Research paper: History of Thunder Bay

Name: Wayes Karnine

Subject Name: Settler colonialism

A dangerous situation arose for Francis Drake and the Golden Hind crew during the summer of 1579. The ship was

leaking, so they needed a place to steer it and fix it safely. It is now widely accepted that the ‘Fair and Good Bay,’

where they ended themselves after searching for the shoreline, is located in California.

They heaped the riches they had lately seized from the Spanish on this sandy beach, rebuilt the ship, and toured the

land before setting sail for home after a few weeks. They were the second mission to round the globe following

Magellan’s journey in 1522 and the first to return with its captain when they arrived in England. The mystery

surrounding Drake’s epic voyage and summer residence in this bay is finally revealed in Thunder Go North. Based

on Drake’s observations of Natives’ homes, clothes, food, language, and lifeways, as well as anthropological data,

Melissa Darby argues that Drake and his crew did not arrive on the Oregon coast of California. 1 She also learns how

a 19th- century deception successfully perpetuated the California landing hypothesis and suppressed alternative data.

Darby’s findings, presented in an engaging narrative, begs for history to be altered. Thunder Bay has three distinct

historical periods.1 In 1970, the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur amalgamated. 1 Thunder Bay’s history is

linked to the concurrent but distinct histories of the two cities. As of January 1970, Thunder Bay resulted from Port

Arthur, Fort William, and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre in northern Ontario. Nearby Lake Superior,

Thunder Bay is a popular destination for tourists.

The earliest European colony in the Kaministiquia River region was a French trade outpost established in the late

seventeenth century. Grain and other products flowed freely via the port, making it an important transit hub.

Thunder Bay, which is at the head of Lake Superior, was referred to as Baie du Tonnerre on French maps of the 18th

century (Bay of Thunder). The city is known as the “Lakehead” because of its location at the end of Great Lakes

shipping on the Canadian side of the border.

Two French fur trade stations (1683, 1717) was the first European settlements in Thunder Bay, but they were

eventually abandoned. The North West Company, located in Montreal, established Fort William as its mid-continent

station in 1803.

_________________

Melissa Darby, Thunder Go North: The Hunt for Drake's Fair and Good Bay. University of Utah Press, 201
Fort William was constructed until 1821, when the North West Company amalgamated with the Hudson’s Bay

Company, no longer necessary. The Province of Canada started to take an interest in its western extremity in the

1850s. The discovery of copper in Michigan sparked a nationwide search for dig sites along Lake Superior’s

Canadian coasts.

A few miles north of Fort William, another colony was built, later named Port Arthur. Simon James Dawson was

hired by Confederate forces in 1867 to build a road and route from Thunder Bay on Lake Superior to the Red River

Colony. In May 1870, the lakeside depot where supplies were unloaded and kept was given its initial name.

Prince Arthur, Queen Victoria’s son, was stationed in Montreal with his crew when Prince Arthur’s Landing was

named for him. Rivalry erupted between the towns once the CPR was introduced in 1875, which continued until

1970 when they united. In 1880, Port Arthur was a much more active and large community than it is now.

East Fort William, which was located on the lower Kaministiquia River and operated as a trading post, was

preferred by the CPR when it merged with the Hudson’s Bay Company. One year after acquiring its new name, Port

Arthur became a town in March 1884, thanks to the CPR railway development boom of 1882–1885. The CPR

erected the first grain elevator in Thunder Bay and western Canada in 1883.

Port Arthur’s success came to an end when the CPR’s work along the north coast of Lake Superior came to an end,

and the company decided to consolidate its activities around the lower Kaministiquia River. For most of the 1870s,

the economy was based on silver mining. With the enactment of the McKinley Tariff by the US Congress in October

1890, the 1880s silver quarrying boom ended. 2

When William Mackenzie and Donald Mann purchased the Ontario and Rainy Railway and the Port Arthur Duluth

and Western Railway and picked Port Arthur as the Canadian Northern Railway’s Lake Superior headquarters in

1897 and 1899, the town was severe financial straits and had to be restructured. Port Arthur became a transshipment

and grain handling port for the CNR after the construction of the railway link to Winnipeg in December 1901.2

______________

2
Barbara Raue, Thunder Bay, Ontario Book 1 (Port Arthur Book 1), in Colour Photos: Saving Our History One

Photo at a Time (Cruising Ontario)  – October 16, 2017

The twin towns of Fort William and Port Arthur (amalgamated in 1970 to create Thunder Bay) were among the most

diversified settlements in the nation in the early twentieth century. Even though they were both tiny towns by

today’s standards, they were fast expanding. Massive waves of European immigrants, many of whom were of

British ancestry but with many more entering from non-Anglophone European nations, propelled the nation’s

population growth.

In 1875, construction started on the western portion of the Canadian Pacific Railroad in the Town Plot, known as

West Fort in Thunder Bay South. An economic boom and bust cycle in precious mineral mining, wood harvesting,

and the construction of grain elevators for trans-shipment of Prairie wheat began at that time.

