Murdochville prepares to call it a day

Five months after Noranda closed its copper smelter in Murdochville, Que., residents have voted to shut down the village and resettle.

In a non-binding referendum, 65% of the participants opted to give local politicians the authority to close the town. Of the 675 voters, 437 were in favour of disbanding and 238 were against.

The province will now decide whether to revoke the town charter and compensate homeowners for their resettlement.

Noranda’s departure meant the loss of $1.4 million of Murdochville’s $1.9-million annual budget. More than half the town’s 403 homes and apartments now sit empty, and 90% of the remaining population is thought to be jobless.

Nonetheless, the town could lure other businesses as a result of its existing industrial infrastructure (including a powerful electric grid) and skilled workforce.

At its zenith, the town had 5,000 residents. Noranda started mining copper there in 1950, and by 1953 the town was incorporated. By the mid-1980s, copper prices had collapsed; then the mine ran out of ore.

Murdochville is 100 km west of Gasp. It is named after James Murdoch, the first president of Noranda Mines.