Barrie, Ontario

Barrie, Ontario (2003 population 121,248, metropolitan population 168,492) is located on Kempenfelt Bay, an arm of Lake Simcoe in south-central Ontario, Canada. (Latitude: 44.3905, longitude: -79.6857)

Related Topics:
2003 - Kempenfelt Bay - Lake Simcoe - Ontario - Canada

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It is the county seat of Simcoe County.

Related Topics:
County seat - Simcoe County

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The city was named in 1832 after Sir Robert Barrie, who was in charge of the naval forces in Canada and frequently had to portage from Lake Simcoe to Georgian Bay through the city.

Related Topics:
1832 - Robert Barrie - Georgian Bay

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The city's north and south ends are separated by a deep valley which contains the downtown area as well as Kempenfelt Bay.

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Barrie's waterfront is at the heart of its tourism industry, with events like the Kempenfest arts and crafts festival attracting more than 300,000 people. Sports and recreational activities, like skiing, baseball, hockey and boating attract people to Barrie in all four seasons of the year.

Related Topics:
Waterfront - Arts and crafts - Skiing - Baseball - Hockey - Boating

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Barrie is home to the main campus of Georgian College,with 3,500 full-time and 10,000 part-time students. As a result, many of the bars and clubs in downtown Barrie are filled with students during the school year.

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Barrie is also home to the MacLaren Art Centre, an innovative art gallery that supports the visual arts in Simcoe County. It inspired the "Art City" project, which has had many different large sculptures installed around the city. These can be found in parks and along the scenic waterfront.

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Several manufacturers are currently located in Barrie and Canadian Forces Base Borden is nearby. In recent years Barrie has become a popular place to live for people who commute to Toronto, which is approximately 100km south of Barrie, or (more often) to the northern suburbs of Toronto in York Region.

Related Topics:
Canadian Forces Base Borden - Commute - Toronto - York Region

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During World War II the Royal Canadian Navy named a Flower class corvette HMCS Barrie.

Related Topics:
World War II - Royal Canadian Navy - Flower class corvette - HMCS Barrie

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