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Abitibi-Temiscamingue in the Province of Quebec, Canada
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Abitibi-Témiscamingue is a region located in western Quebec, Canada along the border with Ontario.
It became part of the province in 1898. It has a land area of 57,674.26 km² (22,268.16 sq mi).
As of the 2006 census, the population of the region was 143,872 inhabitants.
Quebec Tourism Guide
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Quebec Tourism Guide
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HISTORY
The land was first occupied about 8 000 years ago by the Algonquins aboriginal group. The first land expeditions
were made in 1670 by Radisson as part of the development of the fur trade industry across the Hudson Bay region and
through most of the New France colony. The Fort Témiscamingue, located on the east banks of Lake Timiskaming and
erected by a French merchant on Anicinabeg lands in 1720, was an important crossroads of the fur trade along the
Hudson's Bay trading route.
Until 1868, Abitibian territory is owned by the Hudson Bay company when it is bought by Canada, becoming part of the
North West Territories. After negotiations with the federal government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Abitibi itself is
annexed to the province of Quebec on June 13th 1898 by a federal decree, while Témiscamingue was already within
Quebec province since the Confederation, being part of the previous Lower Canada.
However, the region started to develop during the late 19th and early 20th century with the development of agriculture
and forest industries. Initially, in the southern areas, leading to the foundation of Ville-Marie in 1886, and
Temiscaming in 1918. However, its main colonization occurred during World War I and World War II when a large population
came from urban centers due to the effects of the Great Depression. The first migration flow brings peoples in the northern
part of the region along the National Transcontinental Railway, leading to the establishment of towns such as La Sarre in 1917,
Amos in 1914 and some other infrastructures as the internment camp at Spirit Lake for so-called enemy aliens arrested under the
War Measures Act during the World War I.
In the 30's, federal and provincial plans such as the Plan Vautrin and the Plan Gordon incited jobless residents to move to
undeveloped regions of the province, which ignites the beginning of the second colonization flow.
The mining industry, which consists essentially of gold and copper also contributed to the growth of the region when numerous
mines were open across the region. New cities such as Rouyn-Noranda in 1926 and Val d'Or in 1934 were created, and mining is
still the backbone of the region's economy as of today.
GEOGRAPHY
The Abitibi-Temiscamingue region is the 4th largest region of the province after the Nord-du-Quebec, Côte-Nord and
Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean regions. It has a total surface of 65 000 kilometres squared. Its largest cities are Rouyn-Noranda and Val d'Or.
The region has a mixture of mixte forest to the south across the Temiscamingue area while boreal forests covers the northern section.
The region, like more southerly regions, has a continental humid climate, but has much higher temperature variations due to its latitude
and being closer to Hudson Bay and the Arctic.
ECONOMY
The region has one of the highest percentage of workforce in the primary sector with near 1 out of 6 employees working in that sector.
The mining sector is the most important economic activity of the region. Despite recent declines in workforce, agriculture and forest
industries still contribute significantly to the region's economy.
Source: Wikipedia
Quebec Tourism Guide
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