Thunder Bay
Quick Facts
Province: Ontario
Population: 122,907
As the geographical centre of Canada Thunder Bay is a gateway to the west and the north while just 45 minutes away from the U.S. border. A region of vast natural resources, the city’s prosperity has historically been defined by forestry and mining. Thunder Bay, however, remains competitive in today’s knowledge economy by tapping into the even greater potential of its human resources.
Key Advantages
- Capacities in the biomedical, DNA and forensic sciences fields are expanding as well as the discovery of modern molecular genetic techniques at the Lakehead University laboratories
- Mining interests in gold, palladium, platinum, diamonds and amethyst
- Life sciences cluster continues to grow with the new Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the Lake Superior Centre for Regenerative Medicine which is setting up a bone and tissue bank as the first phase of a regenerative medicine research program that may involve stem cell research
- Ready access to Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway rail lines and a one or two-hour flight from major centres in Canada and the United States
- Port of Thunder Bay on Lake Superior is at the head of an important transportation link through the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway to destinations within Canada, the Unites States and internationally
- Thunder Bay has excellent primary and secondary educational opportunities with over 60 schools
- Lakehead University is one of Canada's comprehensive universities with enrolments of just under 10,000
- Confederation College provides over 70 programs at its main campus in Thunder Bay and in six regional campuses in Northwestern Ontario
- Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is a joint initiative between Laurentian University (Sudbury) and Lakehead University (Thunder Bay)
- Many call centres are moving to Thunder Bay, including MCCI Global, Responsive Marketing Group Inc., and StarTek Inc.
Sector Strengths
- Manufacturing
- Mining
- Life Sciences
