Lamèque

Lamèque (French pronunciation: [lamɛk]) is a former town in Gloucester County, New Brunswick, Canada. It held town status prior to 2023 and is now part of the town of Île-de-Lamèque.

Lamèque
Aerial view of Lamèque
Seal
Lamèque Location within New Brunswick
Coordinates: 47°47′33″N 64°39′11″W
Country	Canada
Province	New Brunswick
County	Gloucester
Parish	Shippagan
Town	Île-de-Lamèque
Founded	1790
Incorporated (Village)	November 6, 1966
Incorporated (Town)	September 1, 1982
Area [1]
• Land	12.40 km2 (4.79 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Total	1,301
• Density	104.9/km2 (272/sq mi)
• Change (2016–21)	1.2%
• Dwellings	606
Time zone	UTC-4 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (ADT)
Postal code(s)	E8T
Area code	506
Highways Route 113	Route 310 Route 313
Website	www.lameque.ca

Of Amerindian rather than French origin, "Lamèque" comes from the Micmac Elmugwadasik, a descriptive reference to the fact that "the head of the tidal river is turned to one side". The name of the island approved by the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names in 1974, the result of a local petition replaced the earlier Shippegan.^[2]

History

See also: History of New Brunswick and List of historic places in Gloucester County, New Brunswick

A Francophone community, it is situated on Lamèque Island, off the northeastern tip of the Acadian Peninsula. Lamèque has hosted an annual baroque music festival every summer since 1975.^[3]

On 1 January 2023, Lamèque amalgamated with the village of Sainte-Marie-Saint-Raphaël and annexed the local service districts making up the remainder of Lamèque Island to form the new town of Île-de-Lamèque.^[4][5] Lamèque's name remains in official use as a community.^[6]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Lamèque had a population of 1,301 living in 577 of its 606 total private dwellings, a change of 1.2% from its 2016 population of 1,285. With a land area of 12.4 km² (4.8 sq mi), it had a population density of 104.9/km² (271.7/sq mi) in 2021.^[1]

	2021	2016	2011
Population	1,301 (+1.2% from 2016)	1,285 (-10.3% from 2011)	1,432 (+0.7% from 2006)
Land area	12.40 km2 (4.79 sq mi)	12.51 km2 (4.83 sq mi)	12.45 km2 (4.81 sq mi)
Population density	104.9/km2 (272/sq mi)	102.8/km2 (266/sq mi)	115.1/km2 (298/sq mi)
Median age	56.0 (M: 53.6, F: 57.6)	54.0 (M: 53.7, F: 54.3)	49.9 (M: 49.5, F: 50.4)
Private dwellings	606 (total)  577 (occupied)	619 (total)	615 (total)
Median household income	$61,600	$58,880	$45,362

Canada census – Lamèque community profile

References: 2021^[7] 2016^[8] 2011^[9]

Historical Census Data - Lamèque, New Brunswick^[10][11]

Year Pop. ±% 1991 1,687 —     1996 1,671 −0.9%

Year Pop. ±% 2001 1,580 −5.4% 2006 1,422 −10.0%

Year Pop. ±% 2011 1,432 +0.7% 2016 1,285 −10.3%

Language

Canada Census Mother Tongue - Lamèque, New Brunswick[10]
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2011		1,370		1,360	2.3%	99.27%		10	n/a%	0.73%		0	0.0%	0.00%		0	0.0%	0.00%
2006		1,330		1,330	10.1%	100.00%		0	100.0%	0.00%		0	0.0%	0.00%		0	0.0%	0.00%
2001		1,495		1,480	5.1%	99.00%		15	50.0%	1.00%		0	0.0%	0.00%		0	0.0%	0.00%
1996		1,590		1,560	n/a	98.11%		30	n/a	1.89%		0	n/a	0.00%		0	n/a	0.00%

Economy

Lamèque's economy is tied to the fishing and peat industries.

Ecological Park of the Acadian Peninsula in Lamèque

Attractions

The Lamèque Eco-Parc offers numerous flora and fauna features representative of the Acadian Peninsula.

Notable people

Main article: List of people from Gloucester County, New Brunswick

See also

• List of communities in New Brunswick