Hawkesbury is a town in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Hawkesbury is the third most bilingual town in Ontario, with about 70% of its inhabitants being fluent in English and French. Franco-Ontarians make up 89% of the population.[3]

Hawkesbury
Town of Hawkesbury
Ville de Hawkesbury (French)
Skyline of Hawkesbury as seen from the Long-Sault Bridge.
Skyline of Hawkesbury as seen from the Long-Sault Bridge.
Coat of arms of Hawkesbury
Nickname: 
Birthplace of Andrew Alberts-Scherer
Motto(s): 
"Vaillant et Veillant" (French)
"Valiant and Vigilant"
Hawkesbury is located in United Counties of Prescott and Russell
Hawkesbury
Hawkesbury
Hawkesbury is located in Ontario
Hawkesbury
Hawkesbury
Coordinates: 45°36′30″N 74°36′06″W / 45.6083°N 74.6017°W / 45.6083; -74.6017
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
CountyUnited Counties of Prescott and Russell
Established1859
Government
 • TypeTown
 • MayorRobert Lefebvre
 • Governing BodyHawkesbury Town Council
 • MPFrancis Drouin (LP)
 • MPPStéphane Sarrazin (PCO)
Area
 • Total9.62 km2 (3.71 sq mi)
Elevation
33 m (108 ft)
Population
 (2016)[2]
 • Total10,263
 • Density1,067.3/km2 (2,764/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal code
K6A
Area code(s)613
Websitewww.hawkesbury.ca/index.php/fr Edit this at Wikidata

The Long-Sault Bridge links it to Grenville, Quebec to the north. This bridge, crossing Chenail Island, is the only interprovincial bridge between Ontario and Quebec east of Ottawa. Hawkesbury is about halfway between Ottawa and Montréal.

Etymology edit

The name Hawkesbury derives from a combination of Hawks, a family name, and bury, a transformation of berry (castle).[4]

History edit

Founded in 1798, Hawkesbury was named after the Right Honourable Charles Jenkinson, Baron Hawkesbury.[5]

Thomas Mears and David Pattee, two Americans, entered into a partnership in 1805, in order to harness the power of the lower Ottawa River and built the first sawmill on the Upper Canada side of the river. The town of Hawkesbury developed around this mill.[6] Mears also built the Union, the Ottawa River's first steamer. Demand for timber during the Napoleonic Wars created a boom. The mill complex continued to grow for at least the next half century, and by 1870 it included 145 different saws and created over 35 million board feet of lumber per year.[7]

Timber and pulp-and-paper industries have been supplanted by textiles, synthetic fibres, metal extrusions, steel, glass and plastics. Hawkesbury has also become the business and service centre of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell. The Grenville Canal on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River opposite Hawkesbury was an important link in the river's transportation system.

Part of Hawkesbury was submerged by the Carillon Hydro-Québec dam built between 1950 and 1962, which called for the demolition of over 300 houses in and around Hawkesbury.[8] New developments today are happening due to baby boomers from Ottawa, Montreal and area purchasing some of the many new condos in town.

Demographics edit

Historical populations
YearPop.±%
1841250—    
18711,671+568.4%
18811,920+14.9%
18912,042+6.4%
19014,150+103.2%
19114,400+6.0%
19215,544+26.0%
19315,177−6.6%
19416,249+20.7%
19517,194+15.1%
19618,661+20.4%
19719,276+7.1%
19819,877+6.5%
19919,706−1.7%
200110,314+6.3%
200610,869+5.4%
201110,551−2.9%
201610,263−2.7%
[1][2]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Hawkesbury had a population of 10,194 living in 5,080 of its 5,308 total private dwellings, a change of -0.7% from its 2016 population of 10,263. With a land area of 10.1 km2 (3.9 sq mi), it had a population density of 1,009.3/km2 (2,614.1/sq mi) in 2021.[9]

Canada census – Hawkesbury community profile
202120162011
Population10,194 (-0.7% from 2016)10,263 (-2.7% from 2011)10,551 (-2.9% from 2006)
Land area10.10 km2 (3.90 sq mi)9.62 km2 (3.71 sq mi)9.46 km2 (3.65 sq mi)
Population density1,009.7/km2 (2,615/sq mi)1,067.3/km2 (2,764/sq mi)1,115.6/km2 (2,889/sq mi)
Median age54.8 (M: 52.8, F: 56.4)52.5 (M: 50.8, F: 53.9)49.2 (M: 47.6, F: 50.9)
Private dwellings5,308 (total)  5,080 (occupied)5,231 (total)  5,256 (total) 
Median household income$53,200$42,001$39,981
References: 2021[10] 2016[11] 2011[12] earlier[13][14]

