About Sudbury

Greater Sudbury (2006 census population 157,857) is a city in Northern Ontario, Canada. Greater Sudbury was created in 2001 by amalgamating the cities and towns of the former Regional Municipality of Sudbury, along with several previously unincorporated geographic townships.

It is the largest city in Northern Ontario in population, and the 24th largest metropolitan area in Canada. In land area, it is the largest city in Ontario, the seventh largest municipality in Canada and the largest municipality in English Canada legally designated as a city.

Greater Sudbury is one of only five cities in Ontario — the others are Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton and Kawartha Lakes — that constitute their own independent census divisions, and are not part of any district, county or regional municipality.

It is also the only city in Ontario which has two official names — its name in French is Grand-Sudbury. Unlike designations such as Greater Toronto or Greater Montreal, the name “Greater Sudbury” refers to a single city, not a conurbation of independent municipalities. However, the name Sudbury, without its official modifiers, is still the more common name for the city in everyday usage.

The city’s Census Metropolitan Area consists of the city proper and the First Nations reserves of Whitefish Lake and Wahnapitae, and had a population of 158,258 in the 2006 census. Informally, some residents of the area may also consider the metropolitan area to include the towns of Markstay-Warren, St. Charles and French River, a region commonly known as Sudbury East, as well as the outlying unincorporated communities of Estaire and Cartier.

Education

Greater Sudbury is home to three postsecondary institutions: Laurentian University, a bilingual university, Cambrian College, an English college of applied arts and technology, and Collège Boréal, a francophone college with additional campuses throughout Northern Ontario. (Boréal does, however, offer a few trade courses in English.)

Laurentian University is also home to the Sudbury campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. NOSM was the first medical school to open in Canada in 30 years, opening its doors in September 2005. Laurentian is also undergoing the planning process of opening the Northern Ontario School of Architecture, hopefully to be opened in 2010. This school would most likely be located on a separate campus in downtown Sudbury. Laurentian is also tentatively planning to open a law school at some point in the future.

English-language public schooling is provided by the Rainbow District School Board. The board operates 30 elementary and seven secondary schools throughout the city, plus one school for students with special needs and the Cecil Facer Youth Centre for young offenders. The Sudbury Catholic District School Board offers publicly-funded English-language Catholic schools, with 18 elementary schools, four high schools and an adult education centre. French-language public schools are administered by the Conseil scolaire de district du Grand Nord de l’Ontario with nine elementary and three secondary schools. Finally, the French-language catholic board is the Conseil scolaire de district catholique du Nouvel-Ontario, with 18 elementary and four secondary schools.

There are also two Protestant private schools in the city (Glad Tidings Academy and King Christian Academy), as well as a Montessori school.

Transportation

Highway 17 is the main branch of the Trans-Canada Highway, connecting the city to points east and west. An approximately 21-kilometre (15 mile) segment of Highway 17, from Mikkola to Whitefish, is freeway. As of 2007, this segment is one of only two full freeway segments (the other being Highway 11 southeast of North Bay) in all of Northern Ontario. The provincial Ministry of Transportation has announced tentative plans to extend the Highway 17 freeway east to Coniston along the Southwest and Southeast Bypasses in the mid-2010s, near the completion date of the Highway 400 construction. Studies have also been completed on the freeway segment’s westerly extension to McKerrow, although no construction timetable has been set. In the longer term, the whole highway may eventually be subsumed into Highway 417, although to date no formal project planning has taken place and that is likely decades away. The former alignment of Highway 17 through the city is now Municipal Road 55.

Highway 69, also a branch of the Trans-Canada Highway, leads south to Parry Sound, where it connects to the Highway 400 freeway to Toronto. Highway 400 is currently being extended to Greater Sudbury; although the timetable may be subject to change, this construction is scheduled for completion in 2017. Highway 69 formerly continued northward to Capreol — this northerly route has also been decommissioned by the province, although portions of it are still referred to locally as “Highway 69 North”.

Greater Sudbury is the only census division in Northern Ontario that maintains a system of numbered municipal roads, similar to the county road system in the southern part of the province.

The Greater Sudbury Airport is served by regional carrier lines such as Bearskin and Air Canada Jazz. Sunwing Vacations also offers direct flights to Orlando, Puerto Plata and Varadero. The airport is also undergoing talks with Northwest Airlines to provide service from the city to one or more U.S. destinations directly. Porter Airlines has also indicated that it may offer service between Greater Sudbury and the Toronto City Centre Airport.

Sudbury is also served by rail (VIA Rail Canada, with The Canadian between Toronto and Vancouver and the Lake Superior between Sudbury and a string of smaller area communities to White River), and inter-city bus service (Greyhound Canada and Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services). The city also maintains a public transit system, Greater Sudbury Transit.

Click for the last available Sudbury property tax rates.

Sudbury Economic Development Initiatives

Click the link to see the most recent Sudbury Official Plan and Economic Development initiatives.