Lièvre River. The Buckingham mill closed shortly before 1960. Former amalgamation From 1975 to 1980, the townships of Buckingham, Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette, L'Ange-Gardien, Buckingham-Sud-Est, Buckingham-Ouest, Angers and Masson were amalgamated. Development Population growth has been relatively slow because of its location about from downtown Ottawa. However, due to suburban growth and amalgamation of the town in 2002, several residential developments were created and the population increased. Buckingham is becoming more of a suburban town while still keeping its traditional characteristics in the centre-town area. Amalgamation with the city of Gatineau On January 1, 2002, the city of Buckingham with its 12,000 residents became part of the new city of Gatineau. This was part of a massive merger movement created by the Parti Québécois' Bill 180, which was introduced in 2000 by the Municipal Affairs Minister Louise Harel after studies conducted by public agents. In 2003, the Quebec Liberal Party, with Jean Charest as the leader, won the 2003 provincial election and promised a referendum would be held on the possibility of demerging municipalities. The referendum was held on June 20, 2004, but the majority of the population voted against the demerger and Buckingham thus remained part of the city of Gatineau. Château dairy The dairy industry was also a major economic asset in the community with Le Château having some of its operations in Buckingham. However, in 2006, Agrodor, a Saguenay-based company that owns the Chateau brand, announced the shutdown of its operations in the Outaouais. The local business sector had launched measures to save the company which has operated in the region since 1943. After the shutdown of the Château dairy operations in Buckingham, a committee was established to bring dairy production back to the region. Construction started on November 12, 2008, on the future site of what would be called Laiterie de l’Outaouais. The plant officially opened on June 16, 2010. Buckingham en Fête Each year since 1991, during the month of July, the Buckingham sector hosted Buckingham en Fête, its biggest annual event, which was held in the town's Maclaren Park. Several well-known artists in Quebec and in Canada, including Éric Lapointe, Marjo, Jean Leloup La Chicane, Amanda Marshall and April Wine, have performed over the years at the festival. However, due to financial difficulties, the festival nearly disappeared. According to the festival's website, the 17th edition in 2007 was still expected to go underway as planned. In 2016,