Gaspésie - Îles de la Madeleine Economic Highlights

Territory

• The Gaspésie - Îles de la Madeleine region is divided into six administrative divisions, the regional county municipalities (MRCs): Avignon, Bonaventure, Haute-Gaspésie, Côte-de-Gaspé, Rocher-Percé and Îles-de-la-Madeleine.

• In 2004, the region had 96,929 inhabitants, 1.3% of Quebec's total population and a 1.9% decrease compared to 2001.

Labour Market

• The labour market has seasonal cycles tied to natural resource development and the seasonal tourist industry. The regional employment rate (the employment–population ratio) is the lowest in Canada. With only two in five people aged 15 and over employed, the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region’s 41.7% average annual employment rate is far below the 60.3% provincial average. The average unemployment rate has hovered around 20% for a few years and remains the highest in Quebec. In peak season, the employment rate approaches 50%, while the unemployment rate declines to around 13%.

• Although tourism is seasonal, it is a major activity for the region. Its many attractions are known internationally, especially Forillon Park, adventure tourism in Gaspésie Park, the vistas of Percé, Magdalen Islands beaches, the numerous salmon rivers, the Appalachian Trail, hunting fishing activities and some sports and arts-related festivals.

The regional economic structure is based mainly on natural resource development and primary processing. The fishing industry is very important to the region, which offers great aquaculture potential and is home to a fishery and aquaculture research centre. The forest industry is also very important in the peninsula, as 96% of the area is covered in forests, and there are many saw mills located there.

The region has a number of transportation facilities to support manufacturing development, specifically a deep-water sea port accessible year round (Port of Sandy Beach in Gaspé), a railway system extending along the southern part of the peninsula to Gaspé and a regional airport.

With its unpolluted farmland, the region has the potential to promote the development of niche products and small organic farms, which could capitalize on new food trends in Quebec, Canada or internationally (food safety and quality).

The region has the largest wind farms in Quebec: 60 wind turbines of 1.8-MW in Murdochville (108 MW) and 76 wind turbines of 750-kW  in Cap Chat (57 MW). As a result of the contracts stemming from Hydro-Québec’s first call for tenders, a number of other wind farms will soon be set up, including those in Anse à Valleau (100 MW), Carleton sur Mer (110 MW) and Les Méchins (150 MW), where work is scheduled to begin shortly. In addition to this call for tenders, 3Ci is expected to build a third wind farm in Murdochville (54 MW).

The efforts put into creating a wind power industry both regionally and provincially seem to have been successful. The northeastern United States is potentially a highly lucrative market, as are those in Quebec and the rest of Canada.

To learn more, consult the statistical profile  ( PDF / HTM Version)