Kingston, Ontario

| elevation_m = 93

| elevation_ft = 305

| postal_code_type = Postal code span

| postal_code = K7K through K7P

| area_codes = 613, 343, 753

| blank_name_sec2 = GDP (Kingston )

| blank_info_sec2 = CA$ 9.4 billion (2018)

| blank1_name_sec2 = GDP per capita (Kingston )

| blank1_info_sec2 = CA$54,022 (2016)

| website = www.cityofkingston.ca

Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is located between the Prince Edward County and Thousand Islands tourist regions, and is nicknamed the "Limestone City" because it has many heritage buildings constructed using local limestone.

Growing European exploration in the 17th century and the desire for the Europeans to establish a presence close to local Native occupants to control trade led to the founding of a French trading post and military fort at a site known as "Cataraqui" (generally pronounced ) in 1673. The outpost, called Fort Cataraqui, and later Fort Frontenac, became a focus for settlement. After the Conquest of New France (1759–1763), the site of Kingston was relinquished to the British. Cataraqui was renamed Kingston after the British took possession of the fort, and Loyalists began settling the region in the 1780s.

Kingston was named the first capital of the United Province of Canada on February 10, 1841. While its time as a capital city was short and ended in 1844, the community has remained an important military installation. The city is a regional centre of education and health care, being home to a major university, a large vocational college, and three major hospitals.

Kingston was the county seat of Frontenac County until 1998. Kingston is now a separate municipality from the County of Frontenac. Kingston is the largest municipality in southeastern Ontario and Ontario's 10th largest metropolitan area. John A. Macdonald, the first prime minister of Canada, lived in Kingston.

History

Naming history and etymology

Cataraqui, Kingston's original name, is a derivation of an Indigenous language name for the Kingston area. The word may mean "Great Meeting Place", "the place where one hides", "impregnable", "muddy river", "place of retreat", "clay bank rising out of the water", "where the rivers and lake meet", "rocks standing in water", or "place where the limestone (or clay) is".

Cataraqui was referred to as "the King's Town" or "King's Town" by 1787, in honour of King George III. The name was abbreviated to "Kingston" in 1788. Cataraqui today is an area around the intersection of Princess Street and Sydenham Road, where the village of Cataraqui (formerly known as Waterloo) was located. Cataraqui is also the name of a municipal electoral district.

Early Indigenous habitation

Archaeological evidence suggests people lived in the Kingston region as early as the Archaic period (about 9,000–3,000 years ago). Evidence of Late Woodland Period (about 500–1000 AD) early Iroquois occupation also exists. The first more permanent encampments by Indigenous people in the Kingston area began about 900 AD. The group that first occupied the area before the arrival of the French was probably the Wyandot people (Hurons), who were later displaced by Iroquoian groups. Although the area around the south end of the Cataraqui River was often visited by Iroquois and other groups, Iroquois settlement at this location only began after the French established their outpost. By 1700, the north shore Iroquois had moved south, and the area once occupied by the Iroquois (which includes Kingston) became occupied by the Mississaugas, a subtribe of the Anishinaabe, who had moved south from the Lake Huron and Lake Simcoe regions.

French settlement and Fort Frontenac

European commercial and military influence and activities centred on the fur trade developed and increased in North America in the 17th century. Fur trappers and traders were spreading out from their centres of operation in New France. French explorer Samuel de Champlain visited the Kingston area in 1615.

thumb|"View of Frontenac or Cataracoui in 1759". Watercolour map depicting Fort Frontenac.

To establish a presence on Lake Ontario for the purpose of controlling the fur trade with local indigenous people, Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Governor of New France, established Fort Cataraqui, later to be called Fort Frontenac, at a location known as Cataraqui in 1673. Partially reconstructed parts of the original fort can be seen today at the western end of the La Salle Causeway.

Loyalist settlement

In 1783, Frederick Haldimand, governor of the Province of Quebec directed Major Samuel Holland, Surveyor-General of Quebec, to lay out a settlement for displaced British colonists, or Loyalists, who were fleeing north because of the American Revolutionary War and "minutely examine the situation and site of the Post formerly occupied by the French, and the land and country adjacent". Haldimand had originally considered the site as a possible location to settle loyal Mohawks. The survey would also determine whether Cataraqui was suitable as a navy base since nearby Carleton Island on which a British navy base was located had been ceded to the Americans after the war. Holland's report about the old French post mentioned "every part surpassed the favorable idea I had formed of it", that it had "advantageous Situations" and that "the harbour is in every respect Good and most conveniently situated to command Lake Ontario". With the completion of the Mississauga agreement, settlement could proceed, although the planning of the layout of the townsite had not waited for the completion of the negotiations. The area was surveyed, and the survey report mentioned the area was deemed to have productive lands, abundant resources, a good harbour and an existing townsite. These requirements were considered ideal to settle the Loyalists. Three kinds of refugee Loyalists would settle at Cataraqui: 'associated' or 'incorporated' Loyalists who were organized into companies under militia officers, provincial colonial regiments and their dependants, and unincorporated Loyalists who came to Canada independently.

Many Loyalist refugees had at first settled on Carleton Island, and operated businesses there. When the Island was ceded to the United States after the Revolutionary War, these Loyalists, along with their businesses, relocated to Cataraqui.

Notable Loyalists who settled in the Cataraqui area include Molly Brant (the sister of Six Nations leader Joseph Brant); businessman and political figure Richard Cartwright; John Stuart, a clergyman, missionary and educator who arrived in 1785; and militia captain Johan Jost Herkimer. The first name given to the settlement by the Loyalists was King's Town, which would eventually develop into the current appellation. Klein was brought to Carleton Island with Molly Brant, and arrived in Cataraqui in 1783, before the influx of Loyalist settlers in 1784.

A group of Loyalists from New York State, led by Captain Michael Grass who arrived in 1784 after sailing from New York City and up the St. Lawrence River, established a camp south of Fort Frontenac at Mississauga Point.

The first high school (grammar school) in what later became the province of Ontario was established in Kingston in 1792 by Loyalist priest John Stuart, which evolved into Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute.

War of 1812, and development

During the War of 1812, Kingston (with a population of 2,250) was a major military centre. It was the base for the Lake Ontario division of the British naval fleet on the Great Lakes, which engaged in a vigorous arms race with the American fleet based at Sackets Harbor, New York for control of Lake Ontario. The Provincial Marine quickly placed ships into service and troops were brought in. A Royal Naval detachment built warships in order to control Lake Ontario. This fort was replaced by a more extensive fort on Point Henry in 1813. In 1843, the advanced battery overlooking the lake to the south was completed when the casemated commissariat stores and magazines were built. Fort Henry was garrisoned by British until 1871. It was restored starting in 1936 and is a popular tourist attraction, now part of a World Heritage Site.

Regiopolis College (for training priests) was incorporated in March 1837, and in 1866 the college was given full degree-granting powers, although these were rarely used and the college closed in 1869. Queen's University, originally Queen's College, The Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) was founded in 1876.

Kingston Penitentiary, Canada's first large federal penitentiary, was established in 1835 and operated until 2013. Several more prisons would be established in later years in the greater Kingston area, including the federal Prison for Women (1930, closed in the 1990s), Millhaven Institution, Collins Bay Institution, Frontenac (which amalgamated with Collins Bay in 2013), and Joyceville Institution.

During the Upper Canada Rebellion, 1837–38, much of the local militia was posted in Kingston, under Lieutenant-colonel Richard Henry Bonnycastle who completed construction of the new Fort Henry.

As Canada's first capital

Lord Sydenham, the Governor General of Canada chose Kingston as the first capital of the united Canadas, and it served in that role from 1841 to 1844. The first meeting of the Parliament of the Province of Canada on June 13, 1841, was held on the site of what is now Kingston General Hospital. The city was considered too small and lacking in amenities, however, and its location near the border made it vulnerable to American attack. Consequently, the capital was moved to Montreal in 1844, and it alternated between Quebec City and Toronto from 1849 until Ottawa, then a small lumber village known as Bytown, was selected as the permanent capital by Queen Victoria. Subsequently, Kingston's growth slowed considerably and its national importance declined.

