Cornwall, Ontario

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cornwall.

Cornwall (2006 population 45,965, metropolitan population 58,485)^[1] is a city in eastern Ontario, Canada and seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario, located on the St. Lawrence River, as well as Highway 401 near the Ontario-Quebec border. It is approximately 100 kilometres south-east from Ottawa, Canada's capital, via Highways 417 and 138, and 100 km west of Montreal, Quebec's largest metropolis.

1 History
2 Demographics
3 Economy
4 Social issues
5 Culture
6 Government
7 Schools
8 Sports
9 Notable people
10 Media
11 References
12 External links

[edit] History

The city of Cornwall was first settled in 1784 by United Empire Loyalists escaping the American Revolution from New York. First named New Johnstown, Cornwall was renamed for Prince George, the Duke of Cornwall. Cornwall was one of the first incorporated towns in Upper Canada.

West of Cornwall, several small communities along the St. Lawrence River, now known as The Lost Villages, were permanently flooded in 1958 by the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway, to make way for the massive hydroelectric dam at the western end of the city.

[edit] Demographics

According to the 2006 Census, Cornwall has a population of 45,965. This represents a 0.7% increase from the 2001 Census, when the population was over 45,640. According to the 2001 Census, English is the first language learned for 65.4% of the population and French first language for 26.9%.

[edit] Economy

Cornwall is a port-of-entry into Canada, and is connected to the USA at Roosevelttown near the village of Massena, New York via the Three Nations Crossing bridge, (the former Seaway International Bridge), which traverses the St. Lawrence River and the Akwesasne Mohawk territory of Cornwall Island.

Cornwall was once home to a thriving cotton processing industry that waned in the 1960s. It was a Cornwall cotton mill in which Thomas A. Edison installed the first electric lighting for a factory. Domtar, a Quebec-based company operated a paper mill in the city for close to one-hundred years. Once employing nearly 1500, the workforce dwindled to 400 in 2006 and the mill permanently closed on March 31, 2006. Cornwall's major employer is now Supply Chain Management which operates a Wal-Mart distribution center for Eastern Canada with close to 1000 employees. Cornwall also has one of the oldest jails in Canada, built in 1834 and operated until 2002 it is now a tourist attraction.

[edit] Social issues

With the economic downturn, many of Cornwall's urban problems have become more pronounced. A serious drug/IV problem in the east end of the city has caused the provincial government to open a methadone clinic in that neighbourhood.

The area is also home to the Akwesasne (Mohawk) reserve which recently has been linked to massive smuggling operations across the U.S./Canada border. The level of illegal activity in the area has also led to the proliferation of organized crime organizations in and around the city. High levels of trafficking of illegal materials, drugs, and cigarettes led the RCMP to locate a large district operation in the city in 2005.

Cornwall has one of the highest murder rates in the nation on a per-capita basis. With four homicides in 2004 and three homicides in 2005, Cornwall's murder rate per capita was 8.7 and 6.5 per 100,000 people for 2004 and 2005 respectively. ^[1] For comparison, Toronto had 78 murders in 2005 for a murder rate per capita of 3.1 per 100,000 people.

[edit] Culture

The city of Cornwall hosts various festivals and special community events throughout the year. These include the Canada Day festivities, Gay pride festival, as well as the very popular "Lift Off" hot air balloon festival which draws as many as 15,000 people to Cornwall for the concerts and hot air balloons.

[edit] Government

Cornwall's mayor is Bob Kilger. The Cornwall area is in the electoral district of Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, which is represented by provincial MPP Jim Brownell (Liberal), and federally by MP Guy Lauzon (Conservative).

[edit] Schools

There are many elementary and high schools in Cornwall, as well as a St. Lawrence College campus. One notable high school in Cornwall is St. Joseph's Secondary School (St. Joe's). The St. Joe's mascot is the panther. Many of the varsity sports teams have been highly successful having won many EOSSAA titles in a number of sports, including basketball, volleyball and soccer (for both men and women).

Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School (CCVS) was one of the first schools in Canada, and now hosts grade 11 and 12 students. CCVS celebrated 200 years of providing education to the youth of Cornwall and area with a reunion in 2006. One of the school's most notable former students is actor and philanthropist Ryan Gosling.

Another school of note is General Vanier Intermediate School (formerly a secondary school). It is the Alma Mater of both Loris Dupuis and Chad Kilger.

Cornwall has many public schools such as Gladstone Public School, East Front Public School, Viscount Alexander Public School and many others. Central Public School is one of the oldest public schools in Canada, formed in 1816. The school has had many different buildings and was just demolished to build the new building.

[edit] Sports

Cornwall has been home to a variety of sports teams. The Cornwall Royals played in both the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Ontario Hockey League before moving to Newmarket in 1992. The Royals won the Memorial Cup in 1972, 1980 and 1981. The city also had an AHL franchise (Cornwall Aces) from 1993 to 1996. The Cornwall Comets were the 2006 Quebec Senior AA Hockey League (LHSPAA) champions, but the league has suspended operations. Currently, Cornwall has a very successful Junior A team in the Cornwall Colts of the Central Junior A Hockey League. The city currently has three arenas and there are plans to build a multi-pad icerink. Cornwall has a sports hall of fame as well. On March 10 2007, Cornwall made it into the top 5 for the Kraft Hockeyville competition.

[edit] Notable people

Some of the more famous people to hail from the Cornwall area include:

Barstool Prophets 3/4 members of popular Canadian rock band hailed from Cornwall where the band had its start (Glenn Forrester, Graham Greer, Bobby Tamas)
Malcolm Burn, musician and record producer
Peter Gatien, New York nightlife impressario.
Ryan Gosling, actor, Oscar nominee
Alan Haskvitz, educator and author, inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame, a Reader's Digest Hero in Education, was a teacher at Bishop Macdonell for several years. http://www.reacheverychild.com
Chad Kilger, Toronto Maple Leafs player
Bob Kilger, Cornwall Mayor; former Member of Parliament
Ed "Newsy" Lalonde, who captained the Montreal Canadiens in the 1910s and helped the team win its first Stanley Cup in 1918
John Sandfield Macdonald, prominent lawyer and the first Premier of Ontario
Maggie MacDonald, playwright and musician
Nathan Phillips, the Toronto mayor who was affectionately known as "mayor of all the people"
John Wensink, former Left Wing for the Boston Bruins