Fort Frances is a town in, and the seat of, Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The population as of the 2021 census was 7,466 Fort Frances is a popular

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

destination. It hosts the annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship. Located on the international border with the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

where Rainy Lake narrows to become Rainy River, it is connected to International Falls, Minnesota by the Fort Frances–International Falls International Bridge. The town is the fourth-largest community in Northwestern Ontario after

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

Kenora Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The history of the name exten ...

and Dryden. The Fort Frances Paper Mill was formerly the main employer and industry in the town until its closure in January 2014. Today, there is no manufacturing or major industry in Fort Frances. Healthcare, social services and the town corporation make up the majority of the top tier employers, with big box retail coming in second. New Gold, a Canadian mining company, acquired mineral rights to the area in 2013. The Rainy River mine commenced processing ore on September 14, 2017 and completed its first gold pour on October 5, 2017.

History

Fort Frances was the first

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an settlement west of Lake Superior and was established by

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye (17 November 1685 – 5 December 1749) was a French Canadian military officer, fur trader, and explorer. In the 1730s, he and his four sons explored the area west of Lake Superior and es ...

, first commander of the western district. In 1731, he built

Fort Saint Pierre Fort Saint Pierre on Rainy Lake was the first French fort built west of Lake Superior. It was the first of eight forts built during Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, the elder Vérendrye's expansion of trade and exploration wes ...

near that spot as support for the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

with native peoples. In 1732, his expedition built Fort Saint Charles on Magnuson's Island on the west side of

Lake of the Woods Lake of the Woods (; ) is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. Lake of the Woods is over long and wide, containing more than 14,552 islands and of shoreline. It is fed by t ...

. After some time, Fort Saint Pierre fell out of use. In 1817, following the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and the redefinition of borders between Canada and the United States, the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

(HBC) built a fort here. In 1830 HBC Chief Factor John Dugald Cameron named the fur trading post after Frances Ramsay Simpson, the 18-year-old daughter of a London merchant, who had married earlier that year in London, George Simpson, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, who would visit the fort many times. In 1841 she became Lady Simpson after George Simpson was knighted, and she died in 1853 at

Lachine, Quebec Lachine () is a borough (''arrondissement'') within the city of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It was founded as a trading post in 1669. Developing into a parish and then an autonomous city, it was Montreal m ...

. Incorporated in 1903, the town held a big centennial celebration in 2003. The main employer was a

pulp and paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...

established in the early 1900s. It had numerous owners over the years, notably Edward Wellington Backus. Most recently owned by

Resolute Forest Products Resolute Forest Products (French: ''Produits forestiers Résolu''), formerly known as AbitibiBowater Inc., is a Canada-based Pulp and paper industry in Canada, pulp and paper company. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the company was formed in 2 ...

, the mill employed about 700 persons until its closure in 2014. On June 25, 1946, the town was struck by a

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

, which caused major damage and struck a week after the deadly Windsor tornado. On August 25, 2013, the town hosted the final pitstop in the Kraft Celebration Tour by receiving the most votes out of all 20 communities On January 14, 2014, Resolute Forest Products announced that it planned to stop operations of the final paper machine and close out its operations in Fort Frances by the end of the month. On December 13, 2014,

Tim Hortons Tim Hortons Inc., known colloquially as Tim's, Timmies, or Timmy's, is a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain with headquarters in Toronto; it serves coffee, Doughnut, donuts, sandwiches, Breakfast sandwich, breakfast egg mu ...

filmed a commercial in Fort Frances. The commercial, which dubs Fort Frances "one of the coldest places in Canada", was shot at the local Tim Hortons. In the days leading up to the filming, yarn was seen covering trees, benches, etc. Workers had spent the night covering the interior of the restaurant with yarn and building a giant toque on the roof. For the day, the coffee was free. In August 2015 the Seven Generations Education Institute hosted the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium's (WINHEC) Annual General Meeting at the Nanicost Grounds for members attending from all over the world.

