Timmins

This article is about the city in Ontario, Canada. For other uses, see Timmins (disambiguation).

Timmins
—  City  —
Timmins, Ontario, Canada
Motto: The City with a Heart of Gold
Coordinates: 48°28′N 81°20′W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
District	Cochrane
Established	1912
Government
• Mayor	Tom Laughren
• Governing Body	Timmins City Council
• MPs	Charlie Angus (NDP)
• MPPs	Gilles Bisson (ONDP)
Area
• Land	2,979.15 km2 (1,150.26 sq mi)
Elevation	294.70 m (966.86 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	43,165
• Density	14.5/km2 (38/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC−5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−4)
Postal code FSA	P4N, P4P, P4R, P0N
Area code(s)	705 and 249
Website	www.timmins.ca

Aerial view of Dome Mine "super pit," 2010

Specimen gold, probably from Pamour Mine.

Timmins is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada on the Mattagami River. At the time of the Canada 2011 Census, Timmins' population was 43,165. At 2,961.52 square kilometres (1,143.45 sq mi), Timmins was Canada's largest municipality in land area until 1995, when the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta, was created, although it remained the largest municipality in Ontario until 2001, when it was superseded by the newly amalgamated cities of Kawartha Lakes and Greater Sudbury. It is the 69th largest metropolitan area in Canada, although the statistical boundaries for Timmins' metropolitan area coincide with its municipal boundaries.

History

Archaeological and historical studies indicate that the first people to settle in the Timmins area were nomadic tribes such as Ojibwa and Cree dating back to 7000 BC. Timmins was a company town founded in 1912. However, South Porcupine and Schumacher were formed in 1911.

During the late 17th century, explorers and fur traders established outposts in the north to capitalize on the fur trade. The Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company later developed several trading posts along major routes in northern Ontario. The rivalry between these two trading companies resulted in the need to get their furs to market as soon as possible and this led to the development of the Porcupine Trail, a trading route that connected the Abitibi River to the Mattagami River and passed directly through present day Timmins.

In reaction to favorable provincial Geological Survey reports, construction of the railway northward, and major silver discoveries in Cobalt in 1907, the region became a popular destination and home to dozens of prospectors eager to explore the areas around Porcupine Lake. After several false starts, in 1909 two prospectors discovered the "Golden Staircase", a rich vein of gold that led to the Dome Mine. Within days the Porcupine Gold Rush began, and a huge mining camp formed at Porcupine Lake, a few kilometers east of modern Timmins. The Porcupine Camp is one of the first localities in the world to have its entire history documented by photography. The renowned Harry Peters photographed the Porcupine Camp from the beginning of its inception, and the Great Fire of 1911 was one of his first achievements. Shortly after the completion of a new spur line on the Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway, the Great Porcupine Fire swept through the camp in 1911 causing a vast amount of destruction and some 200+ deaths.

The Town of Timmins was founded by Noah Timmins in 1912 following gold discoveries in the Porcupine Camp. By 1912 the Hollinger, MacIntyre and Big Dome Mines were founded. The new town had already grown larger than the original mining camps to the east on Porcupine Lake. Shortly after Timmins was founded it experienced it's first general mine strike in November 1912. Mine operators hired gun thugs during the 1912–1913 strike, prompting the intervention of the Ontario Provincial Police (which had been formed only 3 years prior – the same year of the discovery of the Porcupine Goldfields).

On February 10, 1928 smoke began to curl up from the main Hollinger Mine shaft house. At first no one could understand how fire could take place in a hard rock mine. Hundreds of miners escaped to surface, but news soon spread that others had been trapped underground. In the end, 39 miners succumbed to the smoke and carbon monoxide poisoning. Out of the suffering some good came, an inquiry into the disaster recommended that mine rescue stations be set up in major mining camps. In 1929 the Porcupine Camp received the first mine rescue station in the province of Ontario. Stompin' Tom Connors, the famous Canadian singer composed and recorded a song about the events, entitled Fire in the Mine. In 1940 the Porcupine Music Festival de Musique was started for youth to have a chance to participate in music.

In 1973, the provincial government of Ontario amalgamated all the municipal jurisdictions within a 3,200 km² (1,200 sq mi) area, including the Town of Timmins, South Porcupine, Schumacher (Tisdale Township), Mountjoy Township, Porcupine (Whitney Township) and the many of the other smaller surrounding communities which created the Corporation of the City of Timmins. The new city was the largest city in Canada by area until the incorporation of Wood Buffalo, Alberta in 1995.

