Hearst, Ontario
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Hearst is a town in the district of Cochrane, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Mattawishkwia River in
Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...
, approximately west of
Kapuskasing Kapuskasing ( ) is a town on the Kapuskasing River in the Cochrane District of Northern Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Hearst, Ontario, Hearst and northwest of Timmins, Ontario, Timmins. The town was known as MacPherson until 1917. ...
, approximately east of Thunder Bay along Highway 11. At Hearst, Highway 583 extends northward to Lac-Sainte-Thérèse and southward to Jogues, Coppell and
Mead Mead (), also called honey wine, and hydromel (particularly when low in alcohol content), is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alco ...
. Hearst is well-known for its prevalent
French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...
culture. Just over 96% of the town's residents speak French as their mother language, the highest proportion in Ontario, and the dialect of French in Hearst is particularly known for being nearly indistinguishable from the French spoken in
Québec Quebec is Canada's 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, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...
.


History

The town was established as a divisional point of the National Transcontinental Railway in 1913, 208 km west of Cochrane and 201 km east of the divisional point of Grant. There is some indeterminacy with the name Grant as the original site of Hearst was also called Grant and was changed to Hearst in 1911. Hearst was named to honour William Howard Hearst, then Ontario Minister of Forests and Mines and later Premier of Ontario. It was incorporated in 1922. Many settlers to the town originally came from 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, ...
. Many also came from Europe and other regions in Canada and the USA.


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 ...
, Hearst 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.


Economy

Hearst has a long tradition of being a "lumber town". Currently the major employers include a Greenfirst hardwood and softwood facility as well as a plywood mill operated by Columbia Forest Products.


Arts and culture

93.7% of Hearst's population is
francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...
. Different cultures can be found in Hearst such as Finn, Slovak, Bulgarian, Chinese, Portuguese,
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
, Ukrainian,
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
and also
Black Canadians Black Canadians () are Canadians of full or partial Afro-Caribbean or sub-Saharan African descent. Black Canadian settlement and immigration patterns can be categorized into two distinct groups. The majority of Black Canadians are descendants ...
. The town is home to the Université de Hearst, formerly a federated school of
Laurentian University Laurentian University (), officially Laurentian University of Sudbury, is a mid-sized Bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, incorporated on March 28, 1960. Laurentian offers a variety of undergr ...
in Sudbury. The Hearst Public Library was founded on December 17, 1974. In its beginning, the library was situated in the basement of the Hearst High School where it shared its space with the school library. On June 4, 1984, the library moved to its present location, 801 George Street (formerly Stedman's). Hearst is a four-season destination. Many years ago, the town proclaimed itself the Moose Capital of Canada. Local outdoor activities include fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, camping, swimming, canoeing, and golf.


Infrastructure


Transportation

Hearst is served by Hearst (René Fontaine) Municipal Airport. The
Ontario Northland Railway The Ontario Northland Railway is a Canadian railway operated by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a Crown agency (Ontario), provincial Crown agency of the government of Ontario. Originally built to develop the Lake Timiskaming ...
purchased the part of the National Transcontinental Railway serving Hearst in 1993. The
Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...
(formerly
Algoma Central Railway The Algoma Central Railway is a railway in Northern Ontario, Canada, that operates between Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst, Ontario, Hearst. It used to have a branch line to Wawa, Ontario, Wawa. The area served by th ...
) connects with the Ontario Northland at Hearst. Hearst was the northern terminus for a
Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...
-operated passenger train service from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, running over the tracks of the
Algoma Central Railway The Algoma Central Railway is a railway in Northern Ontario, Canada, that operates between Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst, Ontario, Hearst. It used to have a branch line to Wawa, Ontario, Wawa. The area served by th ...
. Hearst is the northern terminus for Ontario Northland's coach service.


Education

Hearst has both elementary and high schools (public and Catholic). It also has the Université de Hearst, a post-secondary institution that was formerly federated with
Laurentian University Laurentian University (), officially Laurentian University of Sudbury, is a mid-sized Bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, incorporated on March 28, 1960. Laurentian offers a variety of undergr ...
in Sudbury. Education can also be sought at the collegiate level with the Collège Boréal.


Media


Radio

Hearst's only local radio service is provided by CINN-FM, a community radio station. All other radio stations available in the community are rebroadcasters of stations from
Kapuskasing Kapuskasing ( ) is a town on the Kapuskasing River in the Cochrane District of Northern Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Hearst, Ontario, Hearst and northwest of Timmins, Ontario, Timmins. The town was known as MacPherson until 1917. ...
,
Timmins Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 at the 2021 Canadian census and an estimated population of ...
or Sudbury.


Television


Notable people

* Réginald Bélair, politician * René Fontaine, politician. Hearst (René Fontaine) Municipal Airport is named in his honour. * Doric Germain, writer whose books centre on
Franco-Ontarian Franco-Ontarians ( or if female, sometimes known as ''Ontarois'' and ''Ontaroises'') are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2021, according to the Government of Ontario, ther ...
heritage * Claude Giroux, professional hockey player * Claude Larose, professional hockey player * Rumun Ndur, professional hockey player * Eric Sorensen, journalist *
Pierre LeBrun Pierre LeBrun is a Canadian sportscaster and writer. Working for The Sports Network, he appears as a "Hockey Insider", and regularly appears on hockey-related broadcasts. He is also a senior National Hockey League columnist for ''The Athletic'', an ...
, journalist


See also

*
List of francophone communities in Ontario This is a list of francophone communities in Ontario. Municipalities with a high percentage of French-speakers in the Canadian province of Ontario are listed. The provincial average of Ontarians whose mother tongue is French is 3.3%, with a to ...
*
Franco-Ontarian Franco-Ontarians ( or if female, sometimes known as ''Ontarois'' and ''Ontaroises'') are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2021, according to the Government of Ontario, ther ...
s


References


External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities in Cochrane District Single-tier municipalities in Ontario Towns in Ontario