''For the federal
Electoral District of Sault Ste. Marie, see
Sault Ste. Marie (electoral District) . For the provincial
Electoral District , see
Sault Ste. Marie (provincial Electoral District) .''
("Sault" pronounced "soo;" nicknamed "the Sault" or "the Soo";
2001 population 74,566) is a
City on the
St. Mary's River in
Ontario ,
Canada . It is the third largest city in
Northern Ontario , after
Greater Sudbury and
Thunder Bay .
Sault Ste. Marie is bordered to the east by the
Rankin and
Garden River First Nation reserves, and to the west by
Prince Township . To the north, the city is bordered by an unincorporated portion of the
Algoma District , with
Heyden as the nearest community. To the south, across the river, is the
United States and the city of
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan .
Sault Ste. Marie is the seat of Algoma District.
The city's crest contains the words "Ojibwa Kitche Gumeeng Odena" (from ''Ojibwe gichi-gamiing oodena'') which means "Town by the large body of water of the Ojibwe" (or simply "Town by Lake Superior") in the
Ojibwe Language .
Similarly to many other
Northern Ontario municipalities, Sault Ste. Marie's population has declined in recent years. Since the early 1990s, the city has dropped from 84,000 to 74,000 residents.
The city name originates from "Saults de Sainte-Marie," Old French for "Saint Mary's Falls", a reference to the
Rapids in the Saint Mary's River. Etymologically, the word "sault" comes from an archaic spelling of "saut", the
French word for "leap" or "jump" (similar to ''
Somersault ''), although there are citations dating back to 1600 for the use of the "sault" spelling to mean a waterfall or rapids.
In modern French, however, the words "chutes" or "rapides" are more usual, and "sault" survives almost exclusively in geographic names dating from the
17th Century . (See also
Long Sault, Ontario and
Grand Falls/Grand-Sault, New Brunswick , two other place names where "sault" also carries this meaning.)
This area was originally called ''Baawitigong'', meaning "place of the rapids," by the
Ojibwa , who used the site as a regional meeting place during
Whitefish season in the St. Mary's Rapids. (The
Anglicized form of this name, Bawating, continues to be used in institutional and geographic names in the area.)
After the visit of
Étienne Brûlé in
1623 , the
French called it "Sault de Gaston" in honour of the brother of King
Louis XIII Of France . In
1668 , French
Jesuit missionaries renamed it , and established a settlement that is now
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan , on the river's south bank. Sault Ste. Marie was incorporated as a town in
1887 and a city in
1912 .
During
World War II , and particularly after the
US was attacked at
Pearl Harbor in 1941, concern turned to the locks and shipping channel at Sault Ste. Marie. A substantial military presence was established to protect the locks from a possible attack by
German aircraft from the north. The new development of long-range bombers, created fears of a sudden air raid from the north. Military strategists studied polar projection maps which indicate that the air distance from occupied
Norway to the town is about the same as the distance to New York. That direct route of about 3000 miles is over terrain where there were few observers and long winter nights.
A joint Canadian and US committee called the "Permanent Joint Board on Defence" drove the installation of anti-aircraft defence and associated units of the
United States Army Air Forces and
Royal Canadian Air Force to defend the locks.
An anti-aircraft training facility was established 62 miles north of Sault Ste. Marie on the shores of
Lake Superior .
Barrage Balloon s were installed, and early warning radar bases were established at 5 locations in northern Ontario to watch for incoming aircraft. Military personnel were established to guard sensitive parts of the transportation infrastructure.
A little over one year later, in January 1943, most of these facilities and defences were deemed excessive and removed, save a reduced military base at Sault Ste. Marie.
The city has made a name for itself in steel-making, and
Algoma Steel is still the largest employer with 3150 employees at the main plant and about 550 at the Tube Mill, which is separate from Algoma Steel. Forestry is also a major local industry, especially at
St.Mary's Paper which employs about 390 people. Also related to wood products is Flakeboard, which employs over 100 people in the community along with an adjacent melamine factory which manufactures products with Flakeboard's materials. Such examples of this are furniture and cupboards where a finish is added to the product.
The newest major industry involves business process outsourcing, with five
Call Centre s located within city limits employing about 2700 people. The largest employer of the five call centres is the Sutherland Group which employs about 920 people in the community.
Another very large employer in the community is the
Ontario Lottery And Gaming Corporation (OLGC). The OLGC employs 842 people in Sault Ste. Marie and is the third largest employer next only to
Algoma Steel and the Sutherland Group.
