'Barrie' is a city of 128,430 residents,
1 the 35th largest municipality in
Canada.
2 It is located on
Kempenfelt Bay, an arm of
Lake Simcoe in
Central Ontario,
Canada.
Although geographically a part of
Simcoe County, the municipality is politically separate.
The city's north and south ends are separated by a deep valley which contains the
downtown area along Kempenfelt Bay.
At the north end of Barrie is the
Highway 11 and
Highway 400 interchange. Many consider this the gateway to northern Ontario resort destinations (referred to as
cottage country).
Barrie is also home to the
MacLaren Art Centre, an innovative art gallery that supports the visual arts in Simcoe County. It inspired the "Art City" project, which has had many different large sculptures installed around the city. These can be found in parks and along the scenic waterfront.
History
Barrie at its inception was a train station, which is now disconnected. The city was named in 1832 after Sir
Robert Barrie, who was in charge of the naval forces in Canada and frequently had to portage from Lake Simcoe to
Georgian Bay through the city.
The Underground Railroad in the mid 1800s caused many American slaves to enter Barrie. This contributed to the development (and the name) of nearby
Shanty Bay.
During
World War II the
Royal Canadian Navy named a
Flower class corvette HMCS Barrie.
On
27 September 1977, in dense fog, a small plane hit the 68 meter tall
CKVR Television Tower, knocking CHAY FM and
CKVR-TV off the air. All on the aircraft were killed, and the tower was destroyed. A new 304 metre tower was erected and operational within a year.
On
31 May,
1985, an
F4 tornado struck Barrie, see
United States-Canadian Outbreak for full details.
On
12 June -
13 June 1987, a sculpture called ''
Spirit Catcher'' by
Ron Baird was moved to Barrie from
Vancouver,
British Columbia, where it had been exhibited as part of
Expo '86. The sculpture was erected permanently at the foot of Maple Avenue on the shore of Kempenfelt Bay.
In January 2004, Barrie made international news when its city police raided the former
Molson brewery, and found Canada's largest illegal
cannabis grow operation.
Barrie's
Park Place (formerly Molson Park)
was chosen to host
Live 8 Canada on
2 July,
2005. The success of the concert contributed to the resistance to a plan to convert the concert area to a commercial district.
Geography and climate
Barrie is located in Central Ontario and is accessible via Highways
90,
400,
27,
11 and has convenient access to
Highway 401, the
Highway 407 Express Toll Route and to neighbouring Toronto.
Pearson International Airport in Toronto is a 50-minute drive from Barrie via
Highway 400, a six lane highway that runs directly through Barrie.
Topography
Barrie's downtown is situated in a bowl-shaped valley, surrounding the western edge of Kempenfelt Bay. Terrain is generally flat near the city's centre. Moving away from the downtown, the terrain becomes more uneven, with more rolling hills -- some quite steep. Over the years, the city has expanded its urban area beyond the confines of the valley onto higher ground surrounding the
The city does not have any major rivers within its limits, but does have numerous creeks and streams, all of which empty into Kempenfelt Bay.
Climate
Barrie has hot, humid summers and cold, snowy winters. The proximity to the Great Lakes does help moderate temperatures somewhat. Barrie is located in Ontario's snowbelt region, where lake-effect snowfalls throughout the winter provide an average 238 centimetres (95 inches) of snowfall annually. As a result, there are numerous winter recreation activities and facilities in the surrounding area, including skiing and snowboarding resorts, snowmobile trails and ice fishing.
Economy
There are several manufacturers currently located in Barrie and
Canadian Forces Base Borden is nearby. The perception of Barrie is that it is a
bedroom community for people who
commute to
Toronto, which is approximately 100km south of Barrie, or (more often) to the northern suburbs of Toronto in
York Region. However, only 32% of the resident employed labour force (17,040 persons/53,400 persons) actually commute out of Barrie for employment purposes. In addition to this, 28% of the resident employed labour force (14,880 persons/53,400 persons) actually commute into Barrie for employment for a net out-commuting figure of only 4.26%(17,040 persons –14,880 persons]/(50,665 persons employed in Barrie)). Source: 2001 Census and City of Barrie Economic Development.