Languages edit

The 2006 census found that French was the native language of 77% of the population, while English was the mother tongue of 16%. A very high percentage (2.7%) claim both French and English as their mother tongues. In 2006, this was the highest proportion in Canada.[15][16]

According to the 2011 census, the percentage of the population declaring solely French as a mother tongue grew to 78.6% while the proportion of the population declaring solely English as a mother tongue declined to 15.3%. The percentage claiming both French and English as their mother tongues declined below 2.00% by 2011.[17]

First official language spoken Population Percentage
French 8,280 78.6%
English 1,915 15.3%
Non-official languages 380 4%

Ethnocultural ancestries edit

In parallel to the responses to the census question about ethnocultural ancestries, which are shown below, 1.0% of the population also reported having an Aboriginal identity, while 3.1% reported having a visible minority status (including 2.0% who identified as South Asian).[18]

Single responses: 42.4% of respondents gave a single response of 'Canadian', while a further 25.3% identified with both 'Canadian', and one or more other ancestries. 13.4% of respondents gave a single response of French, 1.9% gave a single response of Irish, 1.9% gave a single response of English and 1.1% gave a single response of North American Indian.

Multiple responses: Counting both single and multiple responses, the most commonly identified ethnocultural ancestries were:

Canadian 67.8%
French 38.7%
English 7.9%
Irish 6.7%
Scottish 4.8%
North American Indian 3.3%
German 1.7%
Italian 1.3%
Greek 1.0%

Percentages are calculated as a proportion of the total number of respondents and may total more than 100% due to dual responses.
All ethnocultural ancestries of more than 1% are listed in the table above according to the exact terminology used by Statistics Canada.
[19]

Transportation edit

 
Main Street (Westerly direction)

Hawkesbury is located along Prescott and Russell County Road 17, a former routing of Highway 17 and the Trans-Canada Highway which connects with Highway 417 eastwards to Montreal. Hawkesbury also connects to Highway 417 westward to Ottawa through a 17 kilometres (11 mi) spur of Highway 34.

The Long-Sault Interprovincial Bridge between Hawkesbury, Ontario, and Grenville, Quebec, means that Hawkesbury is within minutes of Autoroute 50 and Route 148 in Quebec.

The town is served by two small airports:

Education edit

Hawkesbury hosts many establishments in the field of education, from elementary schools to colleges and an adult campus.

Elementary Schools:

  • Paul VI
  • Nouvel Horizon

Secondary Schools:

Post-secondary establishments:

Other educational-based establishments:

  • Adult Campus of Hawkesbury

Media edit

Hawkesbury and area are served primarily by local media, media from Montreal and by media from Ottawa. The town does, however, have four radio stations which broadcast at least partially from local studios in Hawkesbury.

Newspaper edit

Le Régional is a bilingual independent newspaper that covers the Prescott-Russell region and the municipalities of Grenville and Grenville-sur-la-Rouge in Québec.

Le Carillon, a French-language newspaper, and its bilingual supplement The Tribune Express that cover Hawkesbury and the Prescott-Russell region and are published by the Edition André Paquette Group.

The Review is an English-language weekly newspaper that covers the Glengarry-Prescott-Russell area, which includes Hawkesbury.

Radio edit

Television edit

Notable people edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Hawkesbury census profile". 2011 Census of Population. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  2. ^ a b "Census Profile, 2016 Census: Hawkesbury". Statistics Canada. 8 February 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  3. ^ https://www.hawkesbury.ca/en/town-hall/communication
  4. ^ https://www.hawkesbury.ca/images/Guide_souvenirs_EN_web.pdf
  5. ^ "Hawkesbury". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  6. ^ David Pattee, Dictionary of Canadian Biography online
  7. ^ Roger, Charles (1871). Ottawa Past & Present. Ottawa: Times Printing & Publishing. p. 119.
  8. ^ Lynch, Charles (1961). "Carillon power project going day and night". The Ottawa Journal. p. 25. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  9. ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Ontario". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  10. ^ "2021 Community Profiles". 2021 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. February 4, 2022. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  11. ^ "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
  12. ^ "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  13. ^ "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
  14. ^ "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.
  15. ^ "Hawkesbury, T (Ont)". Population by mother tongue and age groups, percentage distribution (2006), for Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities) with 5,000-plus population. Statistics Canada. 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  16. ^ "Hawkesbury, T". Detailed Mother Tongue (103), Knowledge of Official Languages (5), Age Groups (17A) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data. Statistics Canada. 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  17. ^ Census Profile Hawkesbury Population in 2011
  18. ^ "Hawkesbury, Ontario (Town)". 2006 Community Profiles. Statistics Canada. 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  19. ^ "Hawkesbury, T". Ethnic Origin (247), Generation Status (4), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3) and Sex (3) for the Population 15 Years and Over of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data. Statistics Canada. 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2008-08-08.

External links edit