Mont-Laurier () is a town and incorporated municipality in northwest Quebec, Canada, located on the banks of the Lièvre River (Rivière du Lièvre), a tributary of the Ottawa River. Known as the "Capital of the Haute-Laurentides", the motto of the town is Laurus elationis praemium, which translates to "Lift the laurels of reward". The demonym for its inhabitants is Lauriermontois. According to the 2021 Canadian census, the population of Mont-Laurier is 14,180. It is the seat of Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality and the judicial district of Labelle. History The territory was originally inhabited by Oueskarinis, a sub tribe of Algonquians. The European settlers came from Sainte-Adèle in 1866, and the place was originally called Rapide-de-l'Orignal (English: Moose Rapids) in 1885, by Solime Alix. The name referred to, according to a legend, a panicked moose that made a huge leap at a waterfall on the Lièvre River. On Octobre 14, 1909, the place was incorporated as the Village Municipality of Mont-Laurier by separating from the Township Municipality of Campbell (founded in 1900). It was named in honour of Canadian Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Just before the founding of the village municipality, the railway from Montreal through the Laurentides reached Mont-Laurier, with the first train arriving on September 15, 1909. Two months later the station was completed. As the terminus of the railway, it served as transit point for passengers and a center for receiving and shipping goods, handling between 100 and 125 freight cars every week. Freight wagons from Montreal brought coal, oil, or any other merchandise, while returning wagons were full of wood and animals. In 1940, a road from Mont-Laurier to Abitibi was built. This facilitated the growth of the trucking industry. Increased use of the road in the 1960s led to the decline of the railroad. In 1950, Mont-Laurier changed statutes and became a ville. In 1971, it merged with the Township Municipality of Brunet (that succeeded Campbell Township in 1953). On November 13, 1981, the P'tit train du Nord made its last passenger trip to Mont-Laurier, followed by the end of freight transport towards the end of the 1980s. In 2003, Mont-Laurier merged with the neighbouring towns Des Ruisseaux and Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles, with the name Mont-Laurier being chosen for the combined municipality. Following a 2004 demerger referendum vote, Saint-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Îles left Mont-Laurier in 2006 to be reconstituted as an independent municipality. The de-amalgamation did not affect Des Ruisseaux,