Elliot Lake is a city in Algoma District,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. It is north of

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

, midway between the cities of Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie in the

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

region. Once dubbed the "uranium capital of the world," Elliot Lake has since diversified to a hub for advanced manufacturing, forest harvesting,

mine reclamation Mine reclamation is the process of modifying land that has been mined to restore it to an ecologically functional or economically usable state. Although the process of mine reclamation occurs once mining is complete, the planning of mine recl ...

expertise, retirement living, all-season tourism and remote work. The nearby Mississagi Provincial Park is one of only ten operating parks in Ontario with back country hiking and camping, and is the eighth-largest hiking network in Ontario among all operating parks.

History

Prior to the settlement of the city, a seasonal

Ojibwa The Ojibwe (; syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and thro ...

village extended along the lake's shoreline near the present hospital. The town takes its name from the lake. There is no official record of origin of name; the earliest appearance is on the Dominion map of 1901. Folklore suggest it was named for a logging camp cook who drowned in the lake. The townsite name was approved on August 14, 1952. Elliot Lake was incorporated as a city in 1990.

Uranium mining

The city was established as a

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

for the

mining industry Mining is the extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or feasibly created artificially in a la ...

in 1955 after the discovery of

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

in the area, and named after the small lake on its northern edge. By the late 1950s, its population had grown to about 25,000. It was originally incorporated as an improvement district. Geologist Franc Joubin and American financier Joseph Hirshhorn were instrumental in its founding. The principal mining companies were Denison Mines and Rio Algom. The population has varied with several boom-and-bust cycles from the 1950s to the 1990s, from a high of over 26,000 to a low of about 6,600. By 1958 it was apparent that world production of uranium was far outstripping demand and Canadian producers received unofficial notice that US options on Canadian uranium production between 1962 and 1966 would not be exercised. This was confirmed in 1959. During the 1970s, federal plans for

CANDU Reactor The CANDU (CANada Deuterium Uranium) is a Canadian pressurized heavy-water reactor design used to generate electric power. The acronym refers to its deuterium oxide (heavy water) moderator and its use of (originally, natural) uranium fuel. CA ...

s and

Ontario Hydro Ontario Hydro, established in 1906 as the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, was a publicly owned electricity utility in the Province of Ontario. It was formed to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity ge ...

's interest in atomic energy led the town, anticipating a population of 30,000, to expand again. However, by the early 1990s depleted reserves and low prices caused the last mines in the area to close.

Area uranium mines

* Stanleigh Mine (1956–1960 and 1982–1997), operated by Rio Algom Ltd., produced 14 million tons of ore. * Spanish American Mine (1957–1959), operated by Rio Algom Ltd., produced 79,000 tons of ore. * Can-Met Mine (1957–1960), operated by Denison Mines Ltd., produced 2.6 million tons of ore. * Milliken Mine (1957–1964), operated by Rio Algom Ltd., produced 6.3 million tons of ore. * Panel Mine (1957–1961 and 1978–1990), operated by Rio Algom Ltd., produced 15 million tons of ore. * Denison Mine (1957–1992), operated by Denison Mines Ltd., produced 69 million tons of ore. * Stanrock Mine (1958–1960 and 1964–1985), operated by Denison Mines Ltd., produced 6.4 million tons of ore. * Quirke Mine(s) (1955–1961 and 1965–1990), operated by Rio Algom Ltd., produced 44 million tons of ore. * Pronto Mine (1955–1970), operated by Rio Algom Ltd., produced 2.3 million tons of ore. * Buckles Mine (1956–1960), operated by Rio Algom Ltd., produced 276,000 tons of ore. * Lacnor Mine "Lake Nordic" (1956–1960), operated by Rio Algom Ltd., produced 3.4 million tons of ore. * Nordic Mine (1956–1970), operated by Rio Algom Ltd., produced 13 million tons of ore

Mining legacy health and environmental concerns

In 1974, after growing concern from uranium miners about lung cancer and a lack of support from mine owners for sick workers, 1,000 uranium miners staged a wildcat strike. The 14-day strike triggered a chain of events that led to the creation of a Royal Commission on the Health and Safety of Workers in Mines (informally known as the Ham Commission) (archive.org) which subsequently led to the creation of the Canada's ''Occupational Health and Safety Act'' of 1979. According to University of Toronto history professor Laurel Sefton MacDowell in her 2012 article 'The Elliot Lake Uranium Miners’ Battle to Gain Occupational Health and Safety Improvements, 1950–1980', the health concerns over radiation in the local environment are perpetual, and must be monitored perpetually. The 2017 performance of Rio Algom Limited (a subsidiary of BHP), who own nine of the decommissioned mines, was described as "below expectations" by the

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC; ) is the federal regulator of nuclear power and materials in Canada. Mandate and history Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission was established under the 1997 '' Nuclear Safety and Control Act'' with a ma ...

. Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission reported radium releases above limits at the Stanleigh effluent treatment plant, prompting engineering work plus increased site monitoring by the owners.

Post-mining

In the years following the cessation of mining, the city looked elsewhere for its survival, finding some success promoting itself as a retirement community, advanced manufacturing hub and tourist destination. On June 23, 2012, part of a roof collapsed at Algo Centre Mall, sending metal and concrete debris crashing down through two floors of the shopping centre. The accident killed two people. Pearson Plaza has since opened. On February 21, 2019, part of the theatre roof of the Lester B. Pearson Civic Centre collapsed due to an abnormally heavy snow load. The building has since been completely demolished. Today, the economy of Elliot Lake has seen steady growth. Major employers in Elliot Lake include major mining services firms such as Komatsu, Weir, and Denison Environmental; specialty manufacturing organizations such as St. Regis Group, HiRail Leasing and Prestige Pulpits; numerous forestry businesses; a collection of professional services offices such as Cambridge Law LLP, KPMG and BrokerLink and an increasing number of technology organizations. Government organizations found in the community are numerous and include the City of Elliot Lake, Elliot Lake Retirement Living, a range of Ontario Ministries, a set of federal government offices, a hospital, many health service providers and several schools. The city has four major retail areas: Downtown, Highway 108 Corridor, Hillside, and Paris; and two industrial parks, located at north and south ends of the City. The new mall is Pearson Plaza, and opened downtown in 2016. In January 2023, just weeks after being elected in the 2022 Algoma District municipal elections, mayor Chris Patrie was removed from office in a ruling that he had violated municipal

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

Geography and environment

Situated on the

Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield ( ), also called the Laurentian Shield or the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), th ...

, the city is surrounded by dense forest, muskeg swamps, numerous lakes, winding rivers, and hills of Precambrian bedrock. The local forests are mixed deciduous and coniferous, with colourful displays in the autumn. Local wildlife include

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), or simply black bear, is a species of medium-sized bear which is Endemism, endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. It is an omnivore, with ...

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British English, British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family (biolog ...

muskrat The muskrat or common muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over various climates ...

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

Canada goose The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), sometimes called Canadian goose, is a large species of goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North A ...

, and

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

, to name but a few. Fish species include

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater Salvelinus, char living mainly in lakes in Northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, laker, and grey trout. In Lake Sup ...

, speckled trout,

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

smallmouth bass The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...

, pickerel (walleye), and

sturgeon Sturgeon (from Old English ultimately from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *''str̥(Hx)yón''-) is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the ...

. Since December 1990 the town has been home to the Elliot Lake Research Field Station, established by

Laurentian University Laurentian University (), officially Laurentian University of Sudbury, is a mid-sized Bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, incorporated on March 28, 1960. Laurentian offers a variety of undergr ...

to investigate environmental

radioactivity Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

. Acclaimed Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky has taken landscape pictures of uranium and nickel tailings during the mid-1990s, providing evidence of the after-effects to the ecosystem.

Climate

Elliot Lake has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

( Dfb). Summers are warm and rainy with cool nights. Winters are long and very cold with extremely heavy snowfall. Precipitation is very heavy year round for such a cold location.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Elliot Lake had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Politics

The city is within the Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma federal riding, represented by Liberal Member of Parliament, Terry Sheehan. Provincially, the city is within the Algoma—Manitoulin electoral district, represented by Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament, Bill Rosenberg.