In 1846, with a population of 6,123, Kingston was incorporated as a city, with John Counter as the first mayor. and more. Five weekly newspapers were being published. Fort Henry and the marine barracks took up a great deal of space. Kingston Penitentiary had about 400 inmates. (The prison opened in 1835, with a structure intended to reform the inmates, not merely to hold or punish them.) Industry included a steam grist mill, three foundries, two shipbuilders, ship repairers and five wagon makers; tradesmen of many types also worked here. All freight was shipped by boat or barges and ten steamboats per day were running to and from the town. Five schools for ladies and two for boys were operating, and the town had four bank agency offices. There were ten churches or chapels and the recently opened Hotel Dieu hospital was operated by sisters with the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph as a charity.

Both Hotel Dieu and Kingston General Hospital (KGH) cared for victims of the typhus epidemic of 1847. The KGH site held the remains of 1,400 Irish immigrants who had died in Kingston in fever sheds along the waterfront, during the 1847 North American typhus epidemic, while fleeing the Great Famine. They were buried in a common grave. The remains were re-interred at the city's St. Mary's Cemetery in 1966. In 1995, KGH was designated a National Historic Site of Canada, because it is "the oldest public hospital in Canada still in operation with most of its buildings intact and thus effectively illustrates the evolution of health care in Canada in the 19th and 20th centuries".

In 1848, the Kingston Gas Light Company began operation. (Gas lamps would be used until 1947.) By that time, the town was connected to the outside world by telegraph cables.

Kingston was the home of Canada's first Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald. He won his first election to Kingston City Council in 1843, and would later represent the city for nearly 50 years at the national level, both before and after Confederation in 1867. One of his residences in Kingston, Bellevue House, is now a popular National Historic Site of Canada open to the public, and depicting the house as it would have been in the 1840s when he lived there.

In the early hours of April 18, 1840, a dock fire, fanned by high winds, spread to a warehouse containing between 70 and 100 kegs of gunpowder. The resulting explosion spread the fire throughout the city's downtown area, destroying a large number of buildings, including the old city hall. To prevent similar incidents from occurring in future, the city began building with limestone or brick. This rebuilding phase was referred to as "the Limestone Revolution" and earned the city the nickname "The Limestone City".

20th century

The Canadian Locomotive Company was in the early 20th century the largest locomotive works in the British Empire and the Davis Tannery was at one time the largest tannery in the British Empire. The tannery operated for a century and was closed in 1973. Other manufacturing companies included the Marine Railway Company, which built steamboats; the Victoria Iron Works, which produced iron in bars from scrap; several breweries; a distillery; and two soap and candle manufacturers. (By the start of the 21st century, most heavy industry would leave the city and their former sites would be gradually rehabilitated and redeveloped.)

thumb|Market Square, early 20th century

A telephone system began operation in Kingston in 1881; at that time the population was 14,091. Electricity was not available in Kingston until 1888.

Kingston grew moderately through the 20th century through a series of annexations of lands in adjacent Kingston Township, including a 1952 annexation of some

Military history

thumb|Line of defence: three [[Martello towers (Shoal Tower, Fort Frederick, Cathcart Tower). A fourth tower, Murney Tower, is southwest of this location.]]

Kingston, being strategically located at the head of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River near the border with the United States, has been a site of military importance since Fort Frontenac was built in 1673. The French and, later, the British established military garrisons. The War of 1812 led to the bolstering of military troops, the servicing of ships, and the building of new fortifications to defend the town and the Naval Dockyard. Forts were constructed on Point Henry and at Point Frederick. A picket wall, or stockade, incorporating five blockhouses was built to the west of the town, and batteries were constructed. In November 1812 American naval forces attacked the British sloop Royal George in Kingston harbour but the ship took refuge in the harbour and the American forces withdrew.

