Algoma District District d'Algoma | |
|---|---|
 Location of Algoma District in Ontario | |
| Coordinates:48°00′N84°30′W / 48.000°N 84.500°W /48.000; -84.500 | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Ontario |
| Region | Northeastern Ontario |
| Created | 1858 |
| Area | |
| • Land | 48,814.88 km2 (18,847.53 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | |
• Total | 113,777 |
| • Density | 2.4/km2 (6.2/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| Area code | 705 |
| Seat | Sault Ste. Marie |
Algoma District is adistrict andcensus division inNortheastern Ontario in theCanadian province ofOntario.
The name was created by an American ethnologist,Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793–1864), who was appointed Indian agent to theOjibwe in Sault Ste. Marie region in 1822. "Al" is derived from Algonquin, while "goma" is a variant of gomee, meaning lake or water.[3]
Algoma District has shoreline alongLake Superior andLake Huron. It has an international border crossing to the American state ofMichigan, atSault Ste. Marie. Historically, it was known for its lumber and mining industries.
The rugged scenery of the region has inspired works by Canadian artists, particularly theGroup of Seven. They rented a boxcar from theAlgoma Central Railway to travel on excursions through this region.
Surviving prehistoric remains in Algoma District are concentrated aroundwaterways. These remains date as far back as theArchaic period. There are also sites from the laterWoodland period, with evidence of extensive Late Woodland habitation. Ceramics at Late Woodland sites show predominantly southeastern links, having originated from theHuron–Petun complex (broadlyOntario Iroquoian) as well as from modern-dayMichigan.[4]: 28
French explorers arrived in the area by the mid-17th century. As the French penetrated into North America, they established lines of forts and trading posts, often atriver mouths to control trade, especially the lucrativefur trade. In Algoma, they establishedFort Michipicoten, located at the mouth of theMichipicoten River where it empties intoLake Superior. The Michipicoten was one of the geographic features depicted bySamuel de Champlain on a 1632 map.[5]: 17 This helped the French bridge the distance toFort Kaministiquia at the head of Lake Superior, and protected the route up the Michipicoten toJames Bay, providing a significant crossroads of water routes.
Algoma was created by proclamation as a provisional judicial district of theProvince of Canada, effective October 1859,[6] This was authorized under an act passed by theLegislative Assembly of the Province of Canada in 1857.[7] The limits of the district were more specifically described thus:
Commencing on the north shore of theGeorgian Bay, ofLake Huron, at the most westerly mouth ofFrench River;
thence due north to the northerly limit of the Province;
thence along the said northerly limit of the Province, westerly to the westerly limit thereof;
thence along the said westerly limit of the Province, southerly to the southerly limit thereof;
thence along the said southerly limit of the Province to a point in Lake Huron, opposite to the southerly extremity of theGreat Manitoulin Island;
thence easterly and north-easterly so as to include all the islands in Lake Huron not within the settled limits of any County or District to the place of beginning.
Thedistrict seat isSault Ste. Marie, Ontario. However, it is noted thatThessalon is where the Algoma District Services Administration Board is located.
As the population grew and the northern and northwestern boundaries of Ontario were determined by theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council, Algoma shrank. Other districts were created from it by the provincial government of Ontario:
Algoma District is crossed by a number of rivers, which historically were used as transportation and trade corridors. TheHudson's Bay Company chose key riverside or river mouth locations for a number of its trading posts in the district. One example wasFort Michipicoten, located at the Michipicoten River's mouth. The rivers flow in a number of directions, some crossing through other districts to ultimately empty into faraway water bodies such asJames Bay. Others drain into theGreat Lakes Basin viaLake Huron orLake Superior.
Major rivers in Algoma District include:
In the Algoma section, the characteristicforest mixture consists of yellow birch, white spruce, balsam fir, sugar maple, hop-hornbeam, and eastern white cedar. Eastern white pine and occasional red pine (Pinus resinosa) dominate on the upper, steep south-facing slopes; white spruce, eastern white cedar, and balsam fir occupy the middle and lower slopes. A white spruce–balsam fir association, which usually includeswhite birch andblack spruce, is prominent on the river terraces and adjoining flats in the northern part of the Section (Rowe 1972).[8]
Communities within these subdivisions are added in parentheses.
| Name of City | Population | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Elliot Lake | 10,743 | |
| Sault Ste. Marie | 73,368 |
| Name of Town | Population | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Blind River | 3,472 | |
| Bruce Mines | 566 | |
| Spanish | 696 | |
| Thessalon | 1,279 |
| Name of Township | Population | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Dubreuilville | 635 | |
| Hilton | 261 | |
| Hornepayne | 1,050 | |
| Huron Shores (Iron Bridge,Sowerby,Little Rapids,Dean Lake) | 1,723 | |
| Jocelyn (Kentvale) | 237 | |
| Johnson (Desbarats) | 750 | |
| Laird | 1,057 | |
| Macdonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional (Echo Bay,Bar River,Sylvan Valley) | 1,609 | |
| The North Shore (Spragge,Serpent River,Algoma Mills) | 509 | |
| Plummer Additional | 650 | |
| Prince | 1,031 | |
| St. Joseph (Richard's Landing) | 1,240 | |
| Tarbutt | 396 | |
| Wawa (Michipicoten,Michipicoten River) | 2,975 | |
| White River | 607 |
| Name of Village | Population | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Hilton Beach | 145 |
| Name of Reserve | Population | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Garden River 14 | 1,170 | |
| Goulais Bay 15A | 82 | |
| Gros Cap 49 | 68 | |
| Gros Cap Indian Village 49A | N/A | |
| Missanabie 62 | N/A | |
| Mississauga First Nation#8 | 390 | |
| Obadjiwan 15E | N/A | |
| Rankin Location 15D | 566 | |
| Sagamok | 1,036 | |
| Serpent River 7 | 373 | |
| Thessalon 12 | 108 | |
| Whitefish Island | N/A |
As acensus division in the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, the Algoma District had a population of113,777 living in51,709 of its59,854 total private dwellings, a change of −0.3% from its 2016 population of114,094. With a land area of 48,281.36 km2 (18,641.54 sq mi), it had a population density of2.4/km2 (6.1/sq mi) in 2021.[9]
| 2021 | 2016 | 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 113,777 (-0.3% from 2016) | 114094 (−1.5% from 2011) | 115870 (−1.4% from 2006) |
| Land area | 48,281.36 km2 (18,641.54 sq mi) | 48,814.88 km2 (18,847.53 sq mi) | 48,810.68 km2 (18,845.91 sq mi) |
| Population density | 2.4/km2 (6.2/sq mi) | 2.3/km2 (6.0/sq mi) | 2.4/km2 (6.2/sq mi) |
| Median age | 50.0 (M: 48.4, F: 51.2) | ||
| Private dwellings | 59,854 (total) 51,709 (occupied) | 60,324 (total) | 59,149 (total) |
| Median household income | $70,000 |
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Places adjacent to Algoma District | |
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