Peterborough, Ontario

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City of Peterborough, Ontario
Flag of City of Peterborough, Ontario
Flag		 Coat of arms of City of Peterborough, Ontario
Coat of arms
Nickname: "The Electric City"
Motto: Dat natura, elaborant artes
(Nature Provides, Industry Develops)
Map of Ontario with Peterborough indicated with a red dot
Map of Ontario with Peterborough indicated with a red dot
Coordinates: 44°18′00″N 78°19′00″W / 44.3, -78.316667
Country Canada Flag of Canada
Province Ontario 
County Peterborough County
Established 1819 - Scott's Plains
Incorporated as town 1850 - Peterborough
Incorporated as city July 1, 1905
Government
 - Mayor Paul Ayotte
 - MP Dean Del Mastro (CPC)
 - MPP Jeff Leal (OLP)
Area
 - Total 22.63 sq mi (58.61 km²)
Elevation 640 ft (195 m)
Population (2006)
 - Total 74,898
 - Density 3,156.9/sq mi (1,218.9/km²)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Postal code span K9H, K9J, K9K, K9L
Area code(s) 705
Pop. Change (2001 – 2006): 4.8%
Dwellings: 33,042¹
¹ According to the Canada 2006 Census
Website: http://www.peterborough.ca

Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in central-eastern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres (78 mi) northeast of Toronto. The city of Peterborough, as of 2006, has a population of 74,898, while the census metropolitan area (CMA) has a population of 116,570 and presently ranks as the 33rd largest CMA in Canada. The current mayor of Peterborough is Paul Ayotte.

Peterborough is known as the gateway to the "cottage country" of the Kawarthas, a large recreational region of the province. The city is the seat of Peterborough County.

Contents

Petroglyphs at Petroglyphs Provincial Park, located north of Peterborough.
Petroglyphs at Petroglyphs Provincial Park, located north of Peterborough.

First Nations groups followed retreating glaciers into the area 11,000 years ago. Woodland Natives inhabited the area circa 1000 BC to AD 1000, followed by Iroquois and Mississaugas circa 1740.

In 1615, Samuel de Champlain traveled through the area and stayed for a brief time near the present-day site of Bridgenorth, just north of Peterborough.

In 1818, Adam Scott settled on the west shore of the Otonabee River. The following year he began construction of a sawmill and gristmill, establishing the area as Scott's Plains. The mill was located at the foot of present day King Street and was powered by water from Jackson Creek.

1825 marked the arrival of 1,878 Irish immigrants from the city of Cork. In 1822, the British Parliament had approved an experimental emigration plan to transport poor Irish families to Upper Canada. The scheme was managed by Peter Robinson, at the time a politician in York (present-day Toronto). Scott's Plains was re-named Peterborough in his honour.

In 1845, Sandford Fleming, inventor of Standard Time and designer of Canada's first postage stamp, moved to the city to live with Dr. John Hutchison and his family, staying until 1847. Dr. John Hutchison was one of Peterborough's first resident doctors.

Peterborough was incorporated as a town in 1850 (population 2,191). Beginning in the late 1850s, a substantial canoe building industry grew up in and around Peterborough. The Peterborough Canoe Company was founded in 1893, with the factory being built on the site of the original Adam Scott mill. By 1930, 25% of all employees in the boat building industry in Canada worked in the Peterborough area. The period from 1928-36 saw the establishment of the Johnson Motor Company/Outboard Marine (the makers of motorized boat engines) as an outgrowth of the original industry.

The Peterborough Lift Lock, constructed in 1904.
The Peterborough Lift Lock, constructed in 1904.

Peterborough would also see extensive industrial growth as the city was one of the first places in the country to begin generating hydro electrical power (even before the plants at Niagara Falls). Companies like Edison General Electric Company (later Canadian General Electric) and America Cereal Company (later to become Quaker Oats, and in 2001 PepsiCo, Inc.), opened to take advantage of this new cheap resource.

In 1904, the village of Ashburnham (founded in 1859), on the east shore of the Otonabee River, was annexed to Peterborough. This area of the city is still referred to as "East City" by local residents. It is sometimes regarded as a separate entity to Peterborough, with residents referring to local businesses and homes as being in "East City", as opposed to the main bulk of the city. Peterborough was incorporated as a city on Dominion Day—July 1, 1905 (population 14,300). The city's flag and coat of arms were adopted in 1951.

