Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population is 108,843 according to the 2021 Canadian census.
Located on Lake Superior, the census metropolitan area of Thunder Bay has a population of 123,258. It consists of the city of Thunder Bay, the municipalities of Oliver Paipoonge and Neebing, the townships of Shuniah, Conmee, O'Connor, and Gillies, and the Fort William First Nation.
European settlement in the region began in the late 17th century with a French fur trading outpost on the banks of the Kaministiquia River. It grew into an important transportation hub with its port forming 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. Forestry and manufacturing played important roles in the city's economy. They have declined in recent years, but have been replaced by a "knowledge economy" based on medical research and education. Thunder Bay is the site of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute.
On 1 January 1970, the City of Thunder Bay was formed through the merger of the cities of Fort William, Port Arthur, and the geographic townships of Neebing and McIntyre. The city takes this name from the immense Thunder Bay at the head of Lake Superior, known on 18th-century French maps as (Bay of Thunder).
History
Before 1900
Various Anishinaabe peoples such as the Ojibwa are indigenous to the Thunder Bay Area. European settlement at Thunder Bay began with two French fur trading posts (in 1683 and 1717) which were subsequently abandoned (see Fort William, Ontario). In 1803, the Montreal-based North West Company established Fort William as its mid-continent entrepôt.
thumbnail|left|Fort William in 1865
By the 1850s, the Province of Canada began to take an interest in its western extremity. The discovery of copper in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan had prompted a national interest in potential mining locations on the Canadian shores of Lake Superior. In 1849, French-speaking Jesuits established the (Mission of the Immaculate Conception) on the Kaministiquia to evangelize the Ojibwe. The Province of Canada negotiated the Robinson Treaty in 1850 with the Ojibwa of Lake Superior. As a result, an Indian reserve was set aside for them south of the Kaministiquia River.
Another settlement developed a few miles to the north of Fort William after construction by the federal Department of Public Works of a road connecting Lake Superior with the Red River Colony. The work was directed by Simon James Dawson (see Port Arthur, Ontario). This public works depot or construction headquarters acquired its first name in May 1870 when Colonel Garnet Wolseley named it Prince Arthur's Landing. It was renamed Port Arthur by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in May 1883.
The arrival of the CPR sparked a long rivalry between the towns, which did not end until their amalgamation in 1970. Until the 1880s, Port Arthur was a much larger community. The CPR, in collaboration with the Hudson's Bay Company, preferred east Fort William, located on the lower Kaministiquia River, where the fur trade posts were. Provoked by a prolonged tax dispute with Port Arthur and its seizure of a locomotive in 1889, the CPR relocated all its employees and facilities to Fort William. The collapse of silver mining after 1890 undermined the economy of Port Arthur. It had an economic depression, while Fort William thrived.
20th century
thumb|CN Railway Station
In the era of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Thunder Bay began a period of extraordinary growth, based on improved access to markets via the transcontinental railway and development of the western wheat boom. The CPR double-tracked its Winnipeg–Thunder Bay line. The Canadian Northern Railway established facilities at Port Arthur. The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway began construction of its facilities at the Fort William Mission in 1905, and the federal government began construction of the National Transcontinental Railway. Grain elevator construction boomed as the volume of grain shipped to Europe increased. Both cities incurred debt to grant bonuses to manufacturing industries.
Thunder Bay was the first city in the world to enact daylight saving time on 1 July 1908.
By 1914, the twin cities had modern infrastructures (sewers, potable water supply, street lighting, electric light, etc.) Both Fort William and Port Arthur were proponents of municipal ownership. As early as 1892, Port Arthur built Canada's first municipally owned electric street railway. Both cities spurned Bell Telephone Company of Canada to establish their municipally owned telephone systems in 1902.
The boom came to an end in 1913–1914, aggravated by the outbreak of the First World War. A wartime economy emerged with the making of munitions and shipbuilding. Men from the cities joined the 52nd, 94th, and 141st Battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
Railway employment was hurt when the federal government took over the National Transcontinental Railway and Lake Superior Division from the Grand Trunk in 1915, and the Canadian Northern Railway in 1918. These were amalgamated with other government-owned railways in 1923 to form the Canadian National Railways. The CNR closed many of the Canadian Northern Railway facilities in Port Arthur. It opened the Neebing yards in Neebing Township in 1922. By 1929, the population of the two cities had recovered to pre-war levels.
