Buckingham is a former town located in the Outaouais region in the western portion of the province 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. Since January 1, 2002, it has been part of the amalgamated city of

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

, which merged five former municipalities, including Masson-Angers, Buckingham, Hull, Aylmer and Gatineau, into a single entity. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the sector was 12,795.

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 (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

initiated a continental blockade which forced

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

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

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

, 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 fibrous Lignocellulosic biomass, lignocellulosic material prepared by chemically, semi-chemically, or mechanically isolating the cellulose fiber, cellulosic fibers of wood, fiber crops, Paper recycling, waste paper, or cotton paper, rag ...

continuing to be important for several decades afterwards. In 1837, the first sawmill was built by Levi Bigelow. In January 1849, the

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 ...

opened a store in Buckingham at the mouth of the Lièvre River. It moved there from Lac des Sables to give HBC staff better control of indigenous traders coming down the

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, and Blanche Rivers, as well as the ability to trade with lumberjacks and settlers. The store closed around 1870.

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 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 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 generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

market in the community and also real estate 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 was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. 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 Mont-Laurier () is a town and incorporated municipality in western Quebec, Canada, located on the banks of the Lièvre River (''Rivière du Lièvre''), a tributary of the Ottawa River. Known as the "Capital of the Haute-Laurentides", the motto o ...

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

. However, due to

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

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' Bill 180, which was introduced in 2000 by the Municipal Affairs Minister Louise Harel after studies conducted by public agents. In 2003, the Quebec Liberal Party, with Jean Charest as the leader, won the 2003 provincial election and promised a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

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 La Chicane, Amanda Marshall and

April Wine April Wine is a Canadian rock band formed in 1969 and based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, led by singer-guitarist-songwriter Myles Goodwyn until his death in 2023. April Wine first experienced success with their second album, ' ...

, 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) * James Maclaren (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 Hull. Located next to the CEGEP in Hull, the closest public English language College is Heritage College. The Université du Québec en Outaouais 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 The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

, although tuition fees tend to be much higher when compared to those in the province of Quebec for Quebec residents. * Buckingham High School

Health and social services

The Hôpital de Papineau is located on MacLaren East Street at the intersection of Bélanger Street. Services include outpatient clinics for mental health care, as well as many medical and surgical specialties such as

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

orthopedics Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (American and British English spelling differences, alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgic ...

general surgery General surgery is a Surgical specialties, surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and Abdomen, abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, Appendix (anatomy ...

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 insert ...

. 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 (medicine), ...

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 revea ...

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. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as schools ...

services is also available 24/7.

Transportation

Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) is the transit service of the Outaouais region of

. It operates conventional services and the Rapibus, a bus rapid transit service, in

, Quebec, including the districts of Hull, Aylmer,

, Buckingham and Masson-Angers. STO is located on the Quebec-side of Canada's National Capital Region, and operates several bus routes through Downtown Ottawa,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

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