WaskaganishQuebec
It lies in Nord-du-Québec. The town, home to 2,726 people, lies in Quebec.
Is Waskaganish a good place to live?
Natural hazards are few (A+). Police record more crime here than in most towns (C−).
Waskaganish has no overall grade because cost of living and health aren’t graded here.
No Cost Grade: fewer than 30% of households own their home here, so neither the home value nor the rent is a market price. Safety is the regional police service's figure, shared with its other towns. 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.
What makes Waskaganish stand out
The 3 things Waskaganish does most differently from other towns.
How Waskaganish grades
Each subject compares Waskaganish with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
Waskaganish has no overall grade because cost of living and health aren’t graded here.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Waskaganish.
Waskaganish faces fewer hazards than almost every Canadian town
Wildfire is a moderate presence around Waskaganish: 2% of the land within 25 km has burned since 1986, 0.05% a year, short of the band that counts against Risk. Earthquakes matter little: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.013 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. No flood study for Waskaganish is on the national inventory. Nobody publishes radon tests for Waskaganish alone, so this card uses the figure for the Terres-Cries-de-la-Baie-James health region.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Waskaganish | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 0% | 8.2% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.013 | $0.14 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Life expectancy around Waskaganish is 76.8 years, 4.7 less than for the typical Canadian town
Closer to home, a hospital is 132 km from the average resident of Waskaganish, and 100% live more than 30 km away.
Life expectancy at birth · years, at birth
| Health | Waskaganish | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 76.8 | 82.5 | 81.5 |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities · Data for health survey and life expectancy covers the Région des Terres-Cries-de-la-Baie-James
More of Waskaganish’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns: 97%
Visible minorities make up 0.8% of the population, lower than both Quebec’s towns (3.5%) and Canadian towns (15%). Both official languages: 21% of residents, lower than Quebec’s towns (44%) yet higher than Canadian towns (7.5%).
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
Women make up 51.1% of Waskaganish
By the 2021 count the town had 1,295 women and 1,240 men, while Canada has 50.9% women.
| Waskaganish | Quebec | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 34% | 17% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 60% | 62% | 64% |
| 65+ | 6.3% | 20% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 46% | 19% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 35% | 59% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Quebec and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Summers stay cool in Waskaganish: July afternoons reach 22.9°C, below Quebec’s towns and Canadian towns
January nights in Waskaganish drop to −24.4°C on average. The thermometer drops below freezing on 216 days a year, higher than both Quebec’s towns (161) and Canadian towns (159). Rain and snow peak in September, at 91 mm.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Waskaganish | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| January night low | −24.4°C | −14.7°C | −13.5°C |
| July afternoon high | 22.9°C | 26.5°C | 25.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 216 | 161 | 159 |
| Precipitation a year | 700 mm | 1,041 mm | 883 mm |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Moosonee)
Commuters in Waskaganish have a short way to work, 10 min on average, less than in Quebec’s towns and across Canadian towns
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Waskaganish | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 10 min | 27 min | 26 min |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · The 2021 census was taken in May 2021, during COVID-19 restrictions: more people than usual worked from home or were off work.
The force covering Waskaganish records more serious violence than Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns, at 197
The Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000 numbers here cover the Eeyou Eenou Cree Region service area
Where it is policed, 34.8 violent incidents per 1,000 residents are recorded each year. Across the area its police cover, the Crime Severity Index averaged 104 over 2023–25, above Quebec’s towns (56) and Canadian towns (67) alike. The force’s area logs 20.6 thefts, break-ins and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Waskaganish | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 34.8 | 12.4 | 12 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 197 | 88 | 86 |
| Crime Severity Index | 104 | 56 | 67 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 20.6 | 16.6 | 31.2 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
2 schools in and around Waskaganish: 1 elementary school and 1 school for every grade
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annie Whiskeychan Memorial Elementary SchoolIn WaskaganishElementary | Elementary | – | Other |
| École Wiinibekuu SchoolIn WaskaganishAll grades | All grades | – | Other |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025-26 · Why no schools grade in Quebec? The ministry publishes its success rates by school service centre, not school by school.
A normal November in Waskaganish runs from −8°C to freezing
December follows at −9°C by day and −18°C by night. Precipitation in November averages 54 mm. ECCC’s forecast for Waskaganish is on the Weather page, hour by hour.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −11°C | −22°C | 110 mm |
| Spring | 4°C | −9°C | 136 mm |
| Summer | 21°C | 8°C | 239 mm |
| Autumn | 9°C | 0°C | 216 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Moosonee); the forecast is on the Weather page
Mandy Gull-Masty (Liberal Party of Canada) holds Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, the riding that includes Waskaganish
Provincially, Waskaganish votes in Ungava; the open record doesn’t name its MNA (Member of the National Assembly, Québec’s legislature) in the National Assembly of Québec, so the legislature’s own list is linked below.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
No public library is mapped in or near Waskaganish
Waskaganish has no library board of its own in the provincial statistics, so no visit or loan figures appear here.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Within 10 km of Waskaganish, 24% of the land is protected
The nearest national park is more than 100 km away. The closest provincial park is Kesagami Provincial Park, 60 km from the edge of town. Waskaganish Territorial reserve for protected area purposes (155,300 ha) is the biggest, 0.2 km from town.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Waskaganish | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 24% | 4.9% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 6 | 10 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about Waskaganish
Questions about Waskaganish
Has Waskaganish grown?
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses it went from 2,196 to 2,536 residents (up 15.5%; Canadian towns’ median: 4.1%), and Statistics Canada now estimates 2,726.
Is Waskaganish a young town or an old one?
Its median age is 25, where Canadian towns sit at 45.2. Under-15s are 34% of residents; over-65s, 6%.
What kind of homes are in Waskaganish?
83% of homes are single-detached houses, against 64% for the median of Canadian towns, and 0% are in apartment buildings of five storeys or more. A household averages 4.5 people; 11% are one person living alone.
About Waskaganish
Town in Quebec
TownRatings follows Statistics Canada’s map: Waskaganish is one municipality in Quebec, figures and all.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 2,726 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Quebec
- Census division
- Nord-du-Québec
- First Nation
- The Crees of the Waskaganish First Nation
- The community’s own name
- ᐙᔅᑳᐦᐄᑲᓂᔥ
- Census subdivision
- 2499806
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).