Outaouais

History Demography Economy

Outaouais is located on the southwestern tip of Quebec, bordering the Laurentians to the east, Ontario to the south, and Abitibi - Temiscamingue to the north.

The Outaouais region was settled by Philemon Wright in 1800.

The Algonquins were very familiar with the area. In fact, they named the falls which later became the foundation of the entire region's development. In 1800, Philemon Wright arrived from Massachusetts to settle the area. The following year he built a lumber mill, sawmill, and flour mill to encourage English settlers to come. Another American, Ezra Butler Eddy arrived in 1850 and established factories to manufacture lumber products. The factories attracted predominantly French speaking people to the area. Evidence of the cultural mix is still evident when looking at street signs.

Nothing changed with respect to the economic system until the 1950's. By 1950, Outaouais was transformed from a lumber region to a modern administrative and service center.

The majority of the population are urban.

256,795 people live in the Outaouais region which is 32,889 sq. km. The territory is divided by the Communaute Regionale de l'Ouatouais, three MRC, seventy-nine municipalities, and two Indian reserves. Most of the people live in urban areas, particularly in Gatineau-Hull-Aylmer.

The economy is still strongly resource-based, but is becoming more diversified.

The economy in Outaouais is still dependant on the forestry industry to some extent, but they have expanded their market. The agricultural outputs include dairy products and cattle in Papineau, de Labelle, and rural regions surrounding the Communaute Regional de l'Outaouais. Manufacturing electric products, printing, and publishing are other areas of the Outaouais economy, as with tourism.

Consequently, tourism is the fastest growing industry in the Outaouais region. There are ninety provisions for hunting, four controlled exploitation zones, and three fauna reserves. Hull, located adjacent to the federal capital of Canada, has benefited from employment in the federal administration with several federal offices.

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Outaouais