Patrols of the 2nd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group
The 2nd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group is responsible for the area of Northern Quebec. Its patrols are located throughout the isolated, sparsely populated and coastal areas of the province.
The Kuujjuaq Patrol
Kuujjuaq, Nunavik's largest community, is located on the west shore of the Koksoak River. The construction of a U.S. Air Force base (Crystal 1) in 1942 on the west shore of the Koksoak River, the site of today's settlement, and the occupation of the site by the American army between 1941 and 1945 sped up the development of the community. After the end of the Second World War, the United States turned the base over to the Canadian government.
Population: 2336
Canadian Rangers: 37
Junior Canadian Rangers: 88
Location: Latitude 58° 06' North - Longitude 68° 24' West
The Kuujjuarapik Patrol
Kuujjuarapik is nestled in golden sand dunes at the mouth of the Great Whale River. Kuujjuarapik is Nunavik's southernmost village. It is also unique as it is a bicultural community of Inuit (Kuujjuarapik) and Cree (Whapmagoostui). Ancestors of the Inuit, as well as Cree, have occupied the area for roughly 2800 years.
Population: 603
Canadian Rangers: 26 (includes Rangers from the Whapmagoostui community)
Junior Canadian Rangers: 11
Location: Latitude 55° 17' North - Longitude 77° 45' West
The Umanen Shipu (La Romaine) Patrol
La Romaine, located at the mouth of the Olomane River, holds a small French-speaking population and a large Innu community known as Unamen Shipu. Unamen Shipu means red ochre, alluding to the reddish colour of Spring's surface runoff. Today, many residents work in the lobster fishing industry and in private sport fishing camps.
Population: 976
Canadian Rangers: 10
Junior Canadian Rangers: 37
Location: Latitude 50° 13' North - Longitude 60° 40' West
The Mingan Patrol
The community of Mingan is located on the edge of the St. Lawrence River, 200 km to the east of Sept-les and 28 km to the west of Havre-Saint-Pierre. It covers a surface area of 18.13 square kilometres and is accessible by Route 138. Sixty-seven per cent of the population is under 35 years of age. At the economic level, the community is working to develop the commercial fisheries sector.
Population: 421
Canadian Rangers: (Rangers from the Mingan community are part of the Hâvre St-Pierre Patrol)
Junior Canadian Rangers: 24
Location: Latitude 50° 18' North - Longitude 64° 02' West
The Natashquan Patrol
Natashquan is located on the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence; the Reserve is situated 376 km to the east of Sept-les and covers a surface area of 20.63 hectares. Seventy-four per cent of the population is under 35 years of age. The main economic activities are associated with outfitting, commercial fisheries and construction.
Population: 1764
Canadian Rangers: 31 (includes Rangers from Aguanish and Pointe Parent)
Junior Canadian Rangers: 33
Location: Latitude 50° 11' North - Longitude 61° 49' West
The Nemaska Patrol
The community of Nemaska is located west of Lake Champion, 240 km northeast of Matagami, between Lake Mistissini and James Bay.
Population: 831 (2016)
Canadian Rangers: 16
Location: Latitude 51° 41′ 07′′ North - Longitude 76° 15′ 31′′ West
The Puvirnituq Patrol
Two explanations are commonly given for the peculiar name of the Puvirnituq village. The first recounts that many years ago, migrating caribou attempted to cross the river, but many were swept downstream and drowned. Their carcasses, it seems, were washed up on shore where they began to rot, producing a putrid odour. The other explanation of the site's name tells how everyone living in the area were once the victims of a deadly epidemic. In the end, there was no one left to bury the dead bodies. When the corpses began to decompose, the air was filled with an awful stench.
Population: 1532
Canadian Rangers: 32
Junior Canadian Rangers: 67
Location: Latitude 60° 02' North - Longitude 77° 17' West
The Quaqtaq Patrol
The village of Quaqtaq is located on the eastern shore of Diana Bay, near Ungava Bay. Up until the early 1930s, the location was known as Nuvukutaaq (the long point). However, according to stories still told, a man who once came to the area to hunt beluga found live parasites in his faeces. His hunting companions began to call the place Quaqtaq (tapeworm), and the use of this new name spread rapidly.
Population: 333
Canadian Rangers: 22
Junior Canadian Rangers: 10
Location: Latitude 61° 02' North - Longitude 69° 38' West
The Salluit Patrol
Salluit stands at the far end of the narrow Sugluk Inlet, 10 km inland from the Hudson Strait, hidden between high, rugged mountains rising close to 500 m. An explanation for the name of this village recounts that, long ago, some Inuit were told the region abounded in wildlife. Yet when they arrived, they found almost nothing to eat and, as a result, suffered near starvation.
