Timmins

Timmins (/ˈtɪmɪns/ TIM-ins) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 (2021).[3] The city's economy is based on natural resource extraction, and is supported by industries related to lumbering, and to the mining of gold, zinc, copper, nickel and silver. Timmins serves as a regional service and distribution centre. The city has a large Francophone community, with more than 50% bilingual in French and English.[4]

Timmins
City of Timmins
View of Timmins
View of Timmins
Seal of the Corporation of the City of Timmins
Timmins Community Logo
Motto: 
The City with a Heart of Gold
Timmins is located in Ontario
Timmins
Timmins
Timmins is located in Canada
Timmins
Timmins
Coordinates: 48°28′N 81°20′W
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
DistrictCochrane
Established1912
Named forHenry Timmins and Noah Timmins
Government
  MayorMichelle Boileau
  Governing BodyTimmins City Council
  MPsCharlie Angus (NDP)
  MPPsGeorge Pirie (Ontario PC)
Area
  Land2,978.83 km2 (1,150.13 sq mi)
Elevation294.70 m (966.86 ft)
Population
 (2021)
  Total41,145
  Density14/km2 (40/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
  Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Forward sortation area
Area codes705 and 249
Websitewww.timmins.ca

History

City Hall Engineering Building, formerly the main public library, previously the post office

Research performed by archaeologists indicate that human settlement in the area is at least 6,000 years old; it's believed the oldest traces found are from a nomadic people of the Shield Archaic tradition.[5][6][7]

Up until colonisation by white people, the land belonged to the Mattagami First Nation peoples. Treaty Number Nine of 1906 pushed this tribe to the north side of the Mattagami Lake, the site of a Hudson's Bay trading post first established in 1794.[8] In the 1950s, the reserve was relocated to the south side of the lake, to its present-day location.[7][9]

Gold mines

Gold discoveries in the Porcupine Camp during the early years of the 20th Century attracted investors to the area.

According to local folklore, on June 9, 1909, Harry Preston slipped on a rocky knoll and the heels of his boots stripped the moss to reveal a large vein of gold, which later became the Dome Mine. Another theory on how gold was discovered in the Timmins region is that an Indigenous man led Harry Preston to the location where he knew gold would be found. These, however, are only folklore commonly known by citizens of Timmins. A historically accurate account of the very first gold discovery in the area remains unknown.

On October 9, 1909, Benny Hollinger discovered the gold-bearing quartz dike that later became known as the Hollinger Mines.[10] Brothers Noah Timmins and Henry Timmins bought Benny Hollinger's share from him, thus partnering with Hollinger's employers, the McMartin brothers.

On the same day as the Hollinger discovery, Sandy McIntyre discovered the McIntyre Mine near Pearl Lake, four miles away.[11][12] These mines are known as the "Big Three".

Hollinger Mines was incorporated in 1910 with five equal partners consisting of former Mattawa, Ontario, shopkeeper brothers, Noah and Henry Timmins; Duncan and John McMartin, also brothers; and Mattawa attorney David Dunlap (1863–1924).[13]

In November 1912, 1,200 members of the Western Federation of Miners Local 145 held a strike at all three mines in response to a proposal to lower their wages.[14] Mine operators hired gun thugs, who fired on the picket line and were ordered out by the provincial government.[15] After months without work, many men chose to leave the settlement; only 500 miners returned to work in July 1913.[14] The strike won the men a nine-hour workday and a pay increase.[14]

The Great Depression did not adversely affect the economy of the area, and jobs were available in mining and lumber.

The gold mines declined in the 1950s.[16]

Settlement

The area, then known as the Tisdale township in the Cochrane District of Ontario, became home to dozens of prospectors during the "Porcupine Gold Rush", who explored the areas around Porcupine Lake and the Frederick House River. Rich ore deposits in the Canadian Shield led to Timmins being founded as a company town to house Hollinger employees. In 1912, mine manager Alphonse "Al" Paré named the growing mining camp for his uncle, Noah Timmins, who was President of Hollinger Mines.[17] Many settlers grouped in camps around Porcupine Lake and the hamlet of Dome  the Dome Mines Limited settlement at the Dome Mine, one mile from the lake. Four miles down the road, around the McIntyre Mine, the hamlet of Schumacher was established.[16]

