St. Catharines

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St. Catharines
St. Catharines, Ontario (montage) .png
Coat of arms of St. Catharines
coat of arms
Motto : Industry and Liberality
("Diligence and Openness")
Location in Ontario
St. Catharines, Ontario
St. Catharines
St. Catharines
State : CanadaCanada Canada
Province : Ontario
Regional Municipality : Niagara
Coordinates : 43 ° 11 ′  N , 79 ° 14 ′  W Coordinates: 43 ° 11 ′  N , 79 ° 14 ′  W
Height : 97  m
Area : 96.11 km²
Inhabitants :
-  Metropolitan Area : 		131,400 (as of 2017)
392,184 (as of 2017)
Population density : 1,367.2 inhabitants / km²
Time zone : Eastern Time ( UTC − 5 )
Postal code : L2M - L2W
Foundation : 1783
Mayor : Walter Sendzik
Website : www.stcatharines.ca

St. Catharines [ ˌseɪ̯ntˈkæθəɹɪns ] is a city in the province of Ontario in Canada . St. Catharines is the largest city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara . The city itself has 131,400 inhabitants. 392,184 inhabitants live in the agglomeration.

The city is located at the northern entrance of the Welland Canal and Lake Ontario . St. Catharines is also called the Garden City, as the city has 4 km² of public gardens. St. Catharines is also called St. Kitts by the locals and Teiotenonhsà: kton by the Mohawk . Brock University is located south of the city .

history

Old Courthouse from 1848

St. Catharines was founded by American loyalists around 1780. The first settlers were two soldiers who settled at the place where Dick's Creek and Twelve Mile Creek meet. Old Indian trails were used as roads. The first store was opened by Robert Hamilton in 1783. Three years later, in 1786, the first mill was opened, the Crown Mills . A little later, from 1787 to 1789, the land was measured and distributed. At that time the settlement was called The Twelve . The first restaurant was opened in 1797, and it quickly became a local meeting place and coach station. In 1798 the place was renamed Shipman's Corner after the owner of the Paul Shipman restaurant . The main street of St. Catharines is also named after him.

The center of the historic downtown

In the War of 1812 St. Catharines has not been attacked. Laura Secord , a Canadian national heroine , warned the British of an American attack. In 1808 the name St. Catharines appeared for the first time on a map. The city was named after Robert Hamilton's wife, Catharine Hamilton. 1817 the first post office is called St. Cath e rines opened. However, the spelling error did not catch on and the city has been officially called St. Catharines since 1821. In 1876 St. Catharines received city rights. The construction of the Welland Canal from 1824 to 1833 has made the city the commercial and industrial center of the Niagara Peninsula.

geography

The Short Hills Provincial Park

St. Catharines is located in the center of the Niagara Peninsula in the extreme southeast of Ontario. The environment has a unique microclimate , which is due to the fact that St. Catharines is located between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie near the Niagara layer . The warm weather and nutritious soil are good for planting fruits. The peninsula is also famous for its wine . Maple syrup is also collected in the spring .

The Welland Canal marks the eastern limit of the city. The new Welland Canal is the newest of the four canals. The earlier canals have all been filled in, but the traces can still be seen today.

Neighboring cities are Thorold , Niagara-on-the-Lake , Niagara Falls , Fort Erie , Welland , Pelham , Lincoln , Grimsby and Hamilton . Toronto is about 100 kilometers as the crow flies. The Short Hills Provincial Park is located in the southwest of the city.

Districts

Districts of St. Catharines

St. Catharines consists of the following parishes. These do not fulfill any administrative function, but are only recognized by the residents.

  • Barbican Heights
  • Burleigh Hill
  • Facer
  • Glenridge
  • Martindale
  • Merritton
  • Michigan Beach
  • The North End
  • Port Dalhousie
  • Port Weller
  • Power Glen
  • Rockway
  • Downtown St. Catharines
  • Secord Woods
  • St. George's Point
  • Vansickle
  • Western Hill
  • Merritton is sometimes called the heart of St. Catharines by its residents . Attractions in Merritton are the Welland Canal and the Merritton Tunnel.
  • Port Dalhousie is a district in the north of St. Catharines directly on Lake Ontario. The district is known for its historic district. Port Dalhousie beach is a popular destination in summer. The mouths of the first three Welland canals were also located here. There are currently plans to build a shopping center in Port Dalhousie. The first proposal, a building with 30 floors, had to be abandoned due to popular protests. The new proposal envisaged a building with 17 floors, a hotel, a theater and several shops. But this proposal was also rejected by the population.
  • Glenridge is considered the cleanest and most well-kept district. Glenridge stretches from the center of the city to Niagara Hill. Many students live here due to the proximity to Brock University.
  • Downtown is bounded by St. Paul Street , Geneva Street , Niagara Street , Welland Avenue and the freeway. The inner city is the oldest part of St. Catharines. It is on the site where an Iroquois trail once led across Twelve Mile Creek . That path is now St. Paul Street . This road is considered to be one of the few main winding roads in North America. Due to the relatively long history of the city, there are several houses of historical importance in the city center. The opening of a mall caused the downtown area to deteriorate after many shops there closed. Today, however, there are again 120 shops and 50 restaurants. The city's only market is also located here.

administration

St. Catharines is governed by a mayor and a council of 12 members. The mayor has been Brian McMullan since 2007. The city is divided into six districts. There are two members of the council for each district. In contrast to the mayor, the councilors only have a part-time position.

