View source for Outaouais

{{Short description|Administrative region of Quebec, Canada}}
{{distinguish|Ottawa}}
{{About|the administrative region of Quebec}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->
| name               = Outaouais
| native_name        = 
| native_name_lang   = <!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| settlement_type    = [[List of regions of Quebec|Administrative region]]
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| image_map          = Outaouais in Quebec.svg
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| coordinates        = {{Coord|45|47|N|75|05|W|region:CA-QC|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint      = 
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| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Canada}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Province]]
| subdivision_name1  = {{flag|Quebec}}
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| seat               = 
| parts_type         = [[Regional county municipality|Regional County <br />Municipalities (RCM) and Equivalent<br /> Territories (ET)]]
| parts_style        = coll
| parts              = 4 RCM, 1 ET
| p1                 = [[La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality|La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau]]
| p2                 = [[Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais Regional County Municipality|Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais]]
| p3                 = [[Papineau Regional County Municipality|Papineau]]
| p4                 = [[Pontiac Regional County Municipality|Pontiac]]
| p5                 = [[Gatineau]] <small>(ET)</small>
| government_footnotes = 
| leader_party       = President
| leader_title       = [[Regional conference of elected officers]]
| leader_name        = Paulette Lalande
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="census2016">{{cite web |title=Census Profile, 2016 Census Outaouais [Economic region], Quebec | date=8 February 2017 |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=ER&Code1=2460&Geo2=PR&Code2=24&SearchText=outaouais&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1&type=0 |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=November 22, 2019}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 33,442
| area_land_km2      = 30,457.52
| area_water_km2     = 
| area_water_percent = 
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| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 
| population_footnotes = <ref name="census2016" />
| population_total   = 405,158
| population_as_of   = 2021
| population_density_km2 = 13.3
| population_demonym = Outaouaien(ne)
| population_note    = 
| timezone1          = [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
| utc_offset1        = −05:00
| timezone1_DST      = [[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]]
| utc_offset1_DST    = −04:00
| postal_code_type   = [[Postal codes in Canada|Postal code]] prefix
| postal_code        = [[List of postal codes of Canada: J|J]]
| area_codes         = [[Area codes 819, 873, and 468|819, 873]]
| iso_code           = 
| website            = [http://www.outaouais.gouv.qc.ca/ Outaouais.gouv.qc.ca]
| footnotes          = <ref name="QuebecStat" />
| official_name      = 
}}

'''Outaouais''' ({{IPAc-en|uː|t|ə|w|eɪ}}, {{IPA|fr|utawɛ|-|LL-Q150 (fra)-DenisdeShawi-Outaouais.wav}}; also commonly called '''The Outaouais''') is an [[list of regions of Quebec|administrative region]] of western [[Quebec]], Canada. It includes the city of [[Gatineau]], the municipality of [[Val-des-Monts]], the municipality of [[Cantley, Quebec|Cantley]] and the [[Papineau Regional County Municipality|Papineau]] region. Geographically, it is located on the north side of the [[Ottawa River]] opposite Canada's capital, [[Ottawa]]. It has a land area of {{convert|30457.52|km2}} <ref name="Occupation du territoire">{{Cite web |title=Occupation du territoire |url=https://www.economie.gouv.qc.ca/pages-regionales/outaouais/portrait-regional/occupation-du-territoire |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie |language=fr-ca}}</ref> and its population was 405,158 inhabitants as of 2021.<ref name="Occupation du territoire"/>

From 2017 to 2021, the Outaouais has a lower per capita disposable income than the rest of Quebec. It was $32,364 in 2021, compared to $34,180 in Quebec overall. In 2021, the unfavourable margin remained stable at 5.3%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Conditions de vie |url=https://www.economie.gouv.qc.ca/pages-regionales/outaouais/portrait-regional/conditions-de-vie |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie |language=fr-ca}}</ref>

== History ==
The name of the region comes from the French name for the Ottawa River, which in turn comes from the French name for the Indigenous [[Odawa]] that lived near the region.  Prior to European arrival in the region, the areas along the Ottawa River were commonly used by various tribes to trade and gather.

