Bois-Franc (French pronunciation: [bwa fʁɑ̃]) is a municipality in the La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of Maniwaki. Its territory is along the western shores of the upper Gatineau River.

The adjective franc has its origin in the western regions of France and means "excellent, good, strong, solid, hard." Therefore, the name Bois-Franc can be translated as "hardwood" and is a reference to magnificent stands of hardwoods found within the municipality, including beech, ash, maple and birch.

History

Its first European settlers came in 1870. Its post office, named Bois-Franc, opened in 1886. In 1920, the Municipality of Bois-Franc was founded when it separated from the Egan Municipality Township.

Demographics

Historical census populations – Bois-Franc, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1921 481 —     1931 461 −4.2% 1941 441 −4.3% 1951 406 −7.9% 1956 430 +5.9% 1961 409 −4.9% 1966 321 −21.5% 1976 358 +11.5% 1981 482 +34.6%	Year Pop. ±% 1986 471 −2.3% 1991 437 −7.2% 1996 425 −2.7% 2001 422 −0.7% 2006 449 +6.4% 2011 447 −0.4% 2016 421 −5.8% 2021 411 −2.4%
Source: Statistics Canada

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents (2021): 192 (out of 215 total)

Languages:

• French as first language: 95.1%
• English as first language: 3.7%
• Other as first language: 0%

Economy

Its primary industry is logging and forestry. Industrial Park "Réjean Lafrenière" is home to the oriented strand board factory Louisiana-Pacific Canada ltd. Division Quebec; one of the largest plants of its kind in North America.

Government

List of former mayors:

• Joseph Brosseau (1921–1923)
• Léon Lyrette (1923–1929)
• Arthur Branchaud (1929–1954)
• Jean-Claude Branchaud (1954–1977)
• Gabriel Pilon (1977–1987)
• Marcel Hubert (1987–1991)
• Neil Brennan (1991–1997)
• Joël Branchaud (1997–2003)
• Armand Hubert (2003–2013)
• Julie Jolivette (2013–present)