The rail system that began to operate around Timmins in 1911 accelerated the growth of the camps. That same year, two days after the first train arrived in the Porcupine, the entire area was destroyed in the Great Porcupine Fire. The fire had destroyed 200,000 hectares (770 sq mi) of forest, and killed approximately 70 people, although it is estimated that the fire claimed the lives of 200 people. The deceased were buried along Porcupine Lake, at Dead Man's Point, now known as Tisdale Cemetery.[18] The camp began to be rebuilt within a few days.[19]

In 1917, a dam was built at Kenogamissi Falls, downriver from Mattagami Lake, to provide power for the Timmins-Porcupine mining camp; Mattagami Lake was consequently flooded.[7]

In 1973, 35 townships covering 1,260 square mile, including Porcupine, South Porcupine, Schumacher, and Timmins were organized into the City of Timmins.[17]:140

In the 1990s, the City of Timmins became a regional service and distribution centre for Northeastern Ontario.[16]

Climate

Timmins is near the northern periphery of the hemiboreal humid continental climate (Dfb). Timmins has very cold winters, being in Northern Ontario, but temperatures in late summer and autumn tend to be among the coldest for any major city in any Canadian province. During the spring and summer, temperatures can rise considerably. The highest temperature ever recorded in Timmins was 39.4 °C (103 °F) on 12 July 1936.[20] The coldest temperature ever recorded was −45.6 °C (−50 °F) on 1 February 1962.[2]

Climate data for Timmins (Victor Power Airport), 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1922–present[lower-alpha 1]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 8.0
(46.4)
12.2
(54.0)
27.5
(81.5)
29.9
(85.8)
34.9
(94.8)
38.8
(101.8)
39.4
(102.9)
36.7
(98.1)
36.1
(97.0)
28.9
(84.0)
20.0
(68.0)
14.2
(57.6)
39.4
(102.9)
Average high °C (°F) −10.6
(12.9)
−7.2
(19.0)
−0.6
(30.9)
8.0
(46.4)
16.6
(61.9)
21.9
(71.4)
24.2
(75.6)
22.5
(72.5)
17.1
(62.8)
9.0
(48.2)
0.6
(33.1)
−6.9
(19.6)
7.9
(46.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) −16.8
(1.8)
−14
(7)
−7.4
(18.7)
1.8
(35.2)
9.6
(49.3)
14.9
(58.8)
17.5
(63.5)
16.0
(60.8)
11.1
(52.0)
4.4
(39.9)
−3.4
(25.9)
−11.9
(10.6)
1.8
(35.2)
Average low °C (°F) −23
(−9)
−20.7
(−5.3)
−14.2
(6.4)
−4.5
(23.9)
2.5
(36.5)
7.8
(46.0)
10.7
(51.3)
9.4
(48.9)
5.2
(41.4)
−0.3
(31.5)
−7.4
(18.7)
−17
(1)
−4.3
(24.3)
Record low °C (°F) −44.2
(−47.6)
−45.6
(−50.1)
−37.8
(−36.0)
−29.4
(−20.9)
−13.9
(7.0)
−5.6
(21.9)
−0.5
(31.1)
−3.3
(26.1)
−6.4
(20.5)
−13
(9)
−33.9
(−29.0)
−43.9
(−47.0)
−45.6
(−50.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 51.8
(2.04)
41.3
(1.63)
54.5
(2.15)
56.2
(2.21)
67.4
(2.65)
83.4
(3.28)
90.9
(3.58)
81.6
(3.21)
84.7
(3.33)
82.5
(3.25)
75.9
(2.99)
64.5
(2.54)
834.6
(32.86)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 3.2
(0.13)
1.7
(0.07)
14.1
(0.56)
30.1
(1.19)
62.3
(2.45)
83.2
(3.28)
90.9
(3.58)
81.6
(3.21)
83.7
(3.30)
68.1
(2.68)
30.9
(1.22)
8.5
(0.33)
558.3
(21.98)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 57.8
(22.8)
45.9
(18.1)
44.8
(17.6)
27.2
(10.7)
5.0
(2.0)
0.2
(0.1)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
1.0
(0.4)
15.1
(5.9)
49.0
(19.3)
65.2
(25.7)
311.3
(122.6)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 17.5 14.0 13.5 11.1 12.6 14.7 14.4 14.3 15.8 16.5 19.3 19.8 183.6
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 1.6 1.1 3.7 6.9 11.7 14.7 14.4 14.3 15.6 13.5 6.9 2.7 107.2
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 17.7 14.0 11.8 6.6 2.1 0.14 0.0 0.0 0.62 5.9 15.5 19.3 93.5
Source: Environment Canada[2][21][22]

