Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan

"Longue-Pointe, Quebec" redirects here. For the one in northern Quebec, on James Bay, see Longue Pointe. For the one in Montreal, see Longue-Pointe. For other topics, see Longue pointe.

Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan (French pronunciation: [lɔ̃ɡ pwɛ̃t də mɛ̃ɡɑ̃]) is a municipality located on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in Minganie Regional County Municipality (RCM), Côte-Nord region, Quebec, Canada.^[3]

Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan
Municipality
Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan Location in Côte-Nord region of Quebec
Coordinates: 50°16′N 64°09′W
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Côte-Nord
RCM	Minganie
Settled	c. 1880
Constituted	January 1, 1966
Government [1]
• Mayor	Ginette Paquet
• Federal riding	Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan
• Prov. riding	Duplessis
Area [1][2]
• Total	643.21 km2 (248.34 sq mi)
• Land	370.03 km2 (142.87 sq mi)
Elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	408
• Density	1.1/km2 (3/sq mi)
• Pop (2016-21)	6.0%
• Dwellings	257
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	G0G 1V0
Area codes	418 and 581
Highways	R-138

Toponymy

Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan Boardwalk,^[4] rue de la Mer

The descriptive name Longue-Pointe (French for "Long Point") refers to a long spit of sand west of the village that has had various names through the centuries: first called Longue Pointe on a map of 1735, followed by the English form of Long Point in the late 17th and early 18th century, then Mingan Point on the map of Captain Carver (1776). James Cook and Placide Vigneau called it Pointe de Mingan (1784) and Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan (1857) respectively.

History

Around 1880, the first settlers arrived, mostly from Paspébiac, themselves descendants of Acadians. In 1885, the post office opened. The municipality was officially created in 1966 as Longue-Pointe, but renamed to Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan in 1997.^[5]

Demographics

Population

Canada census – Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	408 (-6.0% from 2016)	434 (-9.4% from 2011)	479 (+11.4% from 2006)
Land area	370.03 km2 (142.87 sq mi)	387.81 km2 (149.73 sq mi)	388.76 km2 (150.10 sq mi)
Population density	1.1/km2 (2.8/sq mi)	1.1/km2 (2.8/sq mi)	1.2/km2 (3.1/sq mi)
Median age	56.4 (M: 55.2, F: 56.8)	51.5 (M: 51.1, F: 53.3)	50.1 (M: 49.2, F: 51.9)
Private dwellings	257 (total)  204 (occupied)	229 (total)  201 (occupied)	229 (total)
Median household income	$84,000	$78,080	$.N/A

Notes: 2011 income data for this area has been suppressed for data quality or confidentiality reasons.
References: 2021^[6] 2016^[7] 2011^[8]

Historical Census Data - Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1966 483 —     1971 547 +13.3% 1976 560 +2.4% 1981 651 +16.3% 1986 612 −6.0% 1991 552 −9.8%	Year Pop. ±% 1996 537 −2.7% 2001 505 −6.0% 2006 430 −14.9% 2011 479 +11.4% 2016 434 −9.4% 2021 408 −6.0%
Source: Statistics Canada[9][10]

Language

Canada Census Mother Tongue - Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan, Quebec[10]
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2011		485		460	9.8%	94.85%		10	n/a%	2.06%		0	0.0%	0.00%		15	33.3%	3.09%
2006		425		415	17.0%	97.65%		0	0.0%	0.00%		0	0.0%	0.00%		10	0.0%	2.35%
2001		510		500	4.8%	98.04%		0	0.0%	0.00%		0	0.0%	0.00%		10	n/a%	1.96%
1996		525		525	n/a	100.00%		0	n/a	0.00%		0	n/a	0.00%		0	n/a	0.00%

Tourism

Humpback whale, aboard an inflatable boat from the Mingan Island Cetacean Study team

In the region, there is a statue of a Giant Puffin. It is a tribute to the seabirds that live in colonies around the town's shores. On July 5, 2010, Canada Post made a commemorative stamp of the giant Atlantic Puffin as part of its Roadside Attractions collection.^[11]

The town is also the location of the Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS),^[12] a research station that studies marine animals. MICS gives tourists the opportunity to support the organization by allowing visitors to ride on a zodiac with the research team, visitors can expect to come within meters of whales and other marine animals.

Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan is accessible by the sea, and via The Whale Route (Route 138).^[13][14]

With 33,000 kilometres (21,000 mi) of trails, The Federation of Snowmobile Clubs of Quebec and La Minganie Snowmobile Club, based in Les Escoumins, offer detailed interactive maps on the different snowmobile circuits and their points of service.^[15]

See also

• List of municipalities in Quebec