Immigrants from Northern, Eastern, and Southern Europe provided the vast majority of the relatively unskilled labor

needed for these operations. Finland, Slovaks, Italians, Ukrainians, Poles, and Scandinavians accounted up over a

third of the population of 45,000 at the outbreak of World War I.

It is hard to imagine how drastically different these two cities were when they first opened their doors to newcomers

a century ago. Formerly a popular destination for immigrants to Canada, this area no longer draws as many people.

According to the 2001 Census, only 1,325 people from Thunder Bay’s census metropolitan area (CMA) left the

country between 1991 and 2001.

This represents less than 1% of the 120,370 residents in 2001, a far smaller percentage than the province’s overall

population, which has decreased by about 9% over the last decade. Comparatively, this is in stark contrast to the

experience of Toronto, where 17% of residents immigrated to Canada over the same period. Port Arthur Book 1 by

Barbara Raue in Color Photos: Preserving Our Past Cruising Ontario, one photo at a time, on October 16, 2017.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) reports that just 489 new immigrants arrived in the city between 2002

and 2005, even though the 2006 Census for immigration to the city has not yet been published.
Thunder Bay was one of several second-and third-tier cities where the proportion of foreign-born residents

decreased despite the foreign-born population increasing nationally and provincially in the 1990s. In 2001, they

accounted up little over 11 percent of the population, compared to a statewide average of 26.8 percent, a decrease

from 13.1 percent in the quarter before.3

The Meaning of Mount McKay : Anemki-waucheau and Settler Colonial Reterritorialization in Thunder Bay,

Ontario. The gendered forms of anti-Indigenous violence are part of the city's social architecture, according to this

essay, which examines the settler colonial past of Thunder Bay via place names. settlers created large sums of

money and established a local industrial economy centered on land-based resources such as silver, lumber, and shale

between 1860 and 1910. Simultaneously, settlers forcibly transferred natives to other reserve locations forbade them

from participating in the burgeoning industrial economy and repurposed their holy mountain as a brick quarry and a

stop-butt for a settler rifle range. The study examines how local place names such as Mount McKay, Fort William,

Port Arthur, and Simpson Street have empowered and honored this heritage.

I contend that the entanglement of the land and its resources in an exploitative and exclusive colonial economy

coexisted with the power to name the nation after white people who played a crucial role in that extraordinarily

violent historical process. In all, there are four of these things.4

Thunder Bay has Canada’s highest proportion of urban Aboriginals

OTTAWA –According to new census data, a high fertility rate and a developing sense of self are fueling an increase

in the ranks of Indigenous Peoples, exposing the demographic issues confronting one of Canada’s most vulnerable

and impoverished groups.

According to Statistics Canada, about 1.7 million persons identified as Aboriginal in the 2016 census, accounting for

4.9 percent of the total population and a staggering 42.5 percent rise since 2006, a pace more than four times that of

______________________

3
THOMAS DUNK, Thunder Bay: Between a Rock and a Hard Place in Northwestern Ontario,(Ontario, Jan 1,

2007)
4
Hay, Travis. "The Meaning of Mount McKay: Anemki-waucheau and Settler Colonial Reterritorialization in

Thunder Bay, Ontario." Histoire sociale / Social History 52, no. 106 (2019): 281-304

their non-Indigenous peers. Thunder Bay, where Aboriginal Peoples account for the most significant percentage of

any major Canadian municipality population – 12.7 percent that exemplifies a decades-long expansion in the urban

population. Canada’s Statistics Agency estimates the population of Thunder Bay and its immediate surroundings to

be 121,621, with an indigenous population of 15,445 making up 12.7% of the total.

Increased life expectancy and high fertility rates have contributed to a rise in the number of First Nations, Metis, or

Inuit persons who are willing to identify themselves on the federal census as such.

The number of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people willing to identify themselves on the federal census has

increased due to increased life expectancy and high childbearing rates. “Sometimes it can be in particular locations,

where more and more persons are highlighting how vital it is to represent ourselves as Indigenous Peoples,” says

Jean-Pierre Corbet, assistant head of the agency’s social and Aboriginal division.

Because of their ancestry, some individuals may want to identify themselves as Aboriginal person. A 51.2 percent

rise in the number of persons of Metis ancestry was recorded in the last year, reaching 587,545. The First Nations

population has grown by 39.3% since 2006, while the Inuit population has grown by 29.1%.

Unlike the non-Aboriginal population, the Aboriginal population in Canada is both young and old, with 7.3% of the

population 65 and over in 2016, up from 4.8 percent in 2006, according to the 2016 census. According to the

Statistics Canada report, the median income for Aboriginal people in Canada is $25,526 compared to $34,604 for

the rest of the country, and around one-quarter of them live below the poverty line. The presentation of a spate of

gloomy economic statistics was cut short on Wednesday.

Compared to the six percent of non-Indigenous people, Aboriginal people had a higher percentage of homes that

required “severe repairs.” One in four First Nations and Inuit people, particularly those who live on reserve, are

affected by the disease. Every tenth household was too small for its residents.
Activist Qaumariak Inuttqaqau, 31, says that “poverty and injustice are on show every day” in Inuit communities in

Canada. There must be a better quality of life for indigenous populations in Canada under the Liberal government.

