Declining Single-Industry Communities in Quebec-Labrador, 1979-1983

Abstract

In the post-1950s period, a total of five mining towns and two port cities developed in the Quebec-Labrador region as a result of iron mining and ore processing. For the most part townsites experienced positive growth as a result of long-term expansionary trends in the regional and global steel industry. After 1975 (circa), however, several townsites experienced a period of economic stagnation and decline as the global steel industry entered a downswing, culminating in the permanent closure of Schefferville in 1983 and severe recessions in all the others. This paper presents conducted in these towns between 1979 and 1983 in the period of stagnation. Information is presented on stages of community stability, the effects of decline in investment, and changes in annual and seasonal migration patterns within the regional labour shed. It also discusses changes in both municipal and housing policy, and the impact on housing stock and equity of the 1980s economic downswing in the industry.

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