Nord-du-Québec

Nord-du-Québec
Region; also Census division

Nord-du-Québec (administrative region)
Coordinates: 56°10′N 74°25′W / 56.167°N 74.417°W / 56.167; -74.417Coordinates: 56°10′N 74°25′W / 56.167°N 74.417°W / 56.167; -74.417[1][2]
Country  Canada
Province  Quebec
Area[3]
 • Land 747,161.22 km2 (288,480.56 sq mi)
Population (2011)[3]
 • Total 42,579
 • Density 0.1/km2 (0.3/sq mi)
 • Change (2006–11) Increase6.9%
 • Dwellings 14,515
Website www.nordduquebec.gouv.qc.ca

Nord-du-Québec (French pronunciation: ​[nɔʁ dy kebɛk]; English: Northern Quebec) is the largest of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada. With nearly 750,000 square kilometres (290,000 sq mi) of land area, and very extensive lakes and rivers, it covers much of the Labrador Peninsula and about 55% of the total land surface area of Quebec.

Before 1912, the northernmost part of this region was known as the Ungava District of the Northwest Territories, and until 1987 it was referred to as Nouveau-Québec, or New Quebec. It is bordered by Hudson Bay and James Bay in the west, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay in the north, Labrador in the northeast, and the administrative regions of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Mauricie, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, and Côte-Nord in the south and southeast.

The Nord-du-Québec region is part of the territory covered by the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement of 1975; other regions covered (in part) by this Agreement include Côte-Nord, Mauricie and Abitibi-Témiscamingue administrative regions.

Geography

The three territories equivalent to a regional county municipality

Nord-du-Québec region is divided for statistical and other purposes into two territories equivalent to a regional county municipality (TEs):

The territory north of the 55th parallel is also referred to as Nunavik.

From the Canada 2011 Census, Eeyou Istchee has a land area of 5,586.25 km2 and a population of 16,350; Jamésie has a land area of 298,202.78 km2 and a population of 14,139; Kativik has a land area of 443,372.20 km2 and a population of 12,090. However, when the Grand Council of the Crees speaks of "Eeyou Istchee", they refer to a much larger and contiguous traditional territory and homeland that covers much of Jamésie.

The most populous community overall is the city of Chibougamau, which is in Eeyou Istchee Baie-James (formerly in Jamésie); the most populous community in pre-2012 Eeyou Istchee is Chisasibi; the most populous community in Kativik is Kuujjuaq.

Eeyou Istchee Baie-James, extending from the eastern shore of James Bay to the Otish Mountains of the Laurentian Plateau, is mainly boreal forest. Before 2012, the Eeyou Istchee territory was enclaved within Jamésie, although one community is slightly to the north of the 55th parallel. Kativik has some boreal forest in its southern portion but is mainly tundra which covers the entire Ungava Peninsula.

Population and local government

The 42,579 inhabitants of Nord-du-Québec at the 2011 census included about 16,000 Cree and about 12,000 Inuit. The remaining population, concentrated in the south, are mainly of European descent.

The administrative structure of Nord-du-Québec is divided between two native semi-autonomous governments and five municipalities. The Cree Regional Authority, which in practice has been incorporated into the Grand Council of the Crees, represents all nine Cree villages of northern Quebec in a territory officially known since 2007 as Eeyou Istchee ("The People's Land"). The largest of the five municipalities was Baie-James, almost entirely covering the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory.

The Kativik Regional Government offers local services to all residents of the 14 villages of the Nunavik region, both Inuit and non-Inuit, with the exception of the Cree village of Whapmagoostui whose residents participate in the Cree Regional Authority.

The principal towns and villages of Nord-du-Québec are Chibougamau (the largest town in this region), Chisasibi, Mistissini and Kuujjuaq. Although less populous, Nemaska is significant as the administrative centre of Eeyou Istchee.

The region is linguistically diverse. According to the 2011 Census of Canada, the most common mother tongues were French (34.7%), Cree (34.3%), Inuktitut (25.0%), and English (4.3%). 50.9% of residents reported being able to speak French, the official language of the province, and 63.3% could speak English.

Transportation and access

There is a limited network of roads in the Jamésie region which reaches most of the few, small communities. Most were constructed as part of the James Bay Project. The "main road" of the region is the 620 kilometres (390 mi) long James Bay Road, a paved (albeit remote) extension of Route 109 from Matagami to Radisson. The 407 kilometres (253 mi) long gravel Route du Nord connects the James Bay Road to Route 167 near Chibougamau. The 666 kilometres (414 mi) gravel Trans-Taiga Road branches off the James Bay Road to Caniapiscau, the northernmost connecting road in eastern North America.

The few provincial routes are concentrated in the far south of the region, including Route 109 to Matagami, Route 113, which ends near Chibougamau, and Route 167 to Mistissini.

