Palmarolle

Palmarolle (French pronunciation: [palmaʁɔl]) is a municipality in northwestern Quebec, Canada, in the Abitibi-Ouest Regional County Municipality. It covers 117.87 km² and had a population of 1,386 as of the Canada 2021 Census. It is considered to have the best agricultural land of the entire Abitibi region.^[1]

Palmarolle
Municipality
Downtown Palmarolle
Coat of arms
Location within Abitibi-Ouest RCM
Palmarolle Location in western Quebec
Coordinates: 48°40′N 79°12′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Abitibi-Témiscamingue
RCM	Abitibi-Ouest
Settled	1911
Constituted	April 14, 1930
Government [2]
• Mayor	Véronique Aubin
• Federal riding	Abitibi—Témiscamingue
• Prov. riding	Abitibi-Ouest
Area [2][3]
• Total	135.37 km2 (52.27 sq mi)
• Land	117.87 km2 (45.51 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	1,386
• Density	11.8/km2 (31/sq mi)
• Pop (2016-21)	1.6%
• Dwellings	649
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J0Z 3C0
Area code	819
Highways	R-390 R-393
Website	palmarolle.ao.ca

History

The area began to be colonized in 1911 when the township was surveyed. The completion of the National Transcontinental Railway at La Sarre and Macamic led to further waves of development with the arrival of new settlers in 1916, 1918, and 1929. Following the pattern of other places in the Abitibi, the settlement was named after a historic military figure, François-Charles Bertrand de Palmarole or Palmarolle (1714 ‑ 1760), lieutenant of the La Sarre Regiment and Knight of the Order of Saint Louis. In 1921, the parish was formed and in 1930, the place was incorporated as a municipality.^[1]

Demographics

Population

Canada census – Palmarolle community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	1,386 (-1.6% from 2016)	1,409 (-3.8% from 2011)	1,465 (+0.8% from 2006)
Land area	117.87 km2 (45.51 sq mi)	117.98 km2 (45.55 sq mi)	117.40 km2 (45.33 sq mi)
Population density	11.8/km2 (31/sq mi)	11.9/km2 (31/sq mi)	12.5/km2 (32/sq mi)
Median age	43.6 (M: 43.6, F: 44)	44.9 (M: 43.6, F: 45.8)	42.9 (M: 42.6, F: 43.4)
Private dwellings	649 (total)	647 (total)	642 (total)
Median household income	$78,000	$68,992	$63,562

References: 2021^[4] 2016^[5] 2011^[6]

Historical census populations – Palmarolle

Year Pop. ±% 1931 699 —     1941 2,063 +195.1% 1951 2,439 +18.2% 1956 1,875 −23.1% 1961 1,360 −27.5% 1966 1,481 +8.9%	Year Pop. ±% 1971 1,325 −10.5% 1976 1,296 −2.2% 1981 1,445 +11.5% 1986 1,457 +0.8% 1991 1,571 +7.8% 1996 1,561 −0.6%	Year Pop. ±% 2001 1,527 −2.2% 2006 1,453 −4.8% 2011 1,465 +0.8% 2016 1,409 −3.8% 2021 1,386 −1.6%
Source: Statistics Canada

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents (2021): 595 (total dwellings: 649)^[3]

Mother tongue (2021):^[3]

• English as first language: 0.4%
• French as first language: 98.6%
• English and French as first language: 0.4%
• Other as first language: 0.7%

Government

Municipal council (2024):^[7]

• Mayor: Véronique Aubin
• Councillors: Josée Aubin, Nicole Hébert-Trottier, Lyne Vachon, Jeanot Goulet, Sabrina Turgeon

List of former mayors:^[8]

• Amédée Rodrigue (1930–1934)
• Omer Tousignant (1934–1936)
• Aldephonse Dallaire (1937–1943)
• Robert Pelletier (1943–1945)
• Stanislas Pelletier (1945–1951)
• Emilien Bégin (1951–1964)
• Pierre Aubin (1964–1973)
• Marcel Caron (1973–1997, 2009–2017)
• Pierre Vachon (1997–2009)
• Louisa Gobeil (2017–2020)
• Aline Bégin (interim, 2020–2021)
• Véronique Aubin (2021–present)

Notable people

• Henri Tousignant (born August 20, 1937), a Liberal party member of the Canadian House of Commons
• Rogatien Vachon (born September 8, 1945), a professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.