Thunder Bay

Located on the western shore of Lake Superior was a fur trading post called Fort William. Nearby was Port Arthur, a shipping town. In 1970 they were amalgamated as the city of Thunder Bay. Surrounded by the rugged Canadian Shield, Thunder Bay is the quintessential Canadian frontier city. Its official slogan is "Superior by Nature."

At the geographical centre of the North West Company's fur trade, Fort William was a staging ground for collecting and shipping furs, and it was the most important settlement in the North American interior for 20 years, until the North West and Hudson's Bay Companies merged in 1821.The construction of the railway, a port (serving the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Seaway), an international airport, the Trans Canada Highway and highway access to the United States consolidated Thunder Bay's importance as a transportation hub. The Port of Thunder Bay is the largest outbound port on the St. Lawrence Seaway System and the sixth largest port in Canada.

With a population of 109,000, it is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous in Northern Ontario after Greater Sudbury. A city with deeply rooted European and Aboriginal cultures, Thunder Bay is the sixth most culturally diverse community of its size in North America. Some of the most represented ethnic backgrounds include Finnish, Italian, Scottish, Ukrainian, Polish, French, Aboriginal Canadian, Chinese and Croatian.

Residents and visitors of Thunder Bay enjoy the harmony of a city rich in wide-open green spaces, parks and wilderness – and a major centre for visual and performing arts, and culture. Thunder Bay provides the amenities of an urban centre while opening the gateway to outdoor adventure in Northwestern Ontario. In the area you can visit Fort William Historical Park (a reconstructed fur trade post), Kakabeka Falls ("the Niagara of the North"), Sleeping Giant Provincial Park or nearby Quetico Provincial Park for a true wilderness experience.

For more information about Thunder Bay you can visit their website.