The forest products industry has played an important role in the Thunder Bay economy since the 1870s. In the 1880s, Herman Finger established the Pigeon River Lumber Company in the area, and also built the Gunflint and Lake Superior Railroad, but he dissolved the lumber company and moved his operations to The Pas by 1919. Logs and lumber were shipped primarily to the United States. In 1917, the first pulp and paper mill was established in Port Arthur. It was followed by a mill at Fort William in 1920. Eventually, four mills were operating.
Manufacturing resumed in 1937 when the Canada Car and Foundry Company plant (opened for the manufacture of naval ships and railcars during the late World War I) re-opened to build British aircraft. Now run by Alstom, the plant has remained a mainstay of the post-war economy. It has produced forestry equipment and transportation equipment for urban transit systems, such as the Toronto Transit Commission and GO Transit.
Amalgamation
On 1 January 1970, the City of Thunder Bay was formed through the merger of the cities of Fort William, Port Arthur, and the geographic townships of Neebing and McIntyre.
There was more controversy over the selection of a name for the amalgamated city than over whether to amalgamate. A vocal minority of the population preferred "The Lakehead". There was much discussion about other cities in the world that use a definite article in their names. The area was often referred to as "The Lakehead" before and after amalgamation based on its geographic location. It was seen as the "head" of shipping on the Great Lakes and the "rail head".
The expansion of highways, beginning with the Trans-Canada Highway and culminating with the opening of Highway 17 (linking Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay in 1960), has significantly diminished railway and shipping activity since the 1970s and 80s. Shipping on the Saint Lawrence Seaway was superseded by trucking on highways. Grain shipping on the Great Lakes to the East has declined substantially in favour of transport to Pacific Coast ports. As a result, many grain elevators have been closed and demolished. The Kaministiquia River was abandoned by industry and shipping.
Today
Thunder Bay has become the regional services centre for Northwestern Ontario with most provincial departments represented. Lakehead University, established through the lobbying of local businesspeople and professionals, has proven to be a major asset. Another post-secondary institution is Confederation College.
Geography
thumb|Fort William as seen from the [[International Space Station, December 2008]]
thumb|Thunder Bay is the brightly lit city along the top of Lake Superior, taken at 1:58 AM on 10 November 2017, during ISS [[Expedition 53.]]
The city has an area of , which includes the former cities of Fort William and Port Arthur, as well as the former townships of Neebing and McIntyre. The city reflects the settlement patterns of the 19th century and sprawls. Anchoring the west end of the city, the Fort William Town Plot, surveyed in 1859–60, was named West Fort William (or Westfort) in 1888 by the CPR. The land adjoining the lower Kaministiquia River became the residential and central business district of the town and city of Fort William. A large uninhabited area adjoining the Neebing and McIntyre rivers, which became known as Intercity, separated Fort William from the residential and central business district of Port Arthur. At the extreme east of the city, a part of McIntyre Township was annexed to the town of Port Arthur in 1892, forming what later became known as the Current River area.
The former Port Arthur section is more typical of the Canadian Shield, with gently sloping hills and very thin soil lying on top of bedrock with many bare outcrops. Thunder Bay, which gives the city its name, is about from the Port Arthur downtown to Thunder Cape at the tip of the Sleeping Giant. The former Fort William section occupies flat alluvial land along the Kaministiquia River. In the river delta are two large islands: Mission Island and McKellar Island. Since 1970, the central business districts of Fort William and Port Arthur have suffered a serious decline. Business and government relocated to new developments in the Intercity area. There has also been substantial residential growth in adjacent areas of the former Neebing and McIntyre townships.
Neighbourhoods
thumb|The Port of Thunder Bay, as seen from Hillcrest Park in June 2006|222x222px
Thunder Bay is composed of two formerly separate cities: Port Arthur and Fort William. Both still retain much of their distinct civic identities, reinforced by the buffering effect of the Intercity area between them. Port Arthur and Fort William each have their own central business districts and suburban areas. Neighbourhoods include: Downtown Fort William, Westfort, Northwood, McKeller Park, Mariday Park, Jumbo Gardens, County Park and Current River. Newer neighbourhoods include River Terrace, Parkdale, and Sherwood Park.
Climate
The Thunder Bay area experiences a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb) with a subarctic (Dfc) influence in northeastern areas of the city (including that affected by Lake Superior), but not necessarily falling in this zone. This results in cooler summer temperatures and warmer winter temperatures for an area extending inland as far as 16 km. The average daily temperatures range from in July to in January. The average daily high in July is and the average daily high in January is . As a result, it holds Ontario's record for coldest day with wind chill.
