Brethour

For the island in British Columbia, see Brethour Island.

Brethour
Township (single-tier)
Township of Brethour
Brethour
Coordinates: 47°40′N79°34′W / 47.667°N 79.567°W / 47.667; -79.567
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
District	Timiskaming
Incorporated	1917
Government
• Type	Township
• Reeve	David Wight
• Fed. riding	Nipissing—Timiskaming
• Prov. riding	Timiskaming—Cochrane
Area [1]
• Land	81.97 km2 (31.65 sq mi)
Population  (2021) [1]
• Total	105
• Density	1.3/km2 (3/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
Area codes	705, 249

Brethour is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within the Timiskaming District along the Ontario/Quebec provincial border.

The township had a population of 105 in the 2021 Canadian census, making it the second-lowest populated township in the province (after Cockburn Island). ^[1]

History

Brethour Township was surveyed in 1887. It was then later officially incorporated on October 17, 1917. The township's title was derived from the name of a prominent business man from Brantford, Ontario: H.W. Brethour.

The first people to settle in the area were Edmond and Philomene Robert. Other mentionable early-settler family names include Schmidt, Cooke, Armstrong, Doonan, Broderick, and Goddard; many of which have living descendants still residing within the community. Most notably, Mr. Leonard Broderick continues to own and reside at the farm in which his great-grandfather William Broderick settled in 1903. Although the Brodericks are the only family to have remained on the same original land, many other original settler families have living descendants that have taken up residence on other lots within the township.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Brethour had a population of 105 living in 38 of its 48 total private dwellings, a change of −15.3% from its 2016 population of 124. With a land area of 81.97 km² (31.65 sq mi), it had a population density of 1.3/km² (3.3/sq mi) in 2021. ^[1]

Historical census populations – Brethour, Ontario

Year Pop. ±% 1901 3 —     1911 181 +5933.3% 1921 273 +50.8% 1931 272 −0.4% 1941 302 +11.0% 1951 288 −4.6% 1956 288 +0.0%	Year Pop. ±% 1961 296 +2.8% 1966 258 −12.8% 1971 202 −21.7% 1976 201 −0.5% 1981 172 −14.4% 1986 148 −14.0% 1991 179 +20.9%	Year Pop. ±% 1996 181 +1.1% 2001 157 −13.3% 2006 117 −25.5% 2011 129 +10.3% 2016 124 −3.9% 2021 105 −15.3%
2016 Population figure based on revised count. [2] Source: Statistics Canada [1] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Mother tongue (2021): ^[1]

• English as first language: 85.7%
• French as first language: 9.5%
• English and French as first languages: 0%
• Other as first language: 4.8%

See also

• List of townships in Ontario
• List of francophone communities in Ontario

References

1. "Brethour (Code 3554032) Census Profile". 2021 census . Government of Canada - Statistics Canada . Retrieved 2025-09-09.
2. "Population and dwelling count amendments, 2016 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
3. 1996, 2001, 2006 census
4. "Brethour, Ontario (Census subdivision) 2011 Census Profile". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
5. Eighth Census of Canada 1941 - Volume II - Population by Local Subdivisions (Report). Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1944. CS98-1941-2.
6. "1971 Census of Canada - Population Census Subdivisions (Historical)". Catalogue 92-702 Vol I, part 1 (Bulletin 1.1-2). Statistics Canada. July 1973.

External links

Media related to Brethour, Ontario at Wikimedia Commons