Marc Tremblay
Plannord.gouv.qc.ca
PLAN NORD lAnd
And people
Marc Tremblay
The Plan Nord area is immense. It covers all of Québec’s territory north of the 49th parallel and north of the St. Lawrence River and Gulf, a total of 1.2 million km2 or 72% of Québec’s total geographic area. It is twice the size of France.
The Plan nord area is riCh in naTural resourCes
n Northern Québec’s freshwater reserves are among the world’s largest.
n The main vegetation zone in the Plan Nord lands is boreal forest, of which over 50%, about 200,000 km2, is exploited commercially.
n The land abounds in such mineral resources as nickel, cobalt, platinum group elements, zinc, iron ore, ilmenite, gold, and diamonds. Lithium, vanadium, and rare earth metals are also found there.
n It features a tremendous diversity of wildlife habitat home to numerous species. There are 237 bird, 20 fur-bearing animal, and a dozen sport-fishing species.
n The area provides over three-quarters of Québec’s hydroelectric power capacity, while its untapped hydroelectric, wind, and photovoltaic power is at least as significant.
Northern Québec is also one of the world’s last intact natural territories still available for conservation.
THE Plan nord:
land and PEoPlE
PoPulaTion
The area is home to 120,000 people, representing less than 2% of Québec’s population, of whom over a quarter (33,000) are aboriginal. The population is distributed across 63 towns, villages, and communities, half of which are not connected to Québec’s highway network.
The aboriginal population grew strongly from 1991 to 2006: its share of the Plan Nord area population increased from 18 to 27% while the total area population declined by 3% over the same period.
The population is young: no less than 30% of residents are under 24 years of age—50% among aboriginal peoples.
Proportionally, young people under age 14 are twice as numerous among the First Nations and Inuit than they are in the province as a whole.
inuiT and firsT naTions
n Nearly 10,000 Inuit live mainly in 14 northern villages, with populations ranging from 200 to 2,200. These villages dot the coast of Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, and Ungava Bay.
n The Cree Nation, with a population of 16,000, is concentrated primarily in nine communities on the east coast of James Bay and its backcountry watershed.
n The Innu Nation encompasses nine communities (eight in the Côte-Nord and one in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean) with a total population of over 16,000, of whom 9,300 live in Plan Nord areas.
n The Naskapi Nation numbers close to 1,000, living in the community of Kawawachikamach, 15 km north of Schefferville.
Main loCal CoMMuniTies
n In the Côte-Nord region, over 70,000 live in the cities of Sept-Îles and Baie-Comeau and the towns of Port-Cartier, Fermont, and Havre-Saint-Pierre.
n James Bay region has one municipality and four towns, with a total population of close to 15,000.
n In the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, about 2,000 live in Plan Nord lands.
Baie d'Hudson
Golfe du Saint-Laurent Détroit d'Hudson
Baie James
Baie d'Ungava
Océan Atlantique Mer du Labrador
Fleuve Saint-Laurent
Ontario Nouvelle-
Écosse Nouveau-
Brunswick Nunavut
États-Unis
Terre-Neuve- et-Labrador
Île-du-Prince- Édouard
Tracé de 1927 du Conseil privé (non définitif) (non
du
Conseil
définitif)
1927
Tracé
de
privé
MinganieMRC CaniapiscauMRC
Golfe-du-MRC Saint-Laurent ManicouaganMRC
Sept-RivièresMRC
Maria-MRC Chapdelaine MRC
Le Fjord- Saguenaydu- MRC Le
Domaine- du-Roy
MRCLa Haute-
Côte- Nord
SAGUENAY–
LAC-SAINT-JEAN
CÔTE-NORD
55°
60°
60°
65°
65°
70°
70°
75°
75°
80°
80°
85°
60° 60°
55° 55°
50° 50°
45° 45°
Area Covered by the Plan Nord
0 200 km
Production
Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune Direction générale adjointe de l'information géographique Note : This document has no legal standing.
© Gouvernement du Québec, 2010 Sources
Data Territorial divisions
Organization Year
MRNF 2010
Territorial boundaries
Borders
Interprovincial border International border (non-definitive)
Québec – Newfoundland and Labrador border
NORD-DU-QUÉBEC
Nunavik
Territoire de la Baie-James Eeyou Istcheeet
Area covered by the Plan Nord Administrative region boundary Southern boundary of Nunavik
Regional county municipality (RCM) boundary
0 200 km
Production
Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune Direction générale adjointe de l'information géographique Note: This document has no legal standing.
© Gouvernement du Québec, 2010 Sources
Data Territorial divisions
Organization Year
MRNF 2010
Territorial boundaries
Borders
Interprovincial border International border (non-definitive)
Québec – Newfoundland and Labrador border Area covered by the Plan Nord
Administrative region boundary Southern boundary of Nunavik
Regional county municipality (RCM) boundary
