Entered by: Visages Régionaux

Located north of Montreal, the regional county municipality (RCM) of Antoine-Labelle is renowned for its majestic forests typical of the Laurentian region. Comprised of 17 municipalities in an area measuring more than 16,000 sq. kms, the RCM serves just 37,000 residents. It’s an enormous territory with very low population density. The area is historically known for its forestry industry, which brought more than a century of economic prosperity to the region. But the lumber industry crisis in 2005 followed by the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis in 2008 fractured the area’s social fabric with the loss of 2,000 jobs. Today, a lack of skilled labour, ageing population and undiversified economy has resulted in Quebec’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing classifying the region as “devitalized.”

To reverse this trend, a regional roundtable made up of entrepreneurs, elected officials, and representatives from the educational and healthcare communities came together with the goal of making the territory more attractive. It was a major challenge. Negative perceptions about the territory were deeply rooted, even among its residents. Who’d want to move to a region that’s remote, ageing, and devitalized?