Thunder Bay, Ontario

Thunder Bay ({{coor dm|48|23|N|89|15|W|}}, time zone EST) is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest city in Northern Ontario (2001 population 109,016http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/popdwell/Table-CSD-P.cfm?T=1&PR=35&SR=526&S=1&O=A; CMA 121,986http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/popdwell/Table-CMA-P.cfm?T=1&PR=35&SR=26&S=1&O=A). The city takes its name from the immense bay at the head of Lake Superior, known on 18th century French maps as "Baie du Tonnerre". The city was formed in 1970 by the merger of the cities of Fort William, Ontario, Port Arthur, Ontario and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre. Its port forms an important link in the shipping of grain and other products from western Canada through the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway to the east coast. The city is often referred to as the Lakehead or Canadian Lakehead because of its location at the end of Great Lakes navigation.

Economy & Workforce

Thunder Bay is the largest city in Northwestern Ontario, serving as a regional commercial and medical centre. The main private sector employers are Bowater Forest Products, Bombardier Transportation, Buchanan Forest Products, and Cascades Inc.. The public sector employs a large workforce, the main employers being the City of Thunder Bay, the Government of Ontario, the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, Lakehead University, Lakehead District School Board, Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board, Government of Canada and Confederation College. Both the transportation workforce (railways, shipping, freight handling, grain elevators) and the forest products workforce (logging, lumbering, and pulp and paper) have declined over the years. As of 2005 the rising cost of electricity in Ontario is threatening the viability of the pulp and paper industry. A new medical school, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, will add to the growing life sciences sector of the Thunder Bay economy.

Related Topics:
Bowater Forest Products - Bombardier Transportation - Cascades Inc. - Lakehead University - Confederation College - Northern Ontario School of Medicine

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