes up to twelve or fifteen miles offshore. Listed on the map this dust accumulated islands to the north coast, it looks like the scum of the Gulf that the fury of the winds from the southwest would have rejected his rivage.

In 1976, Le Brion, a cargo ship from

wrecked on a shoal near Kegaska. The remains of the wreck are still visible from the village.

Economy

Fishing, especially the crab industry, serves as one of the main community's primary economic activities.

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

, Kegaska had a population of 124 living in 58 of its 72 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 95. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Education

Commission scolaire du Littoral The Centre de services scolaire du Littoral is a geographically-based school service centre in Quebec, Canada, with offices in Sept-Îles, Quebec, Sept-Îles and Chevery. Situated along the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the School Board territory consi ...

operates Kegaska School (anglophone).Schools and centers
."

. Retrieved on September 23, 2017.

References

{{authority control Communities in Côte-Nord Designated places in Quebec Unconstituted localities in Quebec Quebec Anglophone culture