Rivière-Rouge, Quebec, a city nestled in the Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality, is a charming destination with a rich history and a vibrant community. As of the 2021 Canadian census, the city is home to 4,631 residents.
The city of Rivière-Rouge was born out of the 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec. On December 18, 2002, the villages of L'Annonciation, La Macaza, Sainte-Véronique, and Canton Marchand were amalgamated to form the city. However, after a 2004 referendum, La Macaza regained its independent status on January 1, 2006, but remains part of the Urban agglomeration of Rivière-Rouge.
The city is named after the Rouge River, a tributary of the Ottawa River (French: Rivière des Outaouais), that runs through the area. The region was always known as La Vallée de la Rouge (English: The Valley of the Red), and the city name was probably chosen for this reason. The original villages are now the sectors of L'Annonciation, Marchand, and Sainte-Véronique.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Rivière-Rouge had a population of 4,631 living in 2,328 of its 3,082 total private dwellings. This marked a 7.1% increase from its 2016 population of 4,322. With a land area of 451.43 km2 (174.30 sq mi), the city had a population density of 10.3/km2 (26.6/sq mi) in 2021.
The provincial government has been exploring the creation of a bypass of the Trans-Canada Highway Route 117 that runs through the L'Annonciation sector. This is to alleviate traffic problems caused by heavy truck traffic, heavy weekend tourist traffic, and a main street that was not built for the amount of traffic. The new route is expected to reduce traffic in the downtown L'Annonciation area by an estimated 75%.
Rivière-Rouge does not have a municipal police or public safety force and relies on the Mont-Laurier precinct of the Sûreté du Québec for police services.
The city has a volunteer fire department with two fire stations, one serving the Ste-Veronique sector and one serving both the L'Annonciation and Marchand sectors. Prior to the creation of the city, the villages of L'Annonciation and Canton Marchand operated a joint fire department. The city continues to use the same buildings and equipment from the villages.
