Chatham-Kent, Ontario
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The Municipality of Chatham-Kent, is located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.
Contents |
History
The former city of Chatham began as a naval dockyard in the 1790's, as it straddles the Thames River.
In the War of 1812, the Battle of the Thames took place at Moraviantown, near Chatham on October 5, 1813.
During the 19th century, the area was part of the Underground Railroad. As a result, Chatham is now part of the African-Canadian Heritage Tour.
In 1998 the former Chatham city government merged with that of Kent County to form the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. In 2003, the population within the boundaries of the former city of Chatham was 43,348.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent consists of 23 communities. The major communities include:
Industry
- In 1996, Chatham became the home of Commercial Alcohols, which is the largest ethanol plant in Canada, and one of the largest in the world. In January 2005, the plant was named as one of Canada's 50 best managed companies.
- Chatham is home to the headquarters of Union Gas, a natural gas utility. Union Gas is a Duke Energy company.
- Chatham is also home to a truck plant operated by Navistar International Corporation (NYSE symbol NAV)
- Olsen furnaces are made in Wallaceburg. Olsen is a division of ECR International.
Demographics
According to the mid-2001 census, the population estimates there were 107,341 people residing in Chatham-Kent combined city, located in the province of Ontario, of whom 48.7 % were male and 51.3 % were female. Children under five accounted for approximately 5.7 % of the resident population of Chatham-Kent. This compares with 5.8 % in Ontario, and almost 5.6 % for Canada overall.
In mid-2001, 15.1 % of the resident population in Chatham-Kent were of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) compared with 13.2 % in Canada, therefore, the average age is 38.6 years of age comparing to 37.6 years of age for all of Canada.
In the five years between 1996 and 2001, the population of Chatham-Kent declined by 1.8 %, compared with an increase of 6.1 % for Ontario as a whole. Population density of Chatham-Kent averaged 43.7 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 12.6, for Ontario altogether. The loss of population in Chatham-Kent can be contributed to industry closing or moving out
At the time of the census in May 2001, the resident population of the Chatham-Kent city authority had 107,341 people, compared with a resident population in the province of Ontario of 11,410,050 people.
Race
- Caucasian: 94.6% (chiefly British, French, Irish, German, Italian)
- Black: 2.0% (mostly Jamaican)
- Aboriginal: 1.6%
- Other: 1.9% (includes mixed race, Chinese, Asian)
Religion
- Protestant: 48.4%
- Catholic: 36.0%
- Other Christian: 2.7%
- Other religions: 0.7%
- No religious affiliation: 12.2%
Language
Media
Television Stations
- CHWI A-Channel: a CHUM Limited television station. The station operates out of Windsor, Ontario and has offices in both Chatham, Ontario and Wheatley, Ontario (where it is licensed). This television station has been operating since October 19, 1993.
Radio Broadcast Stations
- CKSY 94.3FM: an adult contemporary music station on the air since July 1, 1986. In 2002, CKSY swapped broadcasting frequencies with CKUE.
- CKUE 95.1FM: The Rock, a rock music station established on October 6, 1999. In 2002, CKUE swapped broadcasting frequencies with CKSY.
- CFCO 92.9FM and 630AM: a news, sports, and oldies music station. The original AM broadcasting station was launched in 1926.
- CBEE 88.1FM: the radio rebroadcast station for CBC Radio One (CBE) out of Windsor, Ontario.
CKSY, CFCO and CKUE are owned by Blackburn Radio.
Print Media
- Chatham Sun a free local newspaper published Monday to Friday by Bowes Publishers Limited.
- Chatham This Week a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday by Bowes Publishers Limited.
- Chatham Daily News: a local newspaper for Chatham-Kent owned and operated by the Osprey Media Group.
- Chatham Pennysaver: a free local shopping and classifieds paper owned by Bowes Publishers Limited.