Demographics

Historical populations
YearPop.±%
1912974    
19213,843+294.6%
193114,200+269.5%
194128,544+101.0%
195127,743−2.8%
196129,270+5.5%
197128,542−2.5%
198146,114+61.6%
199147,461+2.9%
199647,499+0.1%
200143,686−8.0%
200642,997−1.6%
201143,165+0.4%
201641,788−3.2%
202141,145−1.5%

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Timmins had a population of 41,145 living in 17,886 of its 19,390 total private dwellings, a change of -1.5% from its 2016 population of 41,788. With a land area of 2,955.33 km2 (1,141.06 sq mi), it had a population density of 13.9/km2 (36.1/sq mi) in 2021.[23]

Canada 2016 CensusPopulation % of Total Population
European Canadian 36,397 87.1
Visible minority
Source:[24]
African and Caribbean1850.4
South Asian1600.4
Filipino1350.3
Chinese1250.3
Latin American750.2
Southeast Asian300.1
Other visible minority950.2
Total visible minority population7851.9
Aboriginal group
Source:[24]
Métis2,3055.5
First Nations2,2455.4
Inuit500.1
Total Aboriginal population4,71511
Total population41,788100
Canada census – Timmins community profile
20162011
Population41,788 (−3.2% from 2011)43,165 (0.4% from 2006)
Land area2,978.83 km2 (1,150.13 sq mi)2,979.15 km2 (1,150.26 sq mi)
Population density14.0/km2 (36/sq mi)14.5/km2 (38/sq mi)
Median age
Private dwellings19,317 (total)  18,806 (total) 
Median household income
References: 2016[25] 2011[26] earlier[27][28]

Language

In Timmins, according to the 2016 census, 63.7% of the population reported English as their first language (Anglophone), 35.6% reported French (Francophone) as their first language, and 0.12% reported a non-official language, neither English nor French, as their first language (Allophone).[29] 50.8% of the population is bilingual in English and French.[4]

Arts and culture

Tourism

Gillies Lake board walk
Chamber of Commerce
Dome Mine "super pit", 2010
Specimen gold, probably from Pamour Mine

Some of the main tourist attractions within the city include: The Timmins Museum and National Exhibition Centre, Cedar Meadows Wilderness Tours, Mount Jamieson Resort (formerly known as Kamiskotia Snow Resort), Porcupine Ski Runners Cross-Country Trails and Chalet, Hollinger Golf Club, Spruce Needles Golf Club, the Sandy Falls Golf Club, the McIntyre Community Building and the Timmins Snowmobile Club.[30] Snowmobiling impacts the Timmins economy, as tourists travel from all over North America to explore area trails.[31]

Hollinger Park is one of the city's main recreational spaces. The park is divided in two sections, the north side being the public park area, with the south side having a regulation sized baseball diamond and two soccer fields for more organized outdoor recreational endeavours. The baseball park has been home to the Timmins Men's Baseball League since 1985. Former Timmins resident Shania Twain played a concert at Hollinger Park on July 1, 1999. An estimated 22,000 people attended the outdoor concert.[32][33]

The Pioneer Museum is located 39.5 km (24.5 mi) northeast of the city centre in Connaught, a community of 400 people. Nearby communities include Barbers Bay, Dugwal, Finn Road, Hoyle, Ice Chest Lake, McIntosh Springs and Nighthawk. Local history in the area dates back over 300 years.[34]

La Galeruche Art Gallery, located at 32 Mountjoy Street North (Centre Culturel La Ronde), provides local francophone artists with a venue to exhibit and sell their work.[34] The building has since been torn down, but plans to rebuild are underway, as of March 2022.[35]

The Porcupine Miner's Memorial tribute is a statue of the miner, head frame and tablets bearing the names of 594 miners killed in mining accidents were unveiled in 2008. The following year, the statues of a mother and two children were unveiled to commemorate those families left behind.[34]

The Timmins Public Library was constructed in 2005 with locally manufactured products, using wood as the main structural material, making efficient use of natural resources while reducing construction waste. The eco-friendly design was recognized by the Green Building Initiative, and the building achieved a 3 Green Globes rating for its efficient use of resources and sustainable development.[34]

Government

Hollinger Park grandstands

The city's current mayor is Michelle Boileau.

