Schefferville is a town in the Canadian province of Quebec. Schefferville is in the heart of the Innu territory in northern Quebec less than 2 km from the border with Labrador on the north shore of Knob Lake. The town site is located in the vicinity of the (now defunct) Hudson Bay Company trading Post, Fort Naskapi,on the shores of nearby Petitsikapau Lake.

Schefferville, which constitutes the northern terminus of Tshiuetin Rail Transportation (formerly operated by the Quebec North Shore & Labrador (QNS&L) Railway), was established as a town in 1954 to support the mining of the extremely rich iron ore deposits in the area. The original settlement was called "Burnt Creek" and was located some miles to the north of the current location of the town of Schefferville.

When the plans were drawn up for the town, it was originally called, "Knob Lake" after a prominent iron ore outcropping visible on a prominent hill - south of the town site.

The name Schefferville was adopted in honour of (Roman Catholic) Bishop Lionel Scheffer, O.M.I., who served as the Vicar Apostolic of Labrador from March 14, 1946 until his death on October 3, 1966.

Schefferville's town site was established by the Iron Ore Company Of Canada, which currently conducts iron mining operations in the town of Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador, 250 km to the south. Iron ore mining at Schefferville ceased in 1985 and most of the 4,000 or so non-aboriginal occupants left, leaving mostly aboriginal people who settled there in the preceding 30 years. Some houses and public facilities have been demolished, but some new homes have been built.

Naskapi first nation people mostly live in the village of Kawawachikamach, Quebec nearby.

The controversial mid-20th century Quebec premier, Maurice Duplessis, died in Schefferville on September 7, 1959. His government was defeated the following year while being led by his second of two successors, the first having died in January 1960.

Complex place...Rebirth?

Schefferville was a mining town, a company town built by the Iron Ore Company of Canada in the 1950’s. The mine shut down in ’82. Though Schefferville has since re-tooled and established itself as the world capital for caribou sport hunting, the town has survived pretty much exclusively due to the establishment of two native reserves in and around Schefferville and the Government money that this has injected into the local economy. One is a Naskapi reserve called Kawawachikamach and the other is Matimekush a reserve of the Montagnais Nation (or ‘Innu’ as they refer to themselves).

Over 20 years of “welfare” economy has taken it’s toll on the local population (approx. 2000, majority native) and infrastructure of the town, but no more than you would find in any welfare supported, economically depressed community abandoned by a major employer (refer to Michael Moore’s depiction of Flint Michigan). Through the ‘90s many of the empty buildings around town were bulldozed because of their deteriorating condition and possible risk of arson that abandoned buildings can create. Schefferville and the surrounding reserves are now experiencing a real housing shortage and “$10 houses” are no longer a reality.

FALL 2005: Because of the increasing demand for steel and iron ore there are currently two official projects to re-establish mining operations out of Schefferville.

The first is The LabMag Iron Ore Project 30 kilometres west of Schefferville. The objective is to develop mining and concentrating near Schefferville that will mine 33 million tonnes of crude iron ore per year to produce 10 million tonnes per year of concentrate and pellets for a minimum of 20 years. Actual mining production is projected to begin around 2011. The Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach owns 20% of The LabMag Iron Ore Project.

The other, Anglesey Mining is currently doing a feasibility study on some former Iron Ore Company of Canada deposits. Anglesey plans to mine between two to three million tons of ore a year by 2007. This is not the first time the community has been ‘teased’ by mine promoters, but if either of these projects actually goes into production we can lookforward to both the positive and negative impact that sudden jobs and employment can bring to an economically depressed region.

Schefferville is a depressed, interesting and beautiful place with its own share of depressed, interesting and beautiful people. Depending on the time of year you’ll find blueberries, caribou and majestic waterways to canoe if you really know what you are doing. There are local artists and crafts people both native and non-native and local entrepreneurs who run adventure tourism (snowmobile trips) and caribou hunts. There are often openings for difficult but well-paying teaching jobs at the local schools for strong individuals who love both nature and a challenge. Schefferville is not Disneyland and not for everyone, but it is not without its own unique charms. There are many places to stay depending on what time of year you come and your accustomed level of comfort.

Communities in Quebec

Schefferville | Schefferville