Municipal government

From its establishment in 1955 until 1966, Elliot Lake was governed as an improvement district, a type of local government committee (no longer used in Ontario) to oversee developing communities that need some form of administration but have not yet met the criteria necessary to be formally incorporated as a town. It was incorporated as a town in 1966, and reincorporated as a city in 1990. In January 2023, just weeks after being elected in the 2022 Algoma District municipal elections, mayor Chris Patrie was removed from office in a ruling that he had violated municipal

rules by lobbying, in his prior term as a city councillor, to have the city's new recreation centre built near the Oakland Plaza, in which he is a part owner, instead of on the former Algo Centre Mall site. Deputy mayor Andrew Wannan served as acting mayor, while Patrie appealed the ruling. Patrie lost his appeal, and Wannan was elevated to the full mayoralty by the city council in February 2024. Patrie was barred from holding office for two years and ordered to pay $101,000 ( CAD) in legal costs to the city's integrity commissioner. As an improvement district, the city was chaired by the following: * F. R. Joubin - 1955-1957 * R. C. Hart - 1957-1961 * Edward Futterer - 1961-1966 Its reeves and mayors since incorporation have been: * Charles Stewart - 1966-1968 * Alcide Alemany - 1968-1970 * Roger Taylor - 1970-1988 * George Farkouh - 1988-2006 * Rick Hamilton - 2006-2014 * Dan Marchisella - 2014-2022 * Chris Patrie - 2022-2023 * Andrew Wannan - 2024-present

Transportation

Relatively isolated, Elliot Lake is connected to the south only by Highway 108, a 30 km distance to Highway 17, also known as the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

. North of the city, Highway 639 extends for 24 kilometres to its terminus at Highway 546, an almost entirely unpopulated route used primarily as an access road to Mississagi Provincial Park and a few private wilderness recreation lodges. The Deer Trail Route, a part of the Ontario Tourist Route network, follows a circle consisting of Highways 17, 108, 639 and 546. A 1991 study by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation proposed the extension of Highway 555 (Granary Lake Road) from Blind River to meet Spine Road in Elliot Lake, creating a new route which would reduce the length of a commute between the two communities by approximately 20 kilometres."Council considers old idea for new road"
. '' Elliot Lake Standard'', August 5, 2015. Although the ministry has announced no firm plans to construct the proposed road, Elliot Lake City Council passed a motion in August 2015 calling for the project's revival. As a general aviation facility Elliot Lake Municipal Airport has no regularly scheduled flights. The closest scheduled airport with flights are located in Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie. Elliot Lake Transit provides hourly bus service except on Sundays and statutory holidays. Intercity motor coach service is provided by Ontario Northland.

Arts and culture

Local festivals include the Jewel in the Wilderness Festival, Heritage Weekend and the Elliot Lake Arts on the Trail festival. The city is home to Denison House, a hotel and convention facility located in the former corporate lodge of Denison Mines, and the Elliot Lake Mining and Nuclear Museum. Two community monuments, the Uranium Atom Monument downtown and the Miners Memorial Monument on Horne Lake, are also found in the city, as well as a scenic lookout at the former fire tower. In 1975, Canadian musician

Stompin' Tom Connors Charles Thomas "Stompin' Tom" Connors, Order of Canada, OC (February 9, 1936 – March 6, 2013) was a Canadian country music, country and folk music, folk singer-songwriter. Focusing his career exclusively on his native Canada, he is credited wi ...

recorded "Damn Good Song for a Miner," about the city of Elliot Lake and its mining culture in the 1960s. Elliot Lake is also a prominent setting in Alistair MacLeod's award-winning novel '' No Great Mischief''.

Tourist attractions

* The Elliot Lake fire tower lookout overlooks the city * Mississagi Provincial Park * Sheriff Creek Wildlife Sanctuary * Voyageur's Trail & Westview Hiking Trails * Spruce and Spine Beaches * Bob Stirling XC Ski and Mountain Bike Trails on the shore of Elliot Lake * Deer Trail Colours Tour * Rawhide Lake Conservation Area / Our Colleagues Area * Events (Arts on the Trail, Uranium Heritage Days, 5K Run and others) * Mount Dufour – Ski area with 2 lifts and 7 trails, vertical and 100% snowmaking capability * Elliot Lake Museum * Motorized Sports

Education

Current schools

* Elliot Lake Secondary School * Elliot Lake Intermediate School * Villa Française-des-Jeunes * Our Lady of Fatima *

Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (; ) is one the Marian devotions, devotional names or titles under which the Catholic Church venerates the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. The name commemorates a series of Lourdes apparitions, 18 apparitions reported by ...

* École Georges-Vanier * Esten Park Public School * Central Avenue Public School

Defunct postsecondary and adult schools

* Sault College ''(Satellite Campus)'' – closed * Collège Boréal ''(Satellite Campus)'' – replaced with Access Centre to assist locals in finding employment *

White Mountain Academy of the Arts The White Mountain Academy of the Arts was an art school based in Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada. Formally opened to students in 1998, the academy sought to combine European and First Nations in Canada, First Nations approaches to painting, photog ...