Population: 1364
Canadian Rangers: 20
Junior Canadian Rangers: 18
Location: Latitude 62° 12' North - Longitude 75° 38' West
The Schefferville Patrol
The city of Schefferville was born in 1947, when the first permanent prospecting facilities were built. The Iron Ore Company of Canada ceased activities in Schefferville in 1982, after which almost all of the city's citizens left. Schefferville takes its name from Bishop Lionel Scheffer, who served as the Vicar Apostolic of Labrador (1945-1966).
Population: 207
Canadian Rangers: 25 (includes Rangers from the Kawawachikamach and Matimekosh communities)
Junior Canadian Rangers: 9
Location: Latitude 55° 10' North - Longitude 66° 52' West
The St. Augustine Patrol
St. Augustine, one of the largest villages on the Lower North Shore, is located on the east bank of the St. Augustine River, across from the Innu community of Pakua Shipi. Spread out across undulating hills, the village is striking with the sandy banks of the St. Augustine River in the foreground.
Population: 1362
Canadian Rangers: 26 (includes Rangers from La Tabatière and Mutton Bay)
Junior Canadian Rangers: 30
Location: Latitude 51° 13' North - Longitude 58° 39' West
The Tabatière Patrol
The name Tabatière comes from the Aboriginal word tabaquen, meaning sorcerer. Innu who traded with settlers in La Tabatire usually consulted a sorcerer-soothsayer before heading on a hunting trip. Today, La Tabatire's fish plant is the largest on the Coast, processing crab, scallops and shrimp.
Population: 499
Canadian Rangers: (Rangers from the La Tabatière community are part of the St-Augustin Patrol)
Junior Canadian Rangers: 33
Location: Latitude 50° 49' North - Longitude 58° 57' West
The Tasiujaq Patrol
Tasiujaq, which means 'resembling a lake,' actually refers to the whole of the basin formed by the lake. Leaf Basin is renowned for its high tides which regularly exceed 15 metres.
Population: 256
Canadian Rangers: 24
Junior Canadian Rangers: 24
Location: Latitude 58° 42' North - Longitude 69° 56' West
The Umiujaq Patrol
Located about 160 km north of Kuujjuarapik, Umiujaq was established in 1986. In light of the La Grande hydro-electric project and the proposed Great Whale hydro-electric project, Inuit negotiated a clause into the 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement that provided for the relocation of Inuit from Kuujjuarapik to the Guillaume-Delisle Lake.
Population: 441
Canadian Rangers: 24
Junior Canadian Rangers: 24
Location: Latitude 56° 33' North - Longitude 76° 33' West
The Waskaganish Patrol
Waskaganish is sometimes considered the oldest Cree settlement. It was a meeting place for the Cree and Europeans to trade when the Hudson Bay Company established its first trading post, Fort Charles, in 1670. Waskaganish, meaning "little house," dates back to the 18th century, when the Hudson Bay Company's trading post became an outpost to Eastmain's more important establishment.
Population: 2010
Canadian Rangers: 26
Junior Canadian Rangers: 17
Location: Latitude 51° 12' North - Longitude 78° 46' West
The Wemindji Patrol
At the mouth of the Maquatua River lies Wemindji - painted mountains. The name originates from the ochre found in the hills. This ochre was mixed with grease to make paint. This small community, once located on an island on Vieux-Comptoir River, was also called Paint Hills, Old Factory and Vieux-Comptoir. In 1959, the village was moved toward the coast where overall conditions were more favourable.
Population: 1356
Canadian Rangers: 29
Junior Canadian Rangers: 20
Location: Latitude 52° 55' North - Longitude 78° 47' West
The Whapmagoostui Patrol
Whapmagoostui ("Beluga River") is located at the northernmost part of Cree territories in Quebec, at the mouth of the Great Whale River feeding into the Hudson Bay. Whapmagoostui remains the only Cree community without access by land. Traditionally, northern Cree would go to the mouths of the Great and Small Whale Rivers in the summer to hunt for beluga, trade and to socialize.
Population: 720
Canadian Rangers: 0
Junior Canadian Rangers: 18
Location: Latitude 55° 15' North - Longitude 77° 45' West
The Akulivik Patrol
Akulivik is located on the north end of the Hudson Bay and takes its name from the surrounding geography: a peninsula that juts into the bay evoking the shape of a kakivak (a traditional, trident-shaped spear used for fishing). The Hudson Bay Company established a trading post on the site of today's Akulivik in 1922 and the Inuit then started to gradually settle in the surrounding area.