The mining of gold was the catalyst (The Big Three, Dome, Hollinger and McIntyre), but during the early 1960s, silver and base metals such as zinc, copper, and nickel were discovered (Texas Gulf Sulphur), breathing new life into the Porcupine economy and to this day mining remains the dominant industry in the area. Forestry is also important to the local economy.

Economy

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

Timmins' economy is based on a boom-and-bust business cycle. The city's economic state is controlled by its major industry, mining. When gold and base-metal prices are high the city's economy booms, however, when those prices drop the local market historically dips with it.

Despite the current economic crisis and the slump in forestry, the city's economy is relatively healthy thanks to high gold prices. Timmins' other industries include forestry, tourism, recreation, health care, education, commercial and industrial commerce and telecommunications. The community has been undergoing a moderate boom in gold mining, with several new underground mining operations opening up and a large scale surface mining reclamation project currently underway in the east end and another in a more centralized location in the planning stage by Goldcorp Inc..

The Timmins and District Hospital is a major referral health care centre for northeastern Ontario, particularly the Cochrane District, but like all of Northern Ontario Timmins is still considered medically underserved. The city is serviced by the Victor M. Power Airport. It has scheduled service to numerous southern and northern Ontario locations via Air Canada Jazz, Bearskin Airlines, Thunder Airlines and Air Creebec with Porter Airlines offering direct service to downtown Toronto beginning January 16th 2012. Timmins Transit provides regularly scheduled local bus service and Handy-Transit for those with disabilities. The city is also serviced by Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services.

Timmins is evolving into a regional governmental, transportation, industrial, commercial medical, and recreational centre for much of Northeastern Ontario and the James Bay coast line, Nishnawbe Aski Nation. The city has a regular annual market draw of 120,000+ people, which has been steadily growing in recent years with the discovery of diamonds in the region. The De Beers Victor Project is located near the First Nation James Bay community of Attawapiskat, and is Ontario's first diamond mine. In 2007 the city began a new program called "The Lay Roots Program" to attract new business and new residents.

Lasting impact of mining

The predominant industry in Timmins has left a lasting impact on the environment around the city. Mine waste rock and mill tailing have been dumped in various locations across the city. Some of these dump sites have seen relatively successful attempts at reclamation while others are still barren after decades of being left fallow. Timmins is also home to Goldcorp's "Dome Super Pit."

Climate

Timmins is near the northern periphery of the cold humid continental climate (Dfb). Timmins has very cold winters, being in northern Ontario, but temperatures in late summer and fall tend to be among the coldest for any major city in any Canadian province, although during the spring and summer it can get very hot. Timmins also holds Ontario's record low for September, which is −12.1 °C (10 °F)

