Renfrew County

This article is about the county in Ontario, Canada. For the historic county in Scotland, see Renfrewshire (historic).

Renfrew County
County (upper-tier)
County of Renfrew
The administration building of the county government
Location of Renfrew County
Coordinates: 45°40′N77°15′W / 45.667°N 77.250°W / 45.667; -77.250
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Established	1861
County seat	Pembroke (independent)
Municipalities	List City of Arnprior Town of Deep River Town of Laurentian Hills Town of Petawawa Town of Renfrew Township of Admaston/Bromley Municipality of Bonnechere Valley Township of Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan Township of Greater Madawaska Township of Head, Clara and Maria Township of Horton Township of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards Township of Laurentian Valley Township of Madawaska Valley Township of McNab/Braeside Township of North Algona Wilberforce Township of Whitewater Region
Area [1]
• Land	7,343.62 km2 (2,835.39 sq mi)
•  Census div.	7,357.94 km2 (2,840.92 sq mi)
	Land area excludes Pembroke
Population  (2021) [1]
• Total	92,001
• Density	12.5/km2 (32/sq mi)
•  Census div.	106,365
•  Census div. density	14.5/km2 (38/sq mi)
	Total excludes Pembroke
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code(s)	613 and 343
Website	www.countyofrenfrew.on.ca

Renfrew County is a county and census division in the Canadian province of Ontario. It straddles the west bank of the Ottawa River. There are 17 municipalities in the county. Its county seat is Pembroke, which is geographically within the county but administered independently.

History

Bathurst District

When Carleton County was withdrawn from Bathurst District in 1838, Renfrew County was severed from part of the remaining Lanark County, ^[2] but the two remained united for electoral purposes. ^[3] By 1845, all lands in the District had been surveyed into the following townships:

Counties comprising Bathurst District (1845)

Lanark	Renfrew
Bathurst Beckwith Drummond Dalhousie Darling North Elmsley North Burgess Levant Lanark Montague Ramsay North Sherbrooke South Sherbrooke	Admaston Blithefield Bagot Bromley Horton McNab Pakenham Pembroke Ross Stafford Westmeath

United Counties of Lanark and Renfrew

Effective January 1, 1850, Bathurst District was abolished, and the "United Counties of Lanark and Renfrew" replaced it for municipal and judicial purposes. ^[4] The counties remained united for electoral purposes in the Parliament of the Province of Canada, referred to as the County of Lanark, ^[5] until Renfrew gained its own seat in 1853. ^[6]

The separation of Renfrew from Lanark began in 1861, with the creation of a Provisional Municipal Council ^[7] that held its first meeting in June 1861. ^[8] The United Counties were dissolved in August 1866. ^[8]

Geographical evolution

The territory was originally described in 1838 as consisting of:

...the Townships of Packenham, McNab, Horton, Ross, Westmeath and Pembroke, together with the unsurveyed lands within the District of Bathurst, and all the islands in the Ottawa River, wholly or in greater part opposite to the said Townships and unsurveyed lands... ^[2]

In 1851, Pakenham was transferred to Lanark, ^[5] while Renfrew was expanded through the addition of:

...all that tract of land lying between the Western Boundaries of the Townships of Lavant, Blithfield, Admaston, Bromley, Stafford and Pembroke and the Ottawa River, and a line drawn parallel to the general course of the said Boundaries of the said Townships from the western corner of the Township of Clarendon to the Ottawa River. ^[5]

In 1860, the newly surveyed townships of Miller and Canonto were transferred to Frontenac County, while the townships of Raglan, Lyndoch, Radcliffe and Brudenell were added to Renfrew. ^[9] The final expansion of the County occurred in 1877-1878, with the transfer of the United Townships of Hagarty, Sherwood, Jones, Richards and Burns, and the United Townships of Head, Clara and Maria, from Nipissing District. ^[10]

Once all lands had been surveyed in 1878, the County consisted of the following geographic townships:

• Admaston
• Alice
• Bagot
• Blythfield
• Bromley
• Brougham
• Brudenell
• Buchanan
• Burns
• Clara
• Fraser
• Grattan
• Griffith
• Hagarty
• Head
• Horton
• Jones
• Lyndoch
• Maria
• Matawatchan
• McKay
• McNab
• North Algona
• Pembroke
• Petawawa
• Radcliffe
• Raglan
• Richards
• Rolph
• Ross
• Sebastopol
• Sherwood
• South Algona
• Stafford
• Westmeath
• Wilberforce
• Wylie

Municipal reorganization (2001)

30km
20miles

Pembroke

Madawaska River

Bonnechere
River

Ottawa River

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

Renfrew

5

Petawawa

4

Laurentian Hills

3

Deep River

2

Arnprior

1

  

Map showing the city of Pembroke, with the five towns and twelve townships of Renfrew County, Ontario. ^[11]

1

City of Arnprior

2

Town of Deep River

3

Town of Laurentian Hills

4

Town of Petawawa

5

Town of Renfrew

6

Township of Admaston/Bromley

7

Township of Bonnechere Valley

8

Township of Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan

9

Township of Greater Madawaska

10

Township of Head, Clara and Maria

11

Township of Horton

12

Township of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards

13

Township of Laurentian Valley

14

Township of Madawaska Valley

15

Township of McNab/Braeside

16

Township of North Algona Wilberforce

17

Township of Whitewater Region

Current municipality	consisting of the townships of
Town of Arnprior
Town of Deep River
Town of Laurentian Hills	Buchanan McKay Rolph Wylie
Town of Petawawa	Petawawa
Town of Renfrew
Township of Admaston/Bromley	Admaston Bromley
Township of Bonnechere Valley	Grattan Sebastopol South Alcona
Township of Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan	Brudenell Lyndoch Raglan
Township of Greater Madawaska	Bagot Blythfield Brougham Griffith Matawatchan
Township of Head, Clara and Maria	Clara Head Maria
Township of Horton	Horton
Township of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards	Hagarty Richards
Township of Laurentian Valley	Alice Fraser Pembroke Stafford
Township of Madawaska Valley	Burns Jones Radcliffe Sherwood
Township of McNab/Braeside	McNab
Township of North Algona Wilberforce	North Algona Wilberforce
Township of Whitewater Region	Ross Westmeath

The county seat, Pembroke, is a separated municipality.

