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 gov ...

in the

Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine () is an administrative region of Quebec consisting of the Gaspé Peninsula () and the . It lies in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at the eastern extreme of southern Quebec. The predominant economic activities are fishing, forestry and tourism. ...

region 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. The name Marsoui is thought to originate from the

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

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. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

" 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 small Oceanic dolphin, dolphin-like cetaceans classified under the family Phocoenidae. Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals and Beluga whale, belugas than to the Oceanic dolphi ...

or beluga whale 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 Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales Departments of France, department in southern France. Geography Mont-Louis is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the ar ...

, arrived. They were followed by people from

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

. 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, Marsoui was a favorite hideout for smugglers fleeing the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

. 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 La-Haute-Gaspésie Regional County Municipality, Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region, Quebec province, in Canada. Sainte-Anne-des-Monts is located close to the Chic-Choc Mountains on the south shore of ...

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

Population

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

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 ...

, 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.

Language

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 "Sugar Shack" is a song written in 1962 by Keith McCormack. McCormack gave songwriting credit to his aunt, Beulah Faye Voss, after asking what are "those tight pants that girls wear" to which she replied "leotards". The song was recorded in 1963 ...

s. Other businesses provide local commercial and public services.

Government

List of former mayors: * Alphonse Couturier (1950–1961) * Oscar Couturier (1961–1971) * Daniel Goupil (1971–1973) * Ghislain Deschênes (1973–2001, 2003–2005, 2017–2021) * Clément Gagné (2001–2003) * Jovette Gasse (2005–2013) * Dario Jean (2013–2017) * Renée Gasse (2021–present)

References

External links

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