The name of the municipality was chosen in honor of Guillaume-Jérôme Vacquier de Lamothe, a French army officer who served under Louis-Joseph de Montcalm; he had been a captain in the regiment of Béarn in Montcalm's army.

The municipal area of La Motte straddles the watershed between the basin of the James Bay (Eastern part of the territory of La Motte) and watershed Saint Lawrence River (western).

In the early 19th century, colonization of the territory gained strength thanks to the arrival of the Transcontinental railway in Amos in 1913, linking Abitibi to Quebec city.

The railway, which passes through Hervey-Jonction (Middle Mauricie), La Tuque (Haute-Mauricie) and Senneterre (Abitibi) generated a considerable influx of settlers across the North West Quebec.

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents (2021): 222 (total dwellings: 264)[3] Mother tongue (2021):[3] Inaugurated on June 2, 2011, the community center of La Motte was built within the walls of the old church of Saint-Luc (built in 1937).