Low, Quebec
Township municipality in Quebec, Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Low is a township municipality in the La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality of western Quebec, Canada. It is situated along the Gatineau River north of Wakefield, and it is located within Canada's National Capital Region.
Low | |
|---|---|
| |
| Nickname: Paugan | |
  Low Location in western Quebec | |
| Coordinates: 45°49′N 75°57′W[1] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Outaouais |
| RCM | La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau |
| Constituted | 1 January 1858 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Patrick Beaudry |
| • Federal riding | Pontiac—Kitigan Zibi |
| • Prov. riding | Gatineau |
| Area | |
• Total | 276.32 km2 (106.69 sq mi) |
| • Land | 257.78 km2 (99.53 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Total | 1,020 |
| • Density | 4/km2 (10/sq mi) |
| • Pop (2016–21) |  3.9% |
| • Dwellings | 864 |
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area code | 819 |
| Access Routes |  R-105 |
| Website | www |
Geography
Low is situated in a corner of mountainous terrain on the edge of the Gatineau Hills, but conducive to agriculture.[4] It is dotted with an abundance of lakes, most notably Sainte-Marie, Island, Doyle, Cameron, and Venosta Lakes.[5]
In addition to the village of Low itself, other communities in the township municipality are Brennan's Hill,[6] Fieldville,[7] Martindale,[8] North Low,[9] Paugan Falls,[10] Stagsburn,[11] and Venosta.[12]
History
Low represents a rare case where the township was formed after the municipality; the township dates back to 1859 whereas the municipality was founded in 1848 and the municipality township was officially established on 1 January 1857, and came into force on 1 January 1858. It was named after Charles Adamson Low, an important timber merchant of the region in the mid-19th century, a time when many Irish immigrants settled here. Its post office was established in 1854.[4]
In 1928, the village of Low built the Paugan hydroelectric dam. This caused the voluntary flooding of the village to the north, Lac Saint Marie, Quebec. Because of the dam, 90% of the village of Lac Saint Marie had to be relocated to higher ground.
A section of Low called Tucker Lake was home of the Gatineau Clog, a country music festival founded by Wayne Rostad in 1980 until 1995.
Politics
The current mayor of Low is Patrick Beaudry, who was elected in November 2025.[13] The most recent former mayors were Carole Robert, Morris O'Connor and Michael Francis, who was mayor back in the mid-eighties, and was re-elected in 1997. Francis announced his retirement in the summer of 2009, and finished his term in November 2009.
Demographics
Historical census populations – Low, Quebec | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Source: Statistics Canada[14] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Low had a population of 1,020 living in 495 of its 864 total private dwellings, a change of 3.9% from its 2016 population of 982. With a land area of 257.78 km2 (99.53 sq mi), it had a population density of 4.0/km2 (10.2/sq mi) in 2021.[3]
Mother tongue (2021):[3]
- English as first language: 53%
- French as first language: 42%
- English and French as first language: 4%
- Other as first language: 1%
Paugan Hydroelectric Station
The Paugan Station (Centrale de Paugan), built in 1928, is a run-of-river hydroelectric power station and dam on the Gatineau river, operated by Hydro-Québec. It has a head of 40.5 m (133 ft), and 8 turbines with a total capacity of 202 MW. Its reservoir is 30 km2 (12 sq mi).[15]
Local government
List of former mayors:
- Michael Francis (...–2009)
- Morris O'Connor (2009–2017)
- Carole Robert (2017–2025)
- Patrick Beaudry (2025-present)
