Bowman, Quebec

Bowman is a village and municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. It is located in the Laurentian Hills, 72 kilometres (45 mi) north-east of Gatineau.

Bowman
Municipality
Reservoir l'Escalier
Location within Papineau RCM
Bowman Location in western Quebec
Coordinates: 45°55′N 75°40′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Outaouais
RCM	Papineau
Constituted	June 27, 1913
Government [2]
• Mayor	Michel David
• Federal riding	Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel
• Prov. riding	Papineau
Area [2][3]
• Total	164.40 km^2 (63.48 sq mi)
• Land	129.30 km^2 (49.92 sq mi)
Population  (2016)[3]
• Total	658
• Density	5.1/km^2 (13/sq mi)
• Pop 2011-2016	2.8%
• Dwellings	546
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J0X 3C0
Area code(s)	819
Highways	Route 307
Website	www.bowman.ca

Geography

The municipality is bordered to the east by the Du Lièvre River and by Whitefish Lake (lac du Poisson Blanc) in the north-west. Its terrain is characterized by several deep lakes (including Reservoir l'Escalier) in a hilly terrain with altitudes between 200 meters (660 ft) and 430 meters (1,410 ft).[4]

History

Bowman Township was formed in 1861 and named after one of the first inhabitants of this place, Baxter Bowman, who operated a sawmill at Dufferin Chutes in Buckingham and was owner of a large tract of forest in the Outaouais in the late nineteenth century.[1][4]

On 1 January 1885, Bowman was combined with Villeneuve Township to form the United Township Municipality of Bowman-et-Villeneuve. In 1913, the Township Municipality of Bowman was formed when the two townships separated (Villeneuve was renamed to Val-des-Bois in 1958), and in 1954, its statutes were amended again to become the Municipality of Bowman.[1]

Bowman was affected by the 2010 Central Canada earthquake and suffered some damage to a 50 metre wide area of land near a bridge.[5] Traffic on Route 307 was diverted while Transport Canada assessed the damage. There were no fatalities.

Demographics

Canada census – Bowman, Quebec community profile
	2016	2011
Population:	658 (-2.8% from 2011)	677 (0.1% from 2006)
Land area:	129.30 km^2 (49.92 sq mi)	129.75 km^2 (50.10 sq mi)
Population density:	5.1/km^2 (13/sq mi)	5.2/km^2 (13/sq mi)
Median age:	56.4 (M: 51.8, F: 50.5)	51.9 (M: 52.0, F: 51.8)
Total private dwellings:	546	527
Median household income:	$48,768	$54,637
References: 2016[6] 2011[7] earlier[8]

Historical census populations – Bowman, Quebec

Year	Pop.	±%
1986	405	—
1991	481	+18.8%
1996	516	+7.3%
2001	563	+9.1%
2006	676	+20.1%
2011	677	+0.1%
2016	658	−2.8%
Population amounts are not adjusted for boundary changes. Source: Statistics Canada

Mother tongue:[3]

• English as first language: 9.8%
• French as first language: 88.6%
• English and French as first language: 0.8%
• Other as first language: 1.5%

Local government

List of former mayors:

• Roger Madore (2005–2009)
• Michel David (2009-2017)
• Pierre Labonté (2017–present)

References

1. Reference number 7930 of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (in French)
2. Geographic code 80145 in the official Répertoire des municipalités (in French)
3. "(Code 2480145) Census Profile". 2016 census. Statistics Canada. 2017.
4. "Bowman (canton)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-06-25. Retrieved 2010-06-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. February 21, 2017. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
7. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. July 5, 2013. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
8. "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. February 17, 2012.