Kenora District | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 49°46′N94°29′W / 49.767°N 94.483°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
Region | Northwestern Ontario |
Created | 1907 |
Government | |
• MPs | Eric Melillo (CPC), Charlie Angus (NDP) |
• MPPs | Greg Rickford (PC), Guy Bourgouin (NDP), Sol Mamakwa (NDP) |
Area | |
• Land | 395,432.07 km2 (152,677.18 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 505 m (1,657 ft) |
Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Population (2021) [1] | |
• Total | 66,000 |
• Density | 0.2/km2 (0.5/sq mi) |
Time zones | |
West of 90° west | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (Central Daylight (CDT)) |
East of 90° west | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (Eastern Daylight (EDT)) |
Pickle Lake/ Mishkeegogamang | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
Postal Code FSA | |
Area code | 807 |
Largest communities [2] | Kenora (15,177) Dryden (8,195) Sioux Lookout (5,183) |
Kenora District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The district seat is the City of Kenora.
It is geographically the largest division in Ontario: at 407,213.01 square kilometres (157,225.82 sq mi), it covers 38 percent of the province's area, making it larger than Newfoundland and Labrador, and slightly smaller than Sweden or roughly the land size of California. Kenora District also has the lowest population density of any of Ontario's census divisions (it ranks 37th out of 50 by total population).
The district was created in 1907 from parts of Rainy River District. The northern part (north of the Albany River) only became part of Ontario in 1912 (transferred from the Northwest Territories). [3] The separate Patricia District upon transfer, it was in 1937 annexed to Kenora District and known sometimes as the Patricia Portion. [4]
As with the other districts of Northern Ontario, the Kenora District does not have an organized government like those of counties or regional municipalities in Southern Ontario. All government services in the district are instead provided by the local municipalities, by local services boards in some unincorporated communities, or directly by the provincial government.
The climate is very harsh because of the influence of the cold waters of Hudson and James Bays: most of the region is taiga characterized by discontinuous permafrost, but on the extreme northern coast there are – remarkably for a latitude of only 54°N – patches of true Arctic tundra and continuous permafrost. This is the southernmost point in the Northern Hemisphere reached by the circumpolar line of continuous permafrost on any continent.
Kenora District is geographically extensive enough to share borders with both the contiguous United States (the boundary between it and the Northwest Angle is located in the Lake of the Woods) and the Canadian Arctic waters (Hudson Bay), the only district in Canada to do so.
The District contains the Sturgeon Lake Caldera, which is one of the world's best preserved Neoarchean caldera complexes and is some 2.7 billion years old. [5]
Cities:
Towns:
Townships:
Unorganized areas:
The Patricia Portion is the part of the Kenora District lying north of the Albany River, which was transferred from the Northwest Territories to Ontario on May 15, 1912, in The Ontario Boundaries Extension Act. [3] This area was originally a separate division, Patricia District, but became part of Kenora District in 1937. [4]
With the exception of a few communities along the northernmost ends of Highway 599 and the Highway 105/Highway 125 corridor, the Patricia Portion consists almost entirely of remote First Nations communities that are only accessible by float plane or winter road. Accordingly, the term "Patricia Portion" is still sometimes used to distinguish the region from the relatively more populated and road-accessible southern portion.
As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Kenora District had a population of 66,000 living in 24,818 of its 32,914 total private dwellings, a change of 0.7% from its 2016 population of 65,533. With a land area of 395,432.07 km2 (152,677.18 sq mi), it had a population density of 0.2/km2 (0.4/sq mi) in 2021. [1]
2021 | 2016 | 2011 | |
---|---|---|---|
Population | 66,000 (+0.7% from 2016) | 65,533 (+13.8% from 2011) | 57,607 (−10.6% from 2006) |
Land area | 395,432.07 km2 (152,677.18 sq mi) | 407,268.65 km2 (157,247.30 sq mi) | 407,213.01 km2 (157,225.82 sq mi) |
Population density | 0.2/km2 (0.52/sq mi) | 0.2/km2 (0.52/sq mi) | 0.1/km2 (0.26/sq mi) |
Median age | 37.6 (M: 36.8, F: 38.4) | 36.5 (M: 35.8, F: 37.1) | |
Private dwellings | 32,914 (total) 24,818 (occupied) | 31,191 (total) 23,931 (occupied) | 29,606 (total) |
Median household income | $78,500 | $66,198 |
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Excludes census data for one or more incompletely enumerated Indian reserves. Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes. Source: Statistics Canada [1] [11] |
Most of the population is concentrated in the district's extreme south where some agriculture is possible: the main crop is barley. Traditional native activities such as hunting and fishing dominate the north of the district outside of mining settlements.
