MessinesQuebec
Some 1,691 people live in this town, in Quebec. It lies in La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau.
Is Messines a good place to live?
Messines’s strongest is cost of living (B+). Few people walk, cycle or take the bus to work (C−). It also trails on hazard risk (C−). Safety is weaker too (C).
Canadian towns get an overall grade from 2,500 residents, so Messines has subject grades only.
This town's rent is the 2021 census rent scaled to 2025 by its province's ratio of surveyed to census rents: no rental survey covers it, so its Cost Grade is less sure. Safety is the Sûreté du Québec unit's figure for the whole MRC. No School Grade: this province doesn't publish comparable results school by school. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread.
How Messines grades
Each subject compares Messines with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
Canadian towns get an overall grade from 2,500 residents, so Messines has subject grades only.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Messines stand out
The 3 things Messines does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Messines.
Messines’ hazards at a glance: a low wildfire record and 13% of area homes over the radon guideline
Earthquakes add more: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.087 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. No one has filed a flood map for Messines on the national inventory. Messines doesn’t get its own radon tests figures; the ones here come from the Outaouais health region.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Messines | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 13% | 8.2% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.087 | $0.14 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Violent crime weighs more where Messines is policed than in Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns: a violent severity index of 152
Violent incidents in its police area came to 27.4 per 1,000 residents a year, above Quebec’s towns (12.4) and Canadian towns (12) alike. For every 1,000 residents of its police area, 20.8 property crimes are reported each year.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Messines | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 27.4 | 12.4 | 12 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 152 | 88 | 86 |
| Crime Severity Index | 91 | 56 | 67 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 20.8 | 16.6 | 31.2 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average · Data for Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000 covers Vallée-de-la-Gatineau MRC
Most households in Messines own their home: 85%, more than in Quebec’s towns or across Canadian towns
A year’s rent came to 16% of the median household income, below both Quebec’s towns (18%) and Canadian towns (20%). One in ten households spent 30% or more of their income on shelter, below Quebec’s towns (13%) and Canadian towns (18%) alike.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Messines | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 10% | 13% | 18% |
| Households owning their home | 85% | 70% | 74% |
| Rent as a share of income | 16% | 18% | 20% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Values come from owners at the 2021 census and incomes from 2020, so they predate the later rise in rates.
Trips to work from Messines are shorter than from Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns: 22 min on average
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Messines | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 22 min | 27 min | 26 min |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Counted in May 2021, under pandemic rules: fewer commutes and more people between jobs than in a normal year.
Messines has colder winters than Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns: January lows of −17.4°C
A normal December brings 45 cm of snow, the most of any month. There are 181 days of frost in a typical year, above both Quebec’s towns (161) and Canadian towns (159). The frost-free season runs from 16 May to 26 September, 132 days. The most precipitation falls in October: 96 mm in a normal year.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Messines | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| January night low | −17.4°C | −14.7°C | −13.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 181 | 161 | 159 |
| Snowfall a year | 182 cm | 217 cm | 141 cm |
| July afternoon high | 25.6°C | 26.5°C | 25.5°C |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Maniwaki)
More of Messines’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns: 26%
Children under 15 make up 13%, below both Quebec’s towns (17%) and Canadian towns (16%). People 65 and over make up 27% of the town.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
48.6% of Messines’ residents are women
850 men and 805 women lived here in 2021, against a share of women of 50.9% for Canada.
| Messines | Quebec | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 17% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 60% | 62% | 64% |
| 65+ | 27% | 20% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 24% | 19% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 51% | 59% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Quebec and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
More smokers around Messines: 17% of adults, where the typical Canadian town has 12%
Source area for health survey and life expectancy: the Région de l'Outaouais
Expected years of life at birth: 80.7, lower than both Quebec’s towns (82.5) and Canadian towns (81.5). In the health survey, 55% of adults in the region rate their health very good or excellent, close to Quebec’s 57%. Measured from where Messines’ residents live, the nearest hospital is 13 km away, beyond the typical 3.7 km.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Messines | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 17% | 12% | 12% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 80.7 | 82.5 | 81.5 |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 15% | 15% | 17% |
| Very good or excellent health | 55% | 56% | 52% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
In Messines, November normally means 4°C afternoons and −5°C nights
Expect around 19 cm of snow in November. A normal December brings highs of −3°C, lows of −12°C. Rain and snow over a typical November come to 72 mm. The forecast on the Weather page is ECCC’s for Maniwaki.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −5°C | −15°C | 208 mm |
| Spring | 10°C | −2°C | 216 mm |
| Summer | 24°C | 11°C | 261 mm |
| Autumn | 12°C | 1°C | 255 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Maniwaki); the forecast is on the Weather page
Ronald Cross leads Messines as mayor
Of the 78 Commons seats from Quebec, the Liberal Party of Canada holds 44.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
No public library stands in Messines: the closest, Bibliothèque De Bouchette, is 6.5 km away
Its libraries report as part of a wider system, so there are no figures for Messines in particular.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Messines touches 07351R029 Biological Refuge
A provincial park, Ottawa River Provincial Park, lies 71 km away. National parks are all over 100 km off. The protected share within 10 km is 5.2%, where a typical Canadian town has 2.3%. 2.6 km out lies the largest, lac des Trente et Un Milles White-Tailed Deer Yard, at 24,354 ha.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Messines | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 5.2% | 4.9% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 11 | 10 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
The nearest high school to Messines is 15 km away
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| École du Coeur-de-la-GatineauIn MessinesElementary | Elementary | – | French public |
| Schools within 3 km | Messines | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nearest secondary school | 15 km | 1.2 km | 1.2 km |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025-26 · Towns in Quebec aren’t in the schools rankings: the ministry publishes its success rates by school service centre, not school by school.
Everything we know about Messines
Famous people from Messines
3 notable people were born in Messines.
About Messines
Town in Quebec
Every figure TownRatings gives for Messines covers the municipality as Statistics Canada maps it, one census subdivision in Quebec.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 1,691 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Quebec
- Census division
- La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau
- Census subdivision
- 2483060
Messines’ neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Messines | 1,691 | — | — | B+ | C | B |
| Kitigan Zibi | 1,261 | 11 | — | — | D | B |
| Maniwaki | 3,803 | 15 | C | B− | C | B+ |
| Déléage | 2,047 | 15 | — | A− | C | B |
| Gracefield | 2,544 | 18 | D | B | C | C+ |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Messines
Do people in Messines speak French?
Almost everyone does. 41% are bilingual, where the median of Canadian towns is 8%, and 56.8% speak French and no English.
What kind of homes are in Messines?
Mostly 89% single-detached houses (the median of Canadian towns: 64%), with 0% of homes in buildings of five or more storeys. Households hold 2.1 people on average, and 33% have just one.
Is Messines growing?
It added people: 1,609 in 2016, 1,655 in 2021, 2.9% more, where the middle of Canadian towns grew 4.1%. Statistics Canada’s 2025 estimate is 1,691.
How old are the people of Messines?
The median resident is 52.8 years old, against 45.2 for the median of Canadian towns. 13% are under 15 and 27% are 65 or over.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).