Buckingham

Buckingham

 Buckingham, Qué, Town, pop 11 668 (2001c), 11 678 (1996c), 10 548 (1991c), area 15.11 km², inc 1979, is located 40 km east of HULL. The town was for a short period (1975-80) amalgamated with its neighbours Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette, L'Ange-Gardien, Buckingham-Sud-Est, Buckingham-Ouest, Angers, Masson and the township of Buckingham. Buckingham is dominated by the Rivière du Lièvre, which runs through the town, and the Lower Laurentians.

Originally incorporated as a village in 1855 and as a city in 1890, it adopted the name of the township in which it is situated. The name is a historical reminder of the role played in 19th-century British politics by George Nugent Temple Grenville, 1st Marquis of Buckingham (1753-1813). Buckinghams's first industries were lumber and the mining of mica and feldspar.

Today the forestry sector still dominates - James MacLaren Industries in nearby Masson-Angers is a long-standing employer - but 2 chemical producers provide some diversification. Buckingham is also the regional service centre for the Lower Lièvre District. Although the mother tongue of the population is predominantly French (85%), close to 50% of its inhabitants are considered bilingual.

The town has its own particular lifestyle; its inhabitants are able to draw on the advantages of the urbanized Ottawa-Hull core while benefiting from the small-town atmosphere that is so characteristic of Buckingham. The town boasts the Centre culturel Bernard Lonergan and a rich architectural heritage: Saint-Grégoire-de-Nazianze Roman Catholic, St Stephen Anglican and St Andrews Presbyterian churches as well as the remarkable MacLaren-Kenny House (1890).