Pontiac () 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
Outaouais Region of western
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, on the north shore of the
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River (, ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word "to trade", as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...
. It is part of
Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais Regional County Municipality
Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais (, "The hills of the Outaouais") is a regional county municipality in the Outaouais region of western Quebec, Canada. The region nearly encircles the City of Gatineau, which is to the south. Its administrative seat is i ...
, included in the
National Capital Region. It should not be confused with
Pontiac Regional County Municipality, which is also in the Outaouais but not included in the National Capital Region.
It was created by the 1975 amalgamation of the municipalities of North Onslow, South Onslow,
Quyon and Eardley, and named after the Odawa war chief
Pontiac.
Pontiac has a low cost of living and is trying to attract new immigrants coming to Canada to improve the local economy. A large portion of
Gatineau Park
Gatineau Park () is a federal park located in the Outaouais, Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. Administered by the National Capital Commission as part of the National Capital Region (Canada), National Capital Region, Gatineau Park is a wedge ...
is within this municipality.
Communities
*Beech Grove
*Breckenridge
*Eardley
*Heyworth
*Lusk
*Luskville
*Mohr
*North Onslow
*Onslow Corners
*Pontiac village
*
Quyon
*Ruthledge
*Steel
*Wyman
History
The first European settlers in this area were Joseph Mondion and his family, who built a homestead in 1786 on what is known today as Indian Point. In 1800 his property was taken over by the
XY Company
The XY Company, also known as the New North West Company, was a joint-stock fur trading enterprise based in Montreal that conducted business chiefly in the Canadian Northwest between 1798 and 1804.[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 ...]
in 1804, and then 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, when these two companies merged. The HBC operated a small trading post, which closed in 1837.
Onslow and Eardley Townships were already plotted on the
Gale and Duberger Map of 1795, and it was early in the 19th century that these townships were opened to logging and settlement. One of the first settlements was on Pontiac Bay, founded by
Philemon Wright and named at times Wright shanties, Pontiac Village, and Pontiacville. Quyon was founded in 1848 when a sawmill was built by
John Egan at the mouth of the Quyon River.
The Township Municipality of Onslow (likely named after
George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow) was formed in 1855, with John Behan as first mayor. In January 1875, Quyon village separated from Onslow to form its own municipality, and the following year, the township split into Onslow South (''Onslow-Partie-Sud'') and Onslow, renamed to Onslow North (''Onslow-Partie-Nord'') in 1878.
Demographics
According to the
2016 Canadian Census
The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial census. ...
, the population's mother tongue was 55.5% French, 38.6% English, and 3.2% other languages, including Portuguese, German, Arabic, Spanish, Dutch, and Russian. Approximately 64.3% of people are bilingual, speaking both French and English.
Local government
List of former mayors:
* William Burke (1975–1979)
* Marcel Lavigne (1979–1990)
* Edward McCann (1990–1994)
* Marcel Lavigne (1994–1998)
* Bruce R. Campbell (1998–2005)
* Edward McCann (2005–2013)
* Roger Larose (2013–2017)
* Joanne Labadie (2017–2021)
* Roger Larose (2021–present)
See also
*
List of anglophone communities in Quebec
This is a list of anglophone communities in the Canadian province of Quebec. Municipalities with a high percentage of English-speakers in Quebec are listed.
The provincial average of Quebecers whose mother tongue is English is 7.6%, with a tot ...
*
List of municipalities in Quebec
__FORCETOC__
Quebec is the Population of Canada by province and territory, second-most populous province in Canada with 8,501,833 residents as of 2021 and is the largest in land area at . For statistical purposes, the Provinces and te ...
*
Pontiac Airpark
*
Pontiac Airpark Water Aerodrome
References
{{authority control
Incorporated places in Outaouais
Municipalities in Quebec
National Capital Region (Canada)
Populated places on the Ottawa River