The area near Lake Minnehaha saw a gold rush between 1902 and 1909. The settlement of Gold Rock served 14 area mines, which included the Big Master, Laurentian, Detola and Elora. According to Barnes, "Approximately 180,000 ounces of gold was won from 27 mines in the Kenora district from 1880 to 1976," with "over 331 known gold occurrences." The more successful mines included the Bully Boy, Cameron Island, Champion, Combined, Cornucopia, Gold Hill, Golden Horn, Kenricia, Mikado, Oliver, Olympia, Ophyr, Regina, Scramble, Severn, Stella, Sultana, Treasure and Wendigo. [12]
Mining is currently extremely extensive in northern Kenora District, which contains some of the world's largest and highest-grade reserves of uranium and some of the world's major producers of nickel. A major mining exploration project is currently underway in the Ring of Fire region, centred on the district's isolated McFaulds Lake.
Permanent roads (Highway 599) only reach about halfway to the northernmost point of Kenora district, with the provincial highway network ending at Pickle Lake. Some more northerly communities connect seasonally through an ice/winter road network to the Northern Ontario Resource Trail.
Year-round air and summertime river transport are the only means of reaching the most remote parts of the district.
The major railroad lines between Toronto and British Columbia pass through the south of the district. The district is served by Via Rail's Canadian at Rice Lake, [13] Copelands Landing, [14] Malachi, Ottermere, Minaki, Redditt, Farlane station, Canyon, Red Lake Road, Richan, and Sioux Lookout stations.
Current services at Rice Lake station | ||||
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Preceding station | Via Rail | Following station | ||
Winnitoba toward Vancouver | The Canadian | Copelands Landing toward Toronto | ||
Former services at Rice Lake station | ||||
Preceding station | Canadian National Railway | Following station | ||
Winnitoba toward Vancouver | Main Line | Malachi toward Montreal | ||
Current services at Copelands Landing | ||||
Preceding station | Via Rail | Following station | ||
Rice Lake toward Vancouver | The Canadian | Malachi toward Toronto | ||
Former services at Copelands Landing | ||||
Preceding station | Canadian National Railway | Following station | ||
Rice Lake toward Vancouver | Main Line | Malachi toward Montreal | ||
Current services at Malachi station | ||||
Preceding station | Via Rail | Following station | ||
Copelands Landing toward Vancouver | The Canadian | Ottermere toward Toronto | ||
Former services at Malachi station | ||||
Preceding station | Canadian National Railway | Following station | ||
Copelands Landing toward Vancouver | Main Line | Ottermere toward Montreal |
Dryden is the second-largest city in the Kenora District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located on Wabigoon Lake. It is the least populous community in Ontario incorporated as a city. The City of Dryden had a population of 7,749 and its population centre had a population of 5,586 in 2016.
Kenora, previously named Rat Portage, is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about 210 km (130 mi) east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District.
The Sudbury District is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1894 from townships of eastern Algoma District and west Nipissing District.
The English River is a river in Kenora District and Thunder Bay District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. It flows through Lac Seul to join the Winnipeg River at Tetu Lake as a right tributary. The river is in the Hudson Bay drainage basin, is 615 kilometres (382 mi) long and has a drainage basin of 52,300 square kilometres (20,200 sq mi). Although there are several hydroelectric plants on this river, the English River upstream of Minnitaki Lake is notable as one of the few large river systems in northwestern Ontario with a natural flow and without any upstream source of pollution. It is the fourth longest river entirely in Ontario.
Sioux Lookout is a town in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Located approximately 350 km (220 mi) northwest of Thunder Bay, it has a population of 5,838 people, an elevation of 383 m (1,257 ft), and its boundaries cover an area of 536 km2 (207 sq mi), of which 157 km2 (61 sq mi) is lake and wetlands. Known locally as the "Hub of the North", it is serviced by the Sioux Lookout Airport, Highway 72, and the Sioux Lookout railway station. According to a 2011 study commissioned by the municipality, health care and social services ranked as the largest sources of employment, followed by the retail trade, public administration, transportation and warehousing, manufacturing, accommodation and food services, and education.
