Nestled on the shores of Lake Superior, under the watchful eye of the Sleeping Giant, lies Thunder Bay; a culturally diverse and prosperous community with a population of approximately 108,000.
A particularly scenic community, Thunder Bay boasts some impressively magestic mountain views to the South, while the North end of the City is home to our newly redesigned Marina Park which features a beautiful marina, walking paths and rest areas, splash pad, skate board park, and a restaurant/bar.
Residents and visitors alike enjoy the interplay of parks, green space, conservation areas and waterfront along with the amenities of much larger urban centers, such as entertainment, fine dining, visual and performing arts, shopping, spas and health clubs.
We have a definite local ‘flair’ that is expressed in everything from our varied cultural events, to our country market, and our many locally owned shops and venues.
From an economic perspective, Thunder Bay is considered to be the regions commercial, administrative, and medical hub. We have a strong industrial base within the forestry sector, rapidly expanding mining sector, grain elevators, and transportation industry. From an educational perspective, we are home to Lakehead University, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Law School, Confederation College, and of course our Public and Catholic schools.
Some interesting facts;
- Thunder Bay is the sunniest city in Eastern Canada with an average 2167.7 hours of bright sunshine per year.
- Thunder bay is the sixth most culturally diverse community of its size in North America. Some of the most represented ethnicities are Finnish, Italian, Scottish, Ukrainian, Polish, French, Aboriginal Canadian, Chinese, and Croatian.
- The city takes its name from the immense Thunder Bay at the head of Lake Superior, known on 18th Century maps as Baie du Tonnerre, or Bay of Thunder (and yes, we have some spectacular thunderstorms).
- You will often hear Thunder Bay referred to as The Lakehead, because of its location at the end of Great Lakes navigation.
- Those who live here jokingly refer to living either in Port Arthur OR Fort William to this day, though in fact the two communities were amalgamated in 1970 to form Thunder Bay.
- Thunder Bay has five sister cities on three continents;
- Seinajoki, Finland since 1974
- Little Canada, Minnesota since 1977
- Duluth, Minnesota since 1980
- Keelung, Taiwan since 1988
- Gifu, Japan since 2007