To avoid living in frigid conditions in makeshift shelters, many Inuit families are compelled to travel from place to

place. Inuqtaqau said that parents are under much stress because of the terrible situation. he added, “It is much

work.” In addition, “Hard on the baby.”

It is all about how tough it is to exist on their land, they claim. In the next two decades, Canada’s Aboriginal

population is expected to exceed 2.5 million individuals, according to estimates from Statistics Canada. There has

been an increase in the number of indigenous people in Canada but also an increase in the use of Indigenous

indicators,” says an associate professor of sociology in London, Ontario.

As one researcher put it, “people who would not necessarily know as Aboriginal in the past are more inclined to do

so.” There has been a “mobilization of communities behind a category.” Inuqtaqau projected that the situation would

only become worse before it improved. There are tens of thousands of children going hungry. That has been a

problem in town before. In less than two months, two individuals have died as a consequence of exposure to the

cold.

Chief Kevin Hart’s job in Manitoba is to oversee the water, housing, and infrastructure departments of the Assembly

of First Nations. He makes no apologies for emphasizing the magnitude of the situation. Hart claims that “These

costs are significant.” Consequently, the project’s cost will be in the trillions. 175,000 new homes are needed for

First Nations communities in Canada in order to keep up with population growth.

Hart urged the federal government to establish First Nations skills and training. Young people may assist construct

houses in areas where they are so sorely needed, according to this proposal.

Cindy Blackstock, the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, urged the federal

government to set a clear timeframe for tackling an issue that it continues to misunderstand. Blackstock remarked,

"They build up an architecture in which we, as the First Nations, are meant to be grateful for this small first step of

advancement." There is a direct correlation between government stubbornness and the deaths of Indigenous

children, according to 110-year-old records.110 years is a long time to wait, in my opinion. It's time for them to put

together a strategy."
When it comes to building her fresh new department focusing on issues like education, housing, and drinking water,

Aboriginal Services Minister Jane Philpott says census data will be an invaluable resource for the government.

Philpott added, "It's always beneficial to have facts to guide decision making.” Our new department's primary goal is

to ensure that children in Aboriginal communities are given the attention they deserve since they are among

Canada's youngest and fastest-growing populations.

Inuqtaqau, upon landing at Iqaluit, maintains his skepticism. Everything is clear to everyone that Ottawa can "talk

the talk," he said, sighing.

Inuqtaqau said, "They can't

walk the walk."

Astonishing things are going to happen as soon as I start noticing alterations. Our needs have gone unmet for a very

long time. 5

Neighborhoods

You Should Know About The Canadian Shield’s northernmost point, the mouth of the Kaministiquia River, and

Ontario’s Fort William, an important port on Lake Superior, made it an important shipping location. With Port

Arthur, Neebing and McIntyre Townships merger into Thunder Bay, the city was established in 1970. In

Northwestern Ontario, a major metropolis was born. the coat of arms for the city was created by town authorities in

1900 and included a Latin phrase, A posse ad esse, which means “from a potential to a fact.” The shield depicts an

Indian, a French explorer, a grain elevator, a steamer, and a locomotive in the middle, while a beaver defeats them

all.6

French period (Fort Kaministiquia)

The first mention of Kamanistigouian appears in a decree of the Council of New France dated August 23, 1681,

which instructed one of two canoes to inform the coureurs de bois of King Louis XIV’s amnesty, even though the

Kaministiquia River is shown as “R. [rivière] par où on va aux Assinipoualacs à 120 lieues vers le Nord-Ouest" on

the 1671 "Car Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, established a trade station near the Kaministiquia River's mouth in

late 1683 or early 1684. According to official records, an oversupply of furs on the market forced the French to shut

this station in 1696. At the mouth of the river, Zacharie Robutel de la Noue erected a new garrison in 1717 called

Fort Kaministiquia. Fort Caministogoyan appears on Jacques-Nicolas Bellin’s maps from the 18th century. After the
British invasion of New France in 1758 or 1760, the station was abandoned. English period (Fort William) Grand

Portage was quickly adopted by the fur industry to reorganize.

5
KRISTY KIRKUP “Soaring birth rate, sense of self fuel Indigenous population explosion” THE CANADIAN

PRESS AND THE CHRONICLE-JOURNAL, [Oct 25,2017]

6
Jean F Morrison, Superior rendez-vous place : Fort William in the Canadian fur trade  (Toronto: Dundurn,

2007 ).

English period (Fort William)

Grand Portage was quickly adopted by the fur industry as a means of reorganization. The North West Company

(Nor'Westers) was created by Montreal merchants and their "wintering partners" in 1784. Despite the American

Revolution's success, the North West Company will continue to operate out of Grand Portage, which was given to

the United States. A new halfway transshipment site was required after Great Britain and the United States'

agreement on the Jay Treaty of 1794, which recognised American authority of the region. In order to avoid

American taxes, the partners had to meet and trade furs and supplies.

