Wentworth-Nord

Wentworth-Nord
Municipality
Laurel
Location within Les Pays-d'en-Haut RCM
Wentworth-Nord Location in central Quebec
Coordinates: 45°51′N74°27′W / 45.85°N 74.45°W / 45.85; -74.45 [1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Laurentides
RCM	Les Pays-d'en-Haut
Settled	1855
Constituted	January 1, 1958
Government [2]
• Mayor	Danielle Desjardins
•  Federal riding	Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel
•  Prov. riding	Argenteuil
Area [2] [3]
• Total	171.12 km2 (66.07 sq mi)
• Land	152.87 km2 (59.02 sq mi)
Population  (2021) [3]
• Total	1,672
• Density	10.9/km2 (28/sq mi)
• Pop (2016–21)	22.9%
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J0T 1Y0
Area code(s)	450 and 579
Website	wentworth-nord.ca

Wentworth-Nord (French for North Wentworth) is a municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Les Pays-d'en-Haut Regional County Municipality.

Its communities include Saint-Michel, Laurel, and Montfort. Its many lakes attract many cottage vacationers each summer.

History

The original Wentworth Township, formed in 1809, included both Wentworth and Wentworth-Nord, ^[4] so their histories are closely related until 1958 when Wentworth-Nord became a separate municipality. ^[1]

The community of Laurel formed when the first families arrived from Ireland between 1855 and 1860, calling it New Ireland in memory of their homeland. The Laurel Post Office opened in 1886. In 1856, the mission of Wentworth was established, officially renamed to Saint-Michel in 1884. By 1860, McCluskey or McClosky Court opened, probably named after pioneer James McClosky. ^[1]

From 1899, several mines were commercially exploited, extracting mica (from 1899 onward), chalk (from 1919 to 1923), marl, and graphite. Other economic activity included logging, agriculture, and the manufacture of potash. ^[1]

Geography

Wentworth-Nord is composed of three small towns: Montfort, Laurel, and Saint Michel-de-Wentworth. The largest of these is Laurel, which contains the Town Hall and other major municipal and civic installations.

The municipality of Wentworth-Nord is largely wooded and mountainous terrain. It is one of two main head waters for the Rivière à Simon (English: Simon River), and has one main river, the Rivière de L'Ouest (English: West River). Both are tributaries of the Rivière du Nord.

Lakes

A small portion of Lac Louisa is located in Wentworth-Nord, Quebec.

Lac Saint-François-Xavier ( 74°21′32″S45°52′53″E / 74.35889°S 45.88139°E / -74.35889; 45.88139 ) is believed to have been named after François-Xavier Froideveaux. ^[5] Work undertaken in 2011 restored the lake's natural shore near the Montfort recreational building. ^[6]

Demographics

Canada census – Wentworth-Nord community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	1,672 (+22.9% from 2016)	1,381 (-4.1% from 2011)	1,440 (6.4% from 2006)
Land area	152.87 km2 (59.02 sq mi)	156.48 km2 (60.42 sq mi)	158.42 km2 (61.17 sq mi)
Population density	10.9/km2 (28/sq mi)	8.8/km2 (23/sq mi)	9.1/km2 (24/sq mi)
Median age	59.6 (M: 59.6, F: 59.6)	54.3 (M: 55.0, F: 53.4)	55.8 (M: 56.1, F: 55.6)
Private dwellings	1,968 (total)	1,989 (total)	1,958 (total)
Median household income	$61,200	$51,584	$n/a

Notes: 2021 population growth percentage based on revised 2016 count of 1,361.
References: 2021 ^[7] 2016 ^[8] 2011 ^[9] earlier ^{[10] [11]}

Historical census populations – Wentworth-Nord, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1976 483 —     1981 521 +7.9% 1986 593 +13.8% 1991 789 +33.1% 1996 1,039 +31.7%	Year Pop. ±% 2001 1,121 +7.9% 2006 1,353 +20.7% 2011 1,440 +6.4% 2016 1,381 −4.1% 2021 1,672 +21.1%
Source: Statistics Canada

St-Michel-de-Wentworth

Mother tongue: ^[3]

• English as first language: 13.7%
• French as first language: 78.5%
• English and French as first language: 2.7%
• Other as first language: 4.5%

Local government

Wentworth-Nord federal election results ^[12]