The city is quite sunny, with an average of 2,121 hours of bright sunshine each year, ranging from 268.1 hours in July to 86.2 hours in November.
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y
|Jan maximum humidex = 9.2
|Feb maximum humidex = 15.4
|Mar maximum humidex = 24.2
|Apr maximum humidex = 29.7
|May maximum humidex = 38.7
|Jun maximum humidex = 43.1
|Jul maximum humidex = 46.2
|Aug maximum humidex = 45.4
|Sep maximum humidex = 41.2
|Oct maximum humidex = 32.3
|Nov maximum humidex = 21.7
|Dec maximum humidex = 11.8
|year maximum humidex = 46.2
|Jan record high C = 9.4
|Feb record high C = 15.5
|Mar record high C = 23.8
|Apr record high C = 28.3
|May record high C = 35.2
|Jun record high C = 39.0
|Jul record high C = 40.0
|Aug record high C = 40.3
|Sep record high C = 34.1
|Oct record high C = 30.0
|Nov record high C = 21.7
|Dec record high C = 13.7
|year record high C = 40.3
|Jan high C = -7.6
|Feb high C = -5.2
|Mar high C = 1.0
|Apr high C = 8.9
|May high C = 15.9
|Jun high C = 21.6
|Jul high C = 24.9
|Aug high C = 24.2
|Sep high C = 19.2
|Oct high C = 10.9
|Nov high C = 2.6
|Dec high C = -4.5
|year high C = 9.3
|Jan mean C = -13.4
|Feb mean C = -11.8
|Mar mean C = -5.4
|Apr mean C = 2.4
|May mean C = 8.9
|Jun mean C = 14.8
|Jul mean C = 18.0
|Aug mean C = 17.1
|Sep mean C = 12.4
|Oct mean C = 5.3
|Nov mean C = -2.1
|Dec mean C = -9.6
|year mean C = 3.0
|Jan low C = -19.2
|Feb low C = -18.3
|Mar low C = -11.8
|Apr low C = -4.2
|May low C = 1.9
|Jun low C = 7.8
|Jul low C = 11.0
|Aug low C = 10.0
|Sep low C = 5.5
|Oct low C = -0.3
|Nov low C = -6.7
|Dec low C = -14.6
|year low C = -3.3
|Jan record low C = -43.2
|Feb record low C = -40.6
|Mar record low C = -36.7
|Apr record low C = -23.3
|May record low C = -8.9
|Jun record low C = -3.9
|Jul record low C = 0.0
|Aug record low C = -1.1
|Sep record low C = -8.3
|Oct record low C = -15.6
|Nov record low C = -30.6
|Dec record low C = -39.6
|year record low C = -43.2
|Jan chill = -58.2
|Feb chill = -54.0
|Mar chill = -42.7
|Apr chill = -32.0
|May chill = -16.2
|Jun chill = -5.8
|Jul chill = 0.0
|Aug chill = -4.0
|Sep chill = -10.8
|Oct chill = -20.6
|Nov chill = -40.0
|Dec chill = -51.0
|year chill = -58.2
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 26.3
|Feb precipitation mm = 20.5
|Mar precipitation mm = 31.3
|Apr precipitation mm = 52.9
|May precipitation mm = 67.0
|Jun precipitation mm = 83.5
|Jul precipitation mm = 87.0
|Aug precipitation mm = 89.5
|Sep precipitation mm = 73.1
|Oct precipitation mm = 64.3
|Nov precipitation mm = 53.1
|Dec precipitation mm = 35.2
|year precipitation mm = 683.7
|rain colour = green
|Jan rain mm = 0.39
|Feb rain mm = 2.9
|Mar rain mm = 16.1
|Apr rain mm = 36.6
|May rain mm = 66.3
|Jun rain mm = 83.5
|Jul rain mm = 87.0<!--Rainfall should match up with precipitation-->
|Aug rain mm = 89.5<!--Rainfall should match up with precipitation-->
|Sep rain mm = 72.0
|Oct rain mm = 55.3
|Nov rain mm = 30.7
|Dec rain mm = 6.2
|year rain mm = 546.5<!--Due to rounding-->
|snow colour = green
|Jan snow cm = 36.5
|Feb snow cm = 21.2
|Mar snow cm = 18.2
|Apr snow cm = 10.3
|May snow cm = 1.0
|Jun snow cm = 0.0
|Jul snow cm = 0.0
|Aug snow cm = 0.0
|Sep snow cm = 1.1
|Oct snow cm = 9.4
|Nov snow cm = 26.5
|Dec snow cm = 38.9
|year snow cm = 162.9
|unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 12.0
|Feb precipitation days = 9.5
|Mar precipitation days = 10.3
|Apr precipitation days = 9.5
|May precipitation days = 11.5
|Jun precipitation days = 13.8
|Jul precipitation days = 12.9
|Aug precipitation days = 12.3
|Sep precipitation days = 13.7
|Oct precipitation days = 12.9
|Nov precipitation days = 12.1
|Dec precipitation days = 12.4
|year precipitation days = 142.9
|unit rain days = 0.2 mm
|Jan rain days = 0.57
|Feb rain days = 1.1
|Mar rain days = 3.4
|Apr rain days = 7.1
|May rain days = 11.0
|Jun rain days = 13.8<!--Rainy days should match up with precipitation days-->
|Jul rain days = 12.9<!--Rainy days should match up with precipitation days-->
|Aug rain days = 12.3<!--Rainy days should match up with precipitation days-->
|Sep rain days = 13.5
|Oct rain days = 11.0
|Nov rain days = 4.7
|Dec rain days = 1.2
|year rain days = 90.7
|unit snow days = 0.2 cm
|Jan snow days = 12.9
|Feb snow days = 9.6
|Mar snow days = 8.4
|Apr snow days = 4.0
|May snow days = 0.50
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.27
|Oct snow days = 3.4
|Nov snow days = 9.7
|Dec snow days = 13.9
|year snow days = 62.5
|time day = 15:00 LST
|Jan humidity = 65.6
|Feb humidity = 59.6
|Mar humidity = 56.3
|Apr humidity = 48.7
|May humidity = 50.7
|Jun humidity = 57.5
|Jul humidity = 58.8
|Aug humidity = 58.6
|Sep humidity = 61.6
|Oct humidity = 62.1
|Nov humidity = 66.2
|Dec humidity = 69.7
|year humidity = 59.6
|Jan sun = 109.6
|Feb sun = 126.7
|Mar sun = 159.8
|Apr sun = 213.0
|May sun = 259.0
|Jun sun = 262.0
|Jul sun = 268.1
|Aug sun = 255.9
|Sep sun = 163.8
|Oct sun = 125.4
|Nov sun = 86.2
|Dec sun = 91.2
|year sun = 2120.5
|Jan percentsun = 40.1
|Feb percentsun = 44.2
|Mar percentsun = 43.4
|Apr percentsun = 52.0
|May percentsun = 55.0
|Jun percentsun = 54.5
|Jul percentsun = 55.2
|Aug percentsun = 57.6
|Sep percentsun = 43.2
|Oct percentsun = 37.2
|Nov percentsun = 31.0
|Dec percentsun = 35.0
|year percentsun = 45.7
<!--This data below uses the weatherstats.ca source-->
|Jan avg record high C= 3.2
|Feb avg record high C= 5.3
|Mar avg record high C= 11.9
|Apr avg record high C= 20.2
|May avg record high C= 27.9
|Jun avg record high C= 30.1
|Jul avg record high C= 31.6
|Aug avg record high C= 30.7
|Sep avg record high C= 27.8
|Oct avg record high C= 22.3
|Nov avg record high C= 12.3
|Dec avg record high C= 5.2
|year avg record high C= 32.9
|Jan avg record low C= -33.0
|Feb avg record low C= -30.7
|Mar avg record low C= -26.0
|Apr avg record low C= -12.5
|May avg record low C= -4.9
|Jun avg record low C= 0.4
|Jul avg record low C= 5.3
|Aug avg record low C= 3.5
|Sep avg record low C= -2.8
|Oct avg record low C= -8.3
|Nov avg record low C= -18.9
|Dec avg record low C= -27.5
|year avg record low C= -34.4
|Jan dew point C= -16.9
|Feb dew point C= -15.6
|Mar dew point C= -9.8
|Apr dew point C= -4.1
|May dew point C= 2.7
|Jun dew point C= 9.4
|Jul dew point C= 13.0
|Aug dew point C= 12.7
|Sep dew point C= 8.6
|Oct dew point C= 1.5
|Nov dew point C= -5.4
|Dec dew point C= -12.3
|year dew point C= -1.3
|source 1 = Environment Canada (precipitation/rainfall/snowfall/sun 1981–2010)
|date=December 2014
|source 2= weatherstats.ca (for dewpoint and monthly&yearly average absolute maximum&minimum temperature)