Duhamel, Quebec

Not to be confused with Duhamel-Ouest.

Duhamel (French pronunciation: [dyamɛl]) is a town and municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. It is the largest municipality in surface area in the Papineau Regional County Municipality.

Duhamel
Municipality
Location within Papineau RCM
Duhamel Location in western Quebec
Coordinates: 46°01′N 75°05′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Outaouais
RCM	Papineau
Constituted	August 15, 1936
Government [2]
• Mayor	David Pharand
• Federal riding	Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation
• Prov. riding	Papineau
Area [2][3]
• Total	481.90 km2 (186.06 sq mi)
• Land	427.32 km2 (164.99 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[3][4]
• Total	487
• Density	1.1/km2 (3/sq mi)
• Pop (2016-21)	13.3%
• Dwellings	972
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J0V 1G0
Area code	819
Highways	R-321
Website	municipalite.duhamel.qc.ca

Its western portion consists mostly of undeveloped Laurentian Hills, part of the Papineau-Labelle Wildlife Reserve. The town itself is located along the Petite-Nation River between Lake Simon and Lake Gagnon.

History

In the mid 19th century, the area's forests were being exploited. Duhamel, which used to be called Preston, formed shortly after when its first settlers were assigned land, while logging continued to be the dominant factor for its colonization.^[5] By 1880, a post office existed bearing the name Duhamel, named in honour of Joseph-Thomas Duhamel (1841–1909), second bishop of Ottawa from 1874 to 1909. In 1888, the Mission of Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel opened.^[6] In 1892, the Township of Preston was formed (named after Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, Baron of Preston, and governor general of Canada from 1888 to 1893).^[7]

Starting in 1925, the Singer Company, best known for its sewing machines, built a railway through Duhamel linking Thurso to Lake Montjoie (in Lac-Ernest unorganized territory). The railroad was used until 1980 when it was dismantled and converted to a tourism corridor.^[5]

On August 15, 1936, the Municipality of Duhamel was formed when it separated from the United Township Municipality of Hartwell-et-Preston.^[6]

On December 21, 1985, Duhamel annexed a portion of the unorganized territories of Lac-du-Sourd and Lac-des-Écorces, and again on October 10, 1998, it annexed the northern portion of Lac-des-Écorces.

Demographics

Canada census – Duhamel community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	487 (+13.3% from 2016)	430 (4.4% from 2011)	412 (-14.7% from 2006)
Land area	427.32 km2 (164.99 sq mi)	434.57 km2 (167.79 sq mi)	434.19 km2 (167.64 sq mi)
Population density	1.1/km2 (2.8/sq mi)	1.0/km2 (2.6/sq mi)	0.9/km2 (2.3/sq mi)
Median age	63.6 (M: 64.5, F: 62.0)	59.0 (M: 59.7, F: 58.4)	58.1 (M: 58.0, F: 58.1)
Private dwellings	972 (total)  282 (occupied)	1,001 (total)	884 (total)
Median household income	$63,200	$49,451

Notes: 2021 Population and dwelling figures based on revised count.^[4]
References: 2021^[8] 2016^[9] 2011^[10]

Historical census populations – Duhamel, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1941 315 —     1951 424 +34.6% 1956 420 −0.9% 1961 382 −9.0% 1966 344 −9.9% 1971 325 −5.5%	Year Pop. ±% 1976 286 −12.0% 1981 309 +8.0% 1986 337 +9.1% 1991 394 +16.9% 1996 321 −18.5% 2001 361 +12.5%	Year Pop. ±% 2006 483 +33.8% 2011 412 −14.7% 2016 430 +4.4% 2021 487 +13.3%
2021 Population figure based on revised count. Population amounts are not adjusted for boundary changes. Source: Statistics Canada[4][11]

Mother tongue (2021):^[3]

• English as first language: 7.0%
• French as first language: 91.2%
• English and French as first language: 0.9%
• Other as first language: 0.9%

Local government

Town hall of Duhamel

Duhamel forms part of the federal electoral district of Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation and has been represented by Stéphane Lauzon of the Liberal Party since 2015. Provincially, Duhamel is part of the Papineau electoral district and is represented by Mathieu Lacombe of the Coalition Avenir Québec since 2018.

Duhamel federal election results^[12]

Year		Liberal		Conservative		Bloc Québécois		New Democratic		Green
	2021	36%	105	11%	32	47%	138	4%	11	0%	0
	2019	35%	86	15%	36	46%	114	3%	7	1%	3

Duhamel provincial election results^[13]

Year		CAQ		Liberal		QC solidaire		Parti Québécois
	2018	47%	126	23%	63	3%	8	24%	64
	2014	24%	63	37%	97	5%	13	34%	91

List of former mayors:

• Télesphore Tremblay, 1936 – 1941
• Lionel Ethier, 1941 – 1949
• René Pilon, 1949 – 1950
• Fréréole Filion, 1950 – 1951
• Arthur Lamontagne, 1951 – 1954
• Lionel Éthier, 1954 – 1955
• Camille Poliquin, 1955 – 1976
• Jean Turcot, 1976 – 1979
• Martial Brière, 1979 – 1981
• Yvon Jérôme, 1981 – 1985
• Phil Patry, 1985 – 1997
• Yvon Charlebois, 1997 – 2005
• Richard Chartrand, 2005 – 2009
• David Pharand, 2009 -