Belcourt, Quebec

48°24′N 77°21′W / 48.400°N 77.350°W / 48.400; -77.350^[1]CountryCanadaProvinceQuebecRegionAbitibi-TémiscamingueRCMLa Vallée-de-l'OrSettled1915ConstitutedOctober 24, 1918Government • MayorGuylaine Labbée • Federal ridingAbitibi—Baie-James—
Nunavik—Eeyou • Prov. ridingAbitibi-EstArea • Total423.85 km² (163.65 sq mi) • Land409.74 km² (158.20 sq mi)Population • Total219 • Density0.5/km² (1/sq mi) • Pop (2016-21) 2.7% • Dwellings120Time zoneUTC−5 (EST) • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)Postal code(s)Area code819Highways R-386Websitemunbelcourt.ca

Belcourt is a municipality in northwestern Quebec, Canada, in the La Vallée-de-l'Or Regional County Municipality.

Its economy depends on forestry, as well as businesses and industries in Senneterre.^[4]

History

Following the construction of the National Transcontinental Railway, the area opened up for colonization. The new settlement was originally called Café or Coffee, taken from the railway station name, but renamed to Goulet, after the first permanent settler, Louis Goulet. In 1915, he arrived with his family and employees, 68 people in all, to operate a sawmill that he had built on the banks of the Taschereau River, between Carpentier and Courville Lakes.^[1][4]

In 1918, the place was incorporated as the United Township Municipality of Carpentier-et-Courville, but the settlement continued to be called Goulet. Since there already was a Goulet Post Office in Bellechasse County, it was renamed to Belcourt in 1927, in honour of Napoléon-Antoine Belcourt (1860-1932). In 1958, the municipality was also renamed and changed statutes at the same time to become the Municipality of Belcourt.^[1][4]

In 1962, it lost part of its territory when the Municipality of Champneuf was created.^[5]

Demographics

Historical census populations – Belcourt, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1921 297 —     1931 527 +77.4% 1941 546 +3.6% 1951 460 −15.8% 1956 495 +7.6% 1961 544 +9.9%	Year Pop. ±% 1966 450 −17.3% 1971 387 −14.0% 1976 375 −3.1% 1981 395 +5.3% 1986 345 −12.7% 1991 292 −15.4%	Year Pop. ±% 1996 285 −2.4% 2001 272 −4.6% 2006 256 −5.9% 2011 239 −6.6% 2016 225 −5.9% 2021 219 −2.7%
Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes. Source: Statistics Canada[3][6]

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents (2021): 114 (total dwellings: 120)^[3]

Mother tongue (2021):^[3]

• English as first language: 2 %
• French as first language: 98 %
• English and French as first language: 0 %
• Other as first language: 0 %

Local government

List of former mayors:^[4]

References

External links

CitiesMunicipalitiesParishesUnorganized territories