Buckingham is a former town located in the Outaouais region in the western portion of the province 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 thirte ...

, Canada. Since 1 January 2002, it has been part of the

amalgamated Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan ama ...

city of

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 Na ...

, which merged five former municipalities, including

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 ...

, Buckingham,

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 ...

, Aylmer and Gatineau, into a single entity. According to the 2016 Census, the population of the town was 16,685.

History

First years

It was in 1799, that land in this area was granted to John Robertson, a former member of a British regiment. The first people settled in Buckingham in 1823 and the first mill was built. More people moved to Buckingham in the years that followed.Historique/ History Buckingham (Québec) Canada, Maclaren Etc

Launch of the lumber industry

In 1812,

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

initiated a

continental blockade The Continental Blockade (), or Continental System, was a large-scale embargo against British trade by Napoleon Bonaparte against the British Empire from 21 November 1806 until 11 April 1814, during the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon issued the Berlin ...

which forced

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

to look to other sources for importing lumber. Soon, large wooded areas were discovered in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec ...

, including the area that became the Outaouais region. The lumber industry was central to the region's economic development for over a century with

wood pulp Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibers from wood, fiber crops, waste paper, or rags. Mixed with water and other chemical or plant-based additives, pulp is the major raw ...

continuing to be important for several decades afterwards. In 1837, the first sawmill was built by Levi Bigelow.

Maclaren family

Throughout its history, the city of Buckingham's economy has been dominated by the Albright and Wilson Co (ERCO), which employs most of the people in that area. The Maclaren family may have lived in Buckingham but their industry is part of Masson. The Maclaren family, who have resided in the region since 1840, have dominated the lumber industry in the Outaouais for over a century. In 1864,

James Maclaren James Maclaren (March 19, 1818 – February 10, 1892) was an early settler and entrepreneur in western Quebec. Maclaren was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1818. He came to Richmond in Upper Canada with his family in 1822. The family then se ...

launched the family's activities in Buckingham by building a sawmill. The company became J. MacLaren & Co. and later The James Maclaren Company Limited. James' two brothers acquired the company after his death in 1892 and then launched a

match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden mat ...

company in Buckingham in 1894 which was incorporated a year later. The Maclarens later gained control of the

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

market in the community and also

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...

development and sports facilities. The company built a hydroelectric dam along the Du Lièvre River, just north of Buckingham, at the start of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. They later built another one near Masson during the 1950s. In 1902, the Maclaren group added the wood pulp industry to its activities by building a mill. They later expanded their activities across the region, adding mills in Masson, Mont-Laurier and Thurso located not too far from the Du Lièvre River. The Buckingham mill closed shortly before 1960.

Former amalgamation

From 1975 to 1980, the townships of Buckingham, Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette, L'Ange-Gardien, Buckingham-Sud-Est, Buckingham-Ouest, Angers and Masson were amalgamated.

Development

Population growth has been relatively slow because of its location about from downtown

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 c ...

. However, due to

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...

growth and amalgamation of the town in 2002, several residential developments were created and the population increased. Buckingham is becoming more of a suburban town while still keeping its traditional characteristics in the centre-town area.

Amalgamation with the city of Gatineau

On January 1, 2002, the city of Buckingham with its 12,000 residents became part of the new city of Gatineau. This was part of a massive merger movement created by the

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establis ...

' Bill 180, which was introduced in 2000 by the Municipal Affairs Minister

Louise Harel Louise Harel (born April 22, 1946) is a Quebec politician. In 2005 she served as interim leader of the Parti Québécois following the resignation of Bernard Landry. She was also interim leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of Que ...

after studies conducted by public agents. In 2003, the

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; ...

, with Jean Charest as the leader, won the 2003 provincial election and promised a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

would be held on the possibility of demerging municipalities. The referendum was held on June 20, 2004, but the majority of the population voted against the demerger and Buckingham thus remained part of the city of Gatineau.

Château dairy

The dairy industry was also a major economic asset in the community with Le Château having some of its operations in Buckingham. However, in 2006, Agrodor, a Saguenay-based company that owns the Chateau brand, announced the shutdown of its operations in the Outaouais. The local business sector had launched measures to save the company which has operated in the region since 1943. After the shutdown of the Château dairy operations in Buckingham, a committee was established to bring dairy production back to the region. Construction started on November 12, 2008, on the future site of what would be called Laiterie de l’Outaouais. The plant officially opened on June 16, 2010.

