Wentworth is a township municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Argenteuil Regional County Municipality, north-west of Lachute.

Its population centres are Louisa and Dunany.

Geography

The township is in the foothills of the Laurentian Mountains, not exceeding 487 metres (1,598 ft) above sea level, with a rocky, sandy, gravelly soil that is not conducive to agriculture. However, much of the land was cleared by early Irish settlers for farming and there remains small pockets of pastures along the Dalesville River, especially in the Glen and around the town centre. It is dotted with many lakes, such as Curran, Black, McDougall, Rainbow, and most notably Lake Louisa - the largest lake in the Regional County. These lakes attract many cottage vacationers and fishing enthusiasts.

The headwater of the Dalesville River, the largest river in Wentworth, begins at the outlet of Barrows Lake on the western edge of the municipality and meanders for approximately 12 km through the municipality.

History

The Gale and Duberger map of 1795 already shows the Wentworth Township, but it was not officially established until 1809. It is unclear if it is named after a village in York County, England, or that it is a tribute to Sir John Wentworth (1737-1820), Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia from 1792 to 1808.

Around 1830, a group of settlers composed of Irish and French Canadians, began clearing the rough land with difficulty. In 1845, the Gore Municipality was established, which included the Gore and Wentworth Townships, but it was abolished two years later. In 1855, the Wentworth Township Municipality was formed.

In 1914, a small portion of the Wentworth and Montcalm Townships separated and formed the Municipality of Lac-des-Seize-Îles, and in 1958, Wentworth lost a large chunk of its territory when the Municipality of Wentworth-Nord separated.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Wentworth had a population of 682 living in 378 of its 802 total private dwellings, a change of 28% from its 2016 population of 533. With a land area of 85.03 km (32.83 sq mi), it had a population density of 8.0/km (20.8/sq mi) in 2021.

Historical census populations – Wentworth, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1921 953 —     1931 986 +3.5% 1941 469 −52.4% 1951 727 +55.0% 1956 432 −40.6% 1961 72 −83.3%	Year Pop. ±% 1966 102 +41.7% 1971 146 +43.1% 1976 204 +39.7% 1981 225 +10.3% 1986 273 +21.3% 1991 329 +20.5%	Year Pop. ±% 1996 379 +15.2% 2001 434 +14.5% 2006 483 +11.3% 2011 502 +3.9% 2016 533 +6.2% 2021 682 +28.0%
Source: Statistics Canada

Mother tongue (2021):

• English as first language: 40.9%
• French as first language: 52.6%
• English and French as first language: 2.2%
• Other as first language: 2.9%

Local government

Wentworth forms part of the federal electoral district of Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation and has been represented by Stéphane Lauzon of the Liberal Party since 2015. Provincially, Wentworth is part of the Argenteuil electoral district and is represented by Agnès Grondin of the Coalition Avenir Québec since 2018.

Wentworth federal election results

Year		Liberal		Conservative		Bloc Québécois		New Democratic		Green
	2021	45%	217	14%	65	28%	134	9%	44	0%	0
	2019	41%	173	15%	63	27%	115	8%	35	7%	30

Wentworth provincial election results

Year		CAQ		Liberal		QC solidaire		Parti Québécois
	2018	23%	76	47%	156	5%	17	13%	45
	2014	5%	19	71%	260	1%	5	21%	77

List of former mayors:

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (January 2022)

• Marcel Raymond (... –2005)
• Normand Champoux (2005–2009)
• Edmund Kasprzyk (2009–2013)
• Marcel Harvey (2013–2016)
• Jason Morrison (2016–present)

Education

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2017)

The Commission scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord operates French-language public schools.

• École polyvalente Lavigne in Lachute

The Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board operates English-language public schools:

• Laurentian Elementary School in Lachute
• Laurentian Regional High School in Lachute

See also

• List of anglophone communities in Quebec
• List of township municipalities in Quebec