Hearst, Ontario


Hearst is a town in Cochrane District, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Mattawishkwia River in Northern Ontario, approximately west of Kapuskasing, approximately east of Thunder Bay along Highway 11. At Hearst, Highway 583 extends northward to Lac-Sainte-Thérèse and southward to Jogues, Coppell and Mead.
Hearst is well-known for its prevalent French-Ontarian culture. Over 84% of the town's residents speak French as their mother language, the highest proportion in Ontario, and the dialect of French in Hearst is particularly known for being nearly indistinguishable from the French spoken in Quebec.
WWW hearst.ca

History

The town was established as a divisional point of the National Transcontinental Railway in 1913, west of Cochrane and east of the divisional point of Grant. There is some indeterminacy with the name Grant as the original site of Hearst was also called Grant and was changed to Hearst in 1911.
Hearst was named to honour William Howard Hearst, then Ontario Minister of Forests and Mines and later Premier of Ontario. It was incorporated in 1922. Many settlers to the town originally came from the province of Quebec. Many also came from Europe and other regions in Canada and the USA.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Hearst had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2021.

Economy

Hearst has a long tradition of being a "lumber town". Currently the major employers include a Greenfirst hardwood and softwood facility as well as a plywood mill operated by Columbia Forest Products.

Arts and culture

93.7% of Hearst's population is francophone.
Different cultures can be found in Hearst such as Finn, Slovak, Bulgarian, Chinese, Portuguese, Greek, Ukrainian, First Nations and also Black Canadians.
The town is home to the Université de Hearst, formerly a federated school of Laurentian University in Sudbury. The Hearst Public Library was founded on December 17, 1974. In its beginning, the library was situated in the basement of the Hearst High School where it shared its space with the school library. On June 4, 1984, the library moved to its present location, 801 George Street. Hearst is a four-season destination. Many years ago, the town proclaimed itself the Moose Capital of Canada. Local outdoor activities include fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, camping, swimming, canoeing, and golf.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Hearst is served by Hearst (René Fontaine) Municipal Airport.
The Ontario Northland Railway purchased the part of the National Transcontinental Railway serving Hearst in 1993. The Canadian National Railways connects with the Ontario Northland at Hearst.
Hearst was the northern terminus for a Canadian National Railways-operated passenger train service from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, running over the tracks of the Algoma Central Railway.
Hearst is the northern terminus for Ontario Northland's coach service.

Education

Hearst has both elementary and high schools. It also has the Université de Hearst, a post-secondary institution that was formerly federated with Laurentian University in Sudbury. Education can also be sought at the collegiate level with the Collège Boréal.

Media

Radio

Hearst's only local radio service is provided by CINN-FM, a community radio station. All other radio stations available in the community are rebroadcasters of stations from Kapuskasing or Sudbury.
FrequencyCall signBrandingFormatOwnerNotes
FM 90.3CBON-FM-26Ici Radio-Canada PremièreTalk radio, public radioCanadian Broadcasting CorporationRebroadcaster of CBON-FM
FM 91.1CINN-FMCINNFM 91.1Community radioRadio de l'Épinette NoireFranco-Ontarian community radio
FM 91.9CBCC-FMCBC Radio OneTalk radio, public radioCanadian Broadcasting CorporationRebroadcaster of CBCS-FM
FM 94.5CKHT-FMMoose FMAdult contemporaryVista Broadcast GroupRebroadcaster of CKAP-FM
FM 95.5VF2597tourist information1158556 Ontario Ltd. - FCCdata.org

Notable people