Orford is a township municipality of about 5,000 people in Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec, Canada.

Orford
Township municipality
Location within Memphrémagog RCM
Orford Location in southern Quebec
Coordinates: 45.38°N 72.2°W / 45.38; -72.2[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Estrie
RCM	Memphrémagog
Constituted	July 1, 1855
Named for	Orford, Suffolk[1]
Government [2][3]
• Mayor	Pierre Bastien
• Federal riding	Brome—Missisquoi
• Prov. riding	Orford
Area [2][4]
• Total	148.60 km2 (57.37 sq mi)
• Land	136.14 km2 (52.56 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[4]
• Total	5,007
• Density	36.8/km2 (95/sq mi)
• Pop 2016-2021	15.4%
• Dwellings	3,099
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	J1X 8R8
Area code	819
Highways	Route 141 Route 220
Website	www.canton.orford.qc.ca

Orford's main attraction is its ski resort on Mount Orford, attracting thousands of people every winter.

Orford is well known for the Mont-Orford National Park. The park has thousands of acres of forest and two major lakes, Stukley and Fraser. Cherry river runs through the park and ends up in Lake Memphremagog. The township has many lakes and is a tourist destination in Quebec.

History

A region still little frequented at the beginning of the 19th century, the township of Orford was proclaimed in 1801 on the lands of the county of Buckinghamshire. The name refers to a village in the county of Suffolk, England.[5] In 1855, the municipality of the township of Orford was created. Its initial development was ensured by loyalist immigration. This founded the village of Cherry River, north of Magog. Nevertheless, the rest of the municipality remains mostly wild, until the advent of the project to create a national park.

The Mont-Orford National Park, which was created in 1938, was allocated nearly half of the territory. Cherry River then becomes the gateway to the park. The creation of a ski resort and a golf course created a tourist craze for the region. Today, the population is divided between 40% permanent residents and 60% vacationers.[6]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Orford had a population of 5,007 living in 2,244 of its 3,099 total private dwellings, a change of 15.4% from its 2016 population of 4,337. With a land area of 136.14 km² (52.56 sq mi), it had a population density of 36.8/km² (95.3/sq mi) in 2021.[7]

Population trend:[11]

Census	Population	Change (%)
2021	5,007	15.4%
2016	4,337	21.3%
2011	3,575	20.0%
2006	2,979	25.0%
ADJ	2,383 (+)	19.9%
2001	1,987	39.2%
1996	1,427	44.9%
1991	985	N/A

ADJ = adjusted figure due to boundary change.

Mother tongue (2021)[12]

See also

• List of township municipalities in Quebec

References

External links

• Media related to Orford, Quebec at Wikimedia Commons