La Motte is a

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

in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

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 ...

, located in the Abitibi Regional County Municipality and the administrative region of

Abitibi-Témiscamingue Abitibi-Témiscamingue () is an List of regions of Quebec, administrative region located in western Québec, Canada, along the border with Ontario. It became part of the province in 1898. It has a land area of and its population was 146,717 peo ...

. As of 2013, the town did not have a restaurant or inn. In preparation for the potential media influx due to the papability of Cardinal Ouellet after the resignation of pope

Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

, an old church basement had been converted into a media centre.

Geography

The village of La Motte is located midway between the city of

Amos Amos or AMOS may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Amos Records, an independent record label established in Los Angeles, California, in 1968 * Amos (band), an American Christian rock band * ''Amos'' (album), an album by Michael Ray * ''Amos' ...

(distance of 27.5 km) and city of Malartic (distance of 30.5 km). The Provincial road 109 crosses the municipal territory north to south. The village of La Motte is located 80.7 km from the city of Rouyn-Noranda and 57.2 km from Val d'Or. The

Harricana River The Harricana River (french: Rivière Harricana) (also known as Harricanaw River) is a river in western Quebec and northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is long, has a drainage area of , and has a mean discharge of . While 80% of its drainage area is ...

which is the eastern boundary of the municipal territory includes at the height of La Motte two bulges forming large lakes in the area: the Lake Malartic southeast and the lake La Motte at northeast. Access to the village of La Motte is by Highway 117 connecting Val d'Or and

Rouyn-Noranda Rouyn-Noranda ( 2021 population 42,313) is a city on Osisko Lake in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, Canada. The city of Rouyn-Noranda is a coextensive with a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and census ...

, or by the road 111 linking Val d'Or to

. The municipal area of La Motte straddles the watershed between the basin of the

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...

(Eastern part of the territory of La Motte) and watershed

Saint 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, connectin ...

(western). In the early 19th century, colonization of the territory gained strength thanks to the arrival of the Transcontinental railway in

in 1913, linking Abitibi to

city. The railway, which passes through Hervey-Jonction (Middle Mauricie),

La Tuque La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 sq ...

(Haute-Mauricie) and

Senneterre Senneterre is a town in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of northwestern Quebec, Canada. It is in the Vallée-de-l'Or Regional County Municipality. The town's territory includes a vast undeveloped area stretching from the Bell River to the Ma ...

(Abitibi) generated a considerable influx of settlers across the North West Quebec.

Toponymy

In the Abitibi area the village of "La Motte" has four namesakes: La Motte Township, the municipality of La Motte, La Motte lake (formed by a widening of the Harricana River) and the Bay of La Motte (located on the lake in the town of Malartic La Motte). The name of the municipality was chosen in honor of Guillaume-Jérôme Vacquier de Lamothe, a French army officer who served under Louis-Joseph de Montcalm; he had been a captain in the regiment of Béarn in Montcalm's army.Commission de toponymie du Québec
Fiche descriptive : La Motte
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Demographics

Population trend: * Population in 2011: 457 (2006 to 2011 population change: 15.7%) * Population in 2006: 395 * Population in 2001: 406 * Population in 1996: 409 * Population in 1991: 415 Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 191 (total dwellings: 236) Mother tongue: * English as first language: 0% * French as first language: 100% * English and French as first language: 0% * Other as first language: 0%

Multipurpose community center

Inaugurated on June 2, 2011, the community center of La Motte was built within the walls of the old church of Saint-Luc (built in 1937). Purchased for $1 by the municipality in 2005, the building which was renovated at the level of $260,000 includes a multipurpose room (Heritage room with a stage for public shows) formed in the nave (ground floor) for public events with 300-seat and Pioneers room in the basement with 150 seats, with a well equipped kitchen. These rooms are used for publics meetings, presentations, exhibitions, weddings, entertainment ... The choir retains its authenticity especially the religious celebration of baptisms, funerals, masses, weddings and other important religious events. A grid and a retractable curtain separates the nave of this section for worship. Calendar of events in community center is available on the official website of the municipality. Windows and woodwork of the old church have been carefully restored. The former sacristy was subdivided with a section dedicated to the needs of the factory of the Saint-Luc parish. A nonprofit committee manages this Community Centre. Over 3,000 volunteer hours were devoted to the restoration of the building for its new multi-functional vocation. This restoration is a model of integration of religious heritage in order to respond to community needs.

Municipal council

* Mayor: René Martineau * Councillors: Jean-Marc Albert, Claude Hardy, Léopold Larouche, Jocelyne Lefebvre, Oliver Lemieux, Jocelyne Wheelhouse La Motte QC 2

Notable people

* Cardinal

Marc Ouellet Marc Armand Ouellet (born 8 June 1944) is a Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI ...

of the Roman Catholic Church was born in La Motte on June 8, 1944.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Motte, La Municipalities in Quebec Incorporated places in Abitibi-Témiscamingue