Gauthier, Ontario

Gauthier is a township municipality in Timiskaming District the Northeastern Ontario, Canada.^[1] The township had a population of 138 in the Canada 2016 Census. Its main population centre is Dobie, located just north of Ontario Highway 66, 18.5 kilometres (11.5 mi) east of Kirkland Lake.

Gauthier
Township municipality (single-tier)
Township of Gauthier
Gauthier Community Hall in Dobie
Gauthier Location in Ontario
Coordinates: 48°08′45″N 79°49′21″W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Region	Northeastern Ontario
District	Timiskaming
Government
• Type	Township
• Reeve	Paul Binnendyk
• Federal riding	Kapuskasing—Timmins—Mushkegowuk
• Prov. riding	Timiskaming—Cochrane
Area [2]
• Land	88.41 km2 (34.14 sq mi)
Population  (2016)[2]
• Total	138
• Density	1.6/km2 (4/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern Daylight Time)
Postal Code	P0K 1B0
Area codes	705, 249

History

Dobie housed the miners working the Upper Canada Mines, which produced 4,648,984 ounces of gold before closing in 1971.^[3]

Railway points

Northlands Park

The railway point of Northlands Park (48°08′40″N 79°51′46″W, elevation 351 metres (1,152 ft)) is in Gauthier.^[4][5] It is adjacent to Ontario Highway 672, 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) north of that highway's southern terminus at Ontario Highway 66, and 3.7 kilometres (2.3 mi) west of Dobie.

Northlands Park was established in the 1920s at the construction of the Nipissing Central Railway line between Swastika (Ontario) and Rouyn-Noranda (Quebec) at mile 14.1. The line continues to be operated, as a subsidiary of the Ontario Northland Railway, as a freight spur.^[6]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Gauthier had a population of 151 living in 68 of its 73 total private dwellings, a change of 9.4% from its 2016 population of 138. With a land area of 87.98 km² (33.97 sq mi), it had a population density of 1.7/km² (4.4/sq mi) in 2021.^[7]

Canada census – Gauthier community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	151 (+9.4% from 2016)	138 (12.2% from 2011)	123 (-7.5% from 2006)
Land area	87.98 km2 (33.97 sq mi)	88.41 km2 (34.14 sq mi)	88.59 km2 (34.20 sq mi)
Population density	1.7/km2 (4.4/sq mi)	1.6/km2 (4.1/sq mi)	1.4/km2 (3.6/sq mi)
Median age	49.2 (M: 50.0, F: 47.6)	50.0 (M: 51.5, F: 48.0)	45.9 (M: 46.5, F: 45.7)
Private dwellings	73 (total)  68 (occupied)	79 (total)	69 (total)
Median household income		$72,576

References: 2021^[8] 2016^[9] 2011^[10]

Gauthier, Ontario - Historical populations

Year	Pop.	±%
1986	152	—
1991	149	−2.0%
1996	152	+2.0%
2001	128	−15.8%
2006	133	+3.9%
2011	123	−7.5%
2016	138	+12.2%
[11][12][2]

Dobie

Mother tongue (2006):^[13]

• English as first language: 85%
• French as first language: 7.5%
• English and French as first language: 7.5%
• Other as first language: 0%

Transportation

Gauthier is served by two provincial highways:^[14]

• Ontario Highway 66 running west to Kirkland Lake and Ontario Highway 11, and east to the Quebec border, where it continues as Quebec Route 117. Highway 66 is part of the Trans-Canada Highway between highway 11 and the Quebec border.
• Ontario Highway 672, running north from Highway 66 past Northlands Park to Esker Lakes Provincial Park and then to Ontario Highway 101.

The township is traversed in an east–west direction by the Nipissing Central Railway line that runs between Swastika (Ontario) and Rouyn-Noranda (Quebec). The line continues to be operated, as a subsidiary of the Ontario Northland Railway, as a freight spur.^[15]

Notable people

Actress Sara Botsford was born in Dobie.

See also

• List of townships in Ontario
• List of francophone communities in Ontario