Nord-du-Québec

Nord-du-Québec
Region; also Census division
Nord-du-Québec (administrative region)
Coordinates: 56°10′N 74°25′W / 56.167°N 74.417°W / 56.167; -74.417Coordinates: 56°10′N 74°25′W / 56.167°N 74.417°W / 56.167; -74.417[1][2]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Area[3]
• Land	747,161.22 km2 (288,480.56 sq mi)
Population (2011)[3]
• Total	42,579
• Density	0.1/km2 (0.3/sq mi)
• Change (2006–11)	6.9%
• Dwellings	14,515
Website	www.nordduquebec.gouv.qc.ca

Nord-du-Québec (French pronunciation: ​[nɔʁ dy kebɛk]; English: Northern Quebec) is the largest of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada. With nearly 750,000 square kilometres (290,000 sq mi) of land area, and very extensive lakes and rivers, it covers much of the Labrador Peninsula and about 55% of the total land surface area of Quebec, and is larger than the U.S. state of Texas.

Before 1912, the northernmost part of this region was known as the Ungava District of the Northwest Territories, and until 1987 it was referred to as Nouveau-Québec, or New Quebec. It is bordered by Hudson Bay and James Bay in the west, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay in the north, Labrador in the northeast, and the administrative regions of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Mauricie, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, and Côte-Nord in the south and southeast.

The Nord-du-Québec region is part of the territory covered by the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement of 1975; other regions covered (in part) by this Agreement include Côte-Nord, Mauricie and Abitibi-Témiscamingue administrative regions.

Geography

The three territories equivalent to a regional county municipality

Nord-du-Québec region is divided for statistical and other purposes into three territories equivalent to a regional county municipality:

• Jamésie south of the 55th parallel
• Kativik north of the 55th parallel, predominantly Inuit
• Eeyou Istchee (scattered enclaves within the above two), Cree

The territory north of the 55th parallel is also referred to as Nunavik.

From the Canada 2011 Census, Eeyou Istchee has a land area of 5,586.25 km² and a population of 16,350; Jamésie has a land area of 298,202.78 km² and a population of 14,139; Kativik has a land area of 443372.20 km² and a population of 12,090. However, when the Grand Council of the Crees speaks of "Eeyou Istchee", they refer to a much larger and contiguous traditional territory and homeland that covers much of Jamésie.

The most populous community overall is the city of Chibougamau, which is in Jamésie; the most populous community in Eeyou Istchee is Chisasibi; the most populous community in Kativik is Kuujjuaq.

Jamésie, which extends from the eastern shore of James Bay to the Otish Mountains of the Laurentian Plateau, is mainly boreal forest. Nearly all of the Eeyou Istchee territory is enclaved within Jamésie and therefore similar, although one community is slightly to the north of the 55th parallel. Kativik has some boreal forest in its southern portion but is mainly tundra which covers the entire Ungava Peninsula.

Population and local government

The 42,579 inhabitants of Nord-du-Québec as of the 2011 census include about 16,000 Cree and about 12,000 Inuit. The remaining population, concentrated in the south, are mainly of European descent.

The administrative structure of Nord-du-Québec is divided between 2 native semi-autonomous governments and 5 municipalities. The Cree Regional Authority, which in practice has been incorporated into the Grand Council of the Crees, represents all 9 Cree villages of northern Quebec in a territory officially known since 2007 as Eeyou Istchee ("The People's Land"). The Kativik Regional Government offers local services to all residents of the 14 villages of the Nunavik region, both Inuit and non-Inuit, with the exception of the Cree village of Whapmagoostui whose residents participate in the Cree Regional Authority. The largest of the 5 municipalities is Baie-James, almost entirely covering the Jamésie Territory.

The principal towns and villages of Nord-du-Québec are Chibougamau (largest town in this region), Chisasibi, Mistissini and Kuujjuaq. Although less populous, Nemaska is significant as the administrative center of Eeyou Istchee.

Transportation and access

There is a limited network of roads in the Jamésie region which reaches most of the few, small communities. Most were constructed as part of the James Bay Project. The "main road" of the region is the 620 kilometres (390 mi) long James Bay Road, a paved (albeit remote) extension of Route 109 from Matagami to Radisson. The 407 kilometres (253 mi) long gravel Route du Nord connects the James Bay Road to Route 167 near Chibougamau. The 666 kilometres (414 mi) gravel Trans-Taiga Road branches off the James Bay Road to Caniapiscau, the northernmost connecting road in eastern North America.

The few provincial routes are concentrated in the far south of the region, including Route 109 to Matagami, Route 113, which ends near Chibougamau, and Route 167 to Mistissini.

There are no roads to Nunavik from the south. There are isolated roads in and around villages, as well as an isolated road running from the Raglan Mines to Deception Bay, connecting to Salluit. Access is limited to air travel, sea travel to coastal areas, or hiking great distances. All villages have their own airport, with the Kuujjuaq Airport functioning as a regional hub.

Geographic hierarchy of census division

^[4]

In the rightmost column, summed up area adds up to 747161.23 rather than the correct 747161.22 due to rounding error.

Subdivisions

Regional Government

• Kativik Territory
• Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory

Independent Cities

• Chapais
• Chibougamau
• Lebel-sur-Quévillon
• Matagami

Native Reserve

• Lac-John

Cree Villages

• Chisasibi
• Eastmain
• Mistissini
• Nemaska
• Waskaganish
• Waswanipi
• Wemindji
• Whapmagoostui

Major communities

See also

• Northern Canada

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nord-du-Québec.

• Dana, Leo Paul 2010, “Nunavik, Arctic Quebec: Where Co-operatives Supplement Entrepreneurship,” Global Business and Economics Review 12 (1/2), January 2010, pp. 42-71.
• Nord-du-Québec (at website of the Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire)
• Official site of the Nord-du-Québec administrative region
• Officiale site of the Kativik Regional Government (Nunavik)
• Officiel site of the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee)

v t e  Administrative divisions of Nord-du-Québec  (Region 10) Regional county municipalities and equivalent territories Jamésie Kativik Eeyou Istchee See also Kativik Regional Government Cree Regional Authority (aboriginal administrations) Municipalities Lebel-sur-Quévillon Waswanipi Matagami Chapais Chibougamau Mistissini Waskaganish Wemindji Chisasibi Baie-James Inukjuak Kuujjuaq Puvirnituq Salluit Administrative divisions of Quebec

v t e  Administrative divisions of Quebec Subdivisions Administrative regions Regional county municipalities Montreal Metropolitan Community (Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal) Communauté métropolitaine de Québec Kativik Regional Government Communities All municipalities Types of municipalities Cities Parish municipalities Townships United townships Villages Indian reserves Boroughs Urban agglomerations Major cities Montreal Quebec Laval Gatineau Longueuil Sherbrooke Saguenay Lévis Trois-Rivières Regions Abitibi-Témiscamingue Bas-Saint-Laurent Capitale-Nationale Centre-du-Québec Chaudière-Appalaches Côte-Nord Estrie Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Laval Lanaudière Laurentides Mauricie Montérégie Montréal Nord-du-Québec Outaouais Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean