Region of Sudbury

The City of Greater Sudbury was established on January 1, 2001. It replaces the former Regional Municipality of Sudbury and its seven member municipalities. With a population of 164,000 and a total area of 3,307sq.kms./1,277sq.mi.,Greater Sudbury is the largest centre in Northern Ontario, Canada.

The Sudbury area was settled 11,000 years ago by the Ottawa tribe of Nation. In the late seventeenth century, French fur traders and voyageurs used the French River 69 km/43 mi. south of Sudbury as the main trading route to the Great Lakes area. Explorers and traders such as Champlain, La Verendrye and Radisson passed through the area during that time. The Hudson Bay Company, the British-based fur trading company, established a post on Whitefish Lake in the 1820's.

Although originally the offspring of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Sudbury area first developed as a lumbering community. However, in the end, it would owe its existence and prosperity to the riches that lie beneath the Sudbury Basin. Geologists believe the basin was formed some two billion years ago by a massive meteorite impact thatthrust the planet's richest known deposits of nickel and copper to the earth's surface.

Today, Sudbury is one of the largest and most important mining centres in Canada and a world centre for smelting, refining and geological science.

Sudbury has earned several international environmental awards for its on-going land reclamation efforts. To date, more than 16,000 hectares of land have been rehabilitated and 6 million trees planted. Despite its industrial importance, the Sudbury area is typical Canadian Shield country with beautiful lakes, rocky outcrops and trees. It claims 219 lakes and ranks among the top communities in Canada for park land per capita. Wanapitei Lake and Lake Ramsey are the two largest city-contained lakes in North America. Area lakes and parks are popular settings for camping, hiking, fishing, boating and swimming. There are five provincial parks within100km/60mi. of Sudbury, including Windy Lake and Fairbank Lake Provincial Parks which are located within the City. Golfers can choose from 13 interesting and challenging courses Golf Club, voted Best New Canadian Course of 2000 by Golf Digest magazine.

With a large French-speaking population (Franco-Ontarians make up more thana quarter of the population) and a rich, diverse European heritage, Greater Sudbury produces a number of annual bilingual and multicultural festivals. Summer festivals also celebrate the annual blueberry harvest and pay tribute to the humble but treasured garlic bulb.

In winter, ice fishing, curling, hockey, skating, cross-country and downhill skiing, and snowmobiling are popular pastimes. The Sudbury Trail Plan offers 1,400km/840mi. of marked and groomed snowmobile trails that wind and loop through the region.

Sudbury is a major centre in Northern Ontario for health care, communications and education. And, with excellent attractions, a vibrant art community, great shopping, and friendly northern hospitality, Sudbury is an ideal vacation destination.