was the Great Depression in the 1930s and the associated decline in the agriculture industry. Secondly, in the 1950s and 1960s, as with most other small towns across North America, Embrun suffered rural depopulation as its young people left the town to seek education and employment in urban areas. The third blow was the closure of the railway line in 1957. Towards the end of the 20th century, however, Embrun recovered and began growing rapidly. The construction of Highway 417 in the 1970s cut down travel time to Ottawa significantly, and as a result Embrun residents increasingly began to commute to Ottawa for work, and Embrun was able to attract new residents. In the period from 1985 to 1995 Embrun's population doubled and an indoor shopping mall and business park opened. A second round of major growth occurred in the first few years of the 21st century. Between 2001 and 2006 Embrun was the fastest growing community in the 613 area code and the 8th fastest growing community in the entire province, having grown at a rate of 26.6%. Embrun's growth slowed somewhat in the later part of the 2000s decade, from 26.6% in 2001–2006 to 12.8% in 2006–2011, however, this growth rate is still much higher than the average Ontario growth rate which is 5.7%. As a result of this slowdown Embrun's growth ranking slipped to 6th fastest growth rate in the 613 area code and 25th fastest in Ontario. Growth is expected to continue, with projections indicating that Embrun's population will exceed 10,000 by 2021, nearly double what it was in 2006. Railway In 1898 the New York and Ottawa Railway was built. This railway, which travelled between Tupper Lake, New York and Ottawa, stopped at Embrun six times every day except for Sunday. This railway line continued operation until 1957, when a combination of pressures from the National Capital Commission, who wished to cut down on the number of railway lines through Ottawa in an effort to eliminate noise pollution, as well as from the Saint Lawrence Seaway project, which required the removal of the railway's bridge in Cornwall, caused the railway line to shut down. The last trains ran in February 1957, and in April CN purchased the railway track and proceeded to demolish it. Although some segments in Cornwall and Ottawa were retained, the line through Embrun was scrapped. A few decades later, the municipal