Abitibi-Témiscamingue
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abitibi-Témiscamingue is a region located in western Quebec, Canada along the border with Ontario. It became part of the province in 1898. It has a land area of 57,674.26 km² (22,268.16 sq mi). As of the 2006 census, the population of the region was 143,872 inhabitants.
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[edit] History
The land was first occupied about 8 000 years ago by the Algonquins. The first land expeditions were made in 1670 by Radisson as part of the development of the fur trade industry across the Hudson Bay region and through most of the New France colony. Fort Témiscamingue, located on the east banks of Lake Timiskaming and erected by a French merchant on Anicinabeg lands in 1720, was an important crossroads of the fur trade along the Hudson Bay trading route.
Until 1868, Abitibi was owned by the Hudson's Bay Company; it was then purchased by Canada and became part of the North-West Territories. After negotiations with the federal government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Abitibi was annexed to the province of Quebec on June 13, 1898 by a federal decree. For its part, Témiscamingue had been part of Lower Canada and so was already part of Quebec at Confederation.
The region started to develop during the late 19th and early 20th century, with the development of agriculture and forest industries. This began in the southern areas, leading to the foundation of Ville-Marie in 1886 and Témiscaming in 1918. However, the greatest wave of colonization occurred between World War I and World War II when a large population came from urban centers due to the effects of the Great Depression. In the 30s, federal and provincial plans such as the Plan Vautrin and the Plan Gordon incited jobless residents to move to undeveloped regions of the province, igniting the beginning of the second colonization flow. The first migration flow brought people to the northern part of the region along the National Transcontinental Railway, leading to the establishment of towns such as La Sarre in 1917 and Amos in 1914, as well as other infrastructure as the internment camp at Spirit Lake for so-called enemy aliens arrested under the War Measures Act during World War I.
The mining industry, mainly extracting gold and copper, also contributed to the growth of the region when numerous mines were opened. New cities were created, such as Rouyn-Noranda in 1926 and Val-d'Or in 1934, and mining is still the backbone of the region's economy today.
[edit] Geography
The Abitibi-Témiscamingue region is the fourth largest region of the province after the Nord-du-Québec, Côte-Nord and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean regions. It has a total area of 65 000 km². Its largest cities are Rouyn-Noranda and Val-d'Or.
The region's landscape features mixed forest to the south across the Témiscamingue area while boreal forest covers the northern section.
The region, like more southerly regions, has a continental humid climate, but has much higher temperature variations due to its latitude and its proximity to Hudson Bay and the Arctic.
[edit] Economy
The region's workforce has one of the highest percentages in the primary sector of any region of Quebec, with near 1 out of 6 employees working in that sector. The mining sector is the most important economic activity of the region. Despite recent declines in workforce, agriculture and forest industries still contribute significantly to the region's economy.
[edit] Education
The region is home to one university: the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, part of the Quebec public university network.
[edit] Sports
The region hosts the yearly Tour de l'Abitibi, which first took place in 1969, and which is still the only North American stopover point of the International Cycling Union Junior World Cup. Abitibi-Témiscamingue also hosts a long segment of the Route Verte, the most extensive bicycle and multiuse recreational trail in North America.[1]
No professional league sports team are based in Abitibi. It is home to two Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams: the Val-d'Or Foreurs and the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
[edit] Subdivisions
Regional County Municipalities
Independent City
Indian Reserves
[edit] Major communities
[edit] External links
- Portail de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue Official website
- Profile of the region
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