About Peterborough

Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in (Central-Eastern) Southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres (78 mi) northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 in the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area (CMA) had a population of 116 570. It presently ranks as the 33rd and smallest CMA in Canada. The current mayor of Peterborough is Paul Ayotte.

Peterborough is known as the gateway to 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 and since 1983 has been sister city to Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Economy

Manufacturing although no longer the dominant local industry, is still one of the key sectors along with food processing, automotive supplies, electronics, aerospace and life sciences/biotechnology. General Electric and Quaker Oats maintain large operations in Peterborough, as well, the city is also a ‘bedroom’ community for workers commuting to Oshawa and East Toronto. The Peterborough Regional Health Centre is the largest employer, planning to hire 800 more over the next three years , adding to its current employment total of over 2000. School boards, local government, Trent University and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources are other large employers.

Companies like General Electric have had a major impact on the growth of the city. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) of the early 1990s saw a major shift in trading patterns for many Canadian companies. Other innovations like just in time delivery and pressure to produce ever cheaper goods impacted some of the large multi-nationals in the 1970s and 1980s. Despite this, today GE, PepsiCo Quaker, Siemens and numerous smaller manufacturing companies are experiencing significant growth. Minute Maid (Coca-Cola) recently invested $CDN20 million in a new warehouse and product line while auto parts supplier Ventra has doubled in size. United Canadian Malt Ltd. is a manufacturer of a wide variety of extracts of malted barley, and other grains. Manufacturing job creation kept pace with the provincial average from 1991-2001. Lower costs, reliable labour and high quality post-secondary institutions are a competitive advantage for Peterborough. Peterborough was ranked number one location for business in Ontario by Canadian Business magazine in late 2004.

Peterborough is a major shopping destination for the region and is home to three shopping centres in Peterborough, Peterborough Square, located at George and Simcoe Street, Portage Place at 1154 Chemong Road and Lansdowne Place at 645 Lansdowne Street West. All have undergone major renovations in recent years, with Lansdowne Place currently in the process of expanding. Both Walmart and Costco have large stores in Peterborough, which draw clients from the surrounding area.

Transportation

Roads and highways

Peterborough is served by provincial Highway 115 (from Highway 401) and the Highway 7 junction, which becomes the Peterborough By-Pass. The eastern segment of Highway 7 was separated from the central segment by 6 km until the creation of the By-Pass. This freeway style highway runs 12.5 km off Highway 115 with five entrance routes into the city. Its entire length is part of the Trans-Canada Highway. Other Provincial Highways important to Peterborough are Highway 7A, which junctions onto Highway 115 just southwest of the city, and Highway 28, which routes from Highway 7 just east of the city to Lakefield and on further north.

The area is also served by numerous county roads.

There are four road bridges which cross the Otonabee River within the city limits of Peterborough. The most northerly one is the Nassau Mills Road Bridge near Trent University. The next most northerly bridge is the Parkhill Road Bridge. The Hunter Street Bridge crosses the river just north of Little Lake, linking East City with the downtown core. The most southerly bridge is the Landsdowne Street Bridge. In addition, Highway 115 crosses the river near the southern edge of the city. There are also numerous other bridges which cross the Trent Canal (notably the crossing at the Lift Locks which actually passes under the canal), Jackson Creek and the other minor creeks in the city. There are also numerous other river crossings throughout the CMA, the longest of which is the James A. Gifford Causeway, which crosses Chemong Lake linking Bridgenorth with Ennismore.

Public Transit

Public transit in the city of Peterborough is currently run by Peterborough Transit, providing a total of 12 regular and 5 express routes throughout the city.

Peterborough Transit’s hub is a central terminal located on Simcoe Street in the city’s downtown core. It also serves as the regional terminus for Coach Canada (formerly Trentway Wagar) routes into the city. Greyhound Lines of Canada operates an inter-city terminal nearby at the corner of Simcoe and Aylmer Streets, with several daily commuter buses to and from Toronto. GO Transit is currently looking in to establishing a bus service from Peterborough to Oshawa.

Railways

Peterborough is served by Canadian Pacific Railway. No passenger services currently exist, but the federal government plans to reinstate them and significant progress had been made in 2008. MP Dean Del Mastro lobbied for passenger rail to be brought back to the small city, and there has been government funding put aside for a Peterborough – Toronto rail link.

Air and water transportation

Peterborough Airport is located off Highway 115, just south of the city. It is primarily a recreation and business airport, offering no scheduled flights by any airlines. Its 5000 foot paved runway is the longest between Toronto and Ottawa and sees approximately 31 000 aircraft movements per year.

Otonabee River is part of the Trent-Severn Waterway, providing a link from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron. The Trent Canal also runs through the very eastern portion of the city and is home to the Peterborough Lift Locks, the highest hydraulic boat lift in the world. The Peterborough Marina is located on Little Lake near where Jackson Creek drains into the lake, beside Del Crary Park and just east of George Street. It contains 90 slips for docking and a host of amenities.

Click the link to view the most recent Peterborough property tax rates.

Peterborough Economic Development Initiatives

Follow the link to see the most current Peterborough Economic Development initiatives.