Unorganized Kenora District is an unorganized area in northwestern Ontario, Canada, in Kenora District. Constituting 98.39 percent of the district's land area, yet only 10.93 percent of its population, it is essentially the remainder of the district's territory after all incorporated cities, municipalities, townships, Indian reserves, and Indian settlements have been excluded. It is by far the largest municipal-equivalent level census division in Ontario, covering over 35 percent of the entire provincial land area, yet only about 0.05 percent of the population of Ontario.
Unorganized Thunder Bay District is an unorganized area in northwestern Ontario, Canada in Thunder Bay District. It comprises all parts of the district that are not part of an incorporated municipality or a First Nations reserve.
Ignace is a township in the Kenora District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located at Highway 17 and Secondary Highway 599, and on the Canadian Pacific Railway between Thunder Bay and Dryden, Ontario. It is on the shore of Agimak Lake, and as of 2016, the population of Ignace was 1,202.
Minaki is an unincorporated area and community in Unorganized Kenora District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located at the point where the Canadian National Railways transcontinental main line crosses the Winnipeg River, between Wade to the west and Ena Lake at the east, and was accessible only by rail until about 1960. It was a fuelling and watering point in the days of steam locomotives; now few trains stop in Minaki, though the thrice-weekly Via Rail transcontinental Canadian passenger trains will stop on request at the Minaki railway station.
Red Lake is a municipality with town status in the Canadian province of Ontario, located 535 km (332 mi) northwest of Thunder Bay and less than 100 km (62 mi) from the Manitoba border. The municipality consists of six small communities—Balmertown, Cochenour, Madsen, McKenzie Island, Red Lake and Starratt-Olsen—and had a population of 4,107 people in the Canada 2016 Census.
Area code 807 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the Canadian province of Ontario. The numbering plan area (NPA), comprising only Northwestern Ontario, was created in early 1962 in an area code split of NPA 705. The main reason for the split was not central office prefix exhaustion, but routing efficiency for calls from Western Canada to northwestern Ontario.
King's Highway 71, commonly referred to as Highway 71, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The 194-kilometre-long (121 mi) route begins at the Fort Frances–International Falls International Bridge in Fort Frances, continuing from US Highway 53 (US 53) and US 71 in Minnesota, and travels west concurrently with Highway 11 for 40 kilometres (25 mi) to Chapple. At that point, Highway 11 continues west while Highway 71 branches north and travels 154 kilometres (96 mi) to a junction with Highway 17 just east of Kenora. Highway 71 forms a branch of the Trans-Canada Highway for its entire length, with the exception of the extremely short segment south of Highway 11 in Fort Frances.
Ear Falls is a township located in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, on the banks of the English River, Lac Seul, Pakwash Lake and Wenesaga Lake. It is located along Highway 105, 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Highway 17 and Vermilion Bay, about halfway between Highway 17 and Red Lake, or about 480 kilometres (300 mi) northwest of Thunder Bay.
Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Kenora District. It is located on the eastern shores of Lake of the Woods along Ontario Highway 71.
Lac Seul First Nation is an Ojibwe First Nation band government located on the southeastern shores of Lac Seul, 56 kilometres (35 mi) northeast of the city of Dryden, Ontario. Though Lac Seul First Nation is a treaty signatory to Treaty 3, the First Nation is a member of the Independent First Nations Alliance, a regional tribal council and a member of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation.
Redditt is an unincorporated community in Unorganized Kenora District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is on the MacFarlane River, and located at the northern terminus of Ontario Highway 658, 27 kilometres (17 mi) north of Kenora. Redditt is also the name of the surrounding geographic township that includes the community.
Secondary Highway 658, commonly referred to as Highway 658, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Kenora District. The highway extends 25.3 kilometres (15.7 mi) between the city of Kenora and the community of Redditt. For a decade, Highway 658 was numbered as Highway 666, leading to numerous sign thefts and a petition by members of a church on the route. This petition eventually led to the route being renumbered in late 1985.
Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation, commonly known as Wabigoon First Nation, is a Saulteaux First Nation band government who inhabit the Kenora District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately 19 km southeast of Dryden, Ontario. As of January 2008, the First Nation had a registered population of 533 people, of which their on-Reserve population was 175.
Ena Lake is the name of a lake and an adjacent unincorporated area and railway point in Unorganized Kenora District in northwestern Ontario, Canada, about 23 kilometres (14 mi) north of the city of Kenora. Formerly a stop on the Canadian National Railway, it is now a small cottage community of approximately 50 seasonal residents and 11 year round residents.