Population: 548
Canadian Rangers: 30
Junior Canadian Rangers: 20
Location: Latitude 60° 48' North - Longitude 78° 12' West
The Aupaluk Patrol
The community is named after the colour of its ferruginous soil. Aupaluk is located on the northern reaches of the Labrador Trough which is rich in iron deposits. There was even mining activity in the region in the late 1950s. Aupaluk is the first village of the Canadian Arctic to have been entirely designed by Inuit.
Population: 192
Canadian Rangers: 10
Junior Canadian Rangers: 18
Location: Latitude 59° 18' North - Longitude 69° 36' West
The Blanc-Sablon Patrol
Blanc-Sablon is a pleasant coastal village located only a few kilometres from the Labrador border. Close to the Belle Isle Strait, Blanc-Sablon is one of the best places in Quebec to see icebergs. It is a vibrant community that acts as the coast's eastern gatekeeper. Historically, Blanc-Sablon was an important fishing port.
Population: 1258
Canadian Rangers: 35 (includes Rangers from Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon and Bonne Espérance communities)
Junior Canadian Rangers: 46
Location: Latitude 51° 25' North - Longitude 57° 08' West
The Bonne Espérance Patrol
The municipality of Bonne Espérance is made up of the three fishing villages of St.Paul’s River, Middle Bay and Old Fort Bay.
St. Paul's River, population 468, is located on a serene bay sheltered by a cluster of islands, near the mouth of a world-class salmon-fishing river by the same name. The village is one of the oldest settlements on the Lower North Shore. The river was once known as Eskimo River, after the Inuit who lived near its mouth.
The tiny village of Middle Bay, population 52, has an intriguing history. Basque fishermen from the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain crossed the Atlantic Ocean to fish cod and harpoon whales in the Strait of Belle Isle during the 16th century. At Middle Bay, they built seasonal shelters onshore and sheds for rendering whale blubber into the oil that lit much of Europe.
The eastern extension of route 138 begins at Old Fort Bay. The community, with a population of 347, has a long and intriguing history and lively cultural traditions. Protected by offshore islands and steep surrounding hills, Old Fort provided a perfect port for early European fishing fleets. Jacques Cartier erected a cross west of Old Fort at Baie des Rochers during his first voyage to North America in 1534. In the 17th century, Old Fort may have been the site of a major battle between the Inuit and the Innu. The village probably takes its name from an early trading fort built in the area by Augustin Le Gardeur de Courtemanche, who acquired extensive fishing and trading rights in 1702.
Population: 867
Canadian Rangers: (the Rangers of the municipality of Bonne Espérance are part of the Blanc-Sablon Patrol)
Junior Canadian Rangers: 35
Location: Latitude 51° 23’ North - Longitude 57° 40’ West
The Chevery Patrol
Chevery is the youngest Lower North Shore village. It is nestled in a sandy bay near the mouth of the roaring Netagamiou river. The village offers an incredible view of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Its location between the Netagamiou and La Croix rivers makes it an ideal spot for outdoor activities, hunting and fishing.
Population: 350
Canadian Rangers: (Rangers from Chevery community are part of the Harrington Harbour Patrol)
Junior Canadian Rangers: 10
Location: Latitude 50° 28' North - Longitude 59° 36' West
The Chisasibi Patrol
Chisasibi, whose name means 'Great River' in Cree, is a vibrant young community which has continued to grow since its relocation from the island of Fort George in 1980-81. The population comprises approximately 3800 Cree, about 150 Inuit, and 300 non-native people who have decided to experience living and working in the north. It is located at the very end of the James Bay Highway.
Population: 4250
Canadian Rangers: 35
Junior Canadian Rangers: 37
Location: Latitude 53° 12' North - Longitude 78° 46' West
The Eastmain Patrol
Eastmain is located on the eastern coast of James Bay and the southern shore of the Eastmain river. It is home to the regional association of Cree trappers whose role it is to support local Cree trappers in maintaining traditional practices. The Eastmain post was the only eastern coast trading post for most of the 18th century.
Population: 711
Canadian Rangers: 14
Junior Canadian Rangers: 10
Location: Latitude 52° 11' North - Longitude 78° 10' West
The Harrington Harbour Patrol
Justly featured among the thirty most beautiful villages of Quebec, Harrington Harbour resembles a typical small Newfoundland fishing port. A characteristic walkway made of wooden boards crosses through the community, going beyond the picturesque wooden houses.
