Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent () is a

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' ...

in the

regional county municipality The term regional county municipality or RCM (, , MRC) is used in Quebec, Canada to refer to one of 87 county-like political entities. In some older English translations they were called county regional municipality. Regional county municipalit ...

of Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent 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 In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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. The municipality consists of two non-contiguous areas, both along the shores of the

Gulf of Saint Lawrence The Gulf of St. Lawrence is a gulf that fringes the shores of the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, in Canada, plus the islands Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, possessions of France, in ...

. The larger main part stretches from 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 ...

to the Gros Mécatina River and includes all populated places. The eastern part is a small section between Middle Bay and Brador.

History

The Municipality of Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-Saint-Laurent was incorporated in 1963 and originally extended along the shores of the Saint Lawrence from the Natashquan River to the

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 ...

provincial border, some roughly corresponding to the Basse-Côte-Nord territory. However, with an isolated population scattered over a large area devoid of roads, the municipality did not have an elected municipal council and was managed by an appointed administrator headquartered in Chevery. Starting in 1990, a restructuring plan was enacted that carved up Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-Saint-Laurent into several additional municipalities. That year, the municipalities of Bonne-Espérance and Blanc-Sablon were formed, followed by the Municipality of Saint-Augustin on December 30, 1992, and finally the municipality of Gros-Mécatina on December 22, 1993. On May 8, 1996, the municipality's name was officially adjusted to Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent.

Communities

The municipality includes the communities of Chevery, Harrington Harbour, Kegaska, and Tête-à-la-Baleine. It also includes the following abandoned settlements and ghost towns, in order from west to east: Musquaro, Wolf Bay, Aylmer Sound, Ettamiau, Pointe Amouri, Barachois, Chez Menneau, and Boulet's (also known as Bully's).

Chevery

Chevery () is the administrative centre of the municipality, located at the mouth of the Nétagamiou River. Its population 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 ...

was 251.

Harrington Harbour

Harrington Harbour () was founded near the end of the 19th century by fishermen from

Newfoundland 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 population ...

.Tourism Lower North Shore: Harrington Harbour
/ref> The primary activity is commercial fishing for

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...

s, lobster, turbot, halibut, cod, and lumpfish. Its population in the

was 261.

Kegaska

Kegaska () is the westernmost community in the municipality. Its population in the

was 138, mostly

anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

settlers from Anticosti Island.

Tête-à-la-Baleine

Tête-à-la-Baleine (), occasionally known as Whale Head in English, was settled in the 19th century after Michael Kenty bought the local trading post from the Labrador Company. Its population in the

was 129.

Musquaro

The ghost town of Musquaro () is at the mouth of the Musquaro River, between Kegaska and La Romaine. Identified as ''Mascoüarou'' on

Louis Jolliet Louis Jolliet (; September 21, 1645after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore ...

's map of 1694, the name went through numerous spelling changes, such as ''Nasquirou, Maskouaro'', and ''Mahkuanu''. Its root meaning is "black bear tail" and may refer to the foothills of Mount Mascoüarou as shown Jolliet's map. It was the site of a fortified trading post, established in 1710, and a catholic mission. In 1780, the post was on the territory granted to the Labrador Company of Quebec. 23 years later, the franchise went to the

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

which in turn was sold to 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 ...

in 1821. Closed for a brief time in 1859, the post remained occupied until 1925 after which it closed permanently.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted 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 ...

, Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent 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.

Transportation

The municipality is served by three small local airports, Chevery Airport, Kegaska Airport and Tête-à-la-Baleine Airport. Harrington Harbour is served by a

heliport A heliport is a small airport which has a helipad, suitable for use by helicopters, powered lift, and various types of vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also hav ...

, but does not have its own full airport. Harrington Harbour is located on a small island which has no cars or roads, and all transportation in the community is by

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

. Each mainland community has local road access — however, no roads currently connect one community to another, the entire municipality is isolated from the provincial highway network, and

ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

boats must be used to travel between the communities or to the rest of the province. In recent years the municipality has lobbied for Highway 138, which currently ends at Kégaska, to be extended through the area. The provincial government has announced a feasibility study, although no construction schedule has been announced to date.

Climate

Although located at the same latitude as

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, the cold Labrador Current gives Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfc''), a little short of a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfb''). Winters are cold and very snowy due to the influence of the Icelandic Low to the east, with mean snowfall averaging and extreme cover of on 10 March 1994. In summer, maritime includes is much more pronounced than in winter and cools average July temperatures by about compared to inland cities like Regina or

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Local government

List of former mayors: * Gaston Bergeron (1963–1970) * Jean-Paul Daigle (1970–1972) * Henri-Paul Boudreau (1972–1976) * Richmond Monger (1976–2011) * Darlene Rowsell-Roberts (2011–present)

Media

Two

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...

stations, CFTH-FM-1 in Harrington Harbour and CJTB-FM in Tête-à-la-Baleine, operate in the municipality. CFTH also has rebroadcasters in Kegaska and Mutton Bay. The municipality is also served by rebroadcasters of Première Chaîne's

CBSI-FM CBSI-FM is a French language, French-language Canada, Canadian radio station located in Sept-Îles, Quebec, Sept-Îles, Quebec. Owned and operated by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Société Radio-Canada, it broadcasts on 98.1 Hertz, MHz wi ...

in Harrington Harbour and Tête-à-la-Baleine, and by a rebroadcaster of

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent o ...

's CBVE-FM in Harrington Harbour. Télévision de Radio-Canada's CJBR-TV has rebroadcasters in Harrington Harbour and Tête-à-la-Baleine, and

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

CBMT CBMT-DT (channel 6) is a television station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, broadcasting the English-language service of CBC Television. It is owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation alongside Ici Radio-Canada Télé flagship ...

has a rebroadcaster in Harrington Harbour. The municipality does not receive any of Canada's commercial broadcast television networks, English or French, over the air.

Education

Commission scolaire du Littoral operates:Schools and centers
." Commission scolaire du Littoral. Retrieved on September 23, 2017. * Netagamiou School (anglophone and francophone) - Chevery * Gabriel-Dionne School (francophone) - Tête-à-la-Baleine * Harrington School (anglophone) - Harrington Harbour * Kegaska School (anglophone) - Kegaska * Marie-Sarah School for adults - La Romaine ** Its school program for children was suspended in 2014.Marie-Sarah's news - La Romaine
." Commission scolaire du Littoral. Retrieved on September 23, 2017. It was formerly a francophone school.

References

External links

*
The Lower North ShoreTourism Lower North Shore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cote-Nord-Du-Golfe-Du-Saint-Laurent, Quebec Municipalities in Quebec Incorporated places in Côte-Nord