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Collingwood, Ontario

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Collingwood
Town (lower-tier)
Town of Collingwood
Downtown Collingwood in late December 2008
Downtown Collingwood in late December 2008
Official logo of Collingwood
Country Canada
Province Ontario
CountySimcoe
Incorporated1858
Government
 • MayorSandra Cooper
 • MPsKellie Leitch (C)
 • MPPsJim Wilson (PC)
Area
[1]
 • Land33.46 km2 (12.92 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total
19,241
 • Density575.1/km2 (1,490/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal code FSA
L9Y
Area code705 & 249
Highways Highway 26
Former Highway 24
Websitewww.town.collingwood.
on.ca

Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay.

History

Collingwood was incorporated as a town in 1858, nine years before Confederation and was named after Admiral Lord Cuthbert Collingwood, Lord Nelson’s second in command at the Battle of Trafalgar, who assumed command of the British fleet after Nelson's death.

The land in the area was originally inhabited by the Iroquoian Petun nation, which built a string of villages in the vicinity of the nearby Niagara Escarpment. They were driven from the region by the Iroquois in 1650. European settlers and freed Black slaves arrived in the area in the 1840s, bringing with them their religion and culture.

The area originally had several other names associated with it, including Hurontario (because it lies at the end of Hurontario Street which runs from Lake Huron — of which Georgian Bay is a part — south to Lake Ontario), Nottawa, and Hens-and-Chickens Harbour, because of one large and four small islands in the bay.

In 1855, the Ontario, Simcoe & Huron (later called The Northern) railway came into Collingwood, and the harbour became the shipment point for goods destined for the upper Great Lakes ports of Chicago and Port Arthur-Ft. William (now Thunder Bay). Shipping produced a need for ship repairs, so it was not long before an organized ship building business was created. On May 24, 1883, the Collingwood Shipyards, formerly known as Collingwood Dry Dock Shipbuilding and Foundry Company Limited, opened with a special ceremony. On September 12, 1901, the Huronic was launched in Collingwood, the first steel-hulled ship launched in Canada. The shipyards produced Lakers and during World War II contributed to the production of Corvettes for the Royal Canadian Navy. Shipbuilding was one of the principal industries in the town, employing as much as 10% of the total labour force. Overseas competition and overcapacity in shipbuilding in Canada led to the demise of shipbuilding in Collingwood in September 1986.

The creation of government incentive programs and a fully serviced industrial park made it possible for Collingwood to attract eleven new manufacturing firms to the town by 1971. Eight additional manufacturing companies had located in the town by 1983, making Collingwood the largest industrial employer in the region.

Economy

Aerial view of Collingwood from the southwest (2013)
View of Collingwood, Ontario from the top of Blue Mountain Resort

Today, Collingwood's industrial base, which includes Collingwood Ethanol L.P., Pilkington Glass of Canada, Goodall Rubber Company - Canada ULC, and VOAC Inc, and which are among the community’s largest employers, has begun to erode.

Several industries in the area have closed in recent years, including Nacan Products (2004), Backyard Products (2004), Kaufman of Collingwood (2006), Goodyear Tires (2007), Alcoa Wheel products (2008) and the internationally-famous Blue Mountain Pottery (2004). Collingwood is also home to the distillery where Canadian Mist Whisky is produced.

In June 2007, Collingwood Ethanol (Now Amaizeingly Green)[2] began production in the former Nacan facility. The company expected to produce 50 million litres of ethanol annually to satisfy regulatory requirements on ethanol content in gasoline mandated by the provincial and federal governments. Collingwood Ethanol[2] also produces byproducts of the ethanol manufacturing process, including an organic corn gluten fertilizer. Petitions have been submitted to the town by residents of a new housing development located across the road in an effort to force Collingwood Ethanol to reduce the amount of odour and noise that they are causing during the times when they are in full production. Before Collingwood Ethanol started production, however, Nacan (a starch plant that once occupied the now ethanol plant) also created a strong odour and noise. This made many locals wonder why a housing development would be built across the road from an industrial part of town. In December 2012, Amaizeingly Green, filed for receivership of the plant. Due to the higher cost of corn, the plant has not been in operation for some time.

Located on the southern shores of Georgian Bay and located in proximity to Blue Mountain, a promontory of the Niagara Escarpment, the town is a major recreation area for the southern part of the province. Blue Mountain itself is noted for skiing, and also for its Scenic Caves. The town is also a short distance from the popular Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, an attractive destination that received the title of Biosphere Reserve in 2004.

Local media include the Collingwood Enterprise-Bulletin and Collingwood-Wasaga Connection community newspapers, and radio station CKCB-FM. The Barrie-based regional television station CKVR-TV maintains a bureau in Collingwood, and the Owen Sound-based Bayshore Broadcasting radio group also has an office in Collingwood. Collingwood is also known for its annual week-end Elvis Presley festival, which attracts Elvis impersonators from the world over in late July of each year.

Government

The current mayor is Sandra Cooper. The federal Member of Parliament is Conservative Kellie Leitch, and the Member of Provincial Parliament is Progressive Conservative Jim Wilson. Collingwood is within the Simcoe—Grey riding for both federal and provincial elections.

Transportation

Collingwood is served by Highway 26, which runs along the shore of Nottawasaga Bay, and county road 124 (which was part of Highway 24 before the provincial government downgraded that portion of the highway in 1998). The town is also served by a rail trail along the former Barrie Collingwood Railway section of what had originally been the Ontario, Simcoe and Huron Union Railroad, connecting Collingwood to the towns of Owen Sound and Barrie, with a spur heading north through the town's central business district, to the large grain elevators at the downtown wharf, where trains would formerly load and unload onto ships.

Colltrans is the Town of Collingwood's public transit system.

In addition to Collingwood's position as a lake port, it is also served by Collingwood Airport (CNY3), a medium-sized airport located about 4 miles (7.4 km) south of the town.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, Collingwood was the fastest growing census agglomeration in Canada east of Manitoba.

Historical populations
YearPop.±%
18712,829—    
18814,445+57.1%
18914,939+11.1%
19015,755+16.5%
19117,090+23.2%
19215,882−17.0%
19315,809−1.2%
19416,249+7.6%
19517,413+18.6%
19618,385+13.1%
19719,775+16.6%
198112,064+23.4%
199113,505+11.9%
199615,596+15.5%
200116,039+2.8%
200617,290+7.8%
201119,241+11.3%


Canada census – Collingwood, Ontario community profile
2011
Population19,241 (11.3% from 2006)
Land area33.46 km2 (12.92 sq mi)
Population density575.1/km2 (1,490/sq mi)
Median age
Private dwellings10,695 (total) 
Median household income
Notes: Includes corrections and updates.
References: 2011[1] earlier[3][4]

Recreation

Collingwood is a destination for winter and summer recreational activities such as swimming, hiking, biking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, and downhill skiing. There is a network of trails that allow this, including the Georgian Trail which connects to the Bruce Trail.[5]

Sister cities

References

  1. ^ a b c "Collingwood census profile". 2011 Census of Population. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2012-03-07. Cite error: The named reference "cp2011" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Collingwood Ethanol
  3. ^ "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
  4. ^ "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.
  5. ^ Town of Collingwood. "Collingwood Trails Network".
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Collingwood (Ontario).

Media related to Collingwood, Ontario at Wikimedia Commons

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