Climate data for Timmins Victor Power Airport
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Humidex	6.1	10.7	21.8	31.5	37.5	43.0	44.0	42.0	40.1	32.9	20.8	17.1	44
Record high °C (°F)	6.4 (43.5)	11.7 (53.1)	22.2 (72.0)	32.9 (91.2)	36.3 (97.3)	39.4 (102.9)	38.9 (102.0)	36.7 (98.1)	32.2 (90.0)	28.3 (82.9)	18.9 (66.0)	14.2 (57.6)	39.4 (102.9)
Average high °C (°F)	−11 (12.2)	−7.5 (18.5)	−0.9 (30.4)	7.6 (45.7)	16.6 (61.9)	21.7 (71.1)	24.2 (75.6)	22.3 (72.1)	16.1 (61.0)	8.9 (48.0)	0.1 (32.2)	−7.8 (18.0)	7.5 (45.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−17.5 (0.5)	−14.4 (6.1)	−7.7 (18.1)	1.2 (34.2)	9.6 (49.3)	14.7 (58.5)	17.4 (63.3)	15.7 (60.3)	10.3 (50.5)	4.2 (39.6)	−4 (24.8)	−13.2 (8.2)	1.3 (34.3)
Average low °C (°F)	−23.9 (−11.0)	−21.3 (−6.3)	−14.5 (5.9)	−5.2 (22.6)	2.5 (36.5)	7.5 (45.5)	10.5 (50.9)	9.1 (48.4)	4.4 (39.9)	−0.6 (30.9)	−8.1 (17.4)	−18.7 (−1.7)	−4.9 (23.2)
Record low °C (°F)	−44.7 (−48.5)	−45.6 (−50.1)	−37.8 (−36.0)	−29.4 (−20.9)	−11.1 (12.0)	−3.2 (26.2)	−0.5 (31.1)	−1.8 (28.8)	−12.1 (10.2)	−15.5 (4.1)	−33.9 (−29.0)	−43.9 (−47.0)	−45.6 (−50.1)
Wind chill	−54.2	−53.7	−45.8	−37.1	−18.8	−8.5	−2.4	−4	−9.3	−19.2	−38	−53.1	−54.2
Precipitation mm (inches)	53.9 (2.122)	36.6 (1.441)	59.4 (2.339)	52.8 (2.079)	69.2 (2.724)	89.4 (3.52)	91.5 (3.602)	82.0 (3.228)	88.3 (3.476)	76.8 (3.024)	69.6 (2.74)	61.9 (2.437)	831.3 (32.728)
Rainfall mm (inches)	2.9 (0.114)	1.6 (0.063)	14.7 (0.579)	26.6 (1.047)	62.7 (2.469)	89.1 (3.508)	91.5 (3.602)	82.0 (3.228)	86.7 (3.413)	64.0 (2.52)	29.5 (1.161)	7.0 (0.276)	558.1 (21.972)
Snowfall cm (inches)	61.7 (24.29)	40.6 (15.98)	49.9 (19.65)	27.5 (10.83)	6.7 (2.64)	0.4 (0.16)	0 (0)	0 (0)	1.6 (0.63)	14.0 (5.51)	45.7 (17.99)	65.4 (25.75)	313.4 (123.39)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm)	17.7	13.6	13.3	11.0	12.1	14.4	14.0	13.9	16.6	16.4	18.7	19.0	180.7
Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm)	1.6	1.0	3.3	6.5	11.1	14.4	14.0	13.9	16.3	13.0	6.0	2.1	103.1
Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm)	18.1	13.9	11.9	7.0	2.2	0.30	0	0	0.87	6.6	15.6	19.1	95.6
Source: Environment Canada

Politics

Hollinger Park grandstands

The city's mayor is Tom Laughren. He was sworn in on December 8, 2006, succeeding Vic Power, the city's longest-serving mayor (who served for a total of 19 years non-consecutively) in the Timmins City Council.

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 elects four at-large councillors. Councillors are elected to a four-year term. The council currently consists of Gary Scripnick (Ward 1, Mountjoy), John Curley (Ward 2, Porcupine), Noella Rinaldo (Ward 3, Schumacher), Pat Bamford (Ward 4, South Porcupine) and Todd Lever, Michael Doody, Andrew Marks and Steven Black (Ward 5, downtown Timmins).

Provincially and federally, the city is located in the Timmins—James Bay electoral district. Previously, Timmins had been part of the Timmins electoral district from 1949 to 1979. It was represented by former Timmins mayor Karl Eyre from 1949 to 1957, as a Liberal member in the House of Commons. In 1957, Murdo Martin, a Timmins fire fighter was elected under the CCF banner. He was re-elected in 1958, and then as a New Democrat in 1962, 1963 and 1965. Trudeaumania swept through Timmins as well, and Martin was defeated by Timmins businessman Jean Roy, who held the Timmins riding from 1968 to 1979. In 1979, the riding was redistributed, adding new areas south to Cartier, near Sudbury, and west to Lake Superior. The new riding of Timmins—Chapleau was represented by Roy's Liberal successor Ray Chénier from 1979 to 1984 and then Aurèle Gervais, a former mayor of Iroquois Falls, who was swept in to office as a PC in the Mulroney landslide of September 1984. Gervais was defeated by the New Democrats' Cid Samson in 1988. Samson lost to Timmins lawyer, Peter Thalheimer, a Liberal in the 1993 federal election. Timmins-James Bay was formed in time for the 1997 federal election. In 2004 and 2006, the NDP candidate, Charlie Angus won the seat. He remains in the house of commons as of the 2011 federal election.

Provincially, Timmins had been part of the Cochrane South riding, which existed from 1926 to 1999. Since 1943, the riding has alternated between CCF-NDP and Progressive Conservative representatives. Iroquois Falls lawyer Bill Grummett held the riding for the CCF from 1943 to 1955, when he was defeated by Timmins mayor Wilf Spooner. Spooner went on to serve in the cabinets of Premier Leslie Frost and John Robarts, as Minister of Lands and Forest and Minister of Municipal Affairs. In October, 1967, Spooner was defeated by Rev. Bill Ferrier, a United Church minister, who ran for the NDP. Ferrier successfully defended his seat against Spooner in 1971 and won again in 1975 against Alan Pope. Pope won the seat in 1977 and held it until 1990. Gilles Bisson won the riding for the NDP in 1990 and served first as MPP for Cochrane South from 1990 to 1999 and then as MPP for Timmins-James Bay, from 1999 to present.

