| Brantford | |||
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| — Independent city — | |||
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| Nickname(s): The Telephone City | |||
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Brantford
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Canada | ||
| Province | Ontario | ||
| County | Brant (independent) | ||
| Established | May 31, 1877 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Chris Friel | ||
| • Governing Body | Brantford City Council | ||
| • MP | Phil McColeman (Conservative) | ||
| • MPP | Dave Levac (Liberal) | ||
| Area[1][2] | |||
| • Land | 72.47 km2 (28 sq mi) | ||
| • Metro | 1,072.90 km2 (414.2 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 248 m (814 ft) | ||
| Population (2006)[1][2] | |||
| • Independent city | 90,192 (31st) | ||
| • Density | 1,244.5/km2 (3,223.2/sq mi) | ||
| • Metro | 124,607 (30th) | ||
| • Metro density | 116.1/km2 (300.7/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC−5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) | ||
| Postal code span | N3P, N3R, N3S, N3T, N3V | ||
| Area code(s) | 519/226 | ||
| Website | www.brantford.ca | ||
Brantford (2006 population 90,192[1], 2006 CMA population 124,607[2]) is a city located on the Grand River in Southern Ontario, Canada. While geographically surrounded by the County of Brant, the city is politically independent. However Brantford and the County of Brant are grouped in the same census division.
Brantford is connected to Woodstock in the west and Hamilton in the east by Highway 403 and to Cambridge to the north and Simcoe to the south by Highway 24.
Brantford is sometimes known by the nickname The Telephone City as former city resident Alexander Graham Bell conducted the first distant telephone call from the community to Paris, Ontario in 1876. It is also the birthplace of hockey player Wayne Gretzky, comedian Phil Hartman, as well as Group of Seven member Lawren Harris.
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The Attawandaron, or Neutral Nation, lived in the Grand River valley area before the 17th century; their main village and seat of the chief, Kandoucho, was identified by 19th-century historians as having been located on the Grand River where Brantford lies today. This town, like the rest of their settlements, was destroyed when the Iroquois declared war in 1650 and exterminated the Neutral nation.[3]
In 1784, Captain Joseph Brant and the Six Nations Indians left New York for Canada. As a reward for their loyalty to the British Crown, they were given a large land grant, referred to as the Haldimand Tract, on the Grand River. The original Mohawk settlement was on the south edge of the present-day city at a location favourable for landing canoes. Brant's crossing of the river gave the original name to the area: Brant's ford. By 1847, European settlers began to settle further up the river at a ford in the Grand River and named the village Brantford. The Mohawk Chapel, part of the original Mohawk settlement, is Ontario's oldest Protestant church. Brantford was incorporated as a city in 1877.
The history of the Brantford region from 1793 to 1920 is described at length in the book At The Forks of The Grand.
| Climate data for Brantford | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 15.5 (59.9) |
16.5 (61.7) |
25.5 (77.9) |
30.5 (86.9) |
33 (91) |
35.5 (95.9) |
38.5 (101.3) |
36.5 (97.7) |
34.4 (93.9) |
30 (86) |
25 (77) |
20.5 (68.9) |
38.5 (101.3) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −1.8 (28.8) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
4.8 (40.6) |
11.9 (53.4) |
19.4 (66.9) |
24.4 (75.9) |
27 (81) |
25.6 (78.1) |
21.3 (70.3) |
14.4 (57.9) |
7.5 (45.5) |
1 (34) |
12.9 (55.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −5.9 (21.4) |
−4.9 (23.2) |
0.4 (32.7) |
6.8 (44.2) |
13.6 (56.5) |
18.6 (65.5) |
21.2 (70.2) |
20.1 (68.2) |
15.8 (60.4) |
9.4 (48.9) |
3.6 (38.5) |
−2.7 (27.1) |
8 (46) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −10 (14) |
−9.1 (15.6) |
−4 (25) |
1.6 (34.9) |
7.8 (46.0) |
12.7 (54.9) |
15.4 (59.7) |
14.6 (58.3) |
10.3 (50.5) |
4.3 (39.7) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
−6.3 (20.7) |
3.1 (37.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −30 (−22) |
−30.5 (−22.9) |
−22 (−8) |
−12.8 (9.0) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
