Thornloe

Thornloe
Village (single-tier)
Village of Thornloe
Thornloe
Coordinates: 47°40′00″N79°45′30″W / 47.66667°N 79.75833°W / 47.66667; -79.75833
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
District	Timiskaming
Government
• Type	Village
• Reeve	Wayne Miller
Area [1]
• Land	6.59 km2 (2.54 sq mi)
Elevation [2]	220 m (722 ft)
Population  (2021) [1]
• Total	92
• Density	14.0/km2 (36/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal Code	P0J
Area code	705

Thornloe is a village in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Timiskaming District. The village had a population of 92 in the 2021 Canadian census.

Thornloe was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1922. ^[3]

Thornloe Cheese Factory

Since 1940 Thornloe Cheese had produced a respected brand of award-winning cheese and butter products in Northeastern Ontario. Fresh milk was utilized from neighbouring farms all within a 25KM footprint in this unique Northern agricultural region.

The original home of Thornloe Cheese was built in the village of Thornloe in 1940. It continued to operate in that location until a new plant was built in 1969 at the current location on Highway 11 just north of the City of Temiskaming Shores, and it was a popular attraction for tourists.

The Thornloe Cheese Factory employed more than 35 full and part-time workers, and purchased over 3 million litres of milk from local farmers.

Gay Lea, current owners of the Thornloe Cheese brand since 2019 decided to shutter the business after 83 years of production on October 31, 2023, ^{[4] [5]} citing it too costly to upgrade to current standards. ^[6] The Thornloe Cheese Factory had been shut down since serious equipment failures halted operations in mid-September 2023. ^[7]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Thornloe had a population of 92 living in 48 of its 53 total private dwellings, a change of -17.9% from its 2016 population of 112. With a land area of 6.59 km² (2.54 sq mi), it had a population density of 14.0/km² (36.2/sq mi) in 2021. ^[1]

Historical census populations – Thornloe, Ontario

Year Pop. ±% 1911 52 —     1921 141 +171.2% 1931 144 +2.1% 1941 145 +0.7% 1951 180 +24.1% 1956 198 +10.0% 1961 211 +6.6%	Year Pop. ±% 1966 157 −25.6% 1971 138 −12.1% 1976 151 +9.4% 1981 170 +12.6% 1986 164 −3.5% 1991 132 −19.5% 1996 132 +0.0%	Year Pop. ±% 2001 120 −9.1% 2006 105 −12.5% 2011 123 +17.1% 2016 112 −8.9% 2021 92 −17.9%
Source: Statistics Canada [1] [8] [9] [10]

Mother tongue (2021): ^[1]

• English as first language: 66.7%
• French as first language: 27.8%
• English and French as first languages: 0%
• Other as first language: 0%

See also

• List of francophone communities in Ontario

References

1. "Thornloe (Code 3554038) Census Profile". 2021 census . Government of Canada - Statistics Canada . Retrieved 2025-09-08.
2. White, James (1915). Altitudes in the Dominion of Canada (2nd ed.). Ottawa: Commission of Conservation. p. 352.
3. "Great Fire of 1922, The". www.heritagetrust.on.ca. Ontario Heritage Trust. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
4. "A Message To Our Customers". October 31, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
5. Taschner, Eric (October 31, 2023). "Owner defends decision to close Thornloe Cheese as others hope it can be rescued" . Retrieved November 2, 2023.
6. Turl, Jeff (October 31, 2023). "Old age killed Thornloe Cheese" . Retrieved November 2, 2023.
7. "Thornloe: The Renaissance of Cheese". FedNor:Government of Canada. 20 February 2003.
8. 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census
9. 2011 Census Profile
10. "1971 Census of Canada - Population Census Subdivisions (Historical)". Catalogue 92-702 Vol I, part 1 (Bulletin 1.1-2). Statistics Canada. July 1973.

External links

Media related to Thornloe at Wikimedia Commons