Tourism and culture

Gillies Lake Board Walk

Chamber of Commerce

Some of the main tourist attractions within the city include: the Shania Twain Centre, Timmins Underground Gold Mine Tour, The Timmins Museum and National Exhibition Centre, Cedar Meadows Wilderness Tours, 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. Snowmobiling impacts the Timmins economy as tourists from all over North America travel to explore area trails.

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.

On the first Sunday in June of each year, Timmins holds a Multicultural Festival at the McIntyre Community Building. It reflects the unique ethnic diversity of the people in Timmins. You can experience the excitement of different cultures, savour the cuisine and the ethnic costumes. The festival brings together many different cultural groups from within the City. Italian, Croatian, Polish, German, Ukrainian, Scottish, English, French, Irish, Austrian, Finnish, Chinese, Filipino, and Native Cultures as well as others to join together and celebrate the diversity of the community. There are local groups who perform traditional music and dances; a parade displaying the different colourful ethnic costumes; and an abundance of food and ethnic art demonstrations.

There are several ethnic clubs in the area representing the various multicultural groups in Timmins, most notably; the French Le Centre Culturel La Ronde, the Italian Porcupine Dante Club, the Croatian Society, the Polish White Eagle Hall, the Irish Canadian Club, the German Culture Club, the Chinese Club, the Ojibway & Cree Cultural Centre, the Timmins Multicultural Society as well as others.

Timmins is also a staging point for wilderness outfitters in the district that offer northern wilderness experiences, such as fishing trips, eco-adventures and Arctic excursions. There's a boat launch located just south of the Mattagami River bridge off Algonquin Blvd which provides both summer and winter access to that main water course.

Kettle Lakes Provincial Park, situated just east of the city centre is dotted with 22 deep, spring-fed kettle lakes which are reachable by trails and roads. Popular lakes in the area include Gillies Lake, Papakomeka Lake, McArthur Lake, Bigwater Lake and Hersey Lake. Some of the parks activities in summer include swimming, camping (day and overnight), paddling and fishing. In the winter the park offers cross-country skiing and snowshoe trails.

Police

The local police force is the Timmins Police Service, established in 1912. For provincial highways in and around Timmins are patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police from the South Porcupine Detachment.

Communities

The Dante Club - Italian Social Club

Timmins has multiple neighbourhoods owing to historical and geographic circumstance. They are generally culturally homogenous but are of varied socioeconomic status. However, this variation is generally less than that which can be seen in major urban centres. For more, see

Main article: Neighbourhoods in Timmins

Schools

Postsecondary education

The main postsecondary institution in Timmins is Northern College, a College of Applied Arts and Technology. The city also has satellite campuses of Collège Boréal and Laurentian University's Université de Hearst. Collège Boréal / Université de Hearst has a new campus between école secondaire catholique Thériault and Timmins High and Vocational School on Thériault Blvd.

School boards

Five school boards serve the City of Timmins.

• District School Board Ontario North East
• Northeastern Catholic District School Board
• Conseil scolaire catholique de district des Grandes-Rivières
• Conseil scolaire de district du Nord-Est de l'Ontario
• Timmins Trinity Christian School Society

High schools

• O'Gorman High School
• École Publique Renaissance
• École Secondaire catholique Thériault
• Timmins High and Vocational School
• Roland Michener Secondary School

Media

The Timmins Daily Press Building

Main article: Media in Timmins

In 1952, broadcast pioneer J. Conrad Lavigne launched CFCL, the first French-language radio station in Ontario.

