Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario)
| Sault Ste. Marie | |||
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| Motto : "Naturally Gifted" | |||
| Location in Ontario | |||
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| State : |
 Canada
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| Province : | Ontario | ||
| District : | Algoma | ||
| Coordinates : | 46 ° 31 ′ N , 84 ° 19 ′ W | ||
| Height : | 192 m | ||
| Area : | 715 km² | ||
| Residents : | 75,141 (as of 2011) | ||
| Population density : | 105.1 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Time zone : | Eastern Time ( UTC − 5 ) | ||
| Postal code : | P6A - P6C | ||
| Mayor : | John Rowswell | ||
| Website : | www.city.sault-ste-marie.on.ca | ||
Sault Ste. Marie [ ˈsuːˌseɪnt məˈɹiː ] is a city in the Northern Ontario region of the Province of Ontario in Canada . It is the capital of the Algoma District and is located on the Saint Marys River , which forms the border with the USA in the south. On the south side of the river is the American town of the same name, Sault Ste. Marie (Michigan) , which was divided as a result of the British-American War .
City's population and name
Similar to other cities in Northern Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie under massive emigration to the cities of the south, where one can find better job opportunities. Since the 1990s, the population has shrunk from 84,000 to 75,000 today. 91.6% of the population are of European descent, mostly from Italy, France, England, the Nordic countries and southern Europe.
Near the city there are three reserves of Indians or First Nations , such as the Canadian Indians call themselves. They make up 7.8% of the city's population. The Indian tradition is contained in the city coat of arms through a lettering in the Ojibwe language: "Ojibwa Kitche Gumeeng Odena" (Ojibwe city on the great water).
The Ojibwe Indians originally knew the area as "Bawating", which means "fast water, rapids". In 1623, Étienne Brûlé came there and the French named it in honor of the brother of the French King Louis XIII. “Sault de Gaston” (Gaston Rapids). In 1668 French Jesuits christened the area “Sault Ste. Marie ”and founded a settlement on the south side of the river, today's Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan . The Canadian Sault Ste. Marie received city rights in 1887.
Economy, transport and tourism
In the 1960s and 1970s , Sault Ste. Marie is best known for steel production. Over time, however, domestic demand for steel fell, with the result that Algoma Steel, the city's largest employer with 2,900 employees, has had to file for bankruptcy twice in the past eight years and has made massive job cuts. Forestry is another industry: the St. Mary's Paper mill employs around 400 people. Around 2,300 employees in the service sector have five call centers located in the city , of which the Sutherland Group operates the largest.
Sault Ste. Marie is on the Trans-Canada Highway ( Highway 17 ), which connects the city with Thunder Bay in the northwest and Sudbury in the south. The International Bridge is the connection to the I-75 freeway in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, which leads from there to Detroit . A regional airport and a railway line connect the city to the outside world.
Among the tourist attractions include the Canadian Bush Plane Heritage Center, boat trips through the Sault Locks ( Soo Locks ) that the Lake Superior with Lake Huron and Lake Erie connect the casino and a ride on the Algoma Central Railway through the Agawa Canyon. Pancake Bay Provincial Park and Batchawana Bay Provincial Park are in the vicinity of the city .
Religion, education and culture
85.7% of Sault Ste. Marie profess the Roman Catholic faith. Sault Sainte Marie is the seat of the Sault Sainte Marie diocese . With 125 members, the Buddhists are the largest non-Christian group in the population.
In Sault Ste. Marie is home to Sault College, a college of arts and technology, and Algoma University . In Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan is also home to Lake Superior State University.
There are six Canadian radio and six television stations, plus Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The daily Sault Star and the online news exchange SooToday.com provide information
In the 1950s the Sault Ste. Marie Museum founded.
Language dispute
In January 1990, Sault Ste. Marie, at the instigation of the then mayor Joe Fratesi, decided with 11 to 2 votes that the city was purely English-speaking. Although Sault Ste. Marie was not the first city in Ontario to do so, the decision aroused a lot of media interest and led to a controversial discussion. Leading politicians such as Jean Chrétien and Brian Mulroney expressed their dismay, especially in the province of Québec this decision was seen as a racist act. In June 1994 a court ruled that the decision was invalid because it was beyond the powers of a city council; in August 1999 it was declared void by the city council.
Partnerships
Partnership relationships exist with the sister city Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan, USA, and with:
Sports
The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds won the Memorial Cup in 1993 .
Sons and daughters
- Phil Esposito (born 1942), ice hockey player
- Tony Esposito (born 1943), ice hockey player
- Roberta Bondar (* 1945), astronaut
- David Prentice (* 1947), jazz musician
- Jerry Korab (born 1948), ice hockey player
- Robert Oliphant (* 1956), politician and theologian
- Ted Nolan (* 1958), ice hockey coach
- Ron Francis (born 1963), ice hockey player
- Jonathan Wilkinson (born 1965), politician
- Paul Maurice (* 1967), ice hockey coach
- Marty Turco (* 1975), ice hockey player
- Brigitte Acton (* 1985), ski racer
- Kyle Dubas (* 1985), ice hockey official
- Brad Jacobs (born 1985), curler
- Matt D'Agostini (born 1986), ice hockey player
- Brett Perlini (* 1990), Canadian-British ice hockey player
- Colin Miller (born 1992), ice hockey player
- Michael Amadio (* 1996), ice hockey player
- The members of the rock group Treble Charger