Several defensive fortifications were constructed in the late 1840s because of tensions with the United States. These include Fort Henry, four Martello towers (Cathcart Tower, Shoal Tower, Murney Tower, and Fort Frederick), and the Market Battery. Military ships were built at the Naval Dockyard at Point Frederick from 1788 to 1853. The peninsula near the entrance of the later Royal Military College of Canada was the headquarters of the Royal Navy in between 1813 and 1853. (Fort Frederick, built in 1812–13, was also on this peninsula.)

thumb|left|Kingston City Hall and the Market Battery, 1857

After the British army withdrew from most locations in Canada in 1870–71, two batteries of garrison artillery were formed by the Dominion Government; the "A" Battery was in Kingston at Fort Henry and Tête du Pont Barracks (Fort Frontenac). (The other battery was in Quebec City)

Following the withdrawal of British forces from Canada in 1870–71, the federal government recognized the need for an officer training college in Canada. In 1874, during the administration of Alexander Mackenzie, enabling legislation was passed. Located on Point Frederick, the site of the former Royal Naval Dockyard,

Before a formal college was established in 1876, there were proposals for military colleges in Canada. Staffed by British Regulars, students underwent a military course in 1865 at the School of Military Instruction in Kingston. The school enabled officers of militia or candidates for commission or promotion in the militia to learn military duties, drill and discipline, to command a company at Battalion Drill, to Drill a Company at Company Drill, the internal economy of a Company and the duties of a Company's Officer. The school was retained at Confederation, in 1867.

thumb|Fort Henry, 2015

The withdrawal of imperial troops required a Canadian location for the training of military officers. Because of Kingston's military tradition and the fact several military buildings already existed at the old naval dockyard, Point Frederick was chosen as the location for Canada's first military college, the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC). The facility, called simply The Military College until 1878, opened on Point Frederick with 18 students in 1876

Located east of Kingston's downtown, the army's Camp Barriefield, now McNaughton Barracks, was constructed at the beginning of the First World War and expanded during the Second World War. Camp Barriefield was named in honour of Rear-Admiral Robert Barrie (May 5, 1774 – June 7, 1841), a British naval officer noted for his service in the War of 1812. It was later named McNaughton Barracks after Andrew George Latta McNaughton, a former Minister of National Defence. Nearby Vimy Barracks was established in 1937 for the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (later the Royal Canadian School of Signals). Vimy and McNaughton Barracks house the Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics (CFSCE), the Canadian Armed Forces' military communications training centre and several other units. McNaughton Barracks and Vimy Barracks make up most of CFB Kingston (Canadian Forces Base Kingston). Major military facilities supported by CFB Kingston include Fort Frontenac, on the site of the original fort, and the Royal Military College of Canada.

thumb|left|Main gate, CFB Kingston

The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment has been a fixture in the City of Kingston since 1863. The PWOR operates as a Primary Reserve Regiment, its members drawn from the Kingston and area community.

During the First World War, the 21st Battalion was formed and saw action in France in 1915 resulting in 18 battle honours including their role in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The Royal Canadian Horse Artillery also fought in Europe with the 2nd Canadian Division, taking part in 13 major battles. Fort Henry became an internment camp for enemy aliens from August 1914 to November 1917.

In 2007, the Rideau Canal, along with the fortifications at Kingston, was designated a World Heritage Site, one of only 15 such sites in Canada.

There are 21 National Historic Sites of Canada in Kingston.