Eight councillors serve with the mayor to complete the municipal government. Those eight councillors are elected to one of five areas of the city through a ward electoral system; rural parts of the city elect one councillor each, while the urban core of the city is in a multi-member ward that elects four councillors (through Plurality block voting). Councillors are elected to a four-year term.[36]

Timmins City Council

  • Rock Whissell, Ward 1 Councillor
  • Lorne Feldman, Ward 2 Councillor
  • Bill Gvozcanovic, Ward 3 Councillor
  • John P. Curley, Ward 4 Councillor
  • Michelle Boileau, Ward 5 Councillor
  • Andrew Marks, Ward 5 Councillor
  • Kristin Murray, Ward 5 Councillor
  • Cory Robin, Ward 5 Councillor

Provincial

The city was represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by MPP Gilles Bisson from 1990 until 2022, when he was defeated by Pirie.

Federal

The Member of Parliament for Timmins-James Bay is currently Charlie Angus.

Education

Postsecondary education

The two main postsecondary institutions in Timmins is Northern College, a College of Applied Arts and Technology and Collège Boréal, which also has a sister campus of Université de Hearst.[37] Algoma University also offers degrees in Social Work and Community Development on the Northern College Campus in South Porcupine.

School boards

Four school boards serve the City of Timmins:[37]

High schools

Media

The Timmins Daily Press building

In 1952, broadcast pioneer J. Conrad Lavigne launched CFCL, the first French-language radio station in Ontario. Prior to the introduction of cable television to the Timmins area in the latter part of the 1970s, the city's available TV channels consisted of English-language channel 3 broadcast out of Sudbury and CFCL's channel 6 (in English) and channel 9 (in French) broadcast from CFCL's studio located at the north end of Pine Street.

The Timmins Daily Press is the main English publication, publishing six issues per week. Other French-language media include newspapers Le Voyageur and Le Journal L'Express de Timmins.[4]

Healthcare

Timmins and District Hospital (TADH) is an accredited referral and teaching hospital that serves Timmins, Cochrane District, Temiskaming, Sudbury and Algoma Districts.[38] Weeneebayko Area Health Authority also use TADH to transfer patients requiring more advanced care not available in their community health care centres.

The 134-bed hospital was formed in 1988 from the merger of St. Mary's General Hospital and Porcupine General Hospital, now Spruce Hill Lodge, a retirement home.[39] The two former hospitals were replaced in 1996 and 1993, respectively, when the current site was built.

Sports

The Timmins Rock of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League represent Timmins in hockey. They are the city's junior A team. And their affiliate, Timmins Majors, of the Great North Midget League, are the Midget AAA team. They both play at the McIntyre Arena.

Jewish community

From the foundation of the city, Jewish emigrants, mostly from Russia and Eastern Europe came to the town in order to work in the mines industry.[40] In 1917 Rabbi Yaakov Schulman arrived in the city and was in charge of religious needs, such as kosher meat.[41][42] In 1925 there were 200 Jews living in the city.[43] In that year the Jewish community was officially established. The community was not isolated and maintained good relationships with non-Jews, especially emigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe, who spoke the same languages they did. Only in the 1930s were actual community institutions built, such as a synagogue and a school.[44]

Since 1928 the Jewish community has held an annual Purim Ball. The ball was mixed: Jews and non-Jews, men and women. part of the ball was a beauty pagent named malkat Ester.[44][45]

The Jewish population peaked around the 1950s, when it included around 160 families.

In the early 1970s the Timmins synagogue was closed due to a decrease in the town's Jewish population.[46]

Transportation

Timmins Victor M. Power Airport is the main regional airport for the Timmins area. Regional ground transportation is provided by Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services operating out of the Timmins Transit Terminal.[47][48] The nearest communities with train service are more than 100 kilometres away. They include Foleyet to the west and Gogama to the south, which are served by The Canadian, Via Rail's transcontinental passenger rail service. To the north of Timmins, Cochrane is the southern terminus of the Ontario Northland Railway's Polar Bear Express. Matheson and Porquis Junction were formerly the closest stations to the city. Local transit is provided by Timmins Transit.

