Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

Thunder Bay is a city in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. It spans over 447.5 sq km (172.8 sq mi) and has a population of 108,000 people (2012 estimate). It is the seat of Thunder Bay District. Both are named after the body of water at the head of Lake Superior.

The earliest European settlements in the Thunder Bay area were two French fur trading posts established in 1683 and 1717. Both were subsequently abandoned. In 1803, the North West Company established Fort William in the Thunder Bay area. It served as an entrepôt until 1821, when the North West Company was absorbed into the Hudson's Bay Company. Then Fort William too redundant, but continued to exist.

Finnish Labour Temple, Thunder Bay
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thunder_Bay_Finnish_Labour_Temple.JPG
Author: Vidioman


The discovery of copper in the 1850s brought renewed interest in the area. A new settlement was created a few miles north of Fort William, and in 1870 Colonel Garnet Wolseley named it Prince Arthur's Landing. In 1883 it was renamed Port Arthur.

The towns of Port Arthur and Fort William remained distinct until 1970, when they were merged, along with the townships of Neebing and McIntyre, to create the City of Thunder Bay. The name was a result of a referendum where residents got to choose between Thunder Bay, Lakehead and The Lakehead. The Lakehead/Lakehead choice split the vote, enabling Thunder Bay to win by a narrow margin.

Visiting Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay is on the Trans-Canada Highway 11 and 17. You can also fly to the Thunder Bay International Airport (YQT) from Sault Ste Marie, Sudbury, Toronto and Winnipeg.

Places of Interest in Thunder Bay

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About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.