The council elections take place in November. Elections were held every three years until 2006, and have only been held every four years since then.

economy

Major employers in the city include the District School Board of Niagara, Niagara Health System, General Motors of Canada , Seaway Marine Transport Inc., Brock University , Algoma Central Corporation, Niagara regional Police Services, City of St. Catharines, Ontario Ministry of Transportation, TRW Canada Limited.

traffic

Bus routes go to the whole city and the neighboring city of Thorold. There are 24 lines during the day and 16 lines in the evening and on weekends. Brock University buses also go to the neighboring cities of Welland and Niagara Falls . The bus station is in the city center. In addition to the city buses, Greyhound and intercity buses run from there to Toronto, New York City and cities in the surrounding area.

St. Catharines also has a train station, which is served by the Canadian railroad company VIA Rail and by Amtrak . The trains connect the city with Toronto and New York City .

The main roads in the city are the Queen Elizabeth Way (east to west) and Highway 406 (north to south).

St. Catharines also used to have electric trams . The tram line initially ran from downtown to the Merritton district. Later the trams also went to Port Dalhousie and Thorold. The tram was shut down in the 1960s and the route was converted into paths and parks.

population

St. Catharines had 131,400 inhabitants in 2011, 0.4% less than in 2006 (131,989 inhabitants). The metropolitan area around St. Catharines includes the cities of Niagara Falls , Fort Erie , Lincoln , Niagara-on-the-Lake , Port Colborne , Thorold and Welland . On May 10, 2011, this metropolitan area had 392,184 inhabitants, making it the twelfth largest metropolitan area in Canada.

St. Catharines is primarily English-speaking . There is no larger French-Canadian community in the city. However, there is a French-speaking kindergarten and school. Some of the immigrants in the city have retained their mother tongue, especially Asian groups. Also Polish is still spoken in some cases.

The population of St. Catharines is 88.5% European. The remainder is distributed among Asians (4.2%), colored people (2.0%), natives (1.5%) and other minorities (3.8%). The original population consists mainly of English, Scots, German Protestants , French Huguenots and Dutch Calvinists . In addition, a large number of Poles live in the area.

The religions are distributed among Protestants (45.4%), Catholics (34.2%), Orthodox (1.4%) and Muslims (1.5%). 15.8% of the population stated no religion.

The main industry in the city is factories, especially car factories. However, the industrial share has shrunk in recent years in favor of the service sector. St. Catharines is also one of the most important communications links between Canada and the United States .

Unemployment is 6.6% and the median income is 24,345 Canadian dollars (2006). The five largest employers are:

  • The Niagara Public School System (5,000 Employees)
  • General Motors (3,700)
  • The Niagara Health System (1,800)
  • Brock University (1,324)
  • Sitel Corporation (a telephone operator) (100)

Attractions

One of the numerous paths in town
The Pen Center
  • The St. Catharines Farmers Market is one of the oldest markets in Ontario, dating back to the early 19th century. Just like a century ago, the market is held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
  • The city has an extensive network of trails that together have a length of 90 kilometers. Two paths of 9 and 11 km lead past the Welland Canal. The Bruce Trail , the oldest and longest hiking trail in Canada, also leads through St. Catharines.
  • Montebello Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1887 and is part of Ontario's historical heritage.
  • The British Methodist Episcopal (BME) Church and Salem's Chapel are two historic churches that played a major role in the flight of American slaves to Canada.
  • The new City Hall was built in 1937 on the same site as the old City Hall.
  • The Old Courthouse was built in 1848/1849.
  • The Queen St. Heritage District is the old town of St. Catharines.
  • The Welland House Hotel is one of the few remaining houses from the time when St. Catharines was still a health resort. Today the house houses a student residence hall and a radio station for Brock University.
  • The Yates St. Heritage District is made up of Victorian-era houses . The quarter lies next to the remains of the first Welland Canal.
  • The St. Catharines Museum is located at a lock on the Welland Canal. In the museum you can learn more about the history of the city and the canal. Visitors can also watch the ships sail through the canal from a platform.
  • The Morningstar Mill and Mountain Mills Museum is home to one of the oldest mills in Canada. The museum is on the Niagara Hill. The mill is still powered by water power.
  • St. Catharines is also the central shopping mall in the Niagara region. The Pen Center is home to over 162 stores and used to be Canada's largest mall.

media

Six newspapers appear in St. Catharines: the St. Catharines Standard , The Niagara News , the St. Catharines Edition , the Niagara This Week , the Pulse Niagara and the Local Sports Report . Brock Press and Brock University's school newspaper are also published for Brock University

The city also has five different radio stations.

St. Catharines does not have its own television station, but stations from Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo can be received. In 2003 they wanted to found a regional broadcaster, TV Niagara. However, permission to transmit was never granted.

Sports

The local ice hockey team Niagara IceDogs plays in the Ontario Hockey League .

Personalities

as well:

  • The majority of the band Alexisonfire comes from St. Catharines. A music video of the band was filmed here.

Twin cities

Web links

Commons : St. Catharines, Ontario  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Census Profile St. Catharines. Statistics Canada, accessed August 14, 2012 .
  2. ↑ Employment Opportunites. City of St. Catharines, accessed August 14, 2012 .
  3. ^ Mayor & Council. City of St. Catharines, accessed August 12, 2012 .
  4. ↑ Elected Municipal Councils of St. Catharines 1845 - 2014. (PDF; 105 kB) City of St. Catharines, accessed on August 14, 2012 .
  5. ↑ City of St. Cathrines - Industry Statistics 2006
  6. ^ Population and dwelling counts, for census metropolitan areas, 2011 and 2006 censuses. Statistics Canada, accessed August 14, 2012 .
  7. ↑ a b Community Profile. Statistics Canada, accessed August 14, 2012 .
  8. ↑ Twin City. City of St. Catharines, accessed August 14, 2012 .