Hawkesbury, Ontario

Town in Ontario, Canada

Town in Ontario, Canada

Hawkesbury

Town (lower-tier)

Town of Hawkesbury /
Ville de Hawkesbury (French)

Skyline of Hawkesbury as seen from the Long-Sault Bridge

Coat of arms

Motto(s):

"Vaillant et Veillant" (French)
"Valiant and Vigilant"[1]

Hawkesbury

Show map of United Counties of Prescott and Russell

Hawkesbury

Show map of Southern Ontario

Coordinates: 45°36′30″N 74°36′06″W﻿ / ﻿45.6083°N 74.6017°W﻿ / 45.6083; -74.6017
Country| Canada
Province| Ontario
County| United Counties of Prescott and Russell
Established| 1859
Government

• Type| Town
• Mayor| Robert Lefebvre
• Governing Body| Hawkesbury Town Council
• MP| Giovanna Mingarelli (LP)
• MPP| Stéphane Sarrazin (PCO)
Area

[2]

• Total

| 10.10 km2 (3.90 sq mi)
Elevation

| 33 m (108 ft)
Population

(2021)[2]

• Total

| 10,194
• Density| 1,009.7/km2 (2,615/sq mi)
Time zone| UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)| UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal code|

K6A

Area code(s)| 613
Website| www.hawkesbury.ca

Hawkesbury is a town along the Ottawa River 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]

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. The town is located 95 kilometres (59 mi) east from Ottawa, and is considered to be midway between Ottawa and Montreal.[4]

## Etymology

[edit]

The name Hawkesbury derives from a combination of Hawks, a family name, and bury, a transformation of berry (castle).[5]

## History

[edit]

Founded in 1798, Hawkesbury was named after the Right Honourable Charles Jenkinson, Baron Hawkesbury.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8]

Hamilton Sawmill, Hawkesbury, around 1859.

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.[9] New developments today are happening due to baby boomers from Ottawa, Montreal and area purchasing some of the many new condos in town.[citation needed]

## Demographics

[edit]

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.[2]

Canada census – Hawkesbury community profile

| 2021| 2016| 2011

|
|
|

Population| 10,194 (-0.7% from 2016)| 10,263 (-2.7% from 2011)| 10,551 (-2.9% from 2006)
Land area| 10.10 km2 (3.90 sq mi)| 9.62 km2 (3.71 sq mi)| 9.46 km2 (3.65 sq mi)
Population density| 1,009.7/km2 (2,615/sq mi)| 1,067.3/km2 (2,764/sq mi)| 1,115.6/km2 (2,889/sq mi)
Median age| 54.8 (M: 52.8, F: 56.4)| 52.5 (M: 50.8, F: 53.9)| 49.2 (M: 47.6, F: 50.9)
Private dwellings| 5,308 (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]

Historical census populations – Hawkesbury, Ontario| Year| Pop.| ±%

|
|

1841| 250| —
1871| 1,671| +568.4%
1881| 1,920| +14.9%
1891| 2,042| +6.4%
1901| 4,150| +103.2%
1911| 4,400| +6.0%
1921| 5,544| +26.0%
1931| 5,177| −6.6%
| Year| Pop.| ±%

|
|

1941| 6,263| +21.0%
1951| 7,194| +14.9%
1956| 7,929| +10.2%
1961| 8,661| +9.2%
1966| 9,188| +6.1%
1971| 9,276| +1.0%
1976| 9,789| +5.5%
1981| 9,877| +0.9%
| Year| Pop.| ±%

|
|

1986| 9,710| −1.7%
1991| 9,706| −0.0%
1996| 10,162| +4.7%
2001| 10,314| +1.5%
2006| 10,869| +5.4%
2011| 10,551| −2.9%
2016| 10,263| −2.7%
2021| 10,194| −0.7%
Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes.
Source: Statistics Canada[2][13][14][15]

### 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.[16][17]

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.[13]

Mother tongue (2021)[2] | Population  | Percentage

|
|

French | 7,240  | 72.4%
English | 1,895  | 18.9%
English and French  | 365  | 3.6%
Non-official languages | 425  | 4.2%

### 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]

## Government

[edit]

### Provincial

[edit]

Hawkesbury is located within the Glengarry—Prescott—Russell provincial electoral district, which is represented by MPP Stéphane Sarrazin (Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario).