Demographics

|metric first = Y

|single line = Y

|width=auto

| Jan maximum humidex = 14.7

| Feb maximum humidex = 14.4

| Mar maximum humidex = 23.8

| Apr maximum humidex = 32.6

| May maximum humidex = 37.9

| Jun maximum humidex = 41.3

| Jul maximum humidex = 43.8

| Aug maximum humidex = 44.7

| Sep maximum humidex = 40.7

| Oct maximum humidex = 33.5

| Nov maximum humidex = 22.7

| Dec maximum humidex = 18.1

| year maximum humidex = 44.7

| Jan record high C = 13.5

| Feb record high C = 14.4

| Mar record high C = 21.2

| Apr record high C = 30.7

| May record high C = 31.7

| Jun record high C = 31.8

| Jul record high C = 35.6

| Aug record high C = 33.9

| Sep record high C = 30.8

| Oct record high C = 26.1

| Nov record high C = 20.6

| Dec record high C = 14.2

| year record high C = 35.6

| Jan high C = -2.6

| Feb high C = -1.8

| Mar high C = 3.2

| Apr high C = 10.0

| May high C = 17.6

| Jun high C = 22.1

| Jul high C = 25.4

| Aug high C = 24.6

| Sep high C = 20.5

| Oct high C = 13.8

| Nov high C = 7.5

| Dec high C = 1.6

| year high C = 11.8

| Jan mean C = -7.0

| Feb mean C = -6.4

| Mar mean C = -1.1

| Apr mean C = 5.4

| May mean C = 12.4

| Jun mean C = 17.3

| Jul mean C = 20.8

| Aug mean C = 20.0

| Sep mean C = 15.6

| Oct mean C = 9.5

| Nov mean C = 3.5

| Dec mean C = -2.2

| year mean C = 7.3

| Jan low C = -11.5

| Feb low C = -10.9

| Mar low C = -5.5

| Apr low C = 0.9

| May low C = 7.3

| Jun low C = 12.5

| Jul low C = 16.1

| Aug low C = 15.3

| Sep low C = 10.7

| Oct low C = 5.1

| Nov low C = -0.6

| Dec low C = -6.0

| year low C = 2.8

| Jan record low C = -34.5

| Feb record low C = -35.6

| Mar record low C = -25.9

| Apr record low C = -13.3

| May record low C = -4.0

| Jun record low C = 0.6

| Jul record low C = 6.0

| Aug record low C = 3.9

| Sep record low C = -1.3

| Oct record low C = -7.5

| Nov record low C = -17.2

| Dec record low C = -30.5

| year record low C = -35.6

| Jan chill = -45.1

| Feb chill = -43.3

| Mar chill = -37.3

| Apr chill = -22.8

| May chill = -8.5

| Jun chill = 0.0

| Jul chill = 0.0

| Aug chill = 0.0

| Sep chill = -4.6

| Oct chill = -12.9

| Nov chill = -24.6

| Dec chill = -42.4

| year chill = -45.1

| precipitation colour = green

| Jan precipitation mm = 82.1

| Feb precipitation mm = 65.9

| Mar precipitation mm = 64.6

| Apr precipitation mm = 78.1

| May precipitation mm = 78.4

| Jun precipitation mm = 73.0

| Jul precipitation mm = 64.3

| Aug precipitation mm = 78.7

| Sep precipitation mm = 95.4

| Oct precipitation mm = 90.4

| Nov precipitation mm = 98.1

| Dec precipitation mm = 82.5

| year precipitation mm = 951.4

| rain colour = green

| Jan rain mm = 32.7

| Feb rain mm = 30.2

| Mar rain mm = 40.0

| Apr rain mm = 71.3

| May rain mm = 78.4

| Jun rain mm = 73.0

| Jul rain mm = 64.3

| Aug rain mm = 78.7

| Sep rain mm = 95.4

| Oct rain mm = 90.0

| Nov rain mm = 88.0

| Dec rain mm = 49.6

| year rain mm = 791.6

| snow colour = green

| Jan snow cm = 49.5

| Feb snow cm = 35.7

| Mar snow cm = 24.5

| Apr snow cm = 6.8

| May snow cm = 0.0

| Jun snow cm = 0.0

| Jul snow cm = 0.0

| Aug snow cm = 0.0

| Sep snow cm = 0.0

| Oct snow cm = 0.4

| Nov snow cm = 10.1

| Dec snow cm = 32.9

| year snow cm = 159.9

| unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm

| Jan precipitation days = 15.8

| Feb precipitation days = 13.0

