Brantford, Ontario

Encyclopedia : B : BR : BRA : Brantford, Ontario

Brantford (2001 population 86,417)^[link] is a city located on the Grand River in southwestern Ontario, Canada. This single-tier municipality was once part of Brant County. The City Limits sign currently displays a population of 90 000 people.

Brantford is connected to London in the west and Hamilton in the east by Highway 403 and to Cambridge to the north by Highway 24.

History

The city was first settled in 1784 when Captain Joseph Brant and the Six Nations Indians left New York to settle in Canada. As a reward for their loyalty to the Crown, they were given a large land grant 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 native settlement was abandoned except for the Mohawk Chapel which remains Ontario's oldest church.

Brantford was incorporated as a city in 1877.

Economy

Brantford was an important Canadian industrial center for the first half of the 20th Century, and was once the third largest city in Ontario. The city is at the deepest navigable point of the Grand River and was once the 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 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, Koering Waterous, Harding Carpets, and other manufacturers. The closure of the businesses left thousands of people unemployed and created one of the most economically depressed areas in the country. However, the unemployment rate has steadily improved, from almost 14% in 1993 down to 6.6% in 2005. This improved employment picture led to the rate of [personal bankruptcy in Brantford] falling by 2.3% in 2005.

The completion of the Brantford to Ancaster section of Highway 403 in 1997, provided 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. However, Wescast recently relocated their local foundry to China, although their corporate headquarters will remain in Brantford.

On February 16 2005, Brant County, including Brantford, was added to the Greater Golden Horseshoe along with Haldimand and Northumberland counties.

Brantford will host the 2008 Allan Cup, which will be celebrating the 100th anniversary since the starting of the event.

People

Brantford is called the "Telephone City" because Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone while living at the Bell Homestead located on the outskirts of the city. The first long distance telephone call was made on August 10, 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell from downtown Brantford to his assistant in Paris, Ontario.

Other famous Brantford natives are actor Phil Hartman, Group of Seven founder Lawren Harris, aboriginal poet Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake), Lieutenant-governor of Ontario Henry Cockshutt, electron microscope inventor James Hillier, Olympic runner Kevin Sullivan, newspaper editor David Judd, American football player Nick Kaczur, Olympic badminton player Mike Beres, actress [Michelle Nolden], professional golfer David Hearn and hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky.

The Six Nations 40, Ontario Native Reserve is adjacent to Brantford and is the largest in Canada.

Demographics

Racial make-up

• White: 91.8%
• Aboriginal: 2.9%
• South Asian: 1.5%
• Black: 1.3%

• 0-14: 17,210 (males 8,695; females 8,515); total: 19.9%
• 15-64: 56,640 (males 27,855; females 28,775); total: 65.5%
• 65+: 12,570 (males 5,080; females 7,495); total: 14.5%

Education

Mohawk College has large satellite campus in Brantford. Wilfrid Laurier University offers several undergraduate courses in their downtown facilities. Wilfrid Laurier offers a joint program in education with Nipissing University.

Brantford's high-schools are Assumption College School, Brantford Collegiate Institute & V.S., North Park Collegiate, Pauline Johnson Collegiate, St. John's College and Tollgate Technological Institute (formerly known as Herman E. Fawcett).

Statistics from the 2001 Census indicate that 40% of Brantford residents had not earned a high-school diploma, compared to the provincial average of 33%.

The average annual income is 9% less than the national average.

The W. Ross Macdonald School for blind and deafblind students is located in Brantford.

Sports Teams/Tournaments

• Brantford Red Sox of the Intercounty Baseball League who play at Arnold Anderson Stadium
• Brantford Blast of the Major League Hockey who play at the Brantford Civic Centre
• Brantford Golden Eagles of the Ontario Hockey Association who play at the Brantford Civic Centre
• Brantford Alexanders(1978 to 1984), a former team of the Ontario Hockey League who played at the Brantford Civic Centre
• The Wayne Gretzky International Hockey Tournament[link] is held in Brantford annually

Politics

Brantford city hall

The city council was elected to a three-year term in November, 2003, and is headed by Mayor Mike Hancock. Two councillors were elected to represent each of five wards. The current councillors are: Larry Kings and Mike Quattrociocchi (Ward 1), Stephen Lancaster and John Sless (Ward 2), Greg Martin and Dan McCreary (Ward 3), Richard Carpenter and James Calnan (Ward 4), and Marguerite Ceschi-Smith and John Starkey (Ward 5).

See also

• List of mayors of Brantford, Ontario
• Brant (electoral district)

External links

• [City of Brantford]
• [Brantford Heritage Inventory]
• [Laurier Brantford]
• [St. John's College]
• [Pauline Johnson Collegiate & Vocational School]
• [North Park Collegiate & Vocational School]
• [Brantford Collegiate Institute]
• [Assumption College School]

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