Its economy is centred on tourism, outdoor recreation, hunting, and fishing.[1]
The municipality is named after the adjacent Lake Saguay, which in turn comes from the Algonquinsagwa, meaning "unblock" or "pour". An alternate explanation is that it comes from saki, meaning "river mouth."[1]
History
In 1905, the first settlers arrived when Gouin Road opened that connected Nominingue to Ferme-Neuve via Lac-Saguay.[4]
In 1911, the Township Municipality of Boyer-Partie-Ouest was formed out of previously unorganized area, named after Arthur Boyer. That same year, the Parish of Saint-Hugues-du-Lac-Saguay was founded.[1]
In 1921, the post office opened under the name Lac-Saguay.[1]
On July 1, 1951, Boyer-Partie-Ouest was dissolved and, together with more unorganized territory, reformed into the Township Municipality of Boyer. In 1963, it changed names and status to the Municipality of Saguay, and again in 1985 to the Village Municipality of Lac-Saguay.[1][5]
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Lac-Saguay had a population of 526 living in 280 of its 447 total private dwellings, a change of 14.6% from its 2016 population of 459. With a land area of 171.88 km2 (66.36 sq mi), it had a population density of 3.1/km2 (7.9/sq mi) in 2021.[3]