Notable people from Timmins

• Alfred Aho, Award-winning computer scientist, member of US National Academies. Professor at Columbia University.
• Charlie Angus, musician and songwriter for the band Grievous Angels, now serving as the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for Timmins—James Bay
• Michael Barnes, author
• Paul Bellini, comedy writer and television actor
• Gilles Bisson, Ontario New Democratic Party Member of Provincial Parliament for Timmins—James Bay
• Michael Boisvert, actor notable movies are: Deadly Skies, Celeste in the city, Driven, Exit Wounds
• Natalie Brown, actress currently appearing on Sophie
• Dave Carroll and Don Carroll, country/pop/folk band Sons of Maxwell
• Carlo Cattarello, Award Winning Sports, Order of Canada, Queen's Jubilee Medal recipient
• Derek Edwards, comedian
• Maurice LaMarche, comedian and voice-actor
• J. Conrad Lavigne, broadcasting pioneer
• Lights (born Valerie Poxleitner), vocalist, singer-songwriter
• Cecil Linder, actor
• Bruce McCaffrey, Progressive Conservative MPP
• Derek McGrath actor best known as the cherubic murderer "Andy-Andy" Schroeder on Cheers, and Dr. Benjamin Marion Jeffcoate on My Secret Identity
• Alan Pope, former Progressive Conservative MPP
• Jim Prentice, Conservative Party of Canada Member of Parliament from Calgary, Alberta
• Myron Scholes, Nobel Laureate economist. Prize awarded for discovering a new way to value derivatives.
• Gordon Thiessen, Governor of the Bank of Canada from 1994 to 2001
• Roy Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet, newspaper magnate, started his empire in the 1930s with the Timmins Daily Press
• Lola Lemire Tostevin, novelist and poet
• Shania Twain, musician
• Bruce Watson, guitarist with Scottish rock band Big Country

See also: List of mayors of Timmins, Ontario.

Timmins Fire Department

Notable athletes from Timmins

• Pete Babando, National Hockey League (NHL) hockey player
• Bill Barilko, NHL hockey player and Tragically Hip song subject ("Fifty Mission Cap", from 1992's Fully Completely)
• Aldege "Baz" Bastien, NHL goaltender
• Les Costello, NHL hockey player with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the golden era. Later became a Roman Catholic priest in Timmins while continuing to play hockey for the "Flying Fathers".
• Murray Costello, Hockey Hall of Famer, president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association
• Shean Donovan, NHL hockey player
• Jason Gervais, Olympic Discus Thrower, Sydney 2000 Summer Games
• Paul Harrison, NHL hockey player
• Alex Henry, NHL hockey player
• Art Hodgins, Ice hockey player, inducted in the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame
• Kathy Kreiner, gold medallist, giant slalom, XIIth Olympic Winter Games, Innsbruck, Austria, 13 February 1976
• Mark Krys, AHL hockey player
• Rick Lessard, NHL hockey player
• Don Lever, NHL hockey player and coach
• Frank Mahovlich, NHL hockey player, Canadian Senator
• Pete Mahovlich, NHL hockey player
• Jim Mair, NHL hockey player
• Hector Marini, NHL hockey player
• Gus "Old Hardrock" Mortson, NHL hockey player
• Bob Nevin, NHL hockey player
• Dave Poulin, NHL hockey player
• Dean Prentice, NHL hockey player
• Eric "Doc" Prentice, NHL hockey player
• Dale Rolfe, NHL hockey player
• Steve Shields, NHL goaltender
• Allan Stanley, NHL hockey player
• Steve Sullivan, NHL hockey player
• Walter Tkaczuk, NHL hockey player
• Eric Vail, NHL hockey player, 1975 Calder Trophy winner
• Mark Katic, NHL hockey player, 2011 New York Islanders organization

Demographics

Census	Population
1912	974
1921	3,843
1931	14,200
1941	28,544
1951	27,743
1961	29,270
1971	28,542
1981	46,114
1991	47,461
1996	47,499
2001	43,686
2006	42,997
2011	43,165

The 2006 census indicated that Timmins was 91.1% White, 7.7% Aboriginal, and 1.2% Visible Minorities. After several years of decline, the city's population has grown again, with an intercensal population estimate of 44,507 in 2008 and a rapid increase in new retail development projects in the city's west end.

Language

According to the 2006 census, 53% of the population listed English as their first language (Anglophone) and 39% listed French (Francophone), 2% were listed as learning both at the same time and 6% have neither English nor French as their first language (Allophone).

Religion

• 68.7% Catholic
• 20.2% Protestant
• 8.5% No religion
• 1.8% Other Christian
• 0.8% Other Religions

Sister cities

• Naoshima, Kagawa, Japan

See also

• Dome Mine, 1910–present, 14,537,595 troy ounces of gold produced
• Hollinger Mines, 1910–68, 19,327,691 troy ounces of gold produced
• McIntyre Mines, 1912–88, 10,751,941 troy ounces of gold produced
• Kidd Mine, 1966–present

External links

• City of Timmins official website