McGarry is an incorporated

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Timiskaming District Timiskaming is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The district was created in 1912 from parts of Algoma, Nipissing, and Sudbury districts. In 1921, Cochrane District was created from p ...

Northeastern Ontario Northeastern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario, which lies north of Lake Huron and east of Lake Superior. Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timisk ...

, Canada. It includes the communities of Virginiatown and Kearns. The township borders with

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, ...

to the east, along Highway 66 between

Kirkland Lake Kirkland Lake is a town and municipality in Timiskaming District, Ontario, Timiskaming District of Northeastern Ontario. The 2021 population, according to Statistics Canada, was 7,750. The community name was based on a nearby lake which in turn ...

and

Rouyn-Noranda Rouyn-Noranda (; Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population 42,313) is a city on Osisko Lake in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, Canada. The city of Rouyn-Noranda is coextensive with a territory equivalent to a regional county municipalit ...

. The northern border of the township forms part of the border between Timiskaming District and

Cochrane District Cochrane District is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1921 from parts of Timiskaming and Thunder Bay districts. In 2021, the district's population was 77,963, with a l ...

. Highway 66 was rerouted in 2017 because of concerns that aging mine shafts under the road could cause it to collapse. J. T. Kearns (after whom one of the communities was named) staked a claim in 1906, which became the

Chesterville gold mine Chesterville Gold Mine was a gold mine located in McGarry, Ontario. Gold was discovered at the location in 1906 and the Chesterville Larder Lake Gold Mining Company was incorporated in 1907. Logistical and financial challenges delayed the start ...

(1938–1952). An

shaft Shaft may refer to: Rotating machine elements * Shaft (mechanical engineering), a rotating machine element used to transmit power * Line shaft, a power transmission system * Drive shaft, a shaft for transferring torque * Axle, a shaft around whi ...

connected 20 levels, and its 500-ton

stamp mill A stamp mill (or stamp battery or stamping mill) is a type of Mill (grinding), mill machine that crushes material by pounding rather than Mill (grinding), grinding, either for further processing or for extraction of metallic ores. Breaking materia ...

produced a total of 458,880 ounces of gold. The Kerr-Addison Gold mine started in 1936, and employed 1,456 people by 1959. In 1960, the mine produced the most gold in the Western Hemisphere, and the 10 millionth ounce of gold was produced in 1982.

History

Gold in the area was originally reported in the late 1800s by Chief

Ignace Tonené Ignace Tonené (1840 or 1841 15 March 1916), also known as Nias or, by his Ojibwe name (), was a Teme-Augama Anishnabai chief, fur trader, and gold prospector in Upper Canada. was most commonly known by his French name, Ignace Tonené, that o ...

of the

Temagami First Nation The Temagami First Nation is located on Bear Island in the heart of Lake Temagami, the second largest in Lake Temagami after Temagami Island. Its community is known as Bear Island 1. Temagami First Nation (TFN) members are status Indians under t ...

. He staked a claim near the north arm of Larder Lake but claimed it was stolen. He reported it, but Indian Affairs was unable to help. Tonené's claim was jumped by European settlers and later developed into the Kerr-Addison Mine.

Charlie Angus Charles Joseph Angus (born November 14, 1962) is a Canadian author, journalist, broadcaster, musician and politician. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Angus served as the federal Member of Parliament for the riding of Timmins—Jame ...

(2022). '' Cobalt: The Making of a Mining Superpower. Canada'': House of Anansi Press Incorporated. Adjacent to the Kerr-Addison Mine, the

was developed, operating from 1939 until 1952.
A Chronology of Minerals Development in Canada
,''

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

'','' p36 & 47 Virginiatown was built to house the Kerr Addison workers. On December 21, 1972, masked thieves successfully robbed the Virginiatown

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; ) is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District, Toronto, Financial District of Toronto, Ont ...

on the Kerr Addison miners' payday. The robbers were never captured. In 2016, the nearby Tournene Lake (or Lac Tournene in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

), was officially re-named as Chief Tonene Lake.
Chief Tonene Lake
'', Canadian Geographical Names Database,

, accessed 1 March 2022''Chief Tonene Lake (Formerly Tournene Lake / lac Tournene)''
Canadian Geographical Names Database,

, accessed 2 March 2022

Beaverhouse First Nation

In 2018,

Beaverhouse First Nation Beaverhouse First Nation is an Indigenous first nation located on the banks Kirkland Lake in the Misema River system. After initially being excluded from the Treaty 9 agreement between Indigenous nations and Canada, the government of Canada offic ...

submitted a claim to the Government of Ontario, asserting the community is a distinct First Nation and did not sign

Treaty 9 ''Treaty No. 9'' (also known as ''The James Bay Treaty'') is a numbered treaty first signed in 1905–1906 between Anishinaabe ( Algonquin and Ojibwe) and Omushkegowuk Cree communities and the Canadian Crown, which includes both the gov ...

, or any other treaty. On April 19, 2022, Beaverhouse First Nation was officially recognized as a First Nation under Section 35 of Canada’s Constitution.

Demographics

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 ...

, McGarry 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

McGarry's economy has historically been supported by the mining industry, and struggled when the mines were not producing. The Armistice Gold mine was purchased by Bonterra Resources from Kerr Resources in 2016, and gold exploration and modelling was done to update the resource to a

National Instrument 43-101 National Instrument 43-101 ''Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects'' ("NI 43-101") is a securities regulatory instrument that governs how companies can disclose mining-related information in Canada. Its rules aim to prevent companies from ...

Compliant Resource. Gold Candle Ltd. and investors purchased the historic Chesterville Gold Mines and Kerr Addison Gold Mines property in 2016, and conducted a feasibility study and gold exploration with Canadian Exploration Services Limited on the old Chesterville Gold Mines and Kerr Addison Gold Mines property.

Tourism

McGarry hosts several events, including an annual fish derby at Larder Lake, and a

Labour Day Labour Day is an annual day of celebration of the labour movement and its labor rights, achievements. It has its origins in the trade union, labour union movement, specifically the Eight-hour day movement, eight-hour day movement, which advoca ...

weekend music event at the McGarry community centre. Gem Lake Maple Bedrock Provincial Park is located in McGarry Township. Sport fishing is permitted within Gem Lake Maple Bedrock Provincial Park. McGarry Township Forest Conservation Reserve, shared with McFadden Township, is located in McGarry Township.