1.1 (34.0) |
5.6 (42.1) |
1.1 (34.0) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−7 (19) |
−16 (3) |
−27 (−17) |
−30.5 (−22.9) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 60.4 (2.378) |
51.9 (2.043) |
71.5 (2.815) |
71.5 (2.815) |
77.6 (3.055) |
82 (3.23) |
85.4 (3.362) |
80.8 (3.181) |
86.5 (3.406) |
70 (2.76) |
79.5 (3.13) |
75.1 (2.957) |
892.3 (35.13) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 29.8 (1.173) |
28.3 (1.114) |
55.3 (2.177) |
67.6 (2.661) |
77.6 (3.055) |
82 (3.23) |
85.4 (3.362) |
80.8 (3.181) |
86.5 (3.406) |
70 (2.76) |
71.9 (2.831) |
44.6 (1.756) |
779.6 (30.693) |
| Snowfall cm (inches) | 30.7 (12.09) |
24.3 (9.57) |
16.3 (6.42) |
3.9 (1.54) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
7.7 (3.03) |
30.4 (11.97) |
113.3 (44.61) |
| Source: Environment Canada[4] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Population |
|---|---|
| 1841 | 2,000 |
| 1871 | 8,107 |
| 1881 | 9,616 |
| 1891 | 12,753 |
| 1901 | 16,619 |
| 1911 | 23,132 |
| 1921 | 29,440 |
| 1931 | 30,107 |
| 1941 | 31,622 |
| 1951 | 36,727 |
| 1961 | 55,201 |
| 1971 | 64,421 |
| 1981 | 74,315 |
| 1991 | 81,997 |
| 2001 | 86,417 |
| 2006 | 90,192 |
Brantford had a population of 90,192 people in 2006, which was an increase of 4.4% from the 2001 census count. The median household income in 2005 for Brantford was $52,330. Based on the 2006 census, Brantford had an average property value of $200,319. The median mortgage payment was $933. The median rent for Brantford in 2006 was $700.[1]
| City of Brantford 2006 Source: Statistics Canada 2006[5] |
Population | % of Total Population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visible minority group | Chinese | 650 | 0.73 |
| South Asian | 1660 | 2.0 | |
| Filipino | 625 | 0.8 | |
| Black | 1580 | 1.9 | |
| Arabs | 190 | 0.2 | |
| Latino | 360 | 0.4 | |
| Southeast Asian | 570 | 0.7 | |
| Korean | 200 | 0.2 | |
| Japanese | 90 | 0.1 | |
| Mixed Race | 190 | 0.2 | |
| Other | 180 | 0.2 | |
| Total Visible Minorities | 6,200 | 6.8 | |
| Total Aboriginal Identity Population | 3440 | 4.0 | |
| White/Caucasian | 79,205 | 89.2 | |
| Total population | 88,845 | 100 | |
Brantford is known for celebrating local cultures every July during the International Festivals event.
Brantford was an important Canadian industrial centre for the first half of the 20th Century, and was once the number three city in Canada in terms of cash-value of manufactured goods exported. The city is at the deepest navigable point of the Grand River, and was once a railroad hub of Southern Ontario. The combination of water and rails helped Brantford develop from a farming community into a blue collar industrial city based on the agriculture implement industry centred around companies such as Massey-Harris, Verity Plow and the Cockshutt Plow Company. This industry, more than any other, provided the well-paying and steady employment that allowed Brantford to sustain economic growth through most of the 20th century.
By the 1980s and 1990s, the economy of Brantford was in steady decline as a result of the bankruptcies of White Farm Equipment, Massey-Ferguson (and its successor, Massey Combines Corporation), Koering-Waterous, Harding Carpets, and other manufacturers. The bankruptcies and closures of the businesses left thousands of people unemployed and created one of the most economically depressed areas in the country. The unemployment rate, however, has steadily decreased in more recent years, from almost 14% in 1993 down to 6.3% in 2006. This improved employment picture led to the rate of personal bankruptcy in Brantford falling by 6.2% in 2006.
The completion of the Brantford to Ancaster section of Highway 403 in 1997, was intended to provide an increased incentive for business to locate in Brantford because of easy access to Hamilton and Toronto, as well as being along the quickest route through southern Ontario between Detroit and Buffalo. In 2004 Procter & Gamble and Ferrero SpA chose to locate in the city. Though Wescast Industries, Inc. recently closed their local foundry, their corporate headquarters will remain in Brantford. SC Johnson Canada has their headquarters and a manufacturing plant in Brantford, connected to the Canadian National network. On February 16, 2005, Brant, including Brantford, was added to the Greater Golden Horseshoe along with Haldimand and Northumberland counties.
