Peterborough, Ontario

Peterborough
City of Peterborough
Peterborough City Hall
Nickname: 
"The Electric City"
Motto(s): 
Dat natura, elaborant artes
(Nature Provides, Industry Develops)
Peterborough is located in Southern Ontario
Peterborough
Peterborough
Coordinates: 44°18′04″N 78°20′00″W / 44.30111°N 78.33333°W / 44.30111; -78.33333[1]
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
CountyPeterborough
Established1819: Scott's Plains
Incorporated as town1850: Peterborough
Incorporated as cityJuly 1, 1905
Government
 • BodyPeterborough City Council
 • MayorJeff Leal
 • MPMichelle Ferreri (CPC)
 • MPPDave Smith (OPCP)
Area
 • Land64.76 km2 (25.00 sq mi)
 • Water12.67 km2 (4.89 sq mi)
 • Urban
54.58 km2 (21.07 sq mi)
 • Metro
1,508.44 km2 (582.41 sq mi)
Elevation
195 m (640 ft)
Population
 (2021)[2]
 • City (single-tier)83,651 (72nd)
 • Density1,291.8/km2 (3,346/sq mi)
 • Urban
84,793
 • Urban density1,553.7/km2 (4,024/sq mi)
 • Metro
128,624 (32nd)
 • Metro density85.3/km2 (221/sq mi)
Gross Metropolitan Product
 • Peterborough CMACA$4.9 billion (2020)[3]
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (EDT)
Postal code span
K9H, K9J, K9K, K9L
Area code(s)705, 249, 683
Highways Highway 7 / TCH
 Highway 115
Websitewww.peterborough.ca
Pop. Change (2001–2006): 4.8%
Dwellings: 33,042¹
¹ According to the Canada 2006 Census

Peterborough (/ˈptərbʌr/ PEE-tər-burr-oh) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651.[4] The population of the Peterborough Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), which includes the surrounding Townships of Selwyn, Cavan Monaghan, Otonabee-South Monaghan, and Douro-Dummer, was 128,624 in 2021.[5] In 2021, Peterborough ranked 32nd among the country's 41 census metropolitan areas according to the CMA in Canada. The current mayor of Peterborough is Jeff Leal.[6]

Peterborough is known as the gateway to the Kawarthas, "cottage country", a large recreational region of the province. It is named in honour of Peter Robinson, an early Canadian politician who oversaw the first major immigration to the area. The city is the seat of Peterborough County.[7]

Peterborough's nickname in the distant past was "The Electric City" as it was the first town in Canada to use electric streetlights.[8] It also underscores the historical and present-day importance of technology and manufacturing as an economic base of the city, which has operations from large multi-national companies such as Siemens, Rolls-Royce Limited, General Electric, and more local businesses such as Merit Precision Ltd., Dynacast and Bryston. Electricity was one of the reasons Quaker Oats moved to the city, and as part of PepsiCo remains a major fixture in the downtown area. However, over the years the number of major manufacturing plants has declined, and General Electric closed its last remaining facility in 2018.[9] As a result, employment has been shifting toward the service industries and tourism is now the leading industry in the area.[10][11]

  1. ^ "Peterborough". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  2. ^ a b "Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - Peterborough, City (CY) [Census subdivision], Ontario;Peterborough [Population centre], Ontario;Peterborough [Census metropolitan area], Ontario". Census Profile, Canada 2021 Census. Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  3. ^ "Statistics Canada. Table 36-10-0468-01 Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, by census metropolitan area (CMA) (x 1,000,000)". Statistics Canada.
  4. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (February 9, 2022). "Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - Peterborough, City (CY) [Census subdivision], Ontario". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  5. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (February 9, 2022). "Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - Peterborough [Census metropolitan area], Ontario". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  6. ^ "Peterborough municipal election turnout for 2022 plummets to 40.15%". thepeterboroughexaminer.com. October 25, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  7. ^ "University of Michigan International Center". University of Michigan. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
  8. ^ "Peterborough Travel Guide: Peterborough, Ontario (ON) - Worldweb.com". www.peterborough-on.worldweb.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2003.
  9. ^ "GE eliminates hundreds of jobs at historic Peterborough plant". Unifor. August 25, 2017. Archived from the original on August 29, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  10. ^ "Labour Market Information". welcomepeterborough.ca. Archived from the original on April 1, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  11. ^ Austen, Ian (January 21, 2018). "This City Once Made Much of What Canada Bought. But No More". New York Times.