The oldest European settlement in the region is [[Hull, Quebec|Hull]] (now a neighbourhood of Gatineau) which was founded in 1800 by [[Philemon Wright]] as Wright's Town.  The settlement quickly became involved in the lumber trade, which continued along the Ottawa River until the late 20th century.  None of the original town buildings remain today, as they were destroyed in the [[1900 Hull–Ottawa fire]].  Hull remained a city until 2002, when it was merged with several neighboring cities to form the current city of [[Gatineau]].

== Demography ==

For the next few years, the Outaouais is predicted to enjoy continuous demographic increase.

From 2021 to 2026, the region's population is predicted to expand faster than the rest of Quebec (+4.8% against +4.2%).

Longer-term projections show that the region's population will expand faster than Quebec's for each following five-year period.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Demographic trends and outlook
!
!2021-2026
!2026-2031
!2031-2036
!2036-2041
|-
|'''Outaouais'''
|4.8 %
|2.8%
|2.2%
|1.8%
|-
|'''The province of Quebec'''
|4.2%
|2.4%
|1.9%
|1.6%
|}

Year after year, the Outaouais' net migration (inflows minus outflows) with other areas is positive.

Yet, for the first time in 20 years, the area had negative net migration in 2020-2021.

Historically, the Outaouais area averaged positive inter-regional migration balances, gaining 541 residents each year for a net rate of +0.14% from 2016 to 2021.

Interregional migration rate

* 2016-2017 : 0,16 %
* 2017-2018 : 0,25 %
* 2018-2019 : 0,19 %
* 2019-2020 : 0,12 %
* 2020-2021 : -0,01 %

== Economy ==
In 2021, the situation on the Outaouais labour market has improved. Employment increased by 9,500 positions.

The participation rate increased to 63.7%. The negative gap between the region's participation rate and that of Quebec narrowed from 1.0 to 0.4 percentage points.

The employment rate increased to 60.2% in the region. The region now has an employment rate comparable to that of Quebec (60.1%).

Since 1999, the Outaouais has generally had a lower unemployment rate than Quebec as a whole. In 2021, this trend continued; the unemployment rate decreased by 2.5 percentage points to 5.6%, compared to 6.1% for Quebec as a whole. This decrease is explained by the improvement in employment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Économie |url=https://www.economie.gouv.qc.ca/pages-regionales/outaouais/portrait-regional/economie |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie |language=fr-ca}}</ref>

The Outaouais' industrial structure matches its mission, which is concentrated on government services. As a result, the economy is heavily geared towards the service sector.

In 2021, the primary sector in the Outaouais accounted for a lower proportion of jobs than the primary sector in Quebec as a whole (1.4% vs. 2.2%).

Also, the manufacturing sector employed fewer people than the rest of Quebec (4.0% vs. 11.3%).

Nonetheless, the construction sector employed more people in the Outaouais (8.4%) than in Quebec overall (6.7%).

The region's economy is dominated by [[tertiarization]]. The tertiary sector's percentage of total employment (86.1%) is substantially larger than that reported in Quebec overall (79.7%). This finding is explained by the significance of public services.

In 2021, the Outaouais would account for 4.7% of Quebec's population and 4.6% of its jobs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Structure économique |url=https://www.economie.gouv.qc.ca/pages-regionales/outaouais/portrait-regional/structure-economique |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie |language=fr-ca}}</ref>

