O'Connor, Ontario

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Coordinates: 48°22′12″N 89°42′0″W / 48.37, -89.7
Township of O'Connor, Ontario
Motto: Country Living at its Best
Location of O'Connor, Ontario
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Region	Northwestern Ontario
District	Thunder Bay District
CMA	Thunder Bay
Established	1907
Government
- Mayor	Ron Nelson
Area
- Land	108.58 km² (41.9 sq mi)
Population (2006)
- Total	720
- Density	6.6/km² (17.1/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Postal code span	P0T 1W0
Area code(s)	807
Website: O'Connor Township

O'Connor is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located 32 km (20 mi) west of the city of Thunder Bay. The municipality was formed on January 1, 1907. The township serves as a bedroom community of Thunder Bay, with some agriculture, and is part of Thunder Bay's Census Metropolitan Area.

The current mayor of O'Connor is Ron Nelson. The township has four councillors, Gwen Garbutt, LeeAnn Nygard, Bishop Racicot, and Jim Vezina.^[1]

The township maintains a disposal site, a skating rink, basketball court, and a fire station staffed by volunteer fire fighters. The township produces and distributes a newsletter called The Cornerstone.

O'Connor's primary industry is agriculture. Many residents commute to work either to Thunder Bay or the surrounding woodlands.

1 Geography
2 Population and demographics
3 Media
4 Surrounding Municipalities
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Geography

The geography of O'Connor mainly flat open farmland and rolling hills, with the Whitefish River Valley dominating the southeast corner of the township. The township contains many creeks and rivers. The most notable geographic feature is Kakabeka Falls, located in the northeastern corner of the municipality near Kakabeka Falls, Ontario.

Transportation

The municipality is served by highways 590 and 595, which intersect in the northern half of the municipality. Highway 595 connects the community to the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 11/17) at Kakabeka Falls in neighbouring Oliver Paipoonge.

[edit] Population and demographics

According to the 2006 census, there were 720 people residing in O'Connor, of whom 50.7% were male and 49.3% were female. Children under five accounted for approximately 6.25% of the resident population of O'Connor. This compares with 5.5% in Ontario as a whole, and 5.3% for Canada overall.

In mid-2006, 9.0% of the resident population in O'Connor were of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) compared with 13.7% in Canada. The average age was 40.8 years of age comparing to 39.5 years of age for all of Canada.

In the five years between 2001 and 1996, the population of O'Connor declined by 0.6% compared with an increase of 6.6% for Ontario province as a whole. Population density of O'Connor averaged 6.6 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 13.4 for Ontario altogether.^[2]

Religion

The 2001 census states that 65.5 per cent of Oliver Paipoonge residents belong to a Christian (21.4% Roman Catholic, 42.8% Protestant, and 1.4% other Christian) denomination. Those who follow Buddhism make up 1.4% of the population, while the remaining 32.4% are non-religious.^[3]

[edit] Media

Radio

The township, receives good quality radio from Thunder Bay. Some radio stations from Thunder Bay do not reach this township, such as CILU-FM, The Lakehead University campus radio, and Magic 99.9 FM. Major radio 105.3 The Giant and Rock 94 reach the township with good reception.