About Cornwall

Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario’s easternmost city, located on the St. Lawrence River, Quebec City-Windsor Corridor and Highway 401, and is the urban centre for surrounding communities, which include Long Sault and Ingleside to the west, Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne to the south, St. Andrew’s and Avonmore to the north, and Glen Walter, Martintown, Williamstown, and Lancaster to the east.

Cornwall is located in Eastern Ontario approximately 100 kilometres (60 mi) southeast of Ottawa, Canada’s capital, 100 kilometres (60 mi) southwest of Montreal, Quebec’s largest city, and 400 kilometres (250 mi) northeast of Toronto, Ontario’s capital. It is named after the English county of Cornwall which is represented in the flag and coat of arms which both boast the duchy standard.

Economy

Cornwall is a port-of-entry into Canada (Canada Border Services abandoned the Cornwall Island post May 31, 2009, but resumed service on July 13, 2009 at temporary facilities on the city’s southern edge). The city is connected to the United States at Roosevelttown, near the municipalities of Massena, New York and Malone, New York, via the Three Nations Crossing (Canada, Mohawk, and U.S.A.) which traverses the St. Lawrence River and Cornwall Island, located within the Ontario portion of Akwesasne.

Cornwall was once home to a thriving cotton processing industry. Courtaulds Canada Inc.’s rayon manufacturing mill operated until 1992 at one point employing almost 3,000. Domtar, a Quebec-based company operated a paper mill in the city for nearly one-hundred years, ceasing operations on March 31, 2006. At its peak, Domtar employed nearly 1,500 employees. In addition, Canadian Industries Limited (C.I.L.), now Pioneer Chemicals, has operated a plant in Cornwall since 1935.

Cornwall’s industrial base has now shifted to a more diversified mix of manufacturing, automotive, high tech, food processing, and contact centres. The City hosts the largest SCM distribution centre in Canada, its massive 1,500,000-square-foot (139,000 m2) facility employing nearly 1000 people. Furthermore, StarTek and Teleperformance both operate call centres in Cornwall, each of which provides in excess of 500 jobs.

A 2006 study of similar Ontario municipalities ranks Cornwall as one of the highest taxed in almost all categories.

On April 16, 2009 Cornwall City Council agreed to increase property taxes by 2.5% per household based on property assessments calculated in 2008. Despite the current economic conditions linked to a global recession, business as usual dominates the city governance.

On February 18, 2009 the United Counties council (surrounding the city of Cornwall) tabled a draft budget that would see a 2.7% decrease in property taxes.

On February 19, 2009 the United Counties council voted 7 – 4 for a 4.5% tax rate decrease. Larger than the 2.7% that was tabled as a draft.

MoneySense magazine rated Cornwall as Canada’s 86th best city in 2009 (out of 154).

Transportation

The north span of the Three Nations Crossing, seen from Cornwall’s east end. With a fleet of 35 buses, Cornwall Transit serves the community 6 days per week (excluding holidays) on fixed routes and supplementary “rush hour” routes. In addition, there is an on-demand “Handi-Transit” service for the disabled. Cornwall Transit also contracts taxi service at a flat rate for Handi-Transit registrants who are ambulatory.

Cornwall Transit reports that about 1.3 million passengers are transported per year (roughly 4,500 person trips, per day of operation). The city transit system has overall low ridership, due in part to 30-minute service, circuitous routes and the location of bus stops. The city lost provincially funded school bus contracts ($1 million per year) to private operators. This resulted in provincial subsidies of over $600,000 in 2006 to maintain operations.

Cornwall is served by the Cornwall Regional Airport located 10 km east of the City, near Summerstown. It is open year round and licensed for day and night VFR IFR operations. The facilities include a 3500′ x 100′ runway, a terminal, hangar, and Canada Customs Service (on request). Domestic and international charter flying service from the airport is offered by Cornwall Aviation.

Cornwall is located on on CN Rail’s mainline Quebec City-Windsor corridor and served by 9 daily VIA Rail runs between Toronto and Montreal. The Station is located in the City’s north end.

The city of Cornwall is on the St. Lawrence Seaway just east of the Eisenhower and Snell Locks. The Cornwall Harbour and government wharf are located on the north bank of the St. Lawrence River in the city’s east end.

Click the link to view the most recent property tax rate for Cornwall.