Preissac

Preissac (French pronunciation: [pʁɛsak]) is a municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located in the Abitibi Regional County Municipality. The village of Preissac itself is located at the north end of Lake Preissac.

Preissac
Municipality
Location within Abitibi RCM
Preissac Location in western Quebec
Coordinates: 48°24′N 78°22′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Abitibi-Témiscamingue
RCM	Abitibi
Settled	1934
Constituted	January 1, 1979
Government [2]
• Mayor	Donald Rheault
• Federal riding	Abitibi—Témiscamingue
• Prov. riding	Abitibi-Ouest
Area [2][3]
• Total	506.29 km2 (195.48 sq mi)
• Land	422.13 km2 (162.99 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	914
• Density	2.2/km2 (6/sq mi)
• Pop (2016-21)	9.5%
• Dwellings	527
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J0Y 2E0
Area code	819
Highways	R-395
Website	www.preissac.com

It is named after Lambert Preissac de Cadeihan, a lieutenant in the Régiment de Berry that was part of General Montcalm's army.^[1]

History

• 1906 : Opening of the first molybdenite mine
• 1916 : Establishment of the geographic township (canton) of Preissac.^[1]
• 1934 : Arrival of the first settlers under the Vautrin Plan
• 1936: Start of construction of the St-Raphael de Preissac church.
• January 1, 1979 : The Municipality of Preissac is established from previously unincorporated territory.^[1]
• 1979 : Opening of the Bousquet mine^[4][5]
• 1980 : Opening of the Doyon mine
• 1988 : Opening of Dumagami mine (later renamed La Ronde) operated by Agnico-Eagle which was the source in the 1990s of more than half of Quebec's gold production

Demographics

Historical census populations – Preissac

Year Pop. ±% 1981 453 —     1986 455 +0.4% 1991 529 +16.3% 1996 619 +17.0% 2001 684 +10.5%	Year Pop. ±% 2006 726 +6.1% 2011 786 +8.3% 2016 835 +6.2% 2021 914 +9.5%
Source: Statistics Canada

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents (2021): 430 (total dwellings: 527)^[3]

Mother tongue (2021):^[3]

• English as first language: 1.6%
• French as first language: 97.8%
• English and French as first language: 0.5%
• Other as first language: 0%

Government

Municipal office

Municipal council (as of 2023):^[2]

• Mayor: Donald Rheault
• Councillors: Casandra Couture, Jean-Paul Gosselin, David Gervais, Amélie Massé, Isabelle Beaulieu, Sébastien Petitclerc

List of former mayors:

• Jean-Yves Gingras (...–2009)
• Huguette Saucier (2009–2013)
• Stephan Lavoie (2013–2020)
• Nicole Poulin (2020)
• Donald Rheault (2020–present)