WemindjiQuebec
1,609 people call this town in Quebec home. Its population rose 8% from 2016 to 2021.
Is Wemindji a good place to live?
Wemindji’s strongest subject is jobs & income (A). Safety is its weak spot (C−). It also trails on hazard risk (D−).
Wemindji has subject grades but no overall grade: Canadian towns get one from 2,500 residents.
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. Wildfire lowers this town's Hazard risk Grade: a high share of the land around it has burned in the last 40 years.
How Wemindji grades
Each subject compares Wemindji with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
Wemindji has subject grades but no overall grade: Canadian towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Wemindji stand out
The 3 things Wemindji does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Wemindji.
Wemindji gets a D− for hazard risk
The expected yearly loss to earthquakes is $0.010 for each $1,000 of buildings, below Quebec’s towns ($0.14) and close to Canadian towns ($0.030). Fire is a regular visitor: 12% of the land within 25 km of Wemindji has burned since 1986 (0.33% a year). No flood study for Wemindji is on the national inventory.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Wemindji | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 0% | 8.2% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.010 | $0.14 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory · Radon tests: one figure for all of the Terres-Cries-de-la-Baie-James health region
People in Wemindji’s health region live to 76.8 on average, 4.7 years short of the typical Canadian town
What sets Wemindji apart within its region is distance: 85 km to a hospital on average, over 30 km for 100% of residents.
Life expectancy at birth · years, at birth
| Health | Wemindji | 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 · Area behind the health survey and life expectancy figures: the Région des Terres-Cries-de-la-Baie-James
Wemindji has colder winters than Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns: January lows of −26.1°C
Snow totals 236 cm over the year, above Quebec’s towns (217 cm) and Canadian towns (141 cm) alike. Gardeners get 95 frost-free days, from 16 June to 21 September. Expect July highs of around 20.7°C in Wemindji. Also worth knowing: a normal November brings 55 cm of snow, the most of any month.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Wemindji | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| July afternoon high | 20.7°C | 26.5°C | 25.5°C |
| January night low | −26.1°C | −14.7°C | −13.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 228 | 161 | 159 |
| Precipitation a year | 702 mm | 1,041 mm | 883 mm |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (La Grande Rivière)
Commuters in Wemindji have a short way to work, 10 min on average, less than in both Quebec’s towns and Canadian towns
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Wemindji | 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 Wemindji 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
Its police area records 34.8 violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year. The index for the force that serves it came to 104, above both Quebec’s towns (56) and Canadian towns (67). For every 1,000 residents of its police area, 20.6 property crimes are reported each year.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Wemindji | 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
More of Wemindji’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in Quebec’s towns or Canadian towns: 97%
Both official languages: 4.8% of residents, below both Quebec’s towns (44%) and 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 50.3% of Wemindji
The 2021 census counted 785 women and 775 men here, where women make up 50.9% of Canada.
| Wemindji | Quebec | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 29% | 17% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 64% | 62% | 64% |
| 65+ | 6.7% | 20% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 39% | 19% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 37% | 59% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Quebec and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Protected land is absent from the 10 km around Wemindji
There is no national park within 100 km of the town.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Wemindji | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 0% | 4.9% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 0 | 10 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
A normal November in Wemindji runs from −8°C to −3°C
November normally sees 68 mm of precipitation. December follows at −11°C by day and −18°C by night. ECCC’s forecast for La Grande Rivière is on the Weather page, hour by hour.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −14°C | −23°C | 97 mm |
| Spring | 1°C | −11°C | 101 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 7°C | 237 mm |
| Autumn | 5°C | −2°C | 267 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (La Grande Rivière); the forecast is on the Weather page
Mandy Gull-Masty (Liberal Party of Canada) holds Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, the riding that includes Wemindji
Across Quebec, 44 of the 78 MPs sit with the Liberal Party of Canada.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
No public library is mapped in or near Wemindji
Its libraries report as part of a wider system, so there are no figures for Wemindji in particular.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
3 schools in and around Wemindji: 1 elementary school, 1 secondary school and 1 school for every grade
From the town centre, high school starts 2.5 km away, higher than both Quebec’s towns (1.2 km) and Canadian towns (1.2 km). An elementary school stands 2.3 km from the centre, above Quebec’s towns (0.5 km) and Canadian towns (0.5 km) alike.
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| École Joy Ottereyes Rainbow Memorial SchoolIn WemindjiElementary | Elementary | – | Other |
| École Maquatua Eeyou School (Maquatua Eeyou Annex)In WemindjiAll grades | All grades | – | Other |
| Schools within 3 km | Wemindji | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nearest elementary school | 2.3 km | 0.5 km | 0.5 km |
| Nearest secondary school | 2.5 km | 1.2 km | 1.2 km |
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 younger housing stock: 100% of Wemindji’s homes are from 1961 on
| Heritage | Wemindji | Quebec | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1961 | 0% | 21% | 18% |
Canadian Register of Historic Places, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel, Wikidata; Census 2021 homes by period
Everything we know about Wemindji
About Wemindji
Town in Quebec
For Wemindji, TownRatings uses Statistics Canada’s census-subdivision boundary in Quebec, and every figure on its pages covers that whole area.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 1,609 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Quebec
- Census division
- Nord-du-Québec
- First Nation
- Cree Nation of Wemindji
- The community’s own name
- ᐐᒥᓂᒌ
- Census subdivision
- 2499812
Questions about Wemindji
Has Wemindji grown?
It added people: 1,444 in 2016, 1,562 in 2021, 8.2% more, where the middle of Canadian towns grew 4.1%. Statistics Canada’s 2025 estimate is 1,609.
How old are the people of Wemindji?
At 28.6, its median age compares with 45.2 across Canadian towns. Children make up 29% of the population and seniors 7%.
What kind of homes are in Wemindji?
Single-detached houses make up 80% of the homes here, where Canadian towns sit at 64%; 0% are in high-rise apartments. 11% of households are one person, and the average is 3.9.
Do people in Wemindji speak French?
French is the common language here. 5% of residents also speak English (the median of Canadian towns: 8%), and 0.3% speak French but not English.
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).