Tourism plays an important role in the local economy. Barrie's
waterfront is at the heart of its tourism industry, with events like the Kempenfest
Arts and crafts festival attracting more than 300,000 people. Recreational activities include
skiing at nearby
Horseshoe Valley,
Snow Valley, Mount St.Louis Moonstone, and
Blue Mountain as well as
boating in Kempenfelt Bay. The city also boasts several beaches including Minet's Point Beach, Johnsons Beach, The Gables, Tyndale Beach, and Centennial Beach. Barrie's waterfront is currently under heavy construction, with the relocation of several roadways to provide more greenspace and parklands along the lakeshore, and several major roads being closed in order to allow construction for
Go Transit. Being strategically situated between Toronto and
Muskoka on Highway 400, Barrie is also considered the gateway to northern Ontario resort destinations (referred to as cottage country).
Demographics
:::N/A = Data Not Available
The 2006 census metropolitan area found that Barrie and surrounding area has 177,061 residents, which included the City of Barrie (128,430 residents) and its surrounding communities. With the surrounding communities'
urban area, the city has 157,501 residents.
3 The City is attracting people from all over Ontario, Canada and internationally. It is the fastest growing Census Metropolitan Area and one of Canada's fastest growing cities.
'Population'
From the years 1996 to 2001, the city of Barrie has seen phenomenal growth. According to
StatCan, the city grew by 31.0 per cent, the second fastest growing city in the province of Ontario. This is due to both the young population profile, and a growing number of Canadians moving into the city for economic and technological opportunities. The city grew by an average 4.8% per year from 2001 to 2006 (Census).
In 2001, some 46 per cent of the population is under 14, while 10.9 per cent of the population is of retirement age.
'Religious Groups'
★ 47.0%
Protestant
★ 27.9%
Roman Catholic
★ 3.4% other Christian
★ 0.32% Jewish
★ 0.3% Muslim
★ 21.08% other, non-professing
'Barrie's Houses Of Worship'
★ Barrie's Am-Shalom Congregation (Synagogue)
[1]
★ St. George's Anglican Church
[2]
★ St. Giles Anglican Church
★ St. Margaret's Anglican Church
★ Trinity Anglican Church
★ St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church
★ Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses
★ St. John Vianney Catholic Church
★ Bethel Community Church
★ Hi-Way Pentecostal Church
Education
Barrie has two major school boards that operate inside the city at a public level. The
Simcoe County District School Board administers a Public education in Barrie and Simcoe County, while the
Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board administers to the Catholic population and serves the Simcoe and Muskoka areas.
Georgian College
Georgian College's main campus, with 7,000 full-time students and over 10,000 part-time students, is located in Barrie. As a result, many of the bars and clubs in downtown Barrie are filled with students during the school year.
Politics
Mayors and reeves
The current mayor of Barrie is
Dave Aspden, who was elected in November, 2006.
Federal representation
Provincial representation
Below is a list of the Members of Provincial Parliament for the ridings that Barrie has been part of since 1968.
Twinnings/Friendships
★ Twin City:
Zweibrücken, Germany since 1996
★ Friendship City:
Murayama, Japan
★ Friendship City:
Taizhou, China since 2006
Media
Print
There are two papers that are written in Barrie,Ontario. The Barrie Examiner is a paid paper, and the Barrie Advance is a free paper that is delivered three times a week.
★
Barrie Examiner
★
Barrie Advance
Television
There is one station broadcasting from Barrie itself:
★ Channel 3:
CKVR -
A-Channel
Radio
★ FM 93.1 -
CHAY,
adult contemporary
★ FM 95.7 -
CFJB ("Rock 95"),
active rock
★ FM 100.3 -
CJLF,
Christian
★ FM 101.1 -
CIQB ("B101"),
hot adult contemporary
★ FM 107.5 -
CKMB ("1075 Kool FM"),
hot adult contemporary
Sports teams
Barrie is also home to the
Mariposa School of Skating which has trained many world-class figure skaters, including
Brian Orser,
Elvis Stojko and
Jeff Buttle.
Barrie in relation to other North American cities
Buildings and structures
★
CKVR Television Tower
★
Highpoint Apartments
★
Barrie City Hall
See also
★
Barrie City Council
★
Royal Victoria Hospital
★
Indoor malls in Barrie
External links
★
Official City of Barrie Website
★
Barrie Tourism
★
Environment Canada - Barrie forecast
★
Ontario Plaques: Barrie
★
Ontario Highway 11 Homepage - Barrie
References
1. Community Highlights, City of Barrie
2. Population and dwelling counts, for Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities), (land areas, population density, national population rank and other data) 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data
3. Barrie Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) with census subdivision (municipal) population breakdowns, land areas and other data
4. Population and dwelling counts, for urban areas (land areas, population density, national population rank and other data), 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data
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