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Chapleau is a township in Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the world's largest wildlife preserve. Chapleau has a population of 2,354 according to the Canada 2006 Census.

The town has two high schools, Chapleau High School and École Secondaire Catholique Trillium, and three elementary schools, Chapleau Public School, École Sacre-Cœur, and Our Lady of Fatima. Chapleau High and Chapleau Public belong to the Algoma District School Board, the others belong to the French and English Catholic School Boards.

Three First Nation reservations also reside in the township, Chapleau Cree First Nation, Brunswick House First Nation, and Chapleau Ojibway First Nation.

The major industries within town are two logging mills, Tembec and Domtar, and the Canadian Pacific Railway railyards.

Contents 1 Geography and location 1.1 Chapleau Crown Game Preserve 2 History 3 Notable people 4 Wireless mesh Internet 5 Media 5.1 Radio 5.2 Television 6 External links

Chapleau is located in central Northeastern Ontario, in the heart of the Canadian Shield. Chapleau is geographically isolated; the nearest cities are Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, and Sudbury, but all are more than a two hour drive away. Provincial Highway 129 links the town with Highway 101, running east to Timmins and west to Wawa. Hwy. 129 also runs south, connecting with the Trans-Canada Highway, Highway 17 at Thessalon, 227 km from Chapleau.

Chapleau Crown Game Preserve to the north of the town is, at over 7,000 square kilometres, the largest animal preserve in the world. Protected wildlife include moose, black bears, pygmy shrews, bald eagles and loons. The preserve is a source of tourism, drawing nature-enthusiasts and fishermen to the township. All forms of hunting and trapping have been forbidden in the preserve since the 1920s. The result is an area with abundant wildlife. In fact, over 2,500 moose and over 2,000 black bears reside within the game preserve. Logging does occur within the preserve, as does fishing. There are 2 provincial parks and cottages located within the preserve.

The first European settlement in the area was established in 1777 by the Hudson Bay Company. The settlement was a fur trading post about 50 miles to Chapleau's north, on Big Missinabi Lake.

In 1885 the Canadian Pacific Railway was built through the area. The CPR chose this as a division point, and the town was founded. Logging mills developed later, but over-exploitation of natural resources has led to many layoffs and difficult times for the town.

The town was named in honour of Sir Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau (born November 7, 1840; died June 13, 1898), lawyer, journalist, businessman, politician, and most notably the 5th Premier of Quebec.

At its largest, with large CPR and logging operations, the town had a population of 5000. However, the town has been gradually shrinking since 1950.

• Floyd Curry (1925-2006), NHL player and 4 times Stanley Cup winner

As of November 9 2005, Chapleau residents have been testing a wireless mesh Internet technology in a program called Project Chapleau. This Wi-Fi connection covers the entire town and is the first of its kind in Canada.

The wireless mesh will also be used as a testbed for a variety of IP applications. The test trial is expected to run until November 10 2006, whereupon it will be assessed whether the broadband connection has stimulated the local economy.

This service has been designed and implemented by Bell Canada Enterprises, Nortel Networks, and the Township of Chapleau.

• FM 89.9 - CBCU, CBC Radio One
• FM 91.9 - CBON-28, La Première Chaîne
• FM 92.7 - CHIM-8, Christian
• FM 93.7 - CFJW
• FM 95.9 - CHAP (formerly VF7229, then VF7254)
• FM 100.7 - CJWA-1, adult contemporary

• Channel 7: CBCU - CBC Television
• Channel 9: CITO-TV-4 - CTV
• Channel 13: CBLFT-TV-22 - SRC

• Official Chapleau Community Portal
• Chapleau Business Directory
• Interactive Town Map
• Chapleau General Information website
• Ontario Plaques - Louis Hémon

Coordinates: 47°50′N, 83°24′W