La Tuque, Qué, Town, pop 11 298 (2001c), 12 102 (1996c), 12 577 (1991c), 10 723 (1986c), area 579.46 km2, inc 1911, is located on the Rivière ST-MAURICE, 165 km N of Trois-Rivières. Isolated in a huge forest zone in the heart of the Maurice region, the town was built at the start of the 20th century on the site of a former trading post. It owes its name to a mountain shaped like a triangular woolen hat, popularly known as a "tuque."
In 1904 the Brown Corp, an American paper company, bought the falls and neighbouring lands and in 1907 built a pulp mill powered by electricity from a dam. The town born of this industry grew and became the gathering point for forest workers. The hydroelectric station, whose power was increased in 1943, is used by HYDRO-QUÉBEC. In 1954 the Canadian International Paper Co (CIP) bought the pulp mill, which it operates today. La Tuque lives primarily from FORESTRY and its derivatives: mills and construction wood and paper products. CIP makes industrial wrapping paper, cartons and bleached kraft paper.