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Kingston, Ontario, is a city in Canada located at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, where the lake runs into the St. Lawrence River and the Thousand Islands begin.

The central part of the city is located between the Cataraqui River to the east and the Little Cataraqui Creek to the West, with outlying areas extending in both directions. Kingston is the county seat of Frontenac County. According to the 2001 Canadian census, the population of the city proper was 114,195, while the population of the metropolitan area as a whole was 146,838 in 2001. Kingston is nicknamed the "Limestone City" because of the many historic buildings built from limestone.

Kingston is roughly half way between Toronto and Montreal along the three major east-west transportation routes in Central Canada: the Saint Lawrence Seaway, Ontario Highway 401 (the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway, which turns into Quebec Autoroute 20), and Canadian National Railways' Windsor to Quebec City Corridor. Kingston also lies at the south end of the Rideau Canal, originally built to connect Lake Ontario with the Ottawa River in order to provide a safe transportation route to Montreal away from the American border. Kingston's airport, Norman Rogers Airport (CYGK), has regularly scheduled air service to Toronto.

Kingston is the site of two universities, Queen's University and the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC). A campus of St. Lawrence College is also located here. One of the oldest radio stations in the world, CFRC, broadcasts from Queen's.

Canadian Forces Base Kingston (CFB Kingston) houses CFSCE (Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics), the Canadian Armed Forces' military communications training centre.

Canada's largest group of federal prisons, including Kingston Penitentiary, is located in the immediate area of the city.

History

The French originally settled upon a traditional Mississaugas First Nation site called Katerokwi (Cataraqui in the common transliteration which uses French pronunciation rules, is pronounced CAT - AH - RAH - KWAY) in 1673 and established Fort Frontenac. The fort was captured and destroyed by the British in the Battle of Fort Frontenac near the end of the Seven Years' War in 1758. A receiving centre for fleeing refugees from the American Revolution, it became the primary community of south-eastern Upper Canada.

New settlement from the United Empire Loyalists (UEL) and Mohawks from the Six Nations in New York, led by Molly Brant (the sister of Six Nations Leader Joseph Brant - Thayendanegea), formed a significant part of an expanding population in the area at the end of the 18th century.

During the War of 1812, Kingston was the base for the Lake Ontario division of the Great Lakes British naval fleet which engaged in a vigorous arms race with the American fleet based at Sackett's Harbor, New York for control of Lake Ontario. After the war, Britain built Fort Henry and a series of distinctive Martello towers to guard the entrance to the Rideau Canal. Fort Henry still stands and is a popular tourist destination.

Kingston's location at the Rideau Canal entrance to Lake Ontario, after canal construction was completed in 1832, made it the primary military and economic centre of Upper Canada. Incorporated as a town in 1838, Kingston had the largest population of any centre in Upper Canada until the 1840s. Kingston was incorporated as a city in 1846

Kingston was one of the contenders for the capital of the united Canadas before Confederation, but after a brief stint as the capital from 1841 to 1844 (including the first meeting of the Parliament of the United Canadas on June 13, 1841, it lost out to an alternating location of Montreal and Toronto, and then later to Ottawa in 1857. Kingston was the home of Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Kingston was an important Great Lakes port and a center for shipbuilding and locomotive building, including the largest locomotive works in the British Empire (the Canadian Locomotive Company - later Fairbanks-Morse - closed in 1969). Most heavy industry has now left the city and employment is now primarily in the institutional, military, and service/retail sectors.

The term "Cataraqui", from the original native name for Kingston, today refers to an area around the intersection of Princess Street and Sydenham Road where a village of that name was located. Cataraqui is also the name of a municipal electoral ward.

Economy

Kingston's economy relies heavily on public sector institutions and establishments. The most important sectors are related to health care, education, government (including the military and correctional services), tourism and culture, manufacturing, and research and development. Of Kingston's major industrial employers of the 20th century, the Canadian Locomotive Company and Davis Drydock are long closed, and the former Alcan and Dupont operations employ far fewer persons than in the past. CFB Kingston, the local military base is a major employer.

