# Launay, Quebec

Launay (French pronunciation:) is a township municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located in the Abitibi Regional County Municipality.
The municipality is named after Jean-Baptiste Leporquier de Launay, a military commander and captain of the Guyenne Regiment from the mid-18th century.
Its economy is dependent on agriculture and forestry.

## History

The town's origin began with the construction of the railway station along the National Transcontinental Railway in 1913. In 1916, the geographic township was established, and settlement began the following year. On May 18, 1921, the Township Municipality of Launay was created out of unincorporated territory. Its first school was built in 1922, and its post office opened the following year (which closed in 1956).
In 1947, Launay was connected to the electrical grid, and in 1961, to the telephone system. In 1971, the Canadian National railway company closed Launay Station, which was demolished in 1988. That same year, the municipal sewer network was installed.

## Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Launay had a population of 211 living in 97 of its 99 total private dwellings, a change of -3.2% from its 2016 population of 218. With a land area of 257.8 km$^2$ (99.5 sq mi), it had a population density of 0.8/km$^2$ (2.1/sq mi) in 2021.
Mother tongue (2021):
* English as first language: 0%
* French as first language: 100%
* English and French as first language: 0%
* Other as first language: 0%
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1921 | 121 | — |
| 1931 | 409 | +238.0% |
| 1941 | 423 | +3.4% |
| 1951 | 413 | −2.4% |
| 1956 | 508 | +23.0% |
| 1961 | 470 | −7.5% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1966 | 466 | −0.9% |
| 1971 | 475 | +1.9% |
| 1976 | 395 | −16.8% |
| 1981 | 369 | −6.6% |
| 1986 | 335 | −9.2% |
| 1991 | 272 | −18.8% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1996 | 260 | −4.4% |
| 2001 | 259 | −0.4% |
| 2006 | 226 | −12.7% |
| 2011 | 229 | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 218 | −4.8% |
| 2021 | 211 | −3.2% |
Source: Statistics Canada :

## Government
### Local government

Municipal council (as of 2023):
* Mayor: Claudette Laroche
* Councillors: Clermont Bossé, Jimmy Samson, Rémi Gilbert, Laurier Fortin, Denyse Lacombe-Audy, Marie-Anne Fortin
List of former mayors:
* Moïse Viens (1921–1924)
* Évariste Lefebvre (1924–1926, 1935–1937)
* Cyrille Larochelle (1926–1931)
* Ben Campbell (1931–1935)
* Adélard Thibeault (1937–1940)
* Joseph Gagnon (1940–1943)
* Cajetan Bourassa (1943, 1947–1949)
* Joseph Rochefort (1943–1947)
* Émile Thibeault (1949–1953)
* Rolland Ménard (1953–1957)
* Aimé Bilodeau (1957–1961)
* Arthur Laroche (1961–1969)
* Joseph Brochu (1969–1971)
* Vallier Thibeault (1971–1972)
* Euclide Ménard (1972–1976)
* Marcel Ébacher (1976–1983)
* Ozanam Paré (1983–1987, 1991–2005)
* Camil Trépanier (1987–1991)
* Rosaire Thibeault (2005–2006)
* Gilles Labbé (2006–2009)
* Rémi Gilbert (2009–2017)
* Claude Lamoureux (2017–2021)
* Claudette Laroche (2021–present)

### Political representation

Launay federal election results :
| Year | Liberal | Liberal | Conservative | Conservative | Bloc Québécois | Bloc Québécois | New Democratic | New Democratic | Green | Green |
| 2021 | 17% | 19 | 7% | 8 | 58% | 64 | 5% | 6 | 5% | 5 |
| 2019 | 22% | 25 | 16% | 18 | 51% | 59 | 8% | 9 | 3% | 4 |
| 2015 | 30% | 28 | 5% | 5 | 18% | 17 | 43% | 40 | 1% | 1 |
| 2011 | 2% | 2 | 13% | 14 | 36% | 40 | 50% | 56 | 0% | 0 |
| 2008 | 18% | 16 | 19% | 17 | 46% | 41 | 13% | 12 | 4% | 4 |
| 2006 | 12% | 13 | 31% | 35 | 52% | 59 | 4% | 4 | 2% | 2 |
| 2004 | 24% | 26 | 10% | 11 | 59% | 64 | 4% | 4 | 3% | 3 |
Launay provincial election results :
| Year | CAQ | CAQ | Liberal | Liberal | QC solidaire | QC solidaire | Parti Québécois | Parti Québécois |
| 2022 | 51% | 53 | 6 | 6 | 13% | 13 | 25% | 26 |
| 2018 | 20% | 29 | 14% | 20 | 23% | 34 | 39% | 56 |
| 2014 | 9% | 12 | 30% | 37 | 13% | 16 | 45% | 55 |
| 2012 | 16% | 18 | 16% | 18 | 5% | 6 | 61% | 69 |
Federally, Launay is part of the federal riding of Abitibi—Témiscamingue. In the 2021 Canadian federal election, the incumbent Sébastien Lemire of the Bloc Québécois was re-elected to represent the population Launay in the House of Commons of Canada.
Provincially it is part of the riding of Abitibi-Ouest. In the 2022 Quebec general election the incumbent MNA Suzanne Blais, of the Coalition Avenir Québec, was re-elected to represent the population of Launay in the National Assembly of Quebec.