Statistics from the 2006 Census indicate that 28% of Brantford residents had not earned any certificate, diploma, or degree.[1]
The W. Ross Macdonald School for blind and deafblind students is located in Brantford.
The current Brantford City Council was elected in the 2010 municipal election and is headed by Mayor Chris Friel, who previously served as mayor from 1994 to 2003. The council, in addition to Friel, includes Larry Kings and Jan Vander Stelt (Ward 1), Vince Bucci and John Utley (Ward 2), Debi Dignan-Rumble and Dan McCreary (Ward 3), Richard Carpenter and Dave Wrobel (Ward 4), and David Neumann and Marguerite Ceschi-Smith (Ward 5). [3]
At the federal and provincial levels of government, Brantford is part of the Brant riding.
The Brantford Expositor, which started printing in 1852, is published six times a week (everyday excluding Sunday), and is published by Osprey Media.
The Brant News is a weekly paper (delivered Thursday) that also carries breaking news online on their website, and is published by Metroland Publishing Group.
Brantford's only local television service comes from Rogers TV (cable 20), a local community channel on Rogers Cable. Otherwise, Brantford is served by stations from Toronto, Hamilton and Kitchener.
Several movies have had scenes shot in Brantford, including Welcome to Mooseport and Where the Truth Lies, which were filmed at the Brantford Airport. An episode of Due South, "Dr. Long Ball", was filmed at Arnold Anderson Stadium in Cockshutt Park. A more recent filming was Weirdsville, which was filmed downtown in 2006. "Silent Hill" was filmed in the downtown in 2005. Many Brantfordians[6] observed in jest that very little work needed to be done to make downtown look decayed and haunted. Brantford's Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts was used as "The Rose" mainstage theatre of the "New Burbage Festival" in the series Slings & Arrows.[7]
Brantford Municipal Airport is located west of the city. It hosts an annual air show, featuring the Snowbirds. The John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Hamilton is located about 35 km east of Brantford. Toronto Pearson International Airport is located in Mississauga, about 100 km northeast of Brantford.
The train station is located just north of downtown Brantford. Via Rail has daily passenger trains on the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Trains travel between Windsor and Union Station in Toronto. Street rail began in Brantford in 1886 with emission free carriages which by 1893 had been converted to electric. The City of Brantford took over these operations in 1914. Around 1936 buses began to replace street cars and by the end of 1939 the change over was complete.
Brantford Transit services the city with nine regular routes operating on a half-hour schedule from the downtown Transit Terminal on Darling Street, with additional school service.
Greyhound Canada has intercity service to Toronto, Hamilton, London, Windsor and other cities.
All Around Transportation operates a Paris/Brantford shuttle bus.
Brantford is home to the Brantford OLG Casino.
The The Sanderson Centre offers performances of musicals, operas, concerts, and other performing arts.
The Kinsmen Club of Brantford offer entertainment throughout the year, including a weekly game which runs every Thursday evening at the Bellview Community Center in Eagle Place and Brantford's Own Annual Ribfest held in August.
The Ford Plant, which opened in 2002, was an independent, not-for-profit music venue that hosted all-ages concerts by many musical artists, including Arcade Fire, Wintersleep, Blue Rodeo, and more. In October 2010, the venue closed its doors for good, following its final Murdered City Music Festival.
Brantford hosts the region’s largest Canada Day Festival each July 1. A grassroots, not-for-profit, organization was formed in the fall of 2004 after a call from the Mayor to re-establish the event when nobody was able to organize one in 2004. Since then Brantford’s Canada Day Festival[8] has presented family events and Canadian Juno Award winning entertainment. A 2006 and 2009 Shining Stars Tourism Awards[9] winner and with a budget of nearly $250,000.00, this one day festival draws an estimated crowd of 35,000 or more people.
Past main stage headliners have included:
Brantford is home to many churches and religious temples. It is estimated there are over 35 churches in Brantford, including Anglican, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Ukrainian Catholic, Pentecostal, Salvation Army, Presbyterian, United, Christadelphian, and Mormon. There is a mosque and also one Sikh temple. Brantford is also home to the national headquarters of the Congregational Christian Churches in Canada.[12]
Brantford is twinned with:
| County of Brant | ||||
| County of Brant | County of Brant | |||
| Brantford | ||||
| County of Brant |
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