Fort William in 1811

A new halfway transshipment site was required after Great Britain and the United States agreed on the Jay Treaty of

1794, which recognized the American authority of the region. In order to avoid American taxes, the partners had to

meet and trade furs and supplies. 7 Fort William in 1811 Withdrawing from Grand Portage in 1803, the Nor’Westers

relocated to the Kaministiquia River, where they constructed a new fur trading station based on territory acquired

from the Ojibwe by formal agreement in 1798.

In honor of William McGillivray, the North West Company’s principal director from 1804 until 1821, the station

was renamed Fort William in 1807. As commerce moved to York Factory on Hudson Bay due to North West

Company and Hudson’s Bay Company amalgamation in 1821, the fort’s original purpose was lost. It became a

minor trade station for HBC furs. “In the 1880s, the original site was completely razed to make place for the

Canadian Pacific Railway’s rails and coal stacks. At Point de Meuron, a former military staging area named after

Lord Selkirk’s Swiss de Meuron regiment, a duplicate of Fort William was erected upstream on the Kaministiquia

River. The Fort William Historical Park has been established.

The Early Days of Fort William's Fire Department

In Fort William, the personnel was referred to as the “Fire Brigade” until 1905, when yearly reports changed the

term to “Department.” In 1909, the department had 25 volunteer firemen. There were now 14 paid firemen and a

handful of unpaid volunteers in the department two years after its inception.

7
Joseph M. Mauro, A HISTORY OF Thunder Bay The Golden Gateway of the Great Northwest (Ontario, The

Author, 1981)

The apparatus and firefighting methods used by the department in the early 1900s were vastly different from those

now in use in the present. A horse-drawn carriage was formerly the primary mode of transportation for firefighters

to go to fires before fire engines and other specialized vehicles became common.

While vehicles in subsequent decades required constant maintenance (to the point that the station had an on-site

mechanic), horses required stables, feed, veterinary care, and harnessing equipment, all of which needed to be

updated regularly. According to a brief 1905 report sent to the town hall, a stable, horses, harnesses, 500 feet of

brand-new hose, as well as a hook and ladder apparatus are all requested.

There were two Hook and Line apparatuses, two hose wagons, one winter sled, one hose reel, and one chemical

apparatus on the 1909 fire station equipment list (1909 Henderson Directory). Firefighters in this era relied on

minimal equipment and much effort to put out blazes. In the 1920s, powered cars began to displace horses as a mode

of public transportation.

Motorized buggies were first used by the Fire Department in 1921, when they acquired two motors and attached

them to old horse-drawn buggies. This led to the retirement of three horses and another team of two to the City

Works division. Firefighters still relied heavily on horses after this incident.

Even though their usage had decreased, horses remained in demand and were still being bought and cared for. A

feeling of ingenuity and invention characterized the early use of motorized firefighting trucks. New pieces were

acquired individually and merged with older ones in order to make the most usable fleet. In order to lessen the

department’s reliance on horses, motors, chassis, and other elements were swapped and merged.
Medical centers and hospitals

Only one major hospital exists in Thunder Bay, which is the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Center. The St.

Joseph’s Care Group, which runs long-term care facilities such Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital, St. Joseph’s

Hospital, and Hogarth Riverview Manor, is other options for health care services. There are also several smaller

medical and dental facilities in the city.8

Thunder Bay International Airport History

In 1938, it was designated as the Fort William Municipal Airport to alleviate the effects of the Great Depression on

the area’s workforce.9 As part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, the Thunder Bay (formerly Fort

William) airfield housed the No. 2 Elementary Flying Training School during World War II .

The neighboring Canadian Car and Foundry plant was also used to test fighter planes produced at the airfield. The

Canadian Lakehead Airport was the airport's name prior to the merger of Fort William and Port Arthur into one.

Significant renovations to the airport’s terminal began in 1994 when a brand new structure was built to house two

new jetways and a vast food court, gift shop, and arcade. It was taken over by the Thunder Bay International

Airports Authority (TIAA) in 1997, which is a non-profit corporation. 2006 was the first year since 2001 that the

airport handled more than 600,000 passengers.10

Infrastructure

Thunder Bay’s runways are typically utilized by small or bigger turboprop aircraft such as the Bombardier Q400

propjet, but they can accommodate narrow-body jetliners such as current-generation Boeing 737 aircraft operated by

(previously) Air Transat, Sunwing Airlines, and WestJet. There was a time when flights to and from the airport were

often made by Boeing 727-200 and Boeing 737-200 aircraft as well as smaller Fokker F28 Fellowship twin jets. It is

not the first time the airport has seen more extensive jet aircraft types land, with examples including an American

Airlines Boeing 720, a wide-body Airbus A310 operated by Royal Aviation subsidiary Royal Aviation in 1999 and

2000, and a Boeing 747SP operated as the “Global Peace Ambassadors” aircraft for Christian preacher K.A. Paul.

