Mont-Laurier, Quebec

Mont-Laurier is a town and incorporated municipality in northwest Quebec, Canada, located on the banks of the Rivière du Lièvre, a tributary of the Ottawa River. Known as the “Capital of the Haute-Laurentides”, the motto of the town is Laurus elationis praemium, which translates to “Lift the laurels of reward”. The demonym for its inhabitants is Lauriermontois.In 2003, Mont-Laurier merged with the neighbouring towns Des Ruisseaux and Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles, with the name Mont-Laurier being chosen for the combined municipality. Following a 2004 demerger referendum vote, Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles left Mont-Laurier in 2006 to be reconstituted as an independent municipality. The deamalgamation did not affect Des Ruisseaux, which remains within Mont-Laurier.According to the Canada 2006 Census, the population of Mont-Laurier is 13,405. Mont-Laurier is one of the largest municipalities in Quebec in terms of area. It is the seat of Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality and the judicial district of Labelle.HistoryThe territory was originally inhabited by Oueskarinis, a sub tribe of Algonquians. The white settlers came from Sainte-Adèle in 1866. Rapide-de-l'Orignal was founded at the current location of Mont-Laurier, on the Lievre River, in 1885, by Solime Alix. The name was changed in 1909 to honour Canadian Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier. In 1940, a road from Mont-Laurier to Abitibi was built. This facilitated the growth of the trucking industry.