Buckingham en Fête

Each year since 1991, during the month of July, the Buckingham sector hosted Buckingham en Fête, its biggest annual event, which was held in the town's Maclaren Park. Several well-known artists in Quebec and in Canada, including Éric Lapointe, Marjo,

Jean Leloup Jean Leclerc (born May 14, 1961) is a Québécois singer-songwriter and author from Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada. He is popularly known as Jean Leloup (which he likes to translate to John the Wolf), a stage name he kept using until 2006, when he ...

La Chicane,

Amanda Marshall Amanda Meta Marshall (born August 29, 1972) is a Canadian pop-rock singer. She has released three studio albums; the first was certified Diamond in Canada, with the latter two certified 3× Platinum and Platinum respectively. She is best known fo ...

and April Wine, have performed over the years at the festival. However, due to financial difficulties, the festival nearly disappeared. According to the festival's website, the 17th edition in 2007 was still expected to go underway as planned. In 2016, the festival decided to end the celebration of the festivals with its 25th festival due to financial difficulties caused by the raining during the festival. Over its history, the festival has received numerous distinctions and awards both regionally and provincially.

Mayors of Buckingham (1868-2001)

Source: *James Wilson (1867-1871) *McPherson LeMoine (1872-1873) *John Cosgrove (1874-1876) *H.H. Sauvé (1877-1878) *

(1879-1882) *H.H. Sauvé (1883-1885) *James Maclaren (1885-1886) *George L. Parker (1887-1892) *William J. MacKenzier (1893) *James Martin (1894-1895) *Alexander Maclaren (1896-1897) *John Cosgrove (1898-1899) *J. Palma Lahaie (1900-1901) *John Edward Vallilee (1902-1906) *William H. Kelly (1907-1908) *Aristide M. LaPierre (1909-1910) *John F. Higginson (1911-1918) *Désiré Lahaie (1918-1926) *F.C. Dunscombe (1926-1928) *Aristide M. LaPierre (1928-1930) *Wolfe J. Costello (1930-1932) *Philoxime A. Fournier (1932-1944) *Philias Matte (1944-1948) *Elzéar Malette (1948-1950) *Philias Matte (1950-1956) *Arthur Latour (1956-1958) *Reginald Cameron (1958-1962) *Ulysse Tremblay (1962-1967) *Roger D'Aoust (1967-1974) *Reginald W. Scullion (1975-1995) *Jacques Lareau (1995-1999) *Jocelyne Houle (1999-2001)

Education

The Western Québec School Board (WQSB) operates the only English public school in the sector which is Buckingham Elementary School. WQSB also operates the closest public English secondary schools which are Hadley Junior High School and Philemon Wright High School just over 30 minutes away in Gatineau, QC and accessible via school bus. The Francophone school district Commission scolaire au Cœur-des-Vallées, headquartered in Buckingham, operates public schools in that district. The closest Francophone CEGEP, Cégep de l'Outaouais, is located half an hour away, with two campuses in

and one in

. Located next to the CEGEP in Hull, the closest public English language College is Heritage College. 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 6,0 ...

has two pavilions in the Outaouais region, both located in Hull. Students wishing to pursue undergraduate studies also benefit from close proximity to University of Ottawa, although tuition fees tend to be much higher when compared to those in the province of Quebec for Quebec residents.

Health and social services

The Hôpital de Papineau is located on MacLaren East Street at the intersection of Bélanger Street. Services include

outpatient clinics A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

for mental health care, as well as many medical and surgical specialties such as internal medicine,

orthopedics Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

general surgery General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thy ...

and

endoscopy An endoscopy is a procedure used in medicine to look inside the body. The endoscopy procedure uses an endoscope to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. Unlike many other medical imaging techniques, endoscopes are inse ...

. An

emergency department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...

with

medical imaging Medical imaging is the technique and process of imaging the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention, as well as visual representation of the function of some organs or tissues (physiology). Medical imaging seeks to re ...

and

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physi ...

services is also available 24/7.

Transportation

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, ...

(STO) is the transit service of the Outaouais region of

. It operates conventional services and the

Rapibus The Rapibus is a bus rapid transit system for the Société de Transport de l'Outaouais ( STO) in the city of Gatineau, Quebec. Construction was completed in the summer of 2013 with service beginning in the fall. The Rapibus aims to speed up th ...

, a

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

service, in

, Quebec, including the districts of

, Aylmer,

, Buckingham and

. STO is located on the Quebec-side 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 ...

, and operates several bus routes through Downtown Ottawa,

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 ...

References

External links

History of Buckingham, Quebec

Site of Buckingham en Fete
{{Authority control Populated places established in 1799 Populated places disestablished in 2002 History of Gatineau Neighbourhoods in Gatineau Former municipalities in Quebec Former cities in Quebec Hudson's Bay Company trading posts