Duhamel-Ouest

Duhamel-Ouest (French pronunciation: [dyamɛl wɛst]) is a municipality in northwestern Quebec, Canada in the Témiscamingue Regional County Municipality.

Duhamel-Ouest
Municipality
Fort Temiscamingue
Location within Témiscamingue RCM
Duhamel-Ouest Location in western Quebec
Coordinates: 47°22′N 79°26′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Abitibi-Témiscamingue
RCM	Témiscamingue
Settled	1870s
Constituted	February 20, 1911
Government [2]
• Mayor	Alain Sarrazin
• Federal riding	Abitibi—Témiscamingue
• Prov. riding	Rouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue
Area [2][3]
• Total	128.81 km2 (49.73 sq mi)
• Land	91.49 km2 (35.32 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	945
• Density	10.3/km2 (27/sq mi)
• Pop (2016–21)	7.6%
• Dwellings	470
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J9V 1A2
Area code	819
Highways	R-101 R-382
Website	municipalites-du-quebec.ca/duhamel-ouest/index.php

Located at a narrows of Lake Timiskaming, Duhamel-Ouest is home to the Fort Témiscamingue, a National Historic Site of Canada.

History

Originally inhabited by Algonquin people, the area began to see Coureurs des bois in the middle of the 17th century, travelling on the Ottawa River and Lake Timiskaming. In 1720, Fort Témiscamingue was founded by French merchants on the east side of the lake. In the middle of the 19th century, colonization started with the arrival of logging companies and Oblate missionaries.^[4]

In 1877, the geographic township of Duhamel was created, named after Joseph-Thomas Duhamel, and was incorporated as a township municipality in 1898. In 1911, the Township Municipality of Duhamel is dissolved, when it split up into the new municipalities of Notre-Dame-de-Lorrainville and Duhamel-Ouest. "Ouest" (French for "west") was added to distinguish it from Duhamel in the Outaouais Region.^[1][5]

Demographics

Canada census – Duhamel-Ouest community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	945 (+7.6% from 2016)	878 (+6.0% from 2011)	828 (-4.8% from 2006)
Land area	91.49 km2 (35.32 sq mi)	91.47 km2 (35.32 sq mi)	91.78 km2 (35.44 sq mi)
Population density	10.3/km2 (27/sq mi)	9.6/km2 (25/sq mi)	9.0/km2 (23/sq mi)
Median age	49.6 (M: 50.0, F: 48.8)	48.6 (M: 49.2, F: 47.9)	44.9 (M: 46.2, F: 43.6)
Private dwellings	470 (total)  394 (occupied)	520 (total)  372 (occupied)	419 (total)  338 (occupied)
Median household income	$86,000	$75,008	$71,429

References: 2021^[6] 2016^[7] 2011^[8]

Historical census populations – Duhamel-Ouest

Year Pop. ±% 1891 677 —     1901 241 −64.4% 1911 373 +54.8% 1921 583 +56.3% 1931 642 +10.1% 1941 515 −19.8% 1951 552 +7.2%	Year Pop. ±% 1956 567 +2.7% 1961 547 −3.5% 1966 541 −1.1% 1971 475 −12.2% 1976 468 −1.5% 1981 546 +16.7% 1986 592 +8.4%	Year Pop. ±% 1991 595 +0.5% 1996 671 +12.8% 2001 766 +14.2% 2006 870 +13.6% 2011 828 −4.8% 2016 878 +6.0% 2021 945 +7.6%
Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes. Source: Statistics Canada[9][3]

Mother tongue (2021):^[3]

• English as first language: 1.6%
• French as first language: 95.8%
• English and French as first language: 1.1%
• Other as first language: 2.1%

Local government

List of former mayors:

• Alcide Gaudet (...–2005)
• Alain Sarrazin (2005–2013, 2023–present)^[10]
• Jean-Yves Parent (2013–2017)
• Guy Abel (2017–2021)
• Jocelyn Cardinal (2021–2023)^[10]

See also

• List of municipalities in Quebec