– closed 2006

Sports

* Elliot Lake ATV Club * Stone Ridge Golf & Country Club * Mount Dufour Ski Area * Mountain Bike Ontario Cup Race * The Jewel in the Wilderness Ontario Cup Road Race * Tri-it in the Wilderness Triathlon * Bell Ididarace Sled Dog Race * Deer Trail Scenic Touring Route * Elliot Lake Tennis Club * Voyageur Hiking Trail

Ice hockey

The city is home to the Elliot Lake Vikings of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL). The league placed the team on an indefinite leave of absence in December 2024 due to the protracted closure of Rogers Arena, the team's official home in Elliot Lake. The team was forced to vacate the building, which is owned by the city, due to "structural concerns" at the beginning of the 2023–24 season. As a temporary solution, the team relocated to the Massey and District Community Centre some away in Blind River. In December 2024, after the Elliot Lake city council delayed the reopening of its arena, the league placed the Vikings on leave for the rest of the 2024–25 season. In May 2025, the Vikings extending its leave of absence through the 2025–26 season. In March of 2024 Elliot Lake was named the winner of the 2024 iteration of the Kraft Hockeyville contest after winning a nationwide vote. The other nominees were Enderby, British Columbia;

Cochrane, Alberta Cochrane ( ) is a town in the Calgary Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. The town is located west of the Calgary city limits along Alberta Highway 1A, Highway 1A. Cochrane is one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada, and with a pop ...

; and Wolseley, Saskatchewan. As winners they received $250,000 towards repairs at Rogers Arena (formerly known as Centennial Arena) and the right to host an NHL preseason game in the fall of 2024. The NHL Preseason game took place on September 29th at the Sudbury Community Arena in Sudbury, ON. The game saw the Ottawa Senators play the Pittsburgh Penguins in a preseason game which ended in a 5-2 victory for the Penguins. The game featured goals by Nick Cousins, Tim Stutzle, Sidney Crosby and a Hat Trick by Evgeni Malkin.

Baseball

* Elliot Lake Fireside Heat * Elliot Lake Minor Fastball Association

Martial Arts

* Korean Martial Arts Centre (KMAC) * Hapkido Kids Inc.

Softball

* Elliot Lake Mixed Slow-pitch (Adult) * Elliot Lake Mixed Slow-pitch (Youth) * Elliot Lake Ladies Slow-Pitch (Adult)

Swimming

* Elliot Lake Aquatic Club (ELAC)

Media

Print media

The '' Elliot Lake Standard'' is the city's newspaper, owned by

Postmedia Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is an American-owned Canadian-based media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in Engl ...

. The city is also served by ''Elliot Lake Today'', a community news website operated as part of the Village Media network. The ''North Shore Bulletin'' is the city's bi-weekly advertising flyer, which also prints current news events.

Radio

Elliot Lake has one commercial radio station, which operates two transmitters due to signal deficiencies in parts of the city. All of its other radio services are rebroadcasters of stations from Sudbury.

Television

Elliot Lake was previously served by CBEC-TV, VHF channel 7, and CBLFT-TV-6, VHF channel 12, which rebroadcast the

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

-based stations

CBLT-DT CBLT-DT (channel 5) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the English-language service of CBC Television. It is part of a duopoly (broadcasting)#In Canada, twinstick with Ici Radio-Canada Télé ...

(

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

) and CBLFT-DT (

Ici Radio-Canada Télé Ici Radio-Canada Télé (stylized as ICI Radio-Canada Télé, and sometimes abbreviated as Ici Télé) is a Television in Canada, Canadian Canadian French, French-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by the Can ...

), respectively. These rebroadcasters were shut down in 2012 due to budget cuts at the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

People from Elliot Lake

* Rick Brebant, hockey player * Kayt Burgess, writer * Catharine Dixon, writer * Christine Girard, weightlifter * Alex Henry, hockey player * Korey Jarvis, International wrestler * Suzanne A. Rogers, socialite * Jeremy Stevenson, hockey player * Zack Stortini, hockey player * Alan Thicke, late Canadian-American actor grew up in Elliot Lake

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Ontario Mining communities in Ontario Planned communities in Canada Single-tier municipalities in Ontario