Hearst is a town in the district of Cochrane, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Mattawishkwia River in Northern Ontario, approximately west of Kapuskasing, approximately east of Thunder Bay along Highway 11. At Hearst, Highway 583 extends northward to Lac-Sainte-Thérèse and southward to Jogues, Coppell and Mead. Just over 96% of the town's residents speak French as their mother language, the highest proportion in Ontario. History The town was established as a divisional point of the National Transcontinental Railway in 1913, 208 km west of Cochrane and 201 km east of the divisional point of Grant. There is some indeterminacy with the name Grant as the original site of Hearst was also called Grant and was changed to Hearst in 1911. Hearst was named to honour William Howard Hearst, then Ontario Minister of Forests and Mines and later Premier of Ontario. It was incorporated in 1922. Many settlers to the town originally came from the province of Quebec. Many also came from Europe and other regions in Canada and the USA. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Hearst had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Economy Hearst has a long tradition of being a "lumber town". Currently the major employers include a Tembec hardwood and softwood facility as well as a plywood mill operated by Columbia Forest Products. Arts and culture 93.7% of Hearst's population is francophone. Different cultures can be found in Hearst such as Finn, Slovak, Bulgarian, Chinese, Portuguese, Greek, Ukrainian, First Nations and also Black Canadians. The town is home to the Université de Hearst, formerly a federated school of Laurentian University in Sudbury. The Hearst Public Library was founded on December 17, 1974. In its beginning, the library was situated in the basement of the Hearst High School where it shared its space with the school library. On June 4, 1984, the library moved to its present location, 801 George Street (formerly Stedman's). Hearst is a four-season destination. Many years ago, the town proclaimed itself the Moose Capital of Canada. Local outdoor activities include fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, camping, swimming, canoeing, and golf. Infrastructure Transportation Hearst is served by Hearst (René Fontaine) Municipal Airport. Hearst was the northern terminus for a Canadian