Duparquet

Duparquet (French pronunciation: [dypaʁkɛ]) is a city in northwestern Quebec, Canada, in the MRC d'Abitibi-Ouest of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region. It covers 157.4 km² (60.8 sq mi) and had a population of 716 as of the Canada 2021 Census. It was named to tribute Jean-Annet Chabreuil Du Parquet, a grenadier captain of the La Sarre Regiment, that was part of Louis-Joseph de Montcalm's army.

Duparquet
City
Town Hall of Duparquet
Location within Abitibi-Ouest RCM
Duparquet Location in western Quebec Show map of Western Quebec Duparquet Duparquet (Canada) Show map of Canada
Coordinates: 48°30′N 79°14′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Abitibi-Témiscamingue
RCM	Abitibi-Ouest
Constituted	April 13, 1933
Government [2]
• Mayor	Denis Blais
• Federal riding	Abitibi—Témiscamingue
• Prov. riding	Abitibi-Ouest
Area [2][3]
• Total	156.36 km2 (60.37 sq mi)
• Land	121.17 km2 (46.78 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	716
• Density	5.9/km2 (15/sq mi)
• Pop 2016-2021	7.5%
• Dwellings	389
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
Postal code(s)/	J0Z 1W0
Area code	819
Highways	R-388 R-393
Website	duparquet.ao.ca/fr/

History

A view of Lake Duparquet from Chemin du Lac, a waterfront road in Duparquet

In 1912, a rich gold vein was discovered near Lake Duparquet by a prospector named Beattie. He set up the Beattie Gold Mine company that began operation in 1933. That same year, the new community forming at the mine was incorporated as Ville de Duparquet, named after the geographic township in which it is located. The township was named in 1916 in honour of Jean-Annet Chabreuil Du Parquet, a grenadier captain of the La Sarre Regiment, that was part of General Montcalm's army.^[1]

After producing 1 million ounces of gold and killing at least 27 miners, including 4 in a landslide on 9 July 1946, the mine closed in 1956. But the owners of the mining rights are currently considering reopening it as an open-pit mine.^[4]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Duparquet had a population of 716 living in 342 of its 389 total private dwellings, a change of 7.5% from its 2016 population of 666. With a land area of 121.17 km² (46.78 sq mi), it had a population density of 5.9/km² (15.3/sq mi) in 2021.^[3]

Canada census – Duparquet community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	716 (+7.5% from 2016)	666 (1.4% from 2011)	657 (2.8% from 2006)
Land area	121.17 km2 (46.78 sq mi)	123.57 km2 (47.71 sq mi)	123.63 km2 (47.73 sq mi)
Population density	5.9/km2 (15/sq mi)	5.4/km2 (14/sq mi)	5.3/km2 (14/sq mi)
Median age	48.4 (M: 50.0, F: 45.2)	50.9 (M: 51.2, F: 50.2)	48.3 (M: 48.3, F: 48.2)
Private dwellings	389 (total)  342 (occupied)	389 (total)	359 (total)
Median household income	$73,500	$62,464	$.N/A

References: 2021^[5] 2016^[6] 2011^[7]

Historical Census Data - Duparquet, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1941 1,384 —     1951 1,485 +7.3% 1956 1,114 −25.0% 1961 978 −12.2% 1966 913 −6.6% 1971 786 −13.9%	Year Pop. ±% 1976 642 −18.3% 1981 581 −9.5% 1986 640 +10.2% 1991 680 +6.2% 1996 738 +8.5% 2001 675 −8.5%	Year Pop. ±% 2006 639 −5.3% 2011 657 +2.8% 2016 666 +1.4% 2021 716 +7.5%
Source: Statistics Canada[8]

Mother tongue (2021):^[9]

• English as first language: 0.7%
• French as first language: 98.6%
• English and French as first language: 0%
• Other as first language: 0%

Government

Municipal council

As of 2023:^[2]

• Mayor: Denis Blais
• Councillors: Donald Baril, Marlene Doroftei, Claudette Macameau, Véronique Drouin-Lecompte, Chantal Provencher, Solange Gamache
• General Director: Chantal Poirier

Notable people

• Tim Horton, hockey player and entrepreneur, lived in Duparquet as a child
• Johanne Morasse (born March 12, 1957), a Quebec politician and teacher
• Walter Ostanek, polka musician and "Canada's Polka King"
• Elmer "Moose" Vasko, Chicago Black Hawks player during the 1960s.