After four freight flights from Austria in August 2017 to April 2018, Bombardier’s rail car components arrived in

Thunder Bay aboard the Antonov AN-125. Shell Aviation uses Innotech Aviation Services, while World Fuel

Services uses Thunder Bay Flight Refueling.

8
Tom Closson, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre : capital redevelopment review (Toronto, Toronto,

Ont. : Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, 2004)

9
Tronrud, Thorold J Thunder Bay from Rivalry to Unity (Ontario, Thunder Bay Historical Msueum Society, 1995 )

10
Spare, Brian. “The Remarkable History of the Thunder Bay International Airport.” Bayview. Vol. 10, issue 3
[Autumn 2012]: pp. 10 - 11

150 Years of Sports

As Canada celebrates 150 years of Confederation, I felt it a perfect opportunity to take a step back time to the early

days of summer sport in this part of the world. There is a long and rich history of sports in our region, spanning from

the activities favored by our indigenous inhabitants to the introduction of new ones by our early immigrants. Modern

sports apparel and equipment are readily visible as you drive about town. Participants of various backgrounds and

ages may be seen partaking in a broad range of activities. Photos from a century ago show how attire and equipment

have changed and how sports have evolved.

Today, July 1 is recognized as Canada Day, although it was formerly known as Dominion Day until 1982. Early

Dominion Day celebrations featured canoeing, rowing, sailing, track and field, lacrosse, cycling, and horse racing,

which drew large audiences to the landside festivities. As time went on, more structured types of sports were

introduced. The Port Arthur Cricket Club was one of the earliest organizations to settle in Waverley Park in the

1880s. Members and onlookers alike enjoyed a cricket club at Fort William, where matches were held between the

town’s neighboring settlements. As early as 1916, the Waverley Park Lawn Bowling Club had built a shelter on the

land and was active through the early 20th and early 30th centuries.

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, field lacrosse was so popular that many companies were forced to close their

doors to attend matches. Fort William enthusiasts would gather to Simpson Street and Victoria Avenue, while Port

Arthur supporters would travel to Waverley and Current River Park.

As far back as the late 1880s, our local publications have reported on soccer, or football, as it was then known. It

was one of our first sports. With their own football teams established in Fort William and Port Arthur during the
1890s, the two towns joined the Western Canada Football Association in 1899. Local teams in northern Ontario

have been playing baseball since the late 1880s, and the Port Arthur Baseball Club was named the 1894 Champions

of Algoma after winning many games against teams from the surrounding region. As early as the early 1900s,

enormous audiences gathered at McKellar Park, the Agricultural Fairgrounds and Current River Park to cheer on

teams such as the Maridays and YMCA in Thunder Bay's Baseball League. Lakehead Exhibition grounds, which

have been there since 1890, have hosted a variety of athletic events from its inception in the West Algoma

Agricultural Society. With Frank Colosimo's Ford Special and hundreds of people flocking to watch him race,

automobile racing started in the mid-19th century and lasted for many years.

With Frank Colosimo’s Ford Special and hundreds of people flocking to watch him race, automobile racing started

in the mid-19th century and lasted for many years. Sulky racing, a popular spectator sport with prize money up to

$300, would be offered at the agricultural spring and autumn fairs. The Fort William and Port Arthur Driving

Associations, which merged in 1913 to become the Twin City Driving Club, held a variety of weekend and holiday

races throughout the year.

Crowds of up to 5,000 would assemble along the banks of the Kaministiquia River in Fort William or at the foot of

Arthur Street in Port Arthur each winter to see the extremely popular sulky racing on ice. In 1910, a local horse

made history by breaking a world record for the half-mile established on an ice track in Toronto the year before.

Tokay, a horse, owned, trained, and driven by Fort William native Thomas McCranor, completed the racetrack in

one minute, three and three-quarter seconds. McCrane was a highly successful racer in his early years, winning

several local races and those in western and eastern Canada. We share with our ancestors our desire to assemble on

our nation’s birthday to commemorate the fact that we are fortunate enough to live in one of the world’s most awe-

inspiring nations. Congratulations on your 150th anniversary, Canada.11

THUNDER BAY Brady Hales believes that competing in the Robin’s Minor Hockey is a fantastic method for teams

to assess how they measure up to the rest of the area. Variety is the spice of life, according to Westfort Maroon's

defenceman Hales. At Delaney Arena, where the Thunder Bay Beavers were set to begin their weekend series

against him and his colleagues on Thursday, he remarked, “It’s a significant event, and there are many out-of-town

teams.”
Longlac and a few other teams come from outside the area, and I believe we only face one established local team.

According to the teenager, it is common for people to develop poor habits and get complacent since they are familiar

with them. The challenge of playing against various people, even for a few days, makes it more enjoyable.

11
Imrie, Diane. “150 Years of Sports: Celebrating Thunder Bay’s Proud Sports History.” Bayview. (2017), vol. 15,
no 3 [.Summer 2017]: pp. 30 - 33.