According to the Kingston Economic Development Corporation, in a 2004 report, the 20 largest employers in Kingston were:

Source: http://business.kingstoncanada.com/communityprofile/resources/Economic.pdf

Culture

Kingston has developed a thriving artistic and entertainment life. The city hosts several festivals during the year, including the Limestone City Blues Festival, the Kingston Canadian Film Festival, Fanfayr, Kingston Busker's Rendezvous, Kingston Sheep Dog Trials, Kingston Jazz Festival, Kingston Dragon Boat Festival, Canada DanceSport, the Festival of Trees, Feb Fest, the Limestone Classic, and the Chilifest.

The Kingston Symphony Orchestra performs at Kingston's Grand Theatre, as do several amateur and semi-professional theatre groups. (Following a successful fundraising campaign, the Grand Theatre has been closed for renovations and will reopen in the fall of 2006. *) Also in the city is Theatre Kingston (formerly Theatre Beyond), a professional company.

The city has spawned several musicians and musical groups, most of whom are known mainly within Canada, but few of whom have achieved international success. These include members of The Tragically Hip, The Mahones, jazz singer Andy Poole, Bedouin Soundclash, Sarah Harmer, The Arrogant Worms, The Headstones, The Inbreds, The Orange Alabaster Mushroom, David Usher (formerly of Moist), and Kingston is the birth place of Bryan Adams. Singer Avril Lavigne, from nearby Napanee, began her career after gaining notice singing at a Kingston fair and bookstore. The first winner of the television series Canadian Idol was Kingston native Ryan Malcolm.

Poet Michael Andre was raised in Kingston, and actor Dan Aykroyd makes his home near Kingston.

Media

In addition to local outlets, radio and television stations from New York (especially the Watertown market) are readily available in Kingston.

Radio

Television

Print

The city's main newspaper is the Kingston Whig-Standard, owned by Osprey Media. Smaller local publications include Kingston This Week, Heritage, Kingston Eye-Opener and Independent Voice.

Sports

Hockey

Although debatable, Kingston lays claim to being the birthplace of ice hockey. This claim arises from a game played in 1886 between Queen's University and the Royal Military College of Canada and is recognised by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association.

Kingston is represented in the Ontario Hockey League by the Kingston Frontenacs ( who play at the Kingston Memorial Centre). There have also been several other historic franchises known as the Kingston Frontenacs.

The International Hockey Hall of Fame, established in 1943 and erected in 1965, is located in Kingston.

Several NHL players, coaches and personalities have been associated with Kingston including: Rick Paterson, Bill Cook, Bun Cook, James "Flat" Walsh, Lorne Ferguson, Bob Murray, Wayne Cashman, Rick Smith, Ken Linseman, Dick & Don Cherry, Fred O'Donnell, Doug Gilmour, Kirk Muller, Scott Arniel, Jay McKee, Wade Redden and Bryan Allen.

Sailing

The city is famous for its fresh-water sailing (it hosted the sailing events for the 1976 Summer Olympics). CORK — Canadian Olympic-training Regatta, Kingston — now hosted by CORK/Sail Kingston Inc. is still held every August. Kingston is listed by a panel of experts among the best yacht racing venues in the USA, even though Kingston is, of course, in Canada.

Here's a list of major regattas hosted by Kingston over the years.

Kingston sits amid great cruising and boating territory, with easy access to Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, and the Thousand Islands including the St. Lawrence Islands National Park.

Diving

Kingston is a well-known destination for fresh-water wreck diving. Some of Kingston's wrecks can be classed among the best fresh water wrecks in the world. Kingston's wrecks are well preserved by its cool fresh water, and the recent zebra mussel invasion has caused a drastic improvement in water clarity that has enhanced the quality of diving in the area.

Here's a catalog of diveable wrecks in the Kingston region, another source is here.

