The United Counties of Prescott and Russell (French: Comtés unis de Prescott et Russell) is a county located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is L'Orignal. It is located in Eastern Ontario, in the wedge-shaped area between the Ottawa River and St. Lawrence River, approximately 55 kilometres (34 mi) east of the City of Ottawa.
The county was created as a result of a merger between Russell County and Prescott County in 1820. Under Ontario law, the county is an Upper-tier Municipality.
Contents
Geography
According to Statistics Canada, the county has a total area of 2,004.27 square kilometres (773.85 sq mi).
The county is bordered by the Ontario/Québec border to the east, and the Ottawa River to the north. It is crossed by the South Nation River that connects the Larose Forest and Alfred Bog. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has designated the Alfred Bog "a provincially significant wetland and an Area of Natural and Scientific Interest." Species of interest include the palm warbler, northern pitcher-plant, pink lady's-slipper, cottongrass, bog elfin and bog copper butterflies, and ebony boghaunter dragonfly. It also hosts one of the most southerly herds of moose. The bog is open to the public with a 273 metres (896 ft) boardwalk for nature walks.
Historical townships
Prescott County
Alfred (now part of Alfred and Plantagenet)
Caledonia (now part of The Nation)
East Hawkesbury (still exists)
Longueuil (now part of Champlain)
North Plantagenet (now part of Alfred and Plantagenet)
South Plantagenet (now part of The Nation)
West Hawkesbury (now part of Champlain)
Russell County
Cambridge (now part of The Nation)
Clarence (still exists as part of Clarence-Rockland)
Cumberland (transferred to Carleton County, now part of the City of Ottawa)
Russell (still exists)
Demographics
As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the United Counties of Prescott and Russell had a population of 95,639 living in 38,338 of its 39,616 total private dwellings, a change of 7.1% from its 2016 population of 89,333. With a land area of 2,004.27 km2 (773.85 sq mi), it had a population density of 47.7/km2 (123.6/sq mi) in 2021.
Languages
In 2021, French was the sole mother tongue of 57.7% of its residents, and an additional 3.8% reported being natively bilingual in French and English.
Mother tongue (2021):
English as first language: 34.0%
French as first language: 57.7%
English and French as first language: 3.8%
Other as first language: 3.8%
Services
Responsibilities of the county government include social services (social assistance, child care, housing), county roads, paramedic / ambulance services and land-use planning. The county also operates the Prescott-Russell Residence, a home for the aged in Hawkesbury.
Libraries
There are many public libraries located in the county. The largest is the Hawkesbury Public Library, which is located in Hawkesbury.
Health
Hawkesbury and District General Hospital, in Hawkesbury, Ontario is the only hospital in the county.
Police
The county is policed by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). There are two main police stations in Prescott and Russell; one in Embrun and one in Hawkesbury. In addition, there is a police station in Rockland that acts as a satellite to the one in Embrun. The OPP is also in charge of patrolling Highway 417.