Transportation

There are three airports in the area, one of which is in the United States. The two city airports are for general aviation and the other is a privately owned

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

base. * Fort Frances Municipal Airport * Fort Frances Water Aerodrome * Falls International Airport Fort Frances Municipal Airport does not have regularly scheduled commercial airline service. It was previously served by only one company, Bearskin Airlines, with flights to and from Kenora,

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Thunder Bay, and Dryden. Falls International Airport has flights to

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota), ...

Delta Connection Delta Connection is a brand name under which Delta Air Lines has air service agreements with domestic regional air carriers that feed traffic to their network by serving passengers primarily in small and medium-sized cities in the domestic mark ...

. Ontario Highway 11 and Ontario Highway 71, the latter of which ends in Fort Frances, are the two major highways in the community. Both are part of 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 ...

. The town is connected to

via Highway 71, while Highway 11 provides connections to Devlin, Emo, and Rainy River to the west, and Atikokan and

to the east.

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

travels into Fort Frances with freight traffic only and travels across the Fort Frances-International Falls International Bridge, over the Rainy River, into the US. Train, truck and car traffic to and from the United States traverses the International Bridge. Fort Frances Transit operated until 1996, and Fort Frances Handi-Van Transit is a provincially-funded service run by the Town of Fort Frances. Caribou Coach Transportation Company Incorporated cancelled its bus route to and from

in October 2017. The route was once served by Greyhound Canada. North Air operates a taxi service from Fort Frances whose service area includes the International Falls, Minnesota area and airport.

Climate

Fort Frances experiences 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 ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

'' Dfb''), with cold winters and warm summers. Temperatures beyond have been measured in all five late-spring and summer months. Summer highs are comparable to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and the

Los Angeles Basin The Los Angeles Basin is a sedimentary Structural basin, basin located in Southern California, in a region known as the Peninsular Ranges. The basin is also connected to an wikt:anomalous, anomalous group of east–west trending chains of mountai ...

coastline in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, whereas winter lows on average resemble southern

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

and polar subarctic inland

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. Fort Frances, along with Atikokan hold the record for the highest temperature ever recorded in the province of Ontario. On 13 July 1936 the mercury climbed to .

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 ...

, Fort Frances 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. Fort Frances had a population of 7,739 people in 2016, which represents a decrease of 2.7% from the 2011 census count. The median household income in 2015 for Fort Frances was $62,928, which was below the Ontario provincial average of $74,287. In 2021, Statistics Canada reported that the age demographic broke down as follows for Fort Frances:
Under 14 — 14.9%
15 to 24 — 11.2%
25 to 34 — 12.1%
35 to 44 — 10.4%
45 to 54 — 12.0%
55 to 64 — 16.0%
Over 65 — 23.4%

Coat of arms

The city

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

features a bull

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 ...

;

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

leaves; a "Magneto", representative of

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

(industry); two men in a

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

; a white pine tree; and the motto "Industry and Perseverance."

Media

Newspapers

* '' Fort Frances Times'' – Weekly * '' Fort Frances Bulletin'' – Twice Weekly

Online media

* ''Fort Frances Times'' Online

Television stations

The only local television channel serving Fort Frances is the Shaw TV community channel on

Shaw Cable Shaw Communications Inc. was a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian telecommunication, telecommunications company which provided telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. The company was founded in 1966 as Capital Cable Televisio ...

channel 10. There are no local broadcast outlets or repeaters serving Fort Frances; Shaw Cable carries CBWT-DT (

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

), CBWFT-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 ...

) and CKY-DT ( CTV) from

, CITV-DT (

Global Global may refer to: General *Globe, a spherical model of celestial bodies *Earth, the third planet from the Sun Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 198 ...

) from

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, and TVO, plus

CITY-DT CITY-DT (channel 57), branded as Citytv Toronto or simply Citytv, is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the Citytv network. It is owned and operated by network parent Rogers Sports & Media alo ...

(

Citytv Citytv (sometimes shortened to City, which was the network's official branding from 2012 to 2018) is a Television in Canada, Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consis ...

), CHCH-DT (independent), CFTM-DT ( TVA, live feed) and TFO. CJBN-TV from Kenora used to be available on cable until it permanently signed off on January 27, 2017. United States network programming on Shaw TV comes from

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

( WDIV-TV,

WXYZ-TV WXYZ-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside independent station WMYD (channel 20). The two stations shar ...