Geography

Entering Renfrew County from Quebec on QC148

Renfrew County is known for its lakeside cottages and white-water rafting along the Ottawa River, and has more than 900 lakes. ^[12] It is located in the primary region of Southern Ontario and the secondary region Eastern or Southeastern Ontario. Renfrew County is also the largest county in terms of area in Ontario, ahead of Hastings County.

Demographics

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Renfrew County had a population of 106,365 living in 44,952 of its 51,134 total private dwellings, a change of 3.9% from its 2016 population of 102,394. With a land area of 7,357.94 km² (2,840.92 sq mi), it had a population density of 14.5/km² (37.4/sq mi) in 2021. ^[1]

Canada census – Renfrew County (census division) community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	106,365 (+3.9% from 2016)	102,394 (+1.1% from 2011)	101,326 (3.9% from 2006)
Land area	7,357.94 km2 (2,840.92 sq mi)	7,448.57 km2 (2,875.91 sq mi)	7,440.81 km2 (2,872.91 sq mi)
Population density	14.5/km2 (38/sq mi)	13.7/km2 (35/sq mi)	13.6/km2 (35/sq mi)
Median age	45.2 (M: 43.2, F: 47.2)	44.8 (M: 43.0, F: 46.5)
Private dwellings	51,134 (total)  44,952 (occupied)	49,860 (total)  42,779 (occupied)	48,229 (total)
Median household income	$80,000	$67,683

Notes: Includes City of Pembroke.
References: 2021 ^[13] 2016 ^[14] 2011 ^[15] earlier ^{[16] [17]}

Historical census populations – Renfrew County

Year Pop. ±% 1921 51,505 —     1931 52,227 +1.4% 1941 54,720 +4.8% 1951 66,717 +21.9% 1956 78,245 +17.3% 1961 89,635 +14.6%	Year Pop. ±% 1966 89,453 −0.2% 1971 90,875 +1.6% 1976 89,099 −2.0% 1981 87,484 −1.8% 1986 88,965 +1.7% 1991 91,685 +3.1%	Year Pop. ±% 1996 96,224 +5.0% 2001 95,138 −1.1% 2006 97,545 +2.5% 2011 101,326 +3.9% 2016 102,394 +1.1% 2021 106,365 +3.9%
Source: Statistics Canada

Arts and culture

At Wilno, Ontario Canada's Kashubian community celebrates their heritage.

Military

The county is home to CFB Petawawa and gives its name to The Lanark and Renfrew Scottish Regiment.

Notable people

• Silver Quilty, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame inductee

See also

• List of numbered roads in Renfrew County
• List of municipalities in Ontario
• List of Ontario counties
• Renfrew County municipal elections, 2010
• List of townships in Ontario
• List of secondary schools in Ontario#Renfrew County

References

1. "Renfrew, County (CTY) Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
2. An Act to erect certain townships now forming parts of the Districts of Bathurst, Johnstown and Ottawa, into a separate District, to be called the District of Dalhousie, and for other purposes therein mentioned , S.U.C. 1838, c. 25, s. 23
3. An Act for better defining the limits of the Counties and Districts in Upper Canada, for erecting certain new Townships, for detaching Townships from some Counties and attaching them to others, and for other purposes relative to the division of Upper Canada into Townships, Counties and Districts , S.Prov.C. 1845, c. 7, Sch. A, B
4. An Act for abolishing the Territorial Division of Upper-Canada into Districts, and for providing temporary Unions of Counties for Judicial and other purposes, and for the future dissolutions of such Unions, as the increase of wealth and population may require , S.Prov.C. 1849, c. 78, Sch. B
5. An Act to make certain alterations in the Territorial Divisions of Upper Canada , S.Prov.C. 1851, c. 5, Sch. C
6. An Act to enlarge the Representation of the People of this Province in Parliament , S.Prov.C. 1853, c. 152, s. 2(19)
7. An Act to provide for the separation of the County of Renfrew from the County of Lanark , S.Prov.C. 1861, c. 51
8. Mitchell, S.E. (1919). "The County Council". In Smallfield, W.E.; Campbell, Rev. Robert (eds.). The Story of Renfrew: From the Coming of the First Settlers about 1820. Vol. One. Renfrew: Smallfield & Son. p. 191.
9. An Act to amend "An Act respecting the Territorial Division of Upper Canada" , S.Prov.C. 1860, c. 39
10. Proclamations of June 2, 1877 and January 6, 1878, implementing An Act to apply the Municipal Law to certain Townships in the District of Nipissing , S.O. 1877, c. 30
11. Restructured municipalities - Ontario map #5 (Map). Restructuring Maps of Ontario. Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. 2006. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
12. Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada located in the Ottawa Valley, County of Renfrew
13. "2021 Community Profiles". 2021 Canadian census . Statistics Canada. February 4, 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
14. "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian census . Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
15. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian census . Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
16. "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian census . Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
17. "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian census . Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.

External links

• Official website