Barrie, Ontario

City of Barrie
Fireworks over Kempenfelt Bay during Barrie's Canada Day celebrations.
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: The People are the City
Location of Barrie, Ontario
Coordinates: 44°24′48″N 79°40′48″W / 44.41333, -79.68
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
County	Simcoe
Number of Wards	10
Established (town)	1837
Established (city)	1853
Government
- Mayor	Dave Aspden
- Council	Barrie City Council
- MPP	Aileen Carroll (LIB)
- MP	Patrick Brown (CON)
Area [1][2][3][4]
- City	76.99 km² (29.7 sq mi)
- Urban	171.52 km² (66.2 sq mi)
- Metro	897.47 km² (346.5 sq mi)
Elevation	76 m (249.3 ft)
Population (2006)[1][2][3][4]
- City	128,430
- Density	1,668.14/km² (4,320.5/sq mi)
- Urban	157,501
- Urban Density	918.27/km² (2,378.3/sq mi)
- Metro	177,061
- Metro Density	197.29/km² (511/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Postal code	L4M-L4N
Twin Cities
- Zweibrücken	Germany
- Murayama	Japan
- Taizhou	China
Website: http://city.barrie.on.ca

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.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography and climate 2.1 Topography 2.2 Climate 3 Economy 4 Education 4.1 Georgian College 5 Politics 5.1 Mayors and reeves 5.2 Federal representation 5.3 Provincial representation 6 Media 6.1 Print 6.2 Television 6.3 Radio 7 Recreational Facilities 8 Sports teams 9 Buildings and structures 10 See also 11 References 12 External links

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, during the The "Barrie" Tornado Outbreak of 1985. 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.^[5] The success of the concert contributed to the resistance to a plan to convert the concert area to a commercial district. An explosion erupted in the Royal Thai restaurant, housed in the landmark Wellington Hotel, at the historic Five Points intersection in Barrie's downtown core at 11:20 PM on 6 December, 2007. The fire quickly spread to several neighbouring buildings. Firefighters battled the blaze well into the following morning, requiring assistance from other Simcoe County fire services. Officials estimate the damages to be in the millions. The Wellington Hotel building collapsed. It was over one hundred years old. ^[6][7] The cause of the blast was reportedly still under investigation as of the end of December, with gases having been ruled out.^[8]

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 and up the valleys, the terrain can be rather steep in areas. Over the years, the city has expanded its urban area beyond the confines of the valley. 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. 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).

According to the Canada 2006 Census:

• Population:	128,430 (23.8% from 2001)
• Land area:	76.99 km² (29.73 sq mi)
• Population density:	1,668.1 people/km² (4,320.4/sq mi)
• National population rank (Out of 5,008):	Ranked 35th
• Median age:	N/A (males: N/A, females: N/A)
• Total private dwellings:	48,196
• Dwellings occupied by permanent residents:	46,533
• Mean household income:↑	$N/A

References:

• 2006 Community Profile

Footnotes: ^↑ The data has not yet been released and is based on 2001 Census.

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.

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 Affiliations^[9]

Religious Affiliation	Total
Catholic	28,385
Protestant	46,840
Christian Orthodox	865
Christian, n.i.e.	2,815
Muslim	445
Jewish	340
Buddhist	205
Hindu	250
Sikh	95
Eastern religions	105
Other religions	75
No religious affiliation	21,930

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
• Barrie First Baptist Church
• Holy Spirit Parish
• St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
• Harvest Bible Chapel of Barrie [3]

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.

•  • e Schools in Barrie
Secondary schools	Public: Barrie Central · Barrie North · Bear Creek · Eastview · Innisdale Separate: École secondaire catholique Nouvelle Alliance · St. Joan of Arc · St. Joseph's · St. Peter's
Primary or elementary schools	Public: Algonquin Ridge · Allandale Heights · Andrew Hunter · Assikinack · Codrington · Cundles · École La Source · Emma King · Ferndale Woods · Hillcrest (Barrie) · Holly Meadows · Johnson Street · King Edward · Mapleview Heights · Oakley Park · Portage View · Prince of Wales · Steele Street · Terry Fox · Trillium Woods · W. C. Little · Warnica · Waubaushene · West Bayfield · Willow Landing Separate: École Frère André · Monsignor Clair · Pope John Paul II · St. Bernadette · St. Catherine of Siena · St. John Vianney · St. Marguerite d'Youville · St. Mary's (Barrie) · St. Michael the Archangel · St. Monica's · St. Nicholas · Sister Catherine Donnelly · The Good Shepherd
Private schools	Au Jardin du Soleil · Barrie Learning Centre · Barrie Montessori · Children's Montessori · Craig Reading & Educational Services · Foundations · Georgian Academy · Grade Expectations · Heritage Christian · Holly Woods Montessori · Huronia Waldorf Kindergarten · Kempenfelt Bay · Literacy Council of South Simcoe · Little Learners Pre-School · Maple Hill Montessori · Marantha House · Northwest Nursery · Oxford Learning · Rejoice Christian · Sheila Morrison · St. Joseph's Adult Education · St. Paul's Evangelical Christian · Simcoe Learning · South Simcoe Montessori · Speech Clinic · Thor Elementary · Timothy Christian · Unity Christian High · Whispering Pines Montessori
Other schools	Georgian College