Year		Liberal		Conservative		Bloc Québécois		New Democratic		Green
	2021	33%	237	12%	85	38%	275	9%	64	0%	0
	2019	34%	227	8%	53	46%	304	5%	32	6%	37

Wentworth-Nord provincial election results ^[13]

Year		CAQ		Liberal		QC solidaire		Parti Québécois
	2018	40%	289	19%	136	11%	77	21%	152
	2014	17%	117	37%	253	6%	38	39%	267

Wentworth-Nord forms part of the federal electoral district of Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation and has been represented by Stéphane Lauzon of the Liberal Party since 2015. Provincially, Wentworth-Nord is part of the Argenteuil electoral district and is represented by Agnès Grondin of the Coalition Avenir Québec since 2018.

List of former mayors:

• André Genest (2005–2017)
• François Ghali (2017–2021)
• Danielle Desjardins (2021–present)

Tourism and activities

Wentworth-Nord is known primarily for outdoor oriented activities. It is one of many municipalities that has a section of the Aerobic Corridor passing through its territory. The majority of the tourist activity is located at either one of three camp grounds, or in Montfort at the Pavilion. The main summer activities are hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, and SUP. In the winter they are cross country skiing, fat bike, and snowshoeing. Wentworth-Nord maintains 25 km of trails in the Montfort Sector for recreational use, and the municipality is also home to 9 km of the Aerobic Corridor. ^{[14] [15]}

Municipal services

Fire Department

The municipality of Wentworth-Nord has a part-time fire department, the Service Security et Incendie Wentworth-Nord (SSIWWN) that was founded in 1972. The SSIWWN has its force trained as both Fire Fighters and Medical First Responders, allowing them to respond to medical emergencies. The municipality Fire Stations, one located in each of the three towns. Each station is equipped with one custom fire truck and one modified Ford pick up truck as a specialty vehicle (medical emergency, SAR, or extrication.) The department averages approximately 200 calls per year. ^[16]

Special Constables

Since June 2020 the Municipality has hired and created a department of Public Security staffed by Special Constables. ^[17] They enforce municipal by-laws and ensure public order.

Education

The Commission scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord operates French-language public schools. ^[18]

• École polyvalente Lavigne in Lachute

The Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board operates English-language public schools:

• Laurentian Elementary School in Lachute serves most of the town ^[19]
• Morin Heights Elementary School in Morin-Heights serves some of the town ^[20]
• Laurentian Regional High School in Lachute ^[21]

See also

• List of anglophone communities in Quebec
• List of municipalities in Quebec

References

1. "Wentworth-Nord (Municipalité)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
2. "Répertoire des municipalités: Geographic code 77060". www.mamh.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation.
3. "Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - Wentworth-Nord, Municipalité (MÉ) [Census subdivision], Quebec". 9 February 2022.
4. "Wentworth (canton)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
5. "Lac Saint-Francois-Xavier (Fiche descriptive)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
6. Nicol, Éric (August 4, 2011). "Le Saint-François-Xavier retrouve sa berge naturelle". Le Journal des Pays d'en haut La Vallée (in French). Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
7. "2021 Community Profiles". 2021 Canadian Census . Statistics Canada. February 4, 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
8. "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian Census . Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
9. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian Census . Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
10. "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian Census . Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
11. "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian Census . Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.
12. "Official Voting Results Raw Data (poll by poll results in block 2370)". Elections Canada. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
13. "Official Voting Results by polling station (poll by poll results in block 2370)". Elections Québec. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
14. "Map of Wentworth-Nord Trails in Montfort Sector" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-12-21.
15. "Plateaux récréatifs, plage et sentiers". Wentworth-Nord (in French). Retrieved 2020-12-21.
16. "La Gazette de Wentworth-Nord". Wentworth-Nord (in French). Retrieved 2020-12-21.
17. "Wentworth-Nord Gazette Volume 3, No. 2&3 (April-Sept, 2020)" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-12-21.
18. "Trouver une école ou un centre." Commission scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord. Retrieved on September 24, 2017. For attendance boundary information, click "Par bassin d'école"
19. "LAURENTIAN ELEMENTARY ZONE." Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Retrieved on September 16, 2017.
20. "MORIN HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY ZONE." Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Retrieved on September 16, 2017.
21. "LAURENTIAN REGIONAL HS ZONE." Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board. Retrieved on September 4, 2017.

External links

Media related to Wentworth-Nord at Wikimedia Commons