During the
Second World War , the population of the Canadian town was just over 25,000. The steel and chromium operations were of substantial importance to the war effort in Canada and the United States. The Algoma Steel and the Chromium Mining and Smelting Corporation were key producers for transportation and military machines.
In the early
1960s and
1970s , Sault Ste. Marie was a booming town. However, as time passed and foreign imports became a vital reality of business success, the demand for their steel industry diminished. Two times within the past eight years Algoma Steel has declared bankruptcy and laid off large amounts of workers. Most recently, Algoma Steel was bailed out by the Ontario government which promised interest-free loans.
As of 2004, Algoma Steel has turned itself around and become profitable once again, posting profits into the hundreds of millions largely due to the rising costs of steel and the high demand for steel in China.
Sault Ste. Marie is served by
Highway 17 , which is a segment of the
Trans-Canada Highway in the region. The highway connects the city to
Thunder Bay to the northwest and
Sudbury to the east. The
International Bridge also directs traffic from downtown to the beginning of the
Interstate 75 Freeway in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, which runs through
Saginaw ,
Flint and
Detroit before the Michigan/Ohio border (and eventually to
Miami, Florida ).
The International Bridge also directs traffic from the American side of the border via Sault Ste. Marie's new transport route that runs from the bridge to Second Line. This new limited-access roadway through the city will make it much easier for transport trucks to gain access to main roads. By
2008 , Second Line will connect directly to a new Highway 17
Freeway alignment currently under construction east of the city.
The city also plays an inherited role in
Marine Transportation , with the locks in
Michigan being an integral component of the
St. Lawrence Seaway . However, the city also holds a small-scale lock which is used by small boats and other pleasure craft in the summer. Currently under construction is a multi-modal terminal designed to take advantage of the Sault as a rail, road, and water transportation hub.
Sault Ste. Marie is also served by network, which runs north from the city.
Area
Tourist attractions include the
Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre , the
Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site, boat tours of the
Sault Locks (which connect
Lake Superior with the lower
Great Lakes ),
Casino Sault Ste. Marie, and the
Algoma Central Railway 's popular
Agawa Canyon Tour Train. Nearby parks include
Pancake Bay Provincial Park and
Batchawana Bay Provincial Park .
Sault Ste Marie is the site of The Borealis Project, a $54 million complex to be constructed in 2006 on 14 acres of prime waterfront property. The project includes plans for a 144 room luxury hotel, a performing arts theatre, space for retail outlets, restaurants, a 35 thousand square foot educational biodome featuring exotic tropical plants, an upscale day spa, and an
Ice Hotel to be operated during the winter. City officials argue this project, unique to North America and the result of 9 years of planning, will serve as an asset to the tourism industry of Sault Ste. Marie and attract midwestern Canadians and Americans within a day's drive of the city. The official groundbreaking ceremony occurred March 31, 2006.
Sault Ste. Marie once was a haven for Italian immigrants. The west-end of the city has a large concentration of Italians for a small city. Many of the major streets, public facilities are named after Italians. The city also has a large
First Nations population, with three
Reserves nearby.
The population of the city has suffered a steep decline, around 1% annually over the last 5 years. Many have migrated to larger cities in southern Ontario in search of better work opportunities. The population under 14 still continues to be greater than those over 65 years of age.
Those who are of
European origin constitute 91.6% of the population, including those who are of
Franco-Ontarian ,
English ,
Nordic ,
Italian and southern European descent.
Aboriginals or Native Canadians constitute most of the remainder of the population at 7.8%, and those who are
Chinese ,
Asian ,
Black , and
Filipino make the remainder of the population.
Christianity is overwhelmingly the religion of choice in the city at 85.9%, with
Roman Catholic ism as the strongest denomination. The largest non-Christian religion is
Buddhism numbering only 125 members.
Judaism ,
Islam , and
Hindu members barely represent a fraction.
The city is home to
Sault College , a college of applied arts and technology, and to
Algoma University College , a federated school of
Laurentian University in
Sudbury . Both institutions also offer joint programs with
Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
It is also home to the following High Schools: Sir James Dunn C & V.S., St. Mary's C., St. Basils, Korah C& V.S., Bawating C& V.S., White Pines C.& V.S., Mount St. Joseph (All girls school), and Alexander Henry (trade school).
Sault Ste. Marie is the home of the 1993
Memorial Cup champion
Sault Greyhounds . Famous NHLers who have played for the Greyhounds include
Joe Thornton ,
Adam Foote and
Wayne Gretzky .
Sault Ste Marie hosts the annual Algoma Fall Festival which draws local and international performing artists. Prominent venues in the city, including The Kiwanis Community Theatre and the landmark Central United Church are used for the performances. Both venues hold approximately 1000 people.