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

Main article: List of mayors of Barrie, Ontario

The current mayor of Barrie is Dave Aspden, who was elected in November, 2006, succeeding Rob Hamilton.

Federal representation

Party		Member of Parliament	From	To	District
16.	Conservative	Patrick Brown	January 23 2006	present	Barrie

Provincial representation

Below is a list of the Members of Provincial Parliament for the ridings that Barrie has been part of since 1968.

Party		Member of Provincial Parliament	From	To	District
1.	Liberal	Aileen Carroll	October 10 2007	present	Barrie

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 (The New Chay), adult contemporary
• FM 95.7 - CFJB ("Rock 95"), active rock
• FM 100.3 - CJLF ("Life FM"), Christian
• FM 101.1 - CIQB ("B101"), hot adult contemporary
• FM 107.5 - CKMB ("1075 Kool FM"), hot adult contemporary

Recreational Facilities

Barrie has many community centers throughout the city. There are a total of nine facilities in Barrie open to the public, with Holly C.C. planned to open in 2008.

• Allandale Recreation Centre
• Barrie Arena
• Dorian Parker Centre
• East Bayfield Community Centre
• Eastview Arena
• Lampman Lane Community Centre
• Parkview Community Centre
• Southshore Community Centre
• Victoria Village

Sports teams

Club	League	Venue	Established	Championships
Barrie Colts	OHL Hockey	Barrie Molson Centre	1995	1
Barrie Baycats	IBL Baseball	Barrie Metals Stadium	2001	1
Barrie Royals	IBL Baseball	-	-	1

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.

Buildings and structures

• CKVR Television Tower
• Highpoint Apartments
• Barrie City Hall

See also

• Barrie City Council
• Royal Victoria Hospital
• Indoor malls in Barrie

References

External links

• Barrie, Ontario is at coordinates 44°24′48″N 79°40′49″W / 44.413333, -79.680194Coordinates: 44°24′48″N 79°40′49″W / 44.413333, -79.680194
• Official City of Barrie Website
• Barrie Tourism
• Environment Canada - Barrie forecast
• Ontario Plaques: Barrie
• Ontario Highway 11 Homepage - Barrie

•  • e Barrie, Ontario
Political representation	Dave Aspden (Mayor), Patrick Brown (CPC, MP), Aileen Carroll (LIB, MPP)
Education	MacLaren Art Centre · Barrie Public Library · Georgian College · Simcoe County District School Board · Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board
Events	Live 8 · Kempenfest
Hospitals	Royal Victoria Hospital
Media	A-Channel Barrie · 93.1 CHAY · ROCK 95 · Life 100.3 · B101 · 107.5 KOOL FM · Barrie Advance · Barrie Examiner
Sports	Barrie Baycats · Barrie Colts
Malls	Bayfield · Georgian · Kozlov
List of municipalities in Ontario

•  • e Subdivisions of Ontario
Regions	Eastern Ontario · Central Ontario · Golden Horseshoe · Greater Toronto Area · Southwestern Ontario · Northern Ontario · Northeastern Ontario · Northwestern 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
See also	Ontario communities · Ontario municipalities

•  • e Canadian Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) by size

Toronto, ON · Montreal, QC · Vancouver, BC · Ottawa–Gatineau, ON/QC · Calgary, AB · Edmonton, AB · Quebec City, QC · Winnipeg, MB · Hamilton, ON · London, ON · Kitchener, ON · St. Catharines-Niagara, ON · Halifax, NS · Oshawa, ON · Victoria, BC · Windsor, ON · Saskatoon, SK · Regina, SK · Sherbrooke, QC · St. John's, NL · Barrie, ON · Kelowna, BC · Abbotsford, BC · Greater Sudbury, ON · Kingston, ON · Saguenay, QC · Trois-Rivières, QC · Guelph, ON · Moncton, NB · Brantford, ON · Thunder Bay, ON · Saint John, NB · Peterborough, ON

		Midland, Orillia
	Stayner, Angus, Wasaga Beach		Kempenfelt Bay
		Barrie
		Innisfil, Alliston