Population: 900
Canadian Rangers: 27 (includes Rangers from the Chevery and Tête à la Baleine communities)
Junior Canadian Rangers: 25
Location: Latitude 50° 30' North - Longitude 59° 28' West
The Havre-Saint-Pierre Patrol
Havre-Saint-Pierre was so named in honour of the patron saint of fishermen, Saint Pierre. In the middle of the 20th century, a new industry developed when titanium mines were discovered 45 km north of the town. This industry grew and titanium mining is currently the town's main economic activity.
Population: 3634
Canadian Rangers: 36 (includes Rangers from the Mingan community)
Junior Canadian Rangers: 17
Location: Latitude 50° 14' North - Longitude 63° 36' West
The Îles de la Madeleine Patrol
The archipelago of the Îles de la Madeleine is located in the middle of the Gulf of St-Lawrence, or more precisely: 215 km from the Gaspé peninsula, 105 km from Prince Edward Island and 95 km from Cape Breton Island. The Island chain takes the shape of an extended fishhook stretching across a distance of 65 km in a south-west/ north-easterly direction, latitude close to that of La Malbaie (Charlevoix) and of La Tuque (Mauricie). Islanders live in the Atlantic Time Zone, one hour ahead of mainland Québec. The archipelago comprises about a dozen islands, six of which are interconnected by long, thin, sand dunes.
Population: 14,000
Canadian Rangers: 29
Junior Canadian Rangers: 0
Location: Latitude 47° 23' North - Longitude 61° 52' West
The Inukjuak Patrol
Inukjuak is located on the north bank of the Innuksuak river, known for its turquoise water and turbulent rapids. A post office and a Royal Canadian Mounted Police attachment were opened in 1935, a nursing station in 1947 and a school in 1951. In 1962, the co-operative store opened and, in 1980, Inukjusk was legally established as a municipality.
Population: 1735
Canadian Rangers: 28
Junior Canadian Rangers: 37
Location: Latitude 58° 27' North - Longitude 78° 06' West
The Ivujivik Patrol
Roughly 2000 km north of Montreal, Ivujivik is Quebec's northernmost village. Nestled in a small, sandy cove, the village is surrounded by imposing cliffs that plunge into the tormented waters of Digges Sound, where the strong currents of the Hudson Bay and the Hudson Strait clash.
Population: 370
Canadian Rangers: 19
Junior Canadian Rangers: 19
Location: Latitude 62° 25' North - Longitude 77° 55' West
The Kangiqsualujjuaq Patrol
The construction of the village of Kangiqsualujjuaq began in 1962 and, a few years later, all inhabitants lived in prefabricated houses. A school was built in 1963 as well as a co-operative store and government buildings. In 1980, Kangiqsualujjuaq was legally established as a municipality.
Population: 767
Canadian Rangers: 27
Junior Canadian Rangers: 37
Location: Latitude 58° 41' North - Longitude 65° 57' West
The Kangiqsujuaq Patrol
Kangiqsujuaq is located north of the Cape Smith belt, an area rich in mineralization. Wakeham Bay takes its name from Captain William Wakeham who, in 1897, led an expedition to determine whether the Hudson Strait was safe for navigation. In 1961, the settlement was renamed Sainte-Anne-de-Maricourt, until with the establishment of a municipality it officially readopted its Inuktitut name, Kangiqsujuaq.
Population: 634
Canadian Rangers: 28
Junior Canadian Rangers: 23
Location: Latitude 61° 35' North - Longitude 71° 57' West
The Kangirsuk Patrol
Kangirsuk means "the bay" in Inuktitut. In 1981, Kangirsuk was incorporated as a municipality. Not far from the village on Pamiok Island, archaeologists have discovered a stone foundation of what is believed to be long house used by Vikings, who are said to have visited the area in the 11th century.
Population: 489
Canadian Rangers: 22
Junior Canadian Rangers: 11
Location: Latitude 60° 01' North - Longitude 70° 01' West
The Kawawachikamach Patrol
Kuujjuaq, Nunavik's largest community, is located on the west shore of the Koksoak River. The construction of a U.S. Air Force base (Crystal 1) in 1942 on the west shore of the Koksoak River, the site of today's settlement, and the occupation of the site by the American army between 1941 and 1945 sped up the development of the community. After the end of the Second World War, the United States turned the base over to the Canadian government.
Population: 2336
Canadian Rangers: 37
Junior Canadian Rangers: 88
Location: Latitude 58° 06' North - Longitude 68° 24' West
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