Chatham This Week was briefly re-brandly as the Chatham Sun Weekly Edition in October 2005, after the launch of the daily Chatham Sun. The experiement lasted only a few weeks before the original title was reinstated in response to some confusion among readers.
Education
Elementary and Secondary
There are two main school boards in Chatham-Kent. These are the Lambton-Kent District School Board and the St. Clair Catholic District School Board. The LKDSB is a public school board, and consists of 7 secondary and 21 elementary schools. The St. Clair Catholic board consists of two secondary schools, one french and one english and 16 elementary schools. There are also private schools, such as Chatham Christian Schools, an elementary and high school in the same building.
Post-Secondary
Chatham-Kent is the home of two colleges - St. Clair College and Ridgetown College.
There are two campuses for St. Clair College located in the municipality - Thames Campus (located in the former city of Chatham) and the Wallaceburg Campus (located in the town of Wallaceburg). There are over 5,000 full time and 12,000 part time students that attend the college each year.
Ridgetown College is actually a campus of the University of Guelph, and offers diplomas in agriculture, horticulture, and veterinary technology.
St. Clair College - Thames Campus is a satillite of St. Clair College of Windsor.
Famous People Born in Chatham-Kent
- Courtney Babcock: Olympic distance runner
- Shae-Lynn Bourne: championship figure skater
- Dave Gagner: retired NHL hockey player. His sister-in-law, Diane Gagner is currently the mayor of Chatham-Kent.
- Fergie Jenkins: Baseball Hall of Famer
- Judy LaMarsh: former Canadian Minister of Health
- Doug Melvin: General Manager of the Milwaukee Brewers
- Sylvia Tyson: one half of singer/songwriter duo Ian and Sylvia
- Michelle Wright: Award winning Country Singer
- Todd Warriner: former NHL hockey player, picked 4th overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques.
- Tracey Hoyt: plays Aurora Farqueson on the hit CBC television series "The Tournament"
- June Callwood: a prominent magazine writer in the 1950's. Became an Officer in the Order of Canada in 1986
- Robertson Davies: novelist
- Harry Garnet Bedford Miner: Victoria Cross winner during World War 1, born in Cedar Springs
Hockey
- Chatham Jr. Maroons (Jr. B Hockey Club)
- Blenheim Blades (Jr. C Hockey Club)
- Dresden Kings (Jr. C Hockey Club)
- Wheatley Sharks (Jr. C Hockey Club)
- Wallaceburg Lakers (Jr. C Hockey Club)
Miscellaneous
The Indian reserves of Moravian 47 and Bkejwanong (commonly referred to as Walpole Island) border Chatham-Kent.
The local military regiment, The Essex and Kent Scottish, has in the past years, sent over 15 people to serve in NATO and UN operations around the world. Currently there are 3 from Chatham operating in Afganistan.
External links
| Image:Flag of Ontario.svg | Ontario |
|---|---|
| Counties | Bruce - Dufferin - Elgin - Essex - Frontenac - Grey - Haliburton - Hastings - Huron - Lambton - Lanark - Leeds and Grenville - Lennox and Addington - Middlesex - Northumberland - Perth - Peterborough - Prescott and Russell - Renfrew - Simcoe - Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry - Wellington |
| Districts | Algoma - Cochrane - Kenora - Manitoulin - Nipissing - Parry Sound - Rainy River - Sudbury - Thunder Bay - Timiskaming |
| Regional municipalities | Durham - Halton - Muskoka - Niagara - Oxford - Peel - Waterloo - York |
| Single-tier municipalities | Brant - Brantford - Chatham-Kent - Greater Sudbury - Haldimand - Hamilton - Kawartha Lakes - Norfolk - Ottawa - Prince Edward - Toronto |
| Separated municipalities | Barrie - Belleville - Brantford - Brockville - Gananoque - Guelph - Kingston - London - Orillia - Pembroke - Peterborough - Prescott - Quinte West - Smiths Falls - St. Marys - St. Thomas - Stratford - Windsor |
