 This is due to two opposing factors, the decline of rural areas and the reinforcement of urban areas, like Rimouski and Rivière-du-Loup.The share of these two towns alone went from 16% of the total population of the region in 1951 to 34% in 2001.The new importance of these urban centres explain the fact that only their RCMs have had a population increase between 1951 and 2001.