### Federal

[edit]

Hawkesbury is located within the Prescott-Russell-Cumberland federal electoral district, which is represented by MP Giovanna Mingarelli (Liberal Party of Canada).

## 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 by a 17 km remnant 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:

* Hawkesbury Airport
* Hawkesbury (East) Airport

The closest VIA Rail station with direct service to Ottawa and Montreal is located in Alexandria about 40 km south of Hawkesbury.

## Education

[edit]

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

Elementary Schools:

* Saint-Marguerite Bourgeois (Close)
* Paul VI
* Nouvel Horizon

Secondary Schools:

* ESCRH
* Le Sommet

Post-secondary establishments:

* La Cité collégiale
* Contact Nord

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]

* FM 88.9 - CIMF-1
* FM 92.1 - CHOD-FM
* FM 102.1 - CHPR
* FM 107.7 - CKHK

### Television

[edit]

* Channel 39: CHLF-TV-2, TFO
* Channel 48: CICO-TV-96, TVOntario
* Cogeco cable 11: TVCogeco (community channel)

## Notable people

[edit]

* Linda Cardinal, political scientist
* Dominique Demers, writer
* Brian Greenway, guitarist for Canadian rock bands Mashmakhan and April Wine.
* Judith Guichon (1947-), Lieutenant-governor of British Columbia
* Bob Hartley, professional ice hockey head coach, former NHL coach. The municipal arena bears his name.
* Yvan Joly, former NHL player
* Richard Nadeau, Former federal MP of the Bloc Québécois
* Stephen Warren, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly

## Popular culture

[edit]

* Hawkesbury is referenced in the 1996 song "I Lost My Baby" by Québécois singer-songwriter Jean LeLoup.

## See also

[edit]

* List of francophone communities in Ontario

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Hawkesbury: 150 Facts and Memories" (PDF). Town of Hawkesbury. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
2. ^ a b c d e "Hawkesbury, Ontario (Code 3502008) Census Profile". 2021 census. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
3. ^ "Communication - Town of Hawkesbury". Town of Hawkesbury. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
4. ^ "Hawkesbury / Strategic Plan / Horizon 2030" (PDF). Town of Hawkesbury. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
5. ^ "Hawkesbury: 150 Facts and Memories" (PDF). Town of Hawkesbury. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
6. ^ "Hawkesbury". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
7. ^ David Pattee, Dictionary of Canadian Biography online
8. ^ Roger, Charles (1871). Ottawa Past & Present. Ottawa: Times Printing & Publishing. p. 119.
9. ^ Lynch, Charles (1961). "Carillon power project going day and night". The Ottawa Journal. p. 25. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
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. ^ a b "Hawkesbury census profile". 2011 Census of Population. Statistics Canada. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
14. ^ Eighth Census of Canada 1941 - Volume II - Population by Local Subdivisions (Report). Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1944. CS98-1941-2.
15. ^ "1971 Census of Canada - Population Census Subdivisions (Historical)". Catalogue 92-702 Vol I, part 1 (Bulletin 1.1-2). Statistics Canada. July 1973.
16. ^ "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. Archived from the original on 2009-03-10. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
17. ^ "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. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
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]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hawkesbury, Ontario.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Hawkesbury.

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Places adjacent to Hawkesbury, Ontario

|  |  Grenville, Grenville-sur-la-Rouge
Ottawa River |

|
|

|  |
L'Orignal |

Hawkesbury

| Chute-a-Blondeau
|  |
| Vankleek Hill |

* v
* t
* e

United Counties of Prescott and Russell

Municipalities|

* Township of Alfred and Plantagenet
* Village of Casselman
* Champlain Township
* City of Clarence-Rockland
* Township of East Hawkesbury
* Town of Hawkesbury
* Township of Russell
* Municipality of The Nation

Unincorporated communities|

* Bourget
* Embrun
* Limoges
* L'Orignal
* Rockland
* Saint-Eugène
* Sainte-Anne-de-Prescott
* St. Isidore
* Vankleek Hill

Airports|

* Embrun Aerodrome
* Hawkesbury Airport
* Hawkesbury (East) Airport
* Hawkesbury (Windover Field) Airport
* Pendleton Airport

Hockey teams|

* Embrun Panthers
* Rockland Nationals
* Saint-Isidore Eagles
* Vankleek Hill Cougars
* Hawkesbury Hawks
* Clarence Beavers

List of municipalities in Ontario

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States
* Israel

Geographic|

* MusicBrainz area

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*[±%]: Percent change
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