| Mar precipitation days = 12.3

| Apr precipitation days = 12.9

| May precipitation days = 13.7

| Jun precipitation days = 12.1

| Jul precipitation days = 10.8

| Aug precipitation days = 11.2

| Sep precipitation days = 11.6

| Oct precipitation days = 13.0

| Nov precipitation days = 14.8

| Dec precipitation days = 14.6

| year precipitation days = 155.7

| unit rain days = 0.2 mm

| Jan rain days = 6.0

| Feb rain days = 5.1

| Mar rain days = 7.9

| Apr rain days = 11.4

| May rain days = 13.7

| Jun rain days = 12.1

| Jul rain days = 10.8

| Aug rain days = 11.2

| Sep rain days = 11.6

| Oct rain days = 13.0

| Nov rain days = 12.6

| Dec rain days = 8.0

| year rain days = 123.5

| unit snow days = 0.2 cm

| Jan snow days = 11.6

| Feb snow days = 9.3

| Mar snow days = 6.4

| Apr snow days = 2.2

| May snow days = 0.0

| Jun snow days = 0.0

| Jul snow days = 0.0

| Aug snow days = 0.0

| Sep snow days = 0.0

| Oct snow days = 0.19

| Nov snow days = 3.4

| Dec snow days = 8.2

| year snow days = 41.2

| time day = 1500

| humidity colour = green

| Jan humidity = 70.1

| Feb humidity = 67.4

| Mar humidity = 63.7

| Apr humidity = 62.4

| May humidity = 63.4

| Jun humidity = 67.3

| Jul humidity = 65.7

| Aug humidity = 64.9

| Sep humidity = 65.9

| Oct humidity = 66.6

| Nov humidity = 68.9

| Dec humidity = 71.8

| year humidity = 66.5

|Jan sun = 95.3

|Feb sun = 119.0

|Mar sun = 140.8

|Apr sun = 176.5

|May sun = 222.1

|Jun sun = 243.5

|Jul sun = 280.4

|Aug sun = 241.9

|Sep sun = 162.9

|Oct sun = 146.3

|Nov sun = 88.0

|Dec sun = 75.2

|year sun = 1,991.7

|Jan percentsun = 33.1

|Feb percentsun = 40.4

|Mar percentsun = 38.2

|Apr percentsun = 43.8

|May percentsun = 48.6

|Jun percentsun = 52.5

|Jul percentsun = 59.7

|Aug percentsun = 55.7

|Sep percentsun = 43.3

|Oct percentsun = 42.8

|Nov percentsun = 30.4

|Dec percentsun = 27.1

|year percentsun = 43.0

|source 1 = Environment and Climate Change Canada, (July maximum), (February minimum), (1981-2010 precipitation), (1991-2020 temperature and humidity), (1971-2000 sun)

Sports

thumb|Postcard of the Y.M.C.A. Building in Kingston

Hockey

Kingston lays claim to being the birthplace of ice hockey, though this is contested. Support for this is found in a journal entry of a British Army officer in Kingston in 1843. He wrote "Began to skate this year, improved quickly and had great fun at hockey on the ice." Kingston is also home to the oldest continuing hockey rivalry in the world by virtue of a game played in 1886 on the frozen Kingston harbour between Queen's University and the Royal Military College of Canada. To mark this event, the city hosts an annual game between the two institutions, played on a cleared patch of frozen lake with both teams wearing period-correct uniforms and using rules from that era. The two schools also contest the annual Carr-Harris Cup, named for Lorne Carr-Harris, under modern competitive conditions to commemorate and continue their rivalry.

The Memorial Cup, which serves as the annual championship event for the Canadian Hockey League, began in 1919 on the initiative of Kingstonian James T. Sutherland. The first championship was held in Kingston. Sutherland, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, also helped establish the annual exhibition game between the Royal Military College of Canada and the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1923.

