Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Sault Ste. Marie ("Sault" pronounced "soo;" nicknamed "the Sault" or "the Soo"; 2001 population 74,566) is a city on the St. Mary's River in Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario. It is bordered to the east by the Rankin and Garden River First Nation reserves, to the west by Prince Township and to the north by Heyden. To the south, across the river, is the United States and the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is the seat of Algoma District.

Industry

The city has made a name for itself in steel-making, and Algoma Steel is still the largest employer with 2900 employees at the main plant and about 400 at the Tube Mill, which is separate from Algoma Steel. Forestry is also a major local industry, especially at St.Mary's Paper which employs about 400 people. Also related to wood products is Flakeboard Ltd. which employs over 100 people in the community along with its adjacent Melamine factory which takes Flakeboard's products and makes them value added. Such examples of this are furniture and cupboards where a finish is added to the product.

Related Topics:
Algoma Steel - St.Mary's Paper - Flakeboard Ltd.

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The newest major industry involves business process outsourcing, with five call centers located within city limits employing about 2300 people. The largest employer of the five call centers is the Sutherland Group which employs 1100 people in the community.

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In the early 1960s and 1970s, Sault Ste. Marie was a booming town. However, as time passed and foreign imports became a vital reality of business success, the demand for their steel industry diminished. Two times within the past eight years Algoma Steel has declared bankruptcy and laid off large amounts of workers. Most recently, Algoma Steel was bailed out by the Ontario government which promised interest-free loans.

Related Topics:
1960s - 1970s

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