What political future for a depopulated north coast?

In 2051, the Côte-Nord will only represent 0.8 % of the population of Quebec according to demographic projections of the Institut de la Statistique du Québec (ISQ). This situation raises fears of significant political and social consequences for the region.

The former mayor of Sept-Îles, Réjean Porlier, expresses great concern about the future of the North Shore, fearing that this decrease in population would lead to a decrease in its political influence.

He sees the stop of the Matane-Baie-Comeau-Godbout traveler as a symptom of this problem. The crossing service, essential for certain villages, experienced several strike periods during the summer season for the second consecutive year.

In a more populous region, we would have agreed to see this crossing stop even 2 or 3 days? I am convinced that no.

He also mentions the difficulties of access to health services or the bridge project on the Saguenay, in discussion for years, which would allow the Côte-Nord to be connected to the rest of Quebec.

Réjean Porlier denounces a vicious circle where the lack of representation leads to the underfunding of services and infrastructure, which pushes the population to leave the region and still weakens its political weight.

Demographic decline: a vicious circle

The teacher in political science at Cégep de Baie-Comeau, Lysandre St-Pierre, confirms that the low demographic weight of the North Shore could have an impact on electoral reflections.

She explains that investments in the regions are sometimes less profitable in a purely electoral logic, because they represent less votes per dollar spent.

Lysandre St-Pierre recalls, however, that the North Shore has many advantages, such as access to critical minerals and deep water ports, which justify the occupation of the territory despite demographic challenges.

What solutions to reverse the trend?

According to Réjean Porlier, the key lies in a global action plan which incorporates infrastructure, in particular for transport and essential services. He should encourage people to live on the North Shore, while many workers are currently turning off to the region, he says.

According to him, one of the solutions would be to expand the offer of university training on the North Shore, because young people leave the region for their studies and do not return.

This is an opinion shared by the deputy of René-Lévesque, Yves Montigny, who claims to have Each week discussions to improve university services on the Côte-Nord territory.

The deputy is more optimistic about the projections of theIsq. He claims that these forecasts do not take into account the solutions already in place and the important development potential of the region.

For him, a positive political discourse and the development of the assets of the region are essential to attract and retain families.

What is important is to be able to bring the right arguments to convince the rest of the citizens of Quebec of the importance of the North Shore.

Yves Montigny points out that the North Shore has many job opportunities and future economic projects that could reverse the trend. According to him, the real challenge is to encourage people who work on the North Shore to live there.