Macamic



Macamic is a ville in northwestern Quebec, Canada, in the Abitibi-Ouest Regional County Municipality. It covers 202 km² and had a population of 2,744 in the 2021 Canadian census. It is located on the shores of the namesake Lake Macamic.

In addition to Macamic itself, the town's territory also includes the community of Colombourg.

History
Colonization began at the time when the National Transcontinental Railway running through the Abitibi region was completed. The first pioneers, arriving circa 1913, were originally from Saint-Ignace-du-Lac, Pierreville, Stanfold, Nicolet, and Shawinigan. They settled south of Lake Macamic and the new settlement took the lake's name, often written also as Makamik. In the Algonquin language, the name Makamik means "limping beaver", from makis (crippled or disabled) and amik (beaver).

In 1914, Makamik had 100 residents. In 1915, the year the post office opened, it had grown to 300, and the following year, when the Parish of Saint-Jean-l'Évangéliste-de-Macamic was formed, there were 500 persons. By 1918, the population had jumped to 1750 and the area was incorporated as the United Township Municipality of Royal-Roussillon-et-Poularies, named after the Royal-Roussillon Regiment of Montcalm's army and after lieutenant-colonel François-Médard de Poularies, commander of this regiment.

In 1919, the village itself separated from the united township and was incorporated as Village Municipality of Macamic, having a population of 2300 persons by 1920. In 1924, Poularies Township also separated from Royal-Roussillon-et-Poularies, which became the Parish Municipality of Royal-Roussillon-de-Macamic in 1952, and officially shortened to just Macamic in 1961.

In 1955, the Village Municipality of Macamic changed its status to town (ville), and was regrouped with the Parish Municipality of Macamic on June 13, 2001, to form the new Town of Macamic. On March 2, 2002, the Municipality of Colombourg (incorporated in 1926) was merged into Macamic.

Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Macamic had a population of $2,744$ living in $1,142$ of its $1,188$ total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of $2,751$. With a land area of 202.05 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

Mother tongue (2021):
 * English as first language: 0.6%
 * French as first language: 98.9%
 * English and French as first language: 0.2%
 * Other as first language: 0.4%

Government
Municipal council (as of 2024):
 * Mayor: Tony Boudreau
 * Councillors: Gaétan Morin, Francine Néron, Cindy Boucher, Miriam Bruneau, Ghislain Brunet, Michel Deschênes

List of former mayors (since formation of current municipality):
 * Daniel Rancourt (2002–2013)
 * Claude Nelson Morin (2013–2017)
 * Lina Lafrenière (2017–2023)
 * Tony Boudreau (2024–present)

Political representation
Federally, Macamic is part of the federal riding of Abitibi—Témiscamingue. In the 2021 Canadian federal election, the incumbent Sébastien Lemire of the Bloc Québécois was re-elected to represent the population Macamic in the House of Commons of Canada.

Provincially it is part of the riding of Abitibi-Ouest. In the 2022 Quebec general election the incumbent MNA Suzanne Blais, of the Coalition Avenir Québec, was re-elected to represent the population of Macamic in the National Assembly of Quebec.