==Administrative divisions==
===Regional county municipalities===
{| class="wikitable sortable" | style="text-align: right"
|-
! align="center" | Regional County Municipality (RCM)
! align="center" | Population<br /><small>[[Canada 2021 Census]].</small>
!Change (%)
! align="center" | Land Area
! align="center" | Density<br /><small>(pop. per km{{sup|2}})</small>
! align="center" | Seat of RCM
|-
| align="left" | [[La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality|La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau]]
| 20,547
|{{Increase}}1.8%
| {{convert|12,362.49|km2|abbr=on}}
| 1.7
| align="left" | [[Gracefield, Quebec|Gracefield]]
|-
| align="left" | [[Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais Regional County Municipality|Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais]]
| 54,498
|{{Increase}}11%
| {{convert|2,025.38|km2|abbr=on}}
| 26.9
| align="left" | [[Chelsea, Quebec|Chelsea]]
|-
| align="left" | [[Papineau Regional County Municipality|Papineau]]
| 24,308
|{{Increase}}6.5%
| {{convert|2,903.45|km2|abbr=on}}
| 8.4
| align="left" | [[Papineauville, Quebec|Papineauville]]
|-
| align="left" | [[Pontiac Regional County Municipality|Pontiac]]
| 14,764
|{{Increase}}3.6%
| {{convert|12,824.36|km2|abbr=on}}
| 1.2
| align="left" | [[Campbell's Bay, Quebec|Campbell's Bay]]
|-
| align="left" | [[Gatineau]] (Ottawa-Gatineau (Quebec part))<ref>{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2022-02-09 |title=Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - Ottawa - Gatineau (Quebec part) [Census metropolitan area part], Quebec |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E |access-date=2023-02-27 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
| 353,293
|{{Increase}}6.3%
| {{convert|3,381.83|km2|abbr=on}}
| 104.5
| align="left" | [[Gatineau]]
|}

===First Nations Reserves===
* [[Kitigan Zibi, Quebec|Kitigan Zibi]]
* [[Rapid Lake, Quebec|Rapid Lake]]

==Major communities==
<div style="float:left;width:33%;">
*[[Cantley, Quebec|Cantley]]
*[[Chelsea, Quebec|Chelsea]]
*[[Déléage, Quebec|Déléage]]
*[[Gatineau]]
*[[Gracefield, Quebec|Gracefield]]
*[[L'Ange-Gardien, Outaouais, Quebec|L'Ange-Gardien]]
*[[La Pêche, Quebec|La Pêche]]
</div><div style="float:left;width:33%;">
*[[Maniwaki]]
*[[Mansfield-et-Pontefract, Quebec|Mansfield-et-Pontefract]]
*[[Papineauville, Quebec|Papineauville]]
*[[Pontiac, Quebec|Pontiac]]
*[[Saint-André-Avellin, Quebec|Saint-André-Avellin]]
*[[Thurso, Quebec|Thurso]]
*[[Val-des-Monts, Quebec|Val-des-Monts]]

</div>{{Clear}}

==School districts==
===Francophone===
* [[Centre de services scolaire au Cœur-des-Vallées]]
* [[Centre de services scolaire des Draveurs]]
* [[Centre de services scolaire des Hauts-Bois-de-l'Outaouais]]
* [[Centre de services scolaire des Portages-de-l'Outaouais]]

===Anglophone===
* [[Western Québec School Board]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="QuebecStat">{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca/regions/profils/region_07/region_07_00.htm|title=La région de l'Outaouais, ainsi que ses MRC et TE|year=2011|work=Profils des régions et des MRC|publisher=Institut de la statistique du Québec|language=fr|access-date=11 September 2012|location=Quebec|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503004918/http://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca/regions/profils/region_07/region_07_00.htm|archive-date=3 May 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Portal|Canada}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070508233730/http://www.outaouais.gouv.qc.ca/ Portail régional de l'Outaouais] Official website {{in lang|fr}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110713030911/http://www.infogolfquebec.com/bottinclubs.asp?QuelPage=1&Region=18 Répertoire des clubs de golf de la région de l'Outaouais] {{in lang|fr}}

{{Administrative divisions of Quebec region|Outaouais}}
{{Subdivisions of Quebec|regions=yes}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Outaouais (Region)}}
[[Category:Outaouais| ]]
[[Category:Canada geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Administrative regions of Quebec]]