Amos is the main town on the Harricana River, and the smallest of the three primary towns — after Rouyn-Noranda and Val-d'Or — in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec. The smaller communities of Lac-Gauvin and Saint-Maurice-de-Dalquier are also within the municipal boundaries of Amos.
Rupert's Land, in which Abitibi was located, was owned by the Hudson's Bay Company and was bought by Canada in 1869. Abitibi itself was then annexed to the province in Quebec on June 13, 1898, by an act of the federal Parliament.
Amos was the starting point for the colonization of the region of Abitibi that began in 1910. The municipality was established in 1914 while the city itself was chartered in 1925. The name of the city came from the maiden name of the wife of Sir Lomer Gouin, then premier of Quebec.
A related municipality was created in 1917 under the name 'Municipalité de la partie ouest des cantons unis de Figuery et Dalquier' (Municipality of the western part of the united townships of Figuery and Dalquier) which changed its name to Amos-Ouest in 1949. In 1974 the municipality fused with the city of Amos proper. Another related municipality was created in 1918 under the name 'Municipalité de la partie est des cantons Figuery et Dalquier' (Municipality of the eastern part of the united townships of Figuery and Dalquier), which also changed its name later 1950 to Amos-Est. The municipality was finally integrated into the city of Amos itself in 1987.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Amos had a population of 12,675 living in 5,760 of its 6,051 total private dwellings, a change of -1.2% from its 2016 population of 12,823. With a land area of 429.04 km2 (165.65 sq mi), it had a population density of 29.5/km2 (76.5/sq mi) in 2021.[9]
Its main resources are spring water, gold, and wood products, including paper.
In 2012, Quebec Lithium Corp. re-opened Canada's first lithium mine, which had operated as an underground mine from 1955–65. They are planning to carve an open pit mine over pegmatite dikes. (The pegmatite is about 1% lithium carbonate.) The mine is about 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Val-d'Or, 38 kilometres (24 mi) southeast of Amos, and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) km west of Barraute. It is in the northeast corner of La Corne Township. Access to the mine is via paved road from Val d'Or.[10]
Government
Former Mayor Ulrick Chérubin during an event associated with Amos's centennial celebration.
The current mayor of the city is Sébastien D'Astous, who took office on February 20, 2015, after winning a by-election[11] following the death in office of former Mayor Ulrick Chérubin in September 2014. In the by-election D'Astous, formerly a city councillor, defeated Donald Blanchet, who had served as interim mayor between Chérubin's death and the by-election.
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