Timmins, Ontario
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Timmins, Ontario | |
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| Motto: The City with a Heart of Gold | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | Canada  |
| Province | Ontario  |
| Established | 1912 |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Tom Laughren |
| - Governing Body | Timmins City Council |
| - MPs | Charlie Angus (NDP) |
| - MPPs | Gilles Bisson (ONDP) |
| Area | |
| - City | 2,961.52 km² (1,143.4 sq mi) |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| - City | 42,997 |
| - Density | 14.75/km² (38.2/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Postal code span | P4N, P4P, P4R |
| Website: City of Timmins | |
Timmins, with a population of 42,997 (2006), is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada on the Mattagami River. At 2,961.52 square kilometres (1,143 sq mi), Timmins was Canada's largest municipality in land area until 1995, when the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta was created, although it remained the largest municipality in Ontario until 2001, when it was superseded by the newly amalgamated cities of Kawartha Lakes and Greater Sudbury.
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[edit] History
Archaeological and historical studies indicate that the first people to settle in the Timmins area were nomadic tribes dating back to 5,500 BC (Middle Shield Culture).
During the late 1600s, explorers and fur traders established outposts in the region to capitalize on the fur trade. The Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwest Company later developed several trading posts along major routes in the area.
In 1907, the region became a popular destination and home to dozens of prospectors eager to explore the areas around Porcupine Lake and the Frederick House River. In 1909, with the discovery of the Dome Mine, the Porcupine Gold Rush began and the area became known as an important mining camp (The Porcupine Camp).
The Town of Timmins was founded by Noah Timmins in 1912 after the Hollinger Gold Mine was discovered in the area (The Big Three, Dome, Hollinger and McIntyre). The mining of gold was the catalyst but during the 1960s, base metals such as silver, zinc, copper, and nickel were discovered, breathing new life into the Timmins economy and mining remains the dominant industry in the area. Forestry is also important to the local economy, and Timmins is a regional government and commercial service centre for much of Northeastern Ontario.
Due to the large network of abandoned mining tunnels under the city, Timmins has had problems in recent years with sinkholes. This began to attract international attention in 2004, with a story on the topic airing on the American Fox News Channel. So far, the city has managed to avoid tragedy as nobody has died in a sinkhole incident.
[edit] Economy
The city continues to prosper, with well-established mining, forestry, tourism, and telecommunications industries leading the way into a new era of success. The combination of natural resources, a supportive municipal government, and a highly skilled workforce, ensures that Timmins maintains a favourable climate for investors.
The community is served by the Timmins Airport, which has scheduled service to Toronto, Ottawa and Sudbury, and acts as a mini hub for many small communities in the northeastern part of the province. Timmins Transit and the Ontario Northland Bus serve Timmins.
The city is going through a retail boom, as big box stores are being built in the city's west end. This includes a new Home Depot and a new larger Canadian Tire. Also, several new small level strip malls have been or are being constructed. A new Shoppers Drug Mart is being constructed near downtown. Also, a number of shops will be established in a new plaza being constructed near Highway 655.
[edit] Politics
The city's current mayor is Tom Laughren. He was sworn in on December 8, 2006, succeeding Vic Power, the city's longest-serving mayor in its history.
Provincially and federally, the city is located in the Timmins—James Bay electoral district.
[edit] Tourism and culture
Some of the main tourist attractions within the community include the Shania Twain Centre, Timmins Underground Gold Mine Tour, The Timmins Museum and National Exhibition Centre, Cedar Meadows Wilderness Tours, Kamiskotia Snow Resort, Porcupine Ski Runners Cross-Country Trails and Chalet, Hollinger Golf Club, Spruce Needles Golf Club, the Sandy Falls Golf Club and the McIntyre Community Building. Snowmobiling[2] has a solid impact on the Timmins economy as tourists from all over North America travel north to explore our local trails.
The city's slogan is "The City with a Heart of Gold".
Hollinger Park is one of the city's main recreational spaces, hosting both sporting facilities and outdoor concerts during the summer. Most famously, Timmins native Shania Twain played a hometown concert at Hollinger Park on July 1, 1999. An estimated 25,000 people, more than half the entire population of Timmins, were in attendance.
On the first Sunday of June of each year, Timmins holds a Multicultural Festival at the McIntyre Community Building. It reflects the unique ethnic diversity of people in Timmins. You can experience the excitement of different cultures, savour the cuisine and the ethnic costumes.
The festival brings together many different cultural groups from the City. Italian, Croatian, Polish, German, Scottish, Austrian, Finnish, Chinese, Filipino, and Native Cultures as well as many others join together to celebrate the diversity of the community. There are local groups who perform traditional music and dances; a parade displaying the different colourful ethnic costumes; and an abundance of food and ethnic art demonstrations.
There are several ethnic clubs in the area representing the various multicultural groups in Timmins including Le Centre Culturel La Ronde, the Croatian Society, the Polish White Eagle Hall, the Irish Canadian Club, the German Culture Club, the Chinese Club, the Ojibway & Cree Cultural Centre, the Timmins Multicultural Society, Porcupine Dante Club as well as many others.
[edit] Communities
- Barbers Bay
- Connaught
- Dome
- Gold Centre
- Hoyle
- Melrose Gardens
- Mountjoy
- Porcupine
- Schumacher
- South Porcupine
- Timmins
[edit] Schools
[edit] Postsecondary education
The main postsecondary institution in Timmins is Northern College, a College of Applied Arts and Technology. The city also has satellite campuses of Collège Boréal and Laurentian University's Université de Hearst. Four school boards serve the City of Timmins.
