Madawaska Valley

The Township of Madawaska Valley is a township municipality in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. It was formed in 2001 through the amalgamation of the village of Barry's Bay and the townships of Radcliffe and Sherwood Jones & Burns.

Madawaska Valley
Township (lower-tier)
Township of Madawaska Valley
Tourist office in Barry's Bay
Madawaska Valley Show map of Renfrew County Madawaska Valley Show map of Southern Ontario
Coordinates: 45°30′N 77°40′W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
County	Renfrew
Formed	January 1, 2001
Government
• Mayor	Mark Willmer
• Federal riding	Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke
• Prov. riding	Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke
Area [1]
• Land	665.83 km2 (257.08 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Total	3,927
• Density	5.9/km2 (15/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal Code	K0J
Area code(s)	613, 343
Website	https://www.madawaskavalley.ca

The area is also a culturally significant location for the Polish diaspora in Canada, and is known by members of the community as Kaszuby (English Kashubia), after a region in Northern Poland that many early settlers of the region hailed from.

Its largest population centre is Barry's Bay, and it also includes the settlements of Combermere and Wilno, the latter of which being named for the city of Vilnius (Polish Wilno), a city in modern Lithuania that has historically possessed a large Polish population and significant cultural ties to Poland.

The area is also the locus of Polish scouting organizations within Canada (including both ZHP and ZHR), who hold overnight camps for scouts annually, in July. ^[2]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Madawaska Valley had a population of 3,927 living in 1,713 of its 2,541 total private dwellings, a change of -4.8% from its 2016 population of 4,123. With a land area of 665.83 km² (257.08 sq mi), it had a population density of 5.9/km² (15.3/sq mi) in 2021.^[1]

	2021	2016	2011
Population	3,927 (-4.8% from 2016)	4,123 (-3.7% from 2011)	4,282 (-2.3% from 2006)
Land area	665.83 km2 (257.08 sq mi)	672.51 km2 (259.66 sq mi)	671.85 km2 (259.40 sq mi)
Population density	5.9/km2 (15/sq mi)	6.1/km2 (16/sq mi)	6.4/km2 (17/sq mi)
Median age	58.4 (M: 57.6, F: 59.2)	55.5 (M: 54.4, F: 56.4)	51.3 (M: 49.9, F: 52.3)
Private dwellings	2,541 (total)  1,713 (occupied)	2,619 (total)  1,706 (occupied)	2,748 (total)
Median household income	$62,800	$52,679

Canada census – Madawaska Valley community profile

References: 2021^[3] 2016^[4] 2011^[5]

Historical census populations – Madawaska Valley

Year	Pop.	±%
2001	4,406	—
2006	4,381	−0.6%
2011	4,282	−2.3%
2016	4,123	−3.7%
2021	3,927	−4.8%
Source: Statistics Canada[1][6]

• Population total in 1996:
  • Barry's Bay: 1,086
  • Radcliffe township: 1,116
  • Sherwood, Jones and Burns township: 2,140
• Population in 1991:
  • Barry's Bay: 1,088
  • Radcliffe township: 1,077
  • Sherwood, Jones and Burns township: 2,101

Mother tongue (2021):^[1]

• English as first language: 84.2%
• French as first language: 2.2%
• English and French as first language: 0.5%
• Other as first language: 11.4%

Local government

List of former mayors:

• William "Bill" Schweig (2001–2003)
• John Hildebrandt
• David Shulist
• Kim Love (2014–2022)
• Mark Willmer (2022–2025)