For stations licensed to
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan , see that city's article.
Two former AM stations in the city,
CKCY and
CFYN , were shut down in
1992 as competition from the Michigan stations made it too unprofitable to continue broadcasting or to convert them to FM.
For stations licensed to
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan , see that city's article.
Other media include the daily ''
Sault Star '' and weekly ''Sault This Week''. Online news sites such as ''
SooToday.com '' and ''
SooNews.ca '' have emerged in recent years, due in large part to news cutbacks at
MCTV .
On
January 29 ,
1990 , the city of Sault Ste. Marie became a flashpoint in the
Meech Lake Accord debate when its mayor,
Joe Fratesi , shepherded a resolution through city council declaring the city ''English-only''. Although Sault Ste. Marie was not the first Ontario municipality to pass such a resolution, it was the largest and the most controversial.
Responding to a French-language education controversy which began in
1987 , the Sault Alliance for the Preservation of English Language Rights began circulating petitions to have this resolution passed by council. The group worked in concert with the
Alliance For The Preservation Of English In Canada , a lobby group which was concurrently campaigning against the provincial government's
French Language Services Act . (See also
Franco-ontarian .)
Although that law dealt only with provincial government services, APEC's strategy was to convince municipalities that ''they'' would be required to provide services in French, regardless of cost or benefit, in an attempt to convince the municipalities to pass this type of resolution. As a result of the schooling controversy, Sault Ste. Marie was fertile ground for APEC's campaign, and the SAPELR petition quickly garnered 25,000 signatures.
On
January 27 ,
1990 , the city's daily newspaper, the ''Sault Star'', reported that council would debate the language resolution two days later. This triggered the attention of the national media, and with reporters from all across Canada in town to cover the debate, the resolution passed council 11-2.
Many political figures, including
Brian Mulroney ,
Jean Chrétien and Ontario
Premier David Peterson , expressed their opposition to the city's move. Both Peterson and his successor as premier,
Bob Rae , refused to meet with Fratesi on several subsequent occasions, even to discuss unrelated matters.
In particular, the resolution was seen as a slap in the face to
Quebec , where it was widely viewed as
Racist . (One
Environment Canada Meteorologist sent out a weather report for Sault Ste. Marie in which the forecast called for "a chance of flurries and
Nazis ", although she was suspended.) Council was also widely criticized for seemingly turning its back on the city's own history; although in modern times francophones are only a small percentage of the city's population, the city's history is intimately connected to early
French Canadian missionary and
Voyageur exploration of the Great Lakes area. Some commentators also jokingly suggested that the city would be forced to change its name.
Even entertainers weighed in on the controversy; on their
1991 album ''
Road Apples '',
The Tragically Hip criticized the resolution in the song "Born in the Water":
: ''Smart as trees in Sault Ste. Marie''
: ''I can speak my mother tongue''
: ''Passing laws, just because''
: ''And singing songs of the English unsung''
: ''How could you do it?''
: ''How could you even try?''
: ''When you were born in the water''
: ''And you were raised up in the sky?''
Fratesi, who was viewed by Sault Ste. Marie voters throughout the controversy as standing up for the city's interests, was re-elected mayor in a landslide in
1991 . He later became embroiled in a
Conflict Of Interest controversy in
1995 when he applied for the job of chief administrative officer of the city, while still sitting as mayor.
On
June 30 ,
1994 , a court ruling struck down the English-only resolution as ''ultra vires'' the council's authority. On
August 9 ,
1999 , a resolution was brought forward under a new city council to strike down the resolution. The city's
Solicitor advised that the resolution was out of order given that a court had already struck down the resolution. Attempting to do what it could, the council then unanimously passed the following resolution:
: ''Moved by Councillor Derik Brandt''
: ''Seconded by Councillor Sam Lepore''
: ''Whereas the "language resolution" was struck down by the courts because it was beyond the City’s authority; and''
: ''Whereas it is not legally possible to rescind a resolution that has already been struck down by the courts;''
: ''Be It Resolved that a notation be added to the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of City Council of January 29, 1990 to include the following beside item 5(e); N.B. "This resolution was struck down by the courts on June 30, 1994 and therefore has no effect."''
The effect of the resolution was to amend the minutes containing the English-only resolution to note that the resolution had been struck down.
The controversy significantly tarnished the city's image across Canada, and as of
2005 , some political figures in Sault Ste. Marie still attribute the city's economic situation in part to the public relations fallout from the resolution.