[edit] School Boards
- District School Board Ontario North East
- Northeastern Catholic District School Board
- Conseil scolaire catholique de district des Grandes Rivière
- Conseil scolaire publique du Nord-est
[edit] High schools
- O'Gorman High School
- École Publique Renaissance
- École Secondaire catholique Thériault[3]
- Timmins High and Vocational School
- Roland Michener Secondary School
[edit] Media
[edit] TV
- Channel 3: CITO, CTV
- Channel 6: CBLT-7, CBC (formerly CFCL)
- Channel 7: CICA-7, TVOntario
- Channel 9: CBLFT-3, SRC
- Channel 11: CHCH-7, CH
- Channel 13: CIII-13, Global
- Cable 3: News Channel 3, Persona Inc. community channel
[edit] Radio
- 92.1 FM - CJQQ (Q92, active rock)
- 93.1 FM - CHMT (Moose FM, variety)
- 94.3 FM - CKTT (tourist information)
- 96.1 FM - CBCJ (CBC Radio One)
- 97.1 FM - CBON-25 (La Première Chaîne)
- 99.3 FM - CKGB (EZRock, adult contemporary)
- 101.5 FM - CHTI (tourist information)
- 102.3 FM - CHIM (Christian)
- 104.1 FM - CHYK (francophone hot adult contemporary)
[edit] Print
- Timmins Daily Press [4]owned by Osprey Media
- The Timmins Times [5]
- Le Soleil de Timmins [6]
- Les Nouvelles [7]
[edit] Online
[edit] Notable people from Timmins
Shania Twain is the most internationally famous native of Timmins. Other notable figures from the city include:
- Charlie Angus, musician and songwriter for the band Grievous Angels, now serving as the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for Timmins—James Bay
- Bill Barilko, National Hockey League hockey player and Tragically Hip song subject ("Fifty Mission Cap", from 1992's Fully Completely)
- Paul Bellini, comedy writer and television actor
- Gilles Bisson, Ontario New Democratic Party Member of Provincial Parliament for Timmins—James Bay
- Dave Carroll and Don Carroll, country/pop/folk band Sons of Maxwell
- Stompin' Tom Connors, musician and songwriter was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, but lived and worked in the mines in Timmins long enough to get his big break singing at the Maple Leaf Hotel there in 1965.
- Patrice Desbiens, French poet and percussionist
- Gordon Thiessen, Governor of the Bank of Canada from 1994 to 2001
- Bruce McCaffrey, Progressive Conservative MPP
- Derek Edwards, Award Winning Comedian
- Matt Humphreys ,singer/songwriter
- J. Conrad Lavigne, broadcasting pioneer
- Jamie Lim, current president & CEO of the Ontario Forestry Industries Association; former Timmins mayor
- Derek McGrath actor best known as the cherubic murderer "Andy-Andy" Schroeder on Cheers, and Dr. Benjamin Marion Jeffcoate on My Secret Identity
- Alan Pope, former Progressive Conservative MPP
- Jim Prentice, Conservative Party of Canada Member of Parliament from Calgary, Alberta
- Jody Racicot, actor
- Myron Scholes, award-winning economist
- Roy Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet, newspaper magnate, started his empire in the 1930s with the Timmins Daily Press
- Lola Lemire Tostevin, novelist and poet
- Michael Barnes, author of The Scholarly Prospector - Don MacKinnon, 2007,Great Northern Ontario Mines, 2001, Great Northern Characters, 1995, Gold in Ontario, 1995, Timmins: The Porcupine Country, 1995, Fortunes in the Ground, 1993, Gold in the Porcupine, 1976.
- Bruce Watson, guitarist with Scottish rock band Big Country
See also: List of mayors of Timmins, Ontario.
[edit] Notable athletes from Timmins
- Steve Sullivan, NHL player
- Alex Henry, NHL player
- Frank Mahovlich, NHL hockey player, Canadian Senator
- Gus "Old Hardrock" Mortson, NHL hockey player
- Pete Mahovlich, NHL hockey player
- Allen Stanley, NHL hockey player
- Walter Tkaczuk, NHL hockey player
- Dale Rolfe, NHL hockey player
- Eric "Doc" Prentice , NHL hockey player
- Dean Prentice , NHL hockey player
- Eric Vail, NHL hockey player, 1975 Calder Trophy winner
- Hector Marini, NHL hockey player
- Dave Poulin, NHL hockey player, currently Head Coach of the Notre Dame NCAA hockey team
- Kathy Kreiner, gold medallist, giant slalom, XIIth Olympic Winter Games, Innsbruck, Austria, 13 February 1976
- Laurie Kreiner, olympic athlete, XIIth Olympic Winter Games, Innsbruck, Austria
- Jason Gervais, XXVII Summer Olympic Games, discus thrower
- Bob Nevin, NHL hockey player
- Murray Costello, Hockey Hall of Famer, president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association
- Don Lever, NHL hockey player and coach
- Pete Babando, NHL hockey player
- Shean Donovan, NHL hockey player
- Les Costello, former NHL hockey player with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the golden era. Later became a Roman Catholic priest in Timmins while continuing to play hockey for the "Flying Fathers".
[edit] Demographics
According to the Canada 2006 Census:
- % Change (2001-2006): -1.6
- Dwellings: 18,642
- Density (persons per km².): 14.5
[edit] Religion
- 68.7% Catholic
- 20.2% Protestant
- 8.5% No Religion
- 1.8% Other Christian
- 0.8% Other Religions
[edit] Links to Timmins information
- City of Timmins
- Timmins Economic Development Corporation
- The Mattagami Region Conservation Authority (MRCA)
- The Timmins Chamber of Commerce
- Diocese of Timmins
| North: Cochrane, Unorganized, North Part | ||
| West: Cochrane, Unorganized, North Part |
Timmins | East: Black River-Matheson |
| South: Timiskaming, Unorganized North West, Ontario |
