MRC Pontiac poorest in the Outaoauis,says annual Panorama study

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Allyson Beauregard

MRC PONTIAC & MUNICIPALITY OF PONTIAC – The 2020 Panorama des regions du Québec was released in early November, using data mostly from 2019. The annual study presents a socio-economic portrait of the 17 administrative regions of Quebec and their MRCs based on a number of themes including demographics, the labour market, education, disposable income per capita, etc.
While the Québec average disposable income is $30,721 per resident, in the MRC Pontiac it was $24,778 in 2019, up slightly from $ 24,197 in 2018 and $ 21,275 in 2014. Pontiac residents have the lowest per capita disposable income in the Outaouais and one of the lowest in Quebec. The
disparity between the MRC Pontiac and the MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais is striking, since the latter, which also includes the Municipality of Pontiac, has a per capita disposable income of $32,407 (up from $32,217 in 2018) one of the highest in the province. La-Vallée-de-la-Gatineau ranked as second poorest in the Outaouais with a $25,857 average income per resident.
The population of the MRC Pontiac decreased from 14,158 in 2019 to 14,134 in 2020, a situation the MRC experiences alone in the Outaouais. Vallée-de-la-Gatineau, which recorded demographic losses in the past, saw its population go from 20,547 in 2019 to 20,666 in 2020. MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais’ population increased from 51,408 to 52,616 between 2019 and 2020, one of the largest increases in Quebec.
Compared to the 79.3% Québec average for workforce participation for those between 25 and 64 years old, the MRC Pontiac experienced a 65.8% participation rate in 2019 (slightly increased from 64.3% in 2018); La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau’s is 64.4%; and Les Collines, 80.6%. In 2013, the rates were 62.2%, 60.7% and 79.3% for each MRC respectively.