In the 1970s, the Ontario Government helped sponsor the building of Peterborough Square with the aid of the Ontario Downtown Renewal Programme (ODRP). The mall was anchored by an Eaton's store. Eaton's has since left, and the mall is currently without an anchor. The call centre ICT Group, Inc. takes up the bulk of the anchor store's vacant space, and the rest of that area is other assorted office space. More recently, the Government relocated the central office of the Ministry of Natural Resources to a site downtown (across the street from Peterborough Square).

Ann Arbor, Michigan became Peterborough's sister city in 1983.

According to the Canada 2006 Census the population of the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) of Peterborough was 116,570 (Ontario 12,160,282, Canada 31,612,897) and of these 74,898 lived within the urban core. Peterborough lists as the 33rd largest urban area in Canada (14th in Ontario).

Children under five accounted for 4.8% of the resident population of the city (Ontario 5.8%, Canada 5.6%). People of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) made up 18.1% of the resident population (Ontario 13.0%, Canada 13.2%). The average age of a person in Peterborough was 40.6 years (Ontario 37.2 years, Canada 37.6 years).

The population density of Peterborough (CMA) averaged 85.4 people per square kilometre (221.2/sq mi), compared with an average of 12.6 people per square kilometre (32.6/sq mi) for the province.

It is anticipated that the city's population will grow by approximately 20,000 in the next 10 years, reaching 98,900 by 2017.

The Quaker Oats factory on the edge of the Otonabee River, with the Hunter Street bridge.
The Quaker Oats factory on the edge of the Otonabee River, with the Hunter Street bridge.

Manufacturing is the biggest local industry with General Electric and Quaker Oats maintaining large operations in Peterborough. The city is also a 'bedroom' community for workers of General Motors Canada: the GM Oshawa Autoplex is actually the largest industrial employer of Peterborough citizens. The Peterborough Regional Health Centre is the largest employer, followed by school boards and local government.

Companies like General Electric and Outboard Marine, with their high paying manufacturing jobs, had a major impact on the growth of the city. Aging facilities and more expensive labour compared with the developing world worked against the city. The NAFTA agreement of the early 1990s saw a major shift in trading patterns for many Canadian companies. Other innovations like just in time delivery and pressure to produce ever cheaper goods impacted some of the large multi-nationals in the 1970s and 1980s. Today GE, PepsiCo Quaker, Siemens and numerous smaller manufacturing companies are experiencing significant growth. Minute Maid (Coca-Cola) recently invested $CDN20 million in a new warehouse and product line while auto parts supplier Ventra has doubled in size. Manufacturing job creation kept pace with the provincial average from 1991-2001. Lower costs, reliable labour and high quality post-secondary institutions are a competitive advantage for Peterborough. Peterborough was ranked number one location for business in Ontario by Canadian Business magazine in late 2004.

Peterborough is a single-tier municipality governed by a mayor-council system. The Mayor of Peterborough is elected by direct popular vote to serve as the chief executive of the city. The Peterborough City Council is a unicameral legislative body, comprised of the Mayor and 10 city councillors representing 5 geographical wards of the city. The present wards are as follows;

  • Ward 1 - Otonobee - represented by - Eric Martin and J. Douglas Peacock
  • Ward 2 - Monaghan - represented by - Henry Clarke and Jack Doris
  • Ward 3 - Town - represented by - Ann E. Farquharson and Dean Pappas
  • Ward 4 - Ashburnham - represented by - Patti S. Peeters and Len Vass
  • Ward 5 - Northcrest - represented by - Shirley Eggleton and Bob Hall

Peterborough City Hall is located at 500 George Street North in downtown Peterborough and also houses the central offices of Peterborough Social Services.

Peterborough is located 125 kilometres (78 mi) northeast of Toronto and is served by provincial Highway 115 (from Highway 401) and the Highway 7 junction, which becomes the Peterborough By-Pass. The eastern segment of Highway 7 was separated from the central segment by 6 km until the creation of the By-Pass. This freeway style highway runs 12.5 km off Highway 115 with five entrance routes into the city. Its entire length is part of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Public transit in the city of Peterborough is Peterborough Transit.

Peterborough Transit's hub is a central terminal located on Simcoe Street in the city's downtown core. It also serves as the regional terminus for Coach Canada (formerly Trentway Wagar) routes into the city. Greyhound Lines of Canada operates an inter-city terminal nearby.