It is impossible to foresee the future. You do not know, so you have just gotta accept the situation and go on,”

Brady, a tournament regular for much of his life, said. Wayne Fortes has been an assistant coach in the NHL for

over three decades, longer than he can recall. 12

Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra history

It was renamed the Lakehead Symphony Orchestra in 1960. Lakefield High School hosted the first concert. 40

amateurs and a professional musician from the Fort William-Port Arthur region made up the group’s members. The

orchestra’s name was altered to reflect the 1970 amalgamation of the two communities, which resulted in Thunder

Bay.13

Chronology

The orchestra started importing performers from the Hamilton Philharmonic, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra,

and the orchestras of Duluth, Minneapolis, and St. Paul, Minnesota, during Boris Brott’s tenure from 1967 to 1972.

Thunder Bay’s resources may have been hindered due to this approach, but it surely enhanced the level of

performance. However, under Brott, the symphony started a musicians-in-residence program, enlisting the Princeton

String Quartet to live and teach at Thunder Bay’s first Symphony School of Music.

During Manuel Suarez's tenure as conductor, the orchestra's instrumental education programs were bolstered and the

orchestra's employment of local performers was given increased importance. Concerts continued, but Dwight
Bennett was hired in to replace Suarez in 1974. To perform works like Verdi's Requiem, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and

Beethoven's

Symphony No.9, the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra Chorus was formed under his leadership from 1974 to

1989. He also made the orchestra one of the leading community orchestras in Ontario, with a resident professional

musician in every principal chair. In 1978, the orchestra had 53 members, including 22 full-time professionals; by

1988, the

12
Imrie, Diane. “150 Years of Sports: Celebrating Thunder Bay’s Proud Sports History.” Bayview. (2017), vol. 12
no 1 [.winter 2013]: pp. 13 - 20.
13
Lynn Osmond. “The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra : a History.” [Spring,1997]:pp.2.

number of professionals had increased to 30, and the orchestra continued to add local and other performers as

needed to its ranks. Operas such as The Marriage of Figaro, Hansel and Gretel, Carmen, and Madama Butterfly were

also performed during the event.14

Difficult Times and Recovery

It had a $1,330,000 budget in 1994-1995 and a $1.2 million budget the following year. Since then, the Thunder Bay

Symphony Orchestra has faced a number of challenges. Debt soared to $140,000 (although it had been as high as

$269,000 in 1990-1991), and doubt about its capacity to put on a complete performance program persisted

throughout the season. The orchestra was without a permanent conductor after the departure of general manager Erik

Perth. Stéphane Laforest served as a staff conductor throughout the audition process. He was hired as the music

director in 1998 and held the position for the next two years. Classical concerts were added to Masterworks, Pops

and Candlelight concerts throughout that time period. The Thunder Bay Community Auditorium and Confederation

College served as venues in 1995 and 1996.

Laforest's retirement in April 1999 necessitated a new search for a new conductor, and David Bowser served as

temporary staff conductor from 1999 to 2000. As a result of many issues, including a dispute over musicians' salary

deductions, the symphony was hit with a huge back-tax payment. The organization also lost its charity lottery

license. Despite a $200,000 Save Our Symphony campaign, the organization's debt had reached $450,000 by the

summer of 1999, and workers had been let off. As a result of Revenue Canada's acceptance of the symphony's

second planned repayment plan, the orchestra continued to function.

Music director Geoffrey Moull took the reins of the orchestra in 2000, ensuring a more stable future for the group. It

had a total of 25 key concerts in 2004-2005. Richard Lee, Jason Caslor, and Stéphane Potvin served as conductors in

residence from 2003 to 2005, 2005 to 2007, and 2008 to 2011. During the 2009-2010 season, Stéphane Potvin also

held the job of Artistic Administrator. In October of that year, Arthur Post was appointed music director and

performed his first performance in that capacity.

4
King, Betty Nygaard, and Nancy McGregor, "Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra". In The Canadian

Encyclopedia. [June 08, 2011]

More than 50 performances were performed during the orchestra's 24-week season in 2007; the orchestra's budget

had grown to $1.5 million. Classical Plus, Masterworks, Cabaret, Pops, and Family were some of the programmes it

offered.

It's Thunder Bay. If a team wants to assess how they compare to other teams in the area, Brady Hales believes that

competing in Robin's Minor Hockey is an excellent method to do so "Variety is what makes the game exciting,"

defenseman Hales of the Bantam AA Westfort Maroons stated. When asked about the size of the tournament and

how many out-of-town teams were participating, he said, "It's a massive one," as he and his teammates prepared to

face the Thunder Bay Beavers at Delaney Arena. In my opinion, "I suppose we only play one team from town and

the others are from outside the town, like Longlac and other teams." The adolescent remarked that familiarity might

lead to poor habits and complacency. Even if it's only for a few days, having a variety of opponents makes it more

enjoyable. "It's impossible to predict what's going to happen to you. It's impossible to predict the outcome, so you
have to adapt to the situation on the fly," said Brady, a tournament veteran who has competed in the event for most

of his life. More than three decades in all, Wayne Fortes has been an assistant coach on hockey teams for more years

than he likes to remember.