Notable people

See also: List of mayors of Timmins.

Notable athletes

See also

References

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  2. "Timmins Victor Power Airport". Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010. Environment Canada. 31 October 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  3. "Timmins population drops in 2021 census". TimminsToday.com. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  4. "Timmins | Vivre en Ontario". www.immigrationfrancophone-ontario.ca. Province of Ontario. Archived from the original on 2018-01-05. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  5. "Our History | City of Timmins". City of Timmins. Archived from the original on 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  6. Schwimmer, Brian. "shield archaic". www.umanitoba.ca. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  7. Pollock, John D. (2006-12-01). "Archaeological and Cultural Heritage Impact: Assessment of the Sandy Falls and Lower Sturgeon Generating Stations Redevelopment Projects Located on the Upper Mattagami River. Report Prepared for Ontario Power Generation Inc". CiteSeerX 10.1.1.501.472.
  8. Branch, Government of Canada; Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada; Communications. "Treaty Guide to Treaty No. 9 (1905–1906)". www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2017-01-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Branch, Government of Canada; Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada; Communications. "Treaty Research Report – Treaty No. 9 (1905–1906)". www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2017-01-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. "History of Timmins". immigrationtimmins.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. "Founding Fathers". timmins.ca. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  12. "McIntyre, Sandy". mininghalloffame.ca. The Mining Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  13. "Timmins, Noah". mininghalloffame.ca. The Mining Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  14. Bachmann, Karen. "Labour movement sparked holiday". Timmins Press. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  15. "Company Towns". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  16. "History of Timmins". immigrationtimmins.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. Barnes, Michael (1986). Fortunes in the Ground. Erin, Ontario: The Boston Mills Press. p. 123. ISBN 0-919783-52-X.
  18. "Land clearing turns deadly in Porcupine fire of 1911". TimminsToday.com. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  19. "The Great Porcupine Fire of July 11, 1911". 2020-07-09.
  20. "Daily Data Report for July 1936". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  21. "Timmins". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  22. "Timmins Climate". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  23. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Ontario". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  24. "Pickering, Ontario (City) Census Subdivision". Community Profiles, Canada 2006 Census. Statistics Canada. Archived from the original on 2017-02-03. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
  25. "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
  26. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  27. "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
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  29. "Census agglomeration of Timmins, Ontario". Statistics Canada. Government of Canada. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  30. "Timmins Snowmobile Club".
  31. Moore, Sarah (March 6, 2016). "Snowmobiling capital of the world?". Timmins Press. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  32. Autio, Andrew (October 31, 2016). "Huge Timmins festival has taxpayers nervous". BayToday.ca. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  33. "Branch News" (PDF). Ontario Branch News (9). Summer 2000.
  34. "Events & Attractions". tourismtimmins.com. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  35. ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Société- (7 October 2021). "Une première pelletée de terre pour la reconstruction du Centre culturel La Ronde". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  36. "Mayor and Council". City of Timmins. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  37. "Education". City of Timmins. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  38. "About TADH | TIMMINS AND DISTRICT HOSPITAL".
  39. "Spruce Hill Lodge celebrating 20th anniversary". TimminsToday.com. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  40. "⁨JEWISH SETTLEMENTS IN NORTH -ERN ONTARIO . I ⁩ | ⁨The Reform Advocate⁩ | 29 אפריל 1916 | אוסף העיתונות | הספרייה הלאומית". www.nli.org.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  41. "Rabbi Shulman and family (Timmins, ON)". Ontario Jewish Archives.
  42. Responsa 'chavalim baneimim', part 3 chapter 72
  43. "Syrian, Middle East immigrants developed northern Ontario, museum curator says". CBC news.
  44. The Jews of North America. Wayne State University Press. 1987. pp. 230–233. ISBN 0-8143-1891-6.
  45. "The Timmins Purim Ball". NIV MAG. 13 March 2022.
  46. "Timmins Torah finds new home in Toronto". The Canadian Jewish News. 3 December 2009.
  47. "TIMMINS | Ontario Northland". www.ontarionorthland.ca. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  48. "Timmins Transit". CPTDB.ca. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  1. Climate data was recorded at Timmins from April 1922 to December 1957 and at Timmins Airport from April 1955 to present.
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