Peterborough is served by Canadian Pacific Railway.

Peterborough Airport is located off Highway 115.

Otonabee River is part of the Trent-Severn Waterway.

The Peterborough Public Library was established in 1911, and was originally known as Carnegie Library. It now has two branches:

The Main Library, located at 345 Aylmer St. North, is a full service library with a well-stocked current circulating collection of books, CD audio books, CD-Music, DVDs and magazines. In addition to encyclopedias and dictionaries, the Reference Collection includes a local history collection, government documents, electronic resources and microforms selected to answer the information needs of our community. The library was recently used for the filming of the 2008-Bound Motion Picture Jumper.

The DelaFosse Branch, established in 1957, is located in the south end of the city at 729 Park St. South. It is a small neighbourhood branch with a recreational reading collection of approximately 14,000 hardcover and paperback books for all ages. Recent additions to the collection include a variety of multimedia including CDs, DVDs, CD-ROMs, and CD audio books.

The Peterborough Public Library is part of a larger borrowing network that shares a database of materials with The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and Asphodel-Norwood Public Library System. This group of libraries is referred to as PACLAN (Peterborough and County Library Automation Network).

See also the category Schools in Peterborough, Ontario

The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board is the public English language school board that takes in the regions of the previous Peterborough County Board of Education and the Northumberland-Clarington Board of Education and covers almost 7,000 square kilometres. It serves the communities located in the Kawarthas to the north, and south to Lake Ontario. Hastings County is its eastern border and its western border extends to the City of Kawartha Lakes and to the edge of the City of Oshawa.

The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board presently operates 82 elementary schools, 15 secondary schools and 4 adult learning centres serving both the urban area and the outlining rural communities.

The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board is the Catholic (Separate) English language school board for the region.

The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board presently operates 33 elementary schools and 15 secondary schools.

The Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud is the Catholic (Separate) French language school board for the South-Central region of Ontario, which includes Peterborough.

The Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud presently operates 41 elementary schools and 8 secondary schools, of which the only school in Peterborough is the elementary school Monseigneur-Jamot.

Main article: Trent University

Established in 1964, Trent University is a liberal arts and science oriented institution. Trent's academic focus is on environmental, cultural, and science studies. The main Symons Campus of Trent, located in the city's far north end, is approximately 14.60 square kilometres, over half of which is a part of Trent's Nature Areas, an ecologically diverse wild-life preserve.

Trent University is divided into a series of colleges: Champlain College at Trent University, Lady Eaton, Catharine Parr Traill, Otonabee, Peter Gzowski, and Julian Blackburn. Each college has its own residence hall, dining room, and student government.

Main article: Fleming College

Established in 1967, Fleming College, (formerly Sir Sandford Fleming College), is a multidisciplinary institution with two primary campuses within the city of Peterborough:

McRae Campus is located in a renovated textile mill located downtown on McDonnel Street.

Sutherland Campus is located on Brealey Drive in the city's west end, and has recently undergone a massive expansion. The new St. Joseph’s at Fleming is the first long-term care facility to be built on a college or university campus. In 2005, the Peterborough Sport & Wellness Centre was constructed to accommodate the college's athletic needs. The college also operates campuses in nearby Lindsay, Cobourg, and Haliburton.

Peterborough and the Kawarthas offer a multitude of attractions and events for all demographics. Rich in heritage, the region is host to an amazing array of museums, cultural exhibitions, indoor and outdoor galleries and theatres, Aboriginal heritage attractions and historical sites, as well as a vibrant arts community.

The Peterborough Centennial Museum & Archives is home to a diverse collection of artifacts. It was established in 1897 and moved to its present site on Armour Hill in 1967. The Archives collection includes items from Catharine Parr Traill, the original Peter Robinson papers, the Park Studio Fonds and the Balsillie collection of Roy Studio Images, over 300,000 film and glass plate negatives dating back to 1896.

The Trent-Severn Waterway passes through Peterborough and includes the Peterborough Lift Lock, the world's largest hydraulic lift lock, which opened in 1904. It is also the world's highest lift lock with a rise of 65 feet (19.8 m).

Del Crary Park is a large urban greenspace on Little Lake, located in close proximity to downtown Peterborough that is also home of the Peterborough Yacht Club. Free outdoor events and concerts are held here during the summer months, including the international Festival of Lights fireworks displays, Wednesday and Saturday evenings from June through August. The Art Gallery of Peterborough, opened in 1974, is situated on the shore of Little Lake beside Del Crary Park and features 1,004 pieces from around the world.