The Arts

Thunder Bay Historical Museum

A broad spectrum of classical music is presented by the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, which was created in

1960 and had 31 full-time and up to 30 additional players. Contemporary chamber music events at New Music

North are vital to the city’s contemporary classical music culture. Magnus Theatre is the largest professional

theater. The theater was founded in 1971 and is housed in a refurbished Port Arthur Public School on Red River

Road.15 It presents six stage performances each season. A 1500-capacity auditorium known as the Thunder Bay

Community

Auditorium serves as the city’s foremost venue for entertainment. Founded in 2005, the Vox Popular Media Arts

_________________

5
Thorold John Tronrud, The Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society’s Archives. In The Thunder Bay Historical

Museum Society’s Archives, (Ontario, 1986)

Festival promotes local, national, and worldwide films with the subject of “Films for the People” in an independent

film festival. Historic Finnish Labor Temple 314 Bay Street hosts the celebration in early October. Thunder Bay is

also home to the Superior Film Association, located to the north (NOSFA). International and Canadian films are

shown at the Cumberland Cinema Centre every month by the Northwest Film Fest (NOSFA), established in 1992.

When it came to the top 100 festivals in Ontario in 2018, Teddy Bears Picnic was named best promotional campaign

and sponsor by Festivals & Events Containment and Live on the Waterfront, voted the best event overall. One of the

leading writing organizations in Thunder Bay is the Northwestern Ontario Writers Workshop (NOWW).

Writers and literature in Northwestern Ontario are the primary focus of this organization. These include regular

writing workshops, monthly reading events (except in the summer), a Writer in Residence program, and other events
aimed to support and encourage local authors. NOWW does this via these many programs. NOWW also hosts an

annual LitFest in May, when the winners of its worldwide yearly prizes are honore in a writing competition. Past

judges have included Heather O'Neill, Michael Christie, Jane Urquhart, and Liz Howard, among many others. 16

Education in Thunder Bay, Ontario

Thunder Bay is home to 38 primary schools, three middle schools, five secondary schools, two private schools, a

university, two colleges, a medical school, and an adult education center, as well as a university, two colleges, a

medical school, and an adult education center. The school boards provide special education programs and night

school for students with exceptional needs or who have run afoul of the law. Other private for-profit institutions and

tutoring programs are also available in the city. The Lakehead District School Board, the Thunder Bay Catholic

District School Board, and the Conseil scolaire de district Catholique des Aurores boréales are the three major

school boards that serve the Thunder Bay region. With 22 elementary schools, three secondary schools, and an adult

learning center, the Lakehead District School Board is the biggest. With 16 elementary schools, three middle

schools, and two high schools, the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board (TBCDSB) is the second-largest.

CSDC Aurores boréales is responsible for one elementary and one high school in Thunder Bay, as well as six other

schools in the Thunder Bay District.

16
Now & Then, “Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society Newsletter” Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society,

[Summer 2001]pp.2-3

Museums and galleries

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery, which opened in 1976, focuses in the works of First Nations artists and has a

significant collection. The Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, founded in 1908, hosts local and traveling

exhibits and maintains an extensive archive of objects, pictures, paintings, papers, and maps. 17 The Northwestern
Ontario Sports Hall of Fame and the Thunder Bay Military Museum (located in the O'Kelley Armoury on Park

Street) are both located in Thunder Bay.

-----------------------------------------------------END--------------------------------------------------------

17
Toronto: Ministry of Culture and Recreation, Ontario Historic Sites, Museums, Galleries and

Plaques. (Toronto, Toronto: Ministry of Culture and Recreation,1975)

Bibliography

Darby, Melissa. Thunder Go North: The Hunt for Drake's Fair and Good Bay. University of

Utah Press, 2019.

This is a multi-layered work that will appeal to a wide range of readers. The technical aspects of this book
were difficult for me to follow, but the historical material was intriguing. I like Ms. Darby's writing style,
and her research and arguments were flawless.
DUNK, THOMAS Thunder Bay:  Between a Rock and a Hard Place in Northwestern Ontario,

Ontario, (Jan 1, 2007), pp 1-2.

A timely and worthy addition to the canon of commemorative First World War histories... a highly
readable, fast-paced account that will appeal both to general audiences and to academics alike, and
certainly deserves a spot on the library shelf of all Canadian military historians.

F Morrison, Jean Superior rendez-vous place : Fort William in the Canadian fur trade 

(Toronto: Dundurn, 2007 )

Jean Morrison has created an important and entertaining novel that is full with drama and colorful
historical people. Her meticulous research and engaging language are complemented with rare
paintings, sketches, maps, and historical images. Superior Rendezvous-Place covers the French
forerunners of Fort William, as well as Native Americans of the time and the history of the fur trade,
with a focus on the North West Company period. This monumental study closes with information on
the fort's renovation and growth as one of Ontario's "must see" sites, Old Fort William. Jean
Morrison is a natural storyteller, and her book is a crucial historical record in the fascinating history
of Fort William, formerly the commercial epicenter of North America.