There are no roads to Nunavik from the south. There are isolated roads in and around villages, as well as an isolated road running from the Raglan Mines to Deception Bay, connecting to Salluit. Access is limited to air travel, sea travel to coastal areas, or hiking great distances. All villages have their own airport, with the Kuujjuaq Airport functioning as a regional hub.

Geographic hierarchy of census division

[4]

Census
Code 		E/J/K? Name Type Population
2011 		Population
2006 		Total
dwellings 		Dwellings
usual res. 		Land
Area
2499883 K Akulivik TI 0 0 0 0 445.73
2499125 K Akulivik VN 615 507 148 137 76.87
2499891 K Aupaluk TI 0 0 0 0 544.03
2499105 K Aupaluk VN 195 174 59 56 30.12
2499060 J Baie-James MÉ 1303 1394 701 591 297332.84
2499904 K Baie-d'Hudson NO 0 16 0 0 129712.09
2499020 J Chapais V 1610 1630 728 674 63.64
2499025 J Chibougamau V 7541 7563 3474 3222 699.31
2499055 E Chisasibi VC 0 0 0 0 491.63
2499814 E Chisasibi TC 4484 3972 1050 923 828.18
2499045 E Eastmain VC 0 0 0 0 316.91
2499810 E Eastmain TC 767 650 226 188 147.47
2499879 K Inukjuak TI 0 0 0 0 428.39
2499085 K Inukjuak VN 1597 1597 444 413 55.63
2499140 K Ivujivik VN 370 349 91 86 35.21
2499894 K Kangiqsualujjuaq TI 0 0 0 0 538.42
2499090 K Kangiqsualujjuaq VN 874 735 191 185 35.05
2499888 K Kangiqsujuaq TI 0 0 0 0 572.62
2499130 K Kangiqsujuaq VN 696 605 174 170 12.56
2499890 K Kangirsuk TI 0 0 0 0 529.40
2499110 K Kangirsuk VN 549 466 163 160 57.26
2499065 K Kawawachikamach VK 0 0 0 0 242.09
2499893 K Kuujjuaq TI 0 0 0 0 320.80
2499095 K Kuujjuaq VN 2375 2132 925 799 292.72
2499877 K Kuujjuarapik TI 0 0 0 0 293.66
2499075 K Kuujjuarapik VN 657 568 204 189 8.16
2499005 J Lebel-sur-Quévillon V 2159 2729 1111 917 40.14
2499015 J Matagami V 1526 1555 719 625 66.85
2499030 E Mistissini VC 0 0 0 0 514.30
2499804 E Mistissini TC 3427 2897 952 845 865.76
2499040 E Nemaska VC 0 0 0 0 51.18
2499808 E Nemaska TC 712 642 226 200 96.57
2499818 E Oujé-Bougoumou S-É 725 606 251 183 2.54
2499120 K Puvirnituq VN 1692 1457 489 389 85.74
2499889 K Quaqtaq TI 0 0 0 0 523.83
2499115 K Quaqtaq VN 376 315 91 89 26.54
2499902 K Rivière-Koksoak NO 0 15 0 0 307039.90
2499887 K Salluit TI 0 0 0 0 596.84
2499135 K Salluit VN 1347 1241 315 299 14.39
2499892 K Tasiujaq TI 0 0 0 0 502.11
2499100 K Tasiujaq VN 303 248 72 72 66.54
2499878 K Umiujaq TI 0 0 0 0 257.78
2499080 K Umiujaq VN 444 390 104 94 27.72
2499035 E Waskaganish VC 0 0 0 0 277.76
2499806 E Waskaganish TC 2206 1864 496 467 505.37
2499010 E Waswanipi VC 0 0 0 0 211.52
2499802 E Waswanipi TC 1777 1473 513 413 415.64
2499050 E Wemindji VC 0 0 0 0 171.06
2499812 E Wemindji TC 1378 1215 377 333 377.95
2499070 E Whapmagoostui VC 0 0 0 0 122.53
2499816 E Whapmagoostui TC 874 812 221 206 189.88
 
Nord-du-Québec CD 42579 39817 14515 12925 747161.22
E Eeyou Istchee TE 16350 14131 4312 3758 5586.25
J Jamésie TE 14139 14871 6733 6029 298202.78
K Kativik TE 12090 10815 3470 3138 443372.20

In the rightmost column, summed up area adds up to 747161.23 rather than the correct 747161.22 due to rounding error.

Subdivisions

Regional Government

Independent Cities

Native Reserve

Cree Villages

Major communities

See also

References

  1. ↑ Reference number 227457 of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (French)
  2. ↑ Reference number 291342 of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (French)
  3. 1 2 "(Code 2499) Census Profile". 2011 census. Statistics Canada. 2012.
  4. ↑ Nord-du-Québec (Census division)

Further reading

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