Thunder Bay
in 2020 is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year as one city. Amalgamation
united the twin cities of Port Arthur and Fort William and the adjacent
townships of Neebing and McIntyre. While
there was much community support for a union particularly among the city elites
who wanted to see the inter city area developed, in the end resistance was such
that it was the provincial government that essentially merged the cities into
one. While memories have faded as demographics evolve, it remains that a shotgun wedding is probably not the best way to build
long-term enthusiasm for a major institutional change.
The
current celebrations appear to be somewhat muted all things considered given the
economic and social issues that Thunder Bay has faced over the last
decade. There is also the current state
of the municipal government finances which obviously limits the scope of any
project to commemorate the anniversary. A 50th anniversary celebration should see the unveiling of a major public square celebrating unity with commemorative sculptures or columns but given our current age of divisiveness deciding what actually to commemorate will be a non-starter. Moreover,
50 years is not even that long a time in the course of human events, especially
given that urban centres at the Lakehead were in existence for nearly a century
prior to amalgamation.
Port Arthur
was incorporated as a town in 1884 and achieved status as a city in 1906 while
Fort William was incorporated as a town in 1892 and achieved city status in
1907. The two cities had down towns that
were only four miles apart and yet they were notorious rivals when it came to
attracting industry or a government project not to mention with respect to
sporting events. While this rivalry and
lack of cooperation may have been in some respects counterproductive, it
nevertheless was a source of competitive pressure that probably assisted
economic growth and urban achievement.
Amalgamation instituted a monopoly municipal government at the Lakehead and
the lack of competition and as a result reduced policy experimentation after 1970 was likely another
factor in the growth slowdown since.
Amalgamation also attempted to bury the existing urban identities - the area was widely known nationally and globally as "The Lakehead" - with “ThunderBayification”
in attempts to rename things and in the short run robbed the community of a sense of identity, history and ultimately the celebration
of urban centennials in 2006-07 marking the 100th anniversary of the
Lakehead cities.
Denying the
past was also a factor for the delay in the city coming together as one and was
reinforced by the balance of power approach to the new council which provided
equal representation for both sides. As
a result, the duplication of city services that amalgamation was supposed to
eliminate continued with north and south downtown urban renewal projects as
well as north and south side waterfront parks.
Over time, there has finally come a realization that both urban areas
could have unique roles with the north side becoming an entertainment/tourism
area and the south side the seat of government functions including the city
hall. Amsterdam and The Hague on Lake
Superior so to speak. Yet, this process
has taken so long that in the end both former downtown Fort William and Port
Arthur have become less than they could have been given the expansion of the
inter city area as a magnet for so much office and retail development.
Still, amalgamation had its benefits. The city now has
several good north-south road traffic routes as well as an integrated public
transit system and more and better municipal services and facilities but they
have not come any cheaper. Indeed, the city has expanded away from its former compacted core areas with an urban sprawl that is increasingly higher cost in terms of required services. Coming
together as one city has also seen the long-term development of cultural and
community infrastructure with the auditorium and the planned new waterfront art
gallery the best examples of this.
And being
one unified location has helped in the integration of health care facilities
which culminated in the building of the new centrally located hospital and improved
health services for the city and region.
Residents with longer memories have even been treated to the amusing
spectacle of the former south downtown Fort William Clinic moving to Port
Arthur to be part of a cluster of medical facilities. Yet, even the new hospital and centralization
of health care services was a mixed blessing given it was undersized from day
one in terms of bed capacity and that in the age of SARS and corona-virus, a
remote city with two separate acute care hospitals rather than only one could have some benefits.
However, in
terms of economic growth, population has been at a standstill since the 1970s
and the loss of the industrial base has essentially resulted in the city’s economy
becoming a ward of the state with over 30 percent of its employment in
government and quasi-public sector activities. The main challenge for the next 50 years is
not how to improve or expand Thunder Bay’s public services at the provincial,
federal and municipal levels, but to make Thunder Bay more competitive as a
location for economic development of private sector wealth generating
activities.
