Marsoui is a

village 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

Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine () is an administrative region of Quebec consisting of the Gaspé Peninsula (''Gaspésie'') and the Magdalen Islands, Îles-de-la-Madeleine. It lies in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at the eastern extreme of southe ...

region of

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. The name Marsoui is thought to originate from the

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...

word ''malseoui'', meaning "

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

" which is abundant in the area. However, another theory explains that it comes from the French word ''marsouin'', the vernacular term for

porpoise Porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals, all of which are classified under the family Phocoenidae, parvorder Odontoceti (toothed whales). Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals an ...

beluga whale The beluga whale () (''Delphinapterus leucas'') is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus ''Delphinapterus''. It is also known as the whi ...

that used to be present in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in large numbers. Alternate spellings used over time were ''Marsouis, Marsoin'', and ''Marsouins''.

History

While the beluga hunt and cod fishing was popular in this area during the late 17th century, it was not until 1836 that the first permanent settlers, the Henley family of

Mont-Louis Mont-Louis (; or ''el Vilar d'Ovansa'') is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Mont-Louis is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. Mont-Louis-La Cab ...

, arrived. They were followed by people from

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

. In 1890, the Mission of Sainte-Émélie-de-Marsoui was founded there, and 3 years later, the local post office opened. Subsistence fishing was the main economic activity until 1911. Then a small saw mill was built that started the transformation to a forestry-based economy. Over the following decades, several saw mills burnt down and were rebuilt. During the

Prohibition era in the United States In the United States from 1920 to 1933, a nationwide constitutional law prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, an ...

, Marsoui was a favorite hideout for smugglers fleeing 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 ...

. In 1923, the villages of Marsoui and Rivière-à-la-Marthe separated from the municipality of

Sainte-Anne-des-Monts Sainte-Anne-des-Monts () is a city in the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region of the province of Quebec in Canada. Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, a small city between the Chic-Choc Mountains and sea, is on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence river ...

to form the Township Municipality of Christie. In turn, Marsoui separated from this township in 1950 to be incorporated as a village municipality. Its first mayor was Alphonse Couturier, whose company had built a large saw mill in Marsoui in 1940. From 1945 to 1954, a lead and zinc mine operated about southwest of Marsoui.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population 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 ...

, Marsoui 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. Mother tongue language (2016)2016 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Marsoui, Quebec
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Economy

The primary industry of Marsoui is forestry. The Bois Marsoui GDS mill supports 60% of its population. There is also a small tourism industry, including 2 commercial

sugar house A sugar shack (french: cabane à sucre), also known as sap house, sugar house, sugar shanty or sugar cabin is a commercial establishment, primarily found in Eastern Canada and northern New England. Sugar shacks are small cabins or groups of cab ...

s. Other businesses provide local commercial and public services.

References

{{authority control Incorporated places in Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Villages in Quebec

History

Demographics

Economy

See also

References