Béarn, Quebec

Béarn
Municipality
Location within Témiscamingue RCM
Béarn Location in western Quebec
Coordinates: 47°17′N 79°20′W
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Abitibi-Témiscamingue
RCM	Témiscamingue
Settled	1885
Constituted	October 3, 1912
Government
• Mayor	Luc Lalonde
• Federal riding	Abitibi—Témiscamingue
• Prov. riding	Rouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue
Area
• Total	552.44 km2 (213.30 sq mi)
• Land	496.28 km2 (191.61 sq mi)
Population  (2021)
• Total	708
• Density	1.4/km2 (4/sq mi)
• Pop (2016–21)	1.7%
• Dwellings	386
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J0Z 1G0
Area code	819
Highways	R-391
Website	www.bearn.ca

Béarn is a municipality in northwestern Quebec, Canada, in the Témiscamingue Regional County Municipality.

History

Settlement of the area began at the end of the 19th century. It was first incorporated as the Parish Municipality of Saint-Placide in 1913, taking its name from the parish that was founded two years earlier.

In 1923, the railroad was built and the place began to be known as Béarn (in honor of the Béarn Regiment). Its post office opened in 1941. Because it was known as Béarn in common use, the name was changed in 1956 to Saint-Placide-de-Béarn, and in 1983, it changed status to municipality and the name was shortened to the current name.

Demographics

Canada census – Béarn, Quebec community profile

	2021
Population	708 (-1.7% from 2016)
Land area	496.28 km2 (191.61 sq mi)
Population density	1.4/km2 (3.6/sq mi)
Median age	46.4 (M: 44.4, F: 51.2)
Private dwellings	386 (total)  350 (occupied)
Median household income	$58,800

References: 2021 earlier

Historical census populations – Béarn, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1921 471 —     1931 895 +90.0% 1941 918 +2.6% 1951 1,028 +12.0% 1956 1,063 +3.4% 1961 1,073 +0.9%	Year Pop. ±% 1966 1,051 −2.1% 1971 885 −15.8% 1976 895 +1.1% 1981 1,050 +17.3% 1986 1,050 +0.0% 1991 1,014 −3.4%	Year Pop. ±% 1996 973 −4.0% 2001 942 −3.2% 2006 883 −6.3% 2011 775 −12.2% 2016 720 −7.1% 2021 708 −1.7%
Population figures based on revised counts. Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes. Source: Statistics Canada

Mother tongue (2021):

• English as first language: 2.1%
• French as first language: 94.4%
• English and French as first language: 0.7%
• Other as first language: 2.1%

Local government

List of former mayors:

• Anthime Gaudet (1912–1914, 1919–1923, 1933–1937)
• Joseph Laliberté (1914–1915)
• Albert Laperrière (1915–1919, 1923–1924)
• Maurice Hurtibise (1924–1929)
• Alphonse Gaudet (1929–1931, 1937–1939)
• Joseph Bernard (1931–1933)
• Philippe Carpentier (1939–1943)
• Napoléon Chaumont (1943–1948)
• Gérard Beauregard (1948–1951)
• Donat Gaudet (1951–1953)
• Viateur Mathieu (1953–1955)
• Léonel Perreault (1956–1961)
• Sylvio Gaudet (1961–1963)
• Théodore Audet (1963–1964)
• Clément Beauregard (1964–1967)
• Eddy Bellehumeur (1967–1973)
• Gaston Carpentier (1973–1989)
• Claude Chaumont (1989–1997)
• Raynald Gaudet (1997–2005)
• Luc Lalonde (2005–present)

See also

• List of municipalities in Quebec

External links

• Official website