Western Quebec

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Western Quebec

The "far west" of the province of Quebec includes "the Clay Belt" and the adjoining mining districts. It comprises an area of 85,000 square miles, of which less than 2,000 may be considered settled territory. This is a pioneer region where the government of Quebec is promoting the development of organized rural communities and at the same time new mining towns are being built. About onethird of the population may be classed as urban.

The largest urban centre of Western Quebec comprises the twin towns of Rouyn and Noranda. Rouyn, located on Lake Oisiko, 421 miles by highway northwest of Montreal, is the commercial centre of the mining region. It was founded about 1923, at the beginning of the exploitation of the gold and copper ores of the district. Noranda, built along the railroad just to the north is a "company town" set up to house workers of Noranda mines. Nearby are the mineshaft headings, the tall stacks and huge buildings of the smelter which remind the observer of the essential function of this area.

Val d'Or, about 60 miles east of Rouyn, was founded in 1937, when the C.N.R. branch was built from Senneterre to Noranda. It is the urban centre for a number of mines including Sigma, Siscoe, Lamaque, Sullivan and Perron. There is no attempt at farming in the neighbourhood of these mines and only a little lumbering and pulpwood cutting. Bourlamaque, close to the mine of the same name, is about one mile from Val d'Or. A direct highway links Val d'Or to Amos.

Malartic, in the township of the same name, is situated 17 miles west of Val d'Or. There are four mines nearby and lumbering also is carried on fairly extensively.

Amos, on the Harricanaw River, is the real capital of the Western Quebec. It is 435 miles west of Quebec City by the C.N.R. and was founded when the road was built in 1912. It is 400 miles northeast of Montreal by road. The town has passed through three stages of evolution: 1912-26 was the pioneer period in which forest cutting and land clearing took place; 1926-38 witnessed the period of the gold rush, while 1938 to the present has been a period of adjustment to new conditions. Amos has lost trade to newly developed mining centres and must seek compensation by an increase in the agricultural activity of its upland. There are few industries, but there is an active retail trade and a fairly important administrative function.

La Sarre, 50 miles west of Amos and Senneterre, 40 miles east, are local trading centres. South of the mining district is an older area of settlement near Lake Timiskaming. Ville Marie, is the nucleus of a dairy farming and lumbering region. Gold has been discovered at nearby Belleterre.

Timiskaming, 50 miles further south, on the left bank of the Ottawa, is a company town developed near a large pulp and paper mill. It has direct highway connection with North Bay.