Kingston is represented in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) by the Kingston Frontenacs. Kingston had a team in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), the Kingston Voyageurs but ceased after the 2018–19 season.

The Original Hockey Hall of Fame, formerly the International Hockey Hall of Fame, was established in September 1943 with a building constructed in 1965. The original building was near the Kingston Memorial Centre (which was opened in 1950), but has since been relocated to Kingston's west end at the Invista Centre. The International Hockey Hall of Fame, founded by the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, is the oldest sports hall of fame in Canada. The museum's collection is home to various items that pay homage to Kingston's role in the history of hockey in Canada. These include: the original square hockey puck from the first Queens University vs. the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) game in 1886, hockey's oldest sweater worn by a Queen's student in 1894, and Canada's first Olympic gold medal from 1924, among others.

Slush Puppie Place, in the downtown core, opened in February 2008, and serves as home ice for the Frontenacs. The Voyageurs played at the Invista Centre in the city's west end. The arena is now home to the Kingston Wranglers of the United States Premier Hockey League.

Sailing

thumb|upright|[[Royal Military College of Canada robotic sailboat]]

The city is known for its fresh-water sailing, and hosted the sailing events for the 1976 Summer Olympics. CORK – Canadian Olympic-training Regatta, Kingston – now hosted by CORK/Sail Kingston is still held every August. Since 1972, Kingston has hosted more than 40 World and Olympic sailing championships. Kingston is listed by a panel of experts among the best yacht racing venues in the US, even though Kingston is in Canada.

Kingston sits amid excellent cruising and boating territory, with easy access to Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, and the Thousand Islands, including the Thousand Islands National Park, formerly the St. Lawrence Islands National Park.

Kingston is also home to the youth sail training ship called the St. Lawrence II.

During the summers, the RMC campus in Kingston plays host to a Royal Canadian Sea Cadets camp called HMCS Ontario, which provides sail training along with much other training to youth from across Canada. The Kingston Yacht Club in downtown Kingston has a learn to sail program for both children and adults.

Diving

Kingston is known for fresh-water wreck diving. Kingston's shipwrecks are well preserved by its cool, fresh water, and the recent zebra mussel invasion has caused a dramatic improvement in water clarity that has enhanced the quality of diving in the area.

Lawn bowling

The Kingston Lawn Bowling Club has been at its location on Napier Street since 1932, although the sport's beginnings in Kingston have been traced back to 1914. While the club offers a variety of recreational opportunities, a number of its members have gone on to compete successfully at the provincial level and beyond. Most notable of these was Dick Edney, who was inducted into the Kingston and District Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

Golf

The Kingston area has eight golf courses, two of which are entirely public. The Kingston Golf Club, established in 1884, was a founding member of the Royal Canadian Golf Association in 1895; however, this club ceased operating in the mid-1920s. The first winner of the Canadian Amateur Championship that same year was Kingstonian Thomas Harley, a Scottish immigrant carpenter. Richard H. (Dick) Green, who immigrated to the area from England in the late 1920s, was the longtime club professional for nearly 40 years at Cataraqui Golf and Country Club (founded in 1917 and redesigned by Stanley Thompson in 1930). Green also helped design several courses in eastern Ontario, including Smiths Falls (1949), Glen Lawrence (1955), Rideau Lakes (1961), Amherstview (1971), Garrison (1971), Evergreen (1972), Belle Park Fairways (1975), Rivendell (1979), and Colonnade (1984). Matt McQuillan, a professional player on the PGA Tour for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, was born and raised in Kingston, and developed his game at the Garrison Golf and Curling Club. McQuillan won the 2005 Telus Edmonton Open on the PGA Tour Canada.

Curling

Three curling clubs are in the Kingston area: the Cataraqui Golf & Country Club, Garrison Golf & Curling Club, and the Royal Kingston Curling Club. The Royal Kingston Curling Club (RKCC) was founded in 1820, and was granted Royal patronage in 1993. In 2006, the RKCC moved to a new facility at 130 Days Road, to make way for the construction of a new complex at Queen's University, the Queen's Centre.

