begins about 30 kilometers from the
counties’ westernmost point.
Many residents on the counties’ eastern
side, which borders Quebec, take a similar
ride into Montreal for daily work, leaving a
vast section of land in between – the
counties’ total area is just more than 2,000
square kilometers – which Clermont and
Parisien characterize as “very agricultural.”
Nearly two-thirds of the population – 66.2
percent – label French as their primary
language, making Prescott and Russell the
most French-heavy Canadian census
divisionwest ofQuebec.
“Our proximity to Ottawa and Montreal
helps makes us attractive, yes,” Parisien said,
“but we consider it a good place to live,
period, not just because of what we’re close
to. It’s based on that that we’re trying to
promote growth, and we need to get
ourselves to the point where we’re
development ready.”
Prescott &Russell
| BusinessWorld-
Magazine | 5
