Timmins, Ontario
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Timmins, with a population of 43,686 (2001), is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada on the Mattagami River. At 2,961.52 square kilometres, Timmins was Canada's largest municipality in land area until 1995, when the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo was created.
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 1600’s, 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 city was founded by Noah Timmins in 1912 after three gold mines were discovered in the area (Dome, Hollinger and McIntyre). The mining of gold was the catalyst but during the 1960’s, base metals such as silver, zinc, copper, and nickel were discovered, breathing new life into the Timmins economy and 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.
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. There is tremendous confidence in the future of this community.
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.
The community is served by the Timmins Airport, which has scheduled service to Toronto and Sudbury, and acts as a mini hub for many small communities in the north-central part of the province.
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 larger Canadian Tire. Also, a new Shoppers Drug Mart is currently being constructed.
Although, the logging sector has been taking a hit in recent months, Cutrite Firewood is in growth mode and has recently purchased property in South Porcupine. It projects an increase of 5 full time employees per year for the next 10 years.
Some of the main tourist attractions within the community include the Shania Twain Centre and the Timmins Underground Gold Mine Tour.
The city's current mayor is Vic Power. Tom Laughren, a former city councillor, has been acclaimed mayor for the next 4 year term.
The city's slogan is "The City with a Heart of Gold".
Contents |
[edit] Communities
- Dome
- Gold Centre
- Hoyle
- 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.
[edit] High schools
- O'Gorman High School
- École Publique Renaissance
- École Secondaire catholique Thériault
- Timmins High and Vocational School
- Roland Michener Secondary School
[edit] Attractions
- Timmins Square
- The 101 Mall
- The Shania Twain Centre
[edit] Media
[edit] TV
- Cable 3: Persona Inc. community channel
- Channel 3: CITO-TV, 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
[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
The city's main daily newspaper is the Timmins Daily Press, owned by Osprey Media. There are also a few smaller newspapers including Les Nouvelles, Le Soleil(nouvelles) and The Timmins Times.
[edit] Notable Websites from Timmins
http://www.truenorthnews.com/ a online Newspaper for the north http://www.timmins.ca/old/index.php The Official City of Timmins website http://www.fitsthebudget.com A free website for all of timmins and Northern Ontario
[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 the 1960s.
- 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".
- Patrice Desbiens, French poet and percussionist
- Shean Donovan, NHL hockey player
- Derek Edwards, Award Winning Comedian
- Frank Gehry, architect, spent adolescence in Timmins
- Robin David Michel Hall, soccer player
- Matt Humphreys,singer/songwriter
- J. Conrad Lavigne, broadcasting pioneer
- Jamie Lim, current president & CEO of the Ontario Forestry Industries Association; former Timmins mayor
- Frank Mahovlich, former NHL hockey player and now Canadian Senator
- 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
- Steve Sullivan, NHL player
- Philippe Tatartcheff, poet and songwriter for Kate and Anna McGarrigle
- Roy Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet, newspaper magnate, started his empire in the 1930's with the Timmins Daily Press
- Lola Lemire Tostevin, novelist and poet
Canadian author Michael Barnes has written of Timmins: 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.
See also: List of mayors of Timmins, Ontario.
[edit] Demographics
According to the Canada 2001 Census:
- % Change (1996]-2001): -8.0
- Dwellings: 18,806
- Density (persons per km².): 14.8
[edit] Racial composition
- 92.3% White
- 6.6% Aboriginal
- 0.4% Chinese
- 0.5% non-Chinese Asian
- Source: Statistics Canada
[edit] Religion
- 68.7% Catholic
- 20.2% Protestant
- 1.8% other Christian
- 0.8% other religions
- 8.5% no religion
| North: Cochrane, Unorganized, North Part | ||
| West: Cochrane, Unorganized, North Part |
Timmins | East: Black River-Matheson |
| South: Timiskaming, Unorganized North West, Ontario |