Tronrud, Thorold J Thunder Bay from Rivalry to Unity (Ontario, Thunder Bay Historical

Msueum Society, 1995 )

Thunder Bay is a relatively new city, having been founded in 1970. Despite this, civilizations have existed on the
protected bay that has the same name for almost 9,000 years. As early as 1683, Europeans came and built permanent
structures there, and the place gained importance well beyond its bounds about 200 years ago! The settlement
(previously Fort William and Port Arthur) is well into its second century as a city. The knowledge of historians,
archaeologists, geographers, sociologists, and urban planners is combined in this collaborative history to produce a
well-rounded description and study of the settlements around Thunder Bay's shoreline. It looks at the changing
landscape of the location, the history of its early inhabitants, and the interesting age of the fur trade. It vividly
depicts the early twentieth century boom years, when development knew no boundaries, as well as the devastating
effects of two World Wars and the Great Depression. In these pages, the community's cultural spirit, athletic stars,
and political and economic life come to life in all their glory.
However, the book is more than simply a city's history. It aims to broaden the scope of local history by situating
Thunder Bay in a larger regional and national context. It attempts to comprehend the community's historical
significance in Canada.

Spare, Brian. “The Remarkable History of the Thunder Bay International Airport.” Bayview.

Vol. 10, issue 3 [Autumn 2012]: pp. 10 – 11

Thunder Bay Airport (IATA: YQT, ICAO: CYQT) is a Canadian airport located in Thunder Bay, Ontario. It was the
fourth busiest airport in Ontario and the 16th busiest airport in Canada in 2012, with 108,130 aircraft movements.
[4] More than 761,000 passengers passed through the airport in the same year. Nav Canada classifies the airport as
an entry point, and the Canada Border Services Agency staffs it (CBSA). Officers from the CBSA may handle
planes with up to 40 passengers at this airport.

Thunder Bay International Airport Inc. (TBIAAI) uses the term "international" in its name exclusively for
commercial reasons. In conformity with all relevant domestic and international standards as stated by ICAO Annex
9, the TBIAAI has not sought official Canadian classification as "International."

Osmond, Lynn “The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra : a History.” [Spring,1997]:pp.2.

After their automobile broke down in Longlac in 1960, two Toronto musicians on way to
Edmonton were forced to make a detour to Port Arthur. Rene Charrier and Douglas Dahlgren
walked inside Saul Laskin's Furniture Store, sat at the exhibition piano, and started playing. Soon
after, Laskin started up a discussion with these roaming minstrels, and the topic led to their
ambitions to form a symphony orchestra. As they say, the rest is history. The Thunder Bay
Symphony Orchestra is Northwestern Ontario's sole professional orchestra. During the 2014-15
season, the TBSO will mark its 54th anniversary. The Orchestra now has 30 full-time musicians
who present a diverse repertoire that encompasses anything from famous classical masterworks
to pops and children's events. The TBSO aspires to be Canada's greatest regional orchestra,
appealing to a broad and varied audience via outstanding performances and innovative
programming.

King, Betty Nygaard, and Nancy McGregor, "Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra". In The

Canadian Encyclopedia. [June 08, 2011]

After their automobile broke down in Longlac in 1960, two Toronto musicians on way to
Edmonton were forced to make a detour to Port Arthur. Rene Charrier and Douglas Dahlgren
walked inside Saul Laskin's Furniture Store, sat at the exhibition piano, and started playing. Soon
after, Laskin started up a discussion with these roaming minstrels, and the topic led to their
ambitions to form a symphony orchestra. As they say, the rest is history. The Thunder Bay
Symphony Orchestra is Northwestern Ontario's sole professional orchestra. During the 2014-15
season, the TBSO will mark its 54th anniversary. The Orchestra now has 30 full-time musicians
who present a diverse repertoire that encompasses anything from famous classical masterworks
to pops and children's events. The TBSO aspires to be Canada's greatest regional orchestra,
appealing to a broad and varied audience via outstanding performances and innovative
programming.
Now & Then, “Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society Newsletter” Thunder Bay Historical

Museum Society,[Summer 2001]pp.2-3

The Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society was founded in 1908 with the goal of preserving and interpreting
Northwestern Ontario's history via lectures, publications, monuments and plaques, and record preservation.
The publishing of a lengthy series of excellent historical studies and the installation of a monument commemorating
the ancient Fort William fur trading station at the foot of McTavish Street in Thunder Bay were among the Society's
numerous achievements in its early years. Peter McKellar, our founding father, debuted it in 1916.

Ministry of Culture and Recreation, Toronto, Ontario Historic Sites, Museums, Galleries and

Plaques. (Toronto, Toronto: Ministry of Culture and Recreation,1975).

When I was passing through the region lately, I decided to stop by this national historic
monument. As you wander around the grounds, you get a beautiful feeling of Ontario history.
Make sure you read the plaques for a few minutes. Although the museum was closed when I
visited, I enjoyed walking around the grounds and learning about the subterranean railway's
history. If you're in the region, be sure to swing by this place to learn about Ontario's history.