Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality
Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent is a regional county municipality in the Côte-Nord region of far-eastern Quebec, Canada. It includes all communities along the Gulf of Saint Lawrence between the Natashquan River and the Newfoundland and Labrador border.
Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent | |
|---|---|
Regional county municipality | |
| Coordinates: 50°29′N 59°37′W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Côte-Nord |
| Effective | July 7, 2010 |
| County seat | Côte-Nord-du- Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent |
| Government | |
| • Type | Prefecture |
| • Prefect | Bryce Douglas Fequet |
| Area | |
| • Total | 65,148.50 km2 (25,153.98 sq mi) |
| • Land | 43,340.96 km2 (16,734.04 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 5,126 |
| • Density | 0.1/km2 (0.3/sq mi) |
| • Pop 2006-2011 | 6.9% |
| • Dwellings | 2,165 |
| Area code(s) | 418 and 581 |
It has an area of 65,148.50 square kilometres (25,153.98 sq mi) according to Quebec's Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire (which includes coastal, lake, and river water territory and also disputed land within Labrador), or a land area of 43,340.96 square kilometres (16,734.04 sq mi) according to Statistics Canada. The population from the Canada 2011 Census was 5126.
Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent and the neighbouring Minganie Regional County Municipality are grouped into the single census division of Minganie–Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent (known as Minganie–Basse-Côte-Nord before 2010). The combined population at the Canada 2011 Census was 11,708.
Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality was created in July 2010, replacing Basse-Côte-Nord, which was a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality. It is territorially much larger than Basse-Côte-Nord was, because at the time of its creation it received the (uninhabited) Petit-Mécatina unorganized territory in a transfer from Minganie Regional County Municipality.
Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality is characterized by the absence of road connections between the villages that are spread out along its 375 kilometres (233 mi) shoreline of the gulf. Except for Blanc-Sablon, all communities are only accessible by boat or plane, although Quebec Route 138 is being planned to extend all along the coast. Since the early 1990s, the region's commercial fishing industry has seen a steep decline, but a tourism industry is being developed to promote hunting and fishing outfitters, among other activities.