About the MRC Pontiac
14,000 Reasons to Visit!
The Pontiac regional county municipality is located in the western Outaouais region along the Ottawa River, which forms a natural border with Ontario.
It has a proud, united, tight-knit community of 14,000 residents who live in 18 municipalities that largely are connected by Québec Highways 148, 301 and 303.
They share 14,000 km2— a vast, abundant area. Rich in fertile land, built heritage, and cultural diversity, and with its tremendous potential, this mainly bilingual region is determined to build and embody a proactive culture of development.
Such a culture looks straight ahead to the future, while preserving and promoting its unique natural and cultural heritage.
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Jurisdiction
County Regional Municipalities (MRC) were established in 1979 under the Land Use Planning and Development Act (LAU) to deal primarily with land use. They replaced the former County Corporations whose origin dated back to the creation of the first municipal insitutions in Quebec in 1855. Unlike County Corporations, MRCs include both the municipalities governed by Quebec’s Cities and Towns Act and those governed by the Municipal Code.
The MRC Pontiac has jurisdiction in several key areas.
- Land use planning in drafting a Land Use and Development plan;
- Watercourse management;
- Preparation of the assessment rolls of the 18 local municipalities;
- Property sale for non-payment of taxes;
- Establishment of a Waste Management plan;
- Establishment of a Risk Protection plan (fire and public safety);
- Management of the Regulation respecting waste water disposal and treatment;
- Management of quaries and sandpits and recreational leases;
- Appointment of a mediator by virtue of the Act respecting the preservation of agricultural land (LPTAA);
- Establishment of management indicators and monitoring;
- Economic development;
- TPI management;
- TNO management;
- Coordination of the Table GIRT de l’Outaouais;
- Management of SHQ programs (PAD and RenoRegion).
The MRC is also a signatory to various specific agreements with certain departments of the Quebec Government, for example:
- Municipal Affairs’ Regions & Rurality Fund (FRR);
- Cultural Development Agreement with the Ministry of Culture and Communications.
The MRC also has access to investment funds for private companies and social economy entreprises, such as the Local Investment Fund (FLI) from the Ministère Économie, Innovation et Exportation Québec (MEIE) and the FTQ’s Local Solidarity Fund (FLS).
These agreements are for local development.
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18 Municipalities
The MRC Pontiac is made up of 18 individual municipalities and one unorganized territory. Explore our region by checking out each Municipality’s website below.
Alleyn-et-Cawood is a true holiday resort – cottagers triple the municipality’s population during the summer months.
Bristol is a veritable playground for residents and visitors thanks to the Ottawa River, two golf courses and the summer resort, Norway Bay.
Less than 4 square kilometres, Bryson has a beautiful sandy beach, a boat launch, many parks, including the popular Lyons’ Club park.
Built along the PPJ railroad, which became the Pontiac cycling path, the village of Campbell’s Bay is the seat of the County and of most regional government services.
Nestled between the river and the Laurentians, Chichester shares many of its public services and shops with the town of Chapeau (l’Isle-aux-Allumettes) a short bridge across the river.
Clarendon is a large agricultural territory with many farms, be it dairy, beef, cash crop and herbal products. Clarendon is reputed for having the most fertile soil in the County.
Situated at the mouth of the Coulonge River, the village of Fort-Coulonge is named after a fort built in the 17th century by Louis Ailleboust, Sieur de la Madeleine and Coulonge.
From the legends of the explorer Jean Cadieux to adventures with top rafting companies, Ile-du-Grand-Calumet (Calumet Island) has always been famous for its world class rapids.
The municipality includes the entire territory of the island as well as Morrison island. Its residential areas are the village of Chapeau and the Demers Centre, Desjardinsville, and St. Joseph hamlets.
Litchfield was one of the first five municipalities of the Pontiac. The original territory was quite large and included the current municipalities of Campbell’s Bay, Bryson and Portage-du-Fort.
At over 2,300 inhabitants, Mansfield-et-Pontefract is the most populated municipality in the MRC Pontiac.
The village of Otter Lake is surrounded by lakes and forests where locals and tourists practice fishing, swimming, hunting… It is said that the fishing tales in Otter Lake are unlike anywhere else!
Portage-du-Fort is renowned for its beautiful stone architecture as well as the artistic mecca of the Pontiac in great part because of its Stone School Gallery.
The village was created when the construction of a hydroelectric dam in 1950 flooded the old river bed and concealed the rapids that had given the municipality its name.
The annual Shawville Fair, one of the oldest agricultural fairs in Canada, celebrates the history of the village, which was settled by the Irish in 1873 as a farming community.
Because of its Irish heritage, Sheenboro retained the character of being a Little Corner of Ireland, primarily dependent on farming and logging.
German culture is celebrated in this small community nestled in the scenic Gatineau hills with its annual Oktoberfest every fall in the village of Ladysmith.
The village of this vast municipality alternating between rocky landscapes and beautiful sandy beaches, is located along Highway 148 between Mansfield and Chichester.
TNO Lac-Nilgaut
Spread across an impressive expanse of 9,851 square kilometers (that’s a whopping 3,803 square miles), this destination is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts, particularly for fishing and hunting, and those looking to see the Milky Way with no light pollution!