Kingston has a history of hosting major curling competitions. In 2020, Kingston hosted the Tim Hortons Brier, the national men's curling championship. Kingston previously hosted the Brier in 1957. In 2013, Kingston hosted the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the national women's curling championship.

Rugby

The Kingston Panthers Rugby Football Club (KPRFC) was founded in 1959, and from that moment onward has established a reputation as a strong community player. KPRFC is a non-profit organization answering directly to the Eastern Ontario Rugby Union (EORU), the Rugby Ontario (ORU), and Rugby Canada (RC). The Kingston Panthers R.F.C., recently celebrated their fortieth anniversary with an EORU championship in the Division 1 championship game at Twin Elm Rugby Park in Ottawa, Ontario.

Football

The earliest known incarnation of an organized football team in Kingston is the Kingston Granites which played in the predecessor league to the Canadian Football League, the Ontario Rugby Football Union, (ORFU). The team played for four seasons between 1898 and 1901 winning 1 ORFU title in 1899 defeating the Ottawa Rough Riders 8–0. Kingston also hosted the 10th Grey Cup on December 2, 1922. The Limestone Grenadiers now represent Kingston and the surrounding area in the Ontario Varsity Football League. The Club franchise catchment area draws players from Frontenac, Hastings, Lanark, Leeds, Lennox and Prince Edward counties. League play runs from late May through August. The Junior and Varsity teams' main schedule pits the Grenadiers against eastern Ontario opponents and cross-over games with western Ontario teams leading to a provincial title championship game.

Volleyball

The Kingston Volleyball Club (KVC) was founded in 2015. It is a non-profit organization, a member of the Ontario Volleyball Association (OVA), Volleyball Canada (VC). The club relies on fundraising in order to operate.

Soccer

Kingston had a soccer presence in 2011 when Kingston FC represented the city in the Canadian Soccer League's second division. In 2012, the club was promoted to the league's first division and competed in the league until 2015. Their greatest success occurred in 2013, when the club won the divisional title and finished as runners-up in the playoff championship final.

After Kingston left the CSL, the city was represented in League1 Ontario by Kingston Clippers with both a men's and women's side. The Clippers played their final season in the league in 2016.

In 2025, it was announced that the Kingston Sentinels would begin play in League2 Ontario, the province's third division, in the 2026 season, representing the return of semi-professional soccer to the city.

Law enforcement

Notable people

Media

References

Bibliography

Adams, Nick.Iroquois Settlement at Fort Frontenac in the Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Centuries . Ontario Archaeology, No. 46: 4–20. 1986.
Armstrong, Alvin. Buckskin to Broadloom – Kingston Grows Up. Kingston Whig-Standard, 1973. No ISBN.
Mika, Nick and Helma et al. Kingston, Historic City. Belleville: Mika Publishing Co., 1987. .
Mika, Nick and Helma. Kingston Heritage, Buildings, Monuments, Plaques Belleville: Mika Publishing Co., 1983, 160 pages.
Osborne, Brian S. and Donald Swainson. Kingston, Building on the Past for the Future. Quarry Heritage Books, 2011.
Roy, James. Kingston: The King's Town. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1952.
Turner, Larry. "The Founding of Kingston, Ontario" . The Loyalist Gazette, Volume XXII, No. 1. Retrieved 2015-01-14
Preston, Richard. Kingston Before the War of 1812: A Collection of Documents . Toronto: Champlain Society Publications, 1959.

External links

<!-- INCLUDE AS REFERENCES NOT AS EXTERNAL LINKS

Kingston Historical Society. Historic Kingston (No. 4). Kingston Ontario Historical Society. 1955.
Kingston Historical Society. Historic Kingston (No. 5). Kingston Ontario Historical Society. 1956
Draper, W.G.History of the City of Kingston. James M. Creighton, Book and Job Printer, 1862.
Machar, A.M.The Story of Old Kingston. The Musson Book Co. Ltd. 1908. -->