Demographics

According to the mid-2001 census, there were 146,838 people residing in the greater Kingston area, of whom 49.1 % were male and 50.9 % were female. Children under five accounted for approximately 5.1 % of the resident population of Kingston. This compares with 5.8 % in Ontario, and almost 5.6 % for Canada overall.

In mid-2001, 14.1 % of the resident population in Kingston were of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) compared with 13.2 % in Canada. As a result, the average age is 38.1 years of age as compared to 37.6 years of age for all of Canada. Kingston has a reputation as a suitable place for retirees to settle.

In the five years between 1996 and 2001, the population of Kingston grew by 1.6 %, compared with an increase of 6.1 % for Ontario as a whole. Population density of Kingston averaged 77.0 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 12.6, for Ontario altogether.

The population of Kingston shows significant turnover because of its relatively large student population (about 10%) and the number of military residents associated with Canadian Forces Base Kingston.

Racial make-up

Religious make-up

Education

The Limestone District School Board serves students in the counties of Frontenac and Lennox and Addington. Along with the Limestone School of Community Education, which provides adult education and training programs, approximately 23,000 students attend 56 elementary and 12 secondary schools. The Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board serves students of the Roman Catholic faith. Approximately 15,000 students attend 36 elementary schools and 5 secondary schools in this school district.

Kingston is home to Queen's University, one of the most distinguished universities in the country. The Royal Military College of Canada is also located in Kingston. RMC is Canada's only military university and is where many of the Canadian Forces' future officers go, not only to receive a fully accredited university diploma, but also to become bilingual, develop stringent physical fitness habits and receive training for their future military careers.

Local secondary schools:

Waterfront


Kingston has a rich and beautiful waterfront. Major features include Flora MacDonald Confederation Basin, Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, Collins Bay, Wolfe Island, Garden Island, the Cataraqui River (including Kingston, Ontario Inner Harbour and, within that, Anglin Bay.)

Prominent Kingstonians

Sister cities

Kingston is twinned with both Scottsdale, Arizona and Cienfuegos, Cuba

See also

Nearby cities and towns

North West
Tweed 89.6 km
Tamworth 55.7 km
Enterprise 50.2 km

^
North

Westport 50 km
Sharbot Lake 65 km

North East

 Ottawa  150 km
Brockville 75 km

< West
Amherst Island 11km
Amherstview  12km
Odessa  14km
Bath  23 km
Napanee 37 km
Belleville  70 km
 

KINGSTON

East >
Howe Island 12 km
Gananoque 28 km
Clayton, New York  32 km
Alexandria Bay, New York 47 km

 

Picton 58 km
Prince Edward County

South West

 

Lake Ontario
Syracuse, New York 134 km

South
v

Wolfe Island 5 km
Cape Vincent (village), New York 16 km
Watertown, New York 53 km
Jefferson County, New York

South East

Major Parks Nearby

North West

Frontenac Provincial Park
Sharbot Lake Provincial Park
Bon Echo Provincial Park
Algonquin Provincial Park

^
North
Gould Lake Conservation Area
Silver Lake Provincial Park
Murphys Point Provincial Park
Trans Canada Trail

North East

Charleston Lake Provincial Park
Rideau River Provincial Park

< West

Stoco Fen Provincial Nature Reserve

KINGSTON
Lemoine Point Conservation Area
Little Cataraqui Creek C.A.

East >

St. Lawrence Islands National Park

Lake On The Mountain Provincial Recreation Park
Timber Island Provincial Nature Reserve
Sandbanks Provincial Park

South West

Lake Ontario

South
v

Adirondack State Park, New York

South East

External links

Community and information links

Coastal cities | Kingston, Ontario

Kingston (Ontario) | Kingston, Ontario | Kingston (Ontario) | Kingston (Ontario) | Kingston (Ontário) | Кингстон (Канада, провинция Онтарио) | Kingston, Ontario

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Kingston, Ontario".

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