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.

Population and Demographics

According to the mid-2001 census, the population estimates there were 121,986 people residing in Thunder Bay, located in the province of Ontario, of whom 49.0 per cent were male and 51.0 per cent were female. Children under five accounted for approximately 5.2 per cent of the resident population of Thunder Bay. This compares with 5.8 per cent in Ontario, and almost 5.6 per cent for Canada overall.

Related Topics:
Ontario

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In mid-2001, 15.0 per cent of the resident population in Thunder Bay were of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) compared with 13.2 per cent in Canada, therefore, the average age is 39.1 years of age comparing to 37.6 years of age for all of Canada.

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In the five years between 1996 and 2001, the population of Thunder Bay declined by 3.7 per cent, compared with an increase of 6.1 per cent for Ontario as a whole. Population density of Thunder Bay averaged 47.9 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 12.6, for Ontario altogether.

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At the time of the census in May 2001, the resident population of the Thunder Bay city authority had 109,016 people, but had 121,986 when encompassing the Greater Thunder Bay Area compared with a resident population in the province of Ontario of 11,410,050 people.

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Racial Groups

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According to StatCan, the racial makeup of the city is 90.4% White, notably British, Slovakian, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Ukrainian and Polish, 6.8% Aboriginal, 0.5% Asian, and 0.3% Black.

Related Topics:
StatCan - White - Slovakia - Italian - Swedish - Finnish - Ukrainian - Polish

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Religious Groups

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• 39.9% Roman Catholic
• 39.5% Protestant
• 2.6% other Christian
• 1.1% other religions
• 16.9% no religion

Further information available on the Statistics Canada website Community Profiles.

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