Showplace Performance Centre is a 647 seat, state of the art performance facility located downtown that opened in 1996. The Canadian Canoe Museum, located on Monaghan Road, is a unique national heritage centre that explores the canoe's enduring significance to the peoples of Canada.

Artspace[1] is one of Canada's oldest artist-run art centres, founded in 1974. Its mandate is to support the growth and development of contemporary artists. Artspace maintains a public gallery. Noted artist David Bierk was one of the founding members.

The Peterborough Arts Umbrella[2] held its first exhibition in 2000. The PAU is mandated to serve practitioners of all artistic disciplines in Peterborough and surrounding area, and maintains a public gallery. The PAU also runs a media centre, providing resources to members for the production of digitally-based audio and video works.

Peterborough New Dance and Public Energy[3] was founded by Bill Kimball in 1994, and is a presenter and animator of contemporary dance and performance. It is the only full-time presenter of contemporary dance in Ontario outside of Toronto and Ottawa. The organization also supports the development of local dance and performance artists, produces the annual Emergency festival of new dance featuring area artists, and presents indigenous performing artists.

The Peterborough Symphony Orchestra[4] was incorporated in 1967, with historical roots reaching back before the turn of the century. The PSO presents symphonic music. Music Director Michael Newnham has led the organization since 2001, which offers concerts and educational outreach programming to Peterborough and beyond.

The Starfire Band was originally formed in 1999 by Peter Ford. It was an offshoot of the Kawartha Wind Symphony, which was composed of the older generation of musicians. The Starfire band was created for the younger generation of musicians and consists of students from Grade 7 to Grade 12 in the Peterborough, Ontario area who are interested in music, not necessarily with any or much experience.


Interior of the Peterborough Memorial Centre before the 2003 Renovations.
Interior of the Peterborough Memorial Centre before the 2003 Renovations.

Peterborough is well known for its junior level hockey team, the Peterborough Petes of the OHL. The 'Petes' were established in 1956 and have become the longest continuously operating team in the league. The Petes have produced a record number of National Hockey League players such as Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Mike Fisher, Chris Pronger, Steve Yzerman, Bob Gainey, Mike Ricci, Larry Murphy, Tie Domi, and coaches such as Scotty Bowman, Roger Neilson, Mike Keenan, Gary Green, and Dick Todd. They have also graduated the most players to the NHL of all current OHL teams.[citation needed]

The Peterborough Memorial Centre, constructed in 1956, is the home of the Peterborough Petes and was named in honour of the many war veterans who came from the region. It is located at the east of the exhibition grounds at the corner of Lansdowne and George Streets. In 2003, the Memorial Centre was renovated adding 24 luxury box suites, improved concessions, a licensed restaurant, new seats, boards, scoreboard and the addition of air conditioning.

The city also carries a Tier II Junior "A" team known as the Peterborough Stars that play in the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League. Lacrosse is also popular in the area. The city's two major teams are the Peterborough Lakers (defending Major Series Lacrosse champions) and the Peterborough Jr. Lakers.

The Peterborough Examiner is the regional daily newsapaper, and one of the area's original local publishers. From 1942 to 1955, it was both owned and edited by renowned Canadian author Robertson Davies, who resided in the city. In the late 1980s, the tabloid-style Peterborough This Week entered the market, taking a large share of advertising away from the Examiner. Peterborough This Week began as a free newspaper delivered to most homes in Peterborough County. Alternatively, Arthur and Absynthe are student newspapers funded and produced by Trent University students. They are distributed at no cost on the university campus and in the downtown area.

Since 1994, the Connection Newspaper (previously known as the Causeway Connection) has been established in the central part of Peterborough County, now known as the Township of Smith-Ennismore-Lakefield. This free monthly newspaper is distributed by mail to many homes in the area, providing a non-political, informative voice for that area.

In 2002, the KnowAboutNetwork launched their first magazine in Peterborough to complement their online magazine and directory.[5] Since then, they have published over 20 magazine/directories including KnowAbout Downtown, KnowAbout The Kawarthas, KnowAbout Home Improvements and many more. The magazines are full process colour newsprint and contain information on local goods and services. They are distributed by post, free pick-up and at local special events.

Peterborough is home to two local television stations, CHEX-TV, a CBC affiliate owned by Corus Entertainment, and TVCOGECO which is owned and operated by Cogeco Cable Canada, and provided as a service to local cable subscribers. CHEX is one of the oldest broadcasting television stations in Canada. Founders included writer Robertson Davies and his father William Rupert Davies. The transmitter tower for CHEX Peterborough is on Television Hill on the east side of the city and is used to broadcast both television and radio.

In addition to Peterborough's own radio market, some (but not all) radio stations from the Greater Toronto Area can also be heard in the area. Peterborough is in an unusual position in this respect; the city has more radio stations of its own than some larger cities, such as Oshawa or Brampton, which are closer to the Toronto market.

On June 22, 2007 the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued a call for applications for a broadcasting licence to carry on a radio programming undertaking to serve Peterborough, Ontario.CRTC Broadcasting Public Notice released on June 22, 2007

  • Artsweek - annual celebration of the arts in Peterborough held in September.
  • Downtown Countdown - alcohol/drug-free New Year's Eve celebration (website currently down)
  • Emergency: Festival of New Dance and Performance by Peterborough Area Artists - festival held in late March / early April, produced by Public Energy and Peterborough New Dance
  • Festival of Trees - fundraiser in support of local healthcare built around a show of decorated Christmas trees and other seasonally themed displays, late November, Memorial Centre
  • Peterborough Folk Festival - three-day music and community festival, featuring free all-day outdoor event with five stages, traditionally held last weekend in August
  • The Ontario municipal holiday (held on the first Monday in August) which is called Simcoe Day in Toronto and Colonel By Day in Ottawa is called Peter Robinson Day locally
  • Summer Festival of Lights - free concert series and fireworks, Wednesdays and Saturdays from June to August, Del Crary Park
  • Peterborough Kinsmen Santa Claus Parade[10] - first Saturday of December at the new time of 5:00 pm. This year's theme "Christmas Through the Eyes Of A Child."


Smith-Ennismore-Lakefield
Cavan-Millbrook-North Monaghan North Douro-Dummer
West   Peterborough    East
South
Otonabee-South Monaghan

v • d • e
Subdivisions of Ontario
Regions Eastern Ontario · Central Ontario · Golden Horseshoe · Greater Toronto Area · Southwestern Ontario · Northern Ontario · Northeastern Ontario · Northwestern Ontario
Counties Bruce · Dufferin · Elgin · Essex · Frontenac · Grey · Haliburton · Hastings · Huron · Lambton · Lanark · Leeds and Grenville · Lennox and Addington · Middlesex · Northumberland · Perth · Peterborough · Prescott and Russell · Renfrew · Simcoe · Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry · Wellington
Districts Algoma · Cochrane · Kenora · Manitoulin · Nipissing · Parry Sound · Rainy River · Sudbury · Thunder Bay · Timiskaming
Regional municipalities Durham · Halton · Muskoka · Niagara · Oxford · Peel · Waterloo · York
Single-tier municipalities Brant · Brantford · Chatham-Kent · Greater Sudbury · Haldimand · Hamilton · Kawartha Lakes · Norfolk · Ottawa · Prince Edward · Toronto
Separated municipalities Barrie · Belleville · Brantford · Brockville · Gananoque · Guelph · Kingston · London · Orillia · Pembroke · Peterborough · Prescott · Quinte West · Smiths Falls · St. Marys · St. Thomas · Stratford  · Windsor
See also Ontario communities · Ontario municipalities
v • d • e
Canadian Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) by size
Toronto, ON · Montreal, QC · Vancouver, BC · Ottawa–Gatineau, ON/QC · Calgary, AB · Edmonton, AB · Quebec City, QC · Winnipeg, MB · Hamilton, ON · London, ON · Kitchener, ON · St. Catharines-Niagara, ON · Halifax, NS · Oshawa, ON · Victoria, BC · Windsor, ON · Saskatoon, SK · Regina, SK · Sherbrooke, QC · St. John's, NL · Barrie, ON · Kelowna, BC · Abbotsford, BC · Greater Sudbury, ON · Kingston, ON · Saguenay, QC · Trois-Rivières, QC · Guelph, ON · Moncton, NB · Brantford, ON · Thunder Bay, ON · Saint John, NB · Peterborough, ON

Coordinates: 44°18′N 78°19′W / 44.3, -78.317

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterborough%2C_Ontario"
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