WWJ-TV WWJ-TV (channel 62) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is owned and operated by the CBS television network through its CBS News and Stations division, alongside WKBD-TV (channel 50), an affiliate of The CW. The two ...

, and WTVS) and Rochester ( WUHF); stations from the Duluth television market are not available on cable, though they are available over-the-air from repeaters in International Falls.

Radio stations

* FM 89.1 – CKSB-9-FM (

Ici Radio-Canada Première Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) is a Canadian French-language radio network, the news and information service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known as Société Radio-Canada in French), the public broadcaster of ...

, repeats CKSB-10-FM, Saint Boniface, Manitoba) * FM 90.5 – CBQQ-FM (

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent o ...

, repeats CBQT-FM,

) * FM 93.1 – CFOB-FM, ''93.1 The Border FM''

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

Another radio station, CKWO FM 92.3 The Wolf, was licensed to the neighbouring Couchiching First Nation in 2003 and launched in 2004. Its unknown when the station left the air; the CRTC renewed CKWO-FM's licence from 1 September 2012 to 28 February 2013, with no known license renewals since that date.

Education

Elementary and secondary schools

Rainy River District School Board * Fort Frances High School * Robert Moore School * J.W. Walker School Northwest Catholic District School Board * St Mary's School

Post-secondary schools

* Confederation College * Seven Generations Education Institute

Former elementary schools

Rainy River District School Board * Fort Kinhaven School * F.H. Huffman School * Alexander Mackenzie School * Sixth Street School * Alberton Central School (Alberton, Ontario) * McIrvine School * Old Fort Frances High School * Westfort High School Northwest Catholic District School Board * St. Michael's Catholic School * St Francis School

Notable Fort Francesians

* Dave Allison, former coach of the NHL's

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

* Mike Allison, former player for the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

, and

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

* Steve Arpin, ARCA Re/Max Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series race car driver * Murray Bannerman, former player for the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

. *

Molly Carlson Molly Carlson (born September 22, 1998) is a Canadian high diver and social media personality. She is a member of Canada's senior national high diving team and placed second at the 2022, 2023, and 2024 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. Carls ...

, high diver * Keith Christiansen, former player for the WHA Minnesota Fighting Saints. * Todd Dufresne, social and cultural theorist best known for his work on Freud and

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

* Gene Eugene, actor, musician and recording producer * David Barron, author, illustrator, dj * Howard Hampton,

Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario) Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) is the title of an elected member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Legislative Assembly of the Canadian province of Ontario. Elsewhere in Canada, the titular designation "Member of Provincial Parliament ...

of Kenora—Rainy River (provincial electoral district) and former leader of the

Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP; , NPD) is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. It is Ontario’s provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. The ...

. * Duncan Keith, NHL hockey player of the

, named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players * Chris Lindberg, silver medalist with the Canadian Ice Hockey Team at the

1992 Winter Olympics The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Albertville '92 (Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile '92''), were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and aroun ...

* Neil Sheehy, former player for the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its 25-year existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1 ...

and

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

of the NHL. * Timothy Sheehy, former NHL player. * Gene Stoltzfus, founding director of Christian Peacemaker Teams

Culture and attractions

* The Fort Frances Museum * Fort Frances Library and Technology Centre * The Border Land Arts Alliance * Tour de Fort * Point Park * LaVerendrye Parkway- The Sorting Gap Marina * The Lookout Tower, open to tour during summer * The Tugboat Hallet, open to tour during summer * Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship, held annually in late July * Scott Street Shopping District * Kitchen Creek Golf Club * Heron Landing Golf Course * 8th Street Walking & Ski Trails * Little Beaver Snow Park * Rainy Lake Square * Town Hall * Rendezvous Yacht Club * The Noden Causeway * The Rainy Lake Nordic Ski Club

Sport

Fort Frances is home to the following amateur sports teams: * Fort Frances Lakers (

Junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...

) * Fort Frances Thunderhawks (

Senior ice hockey Senior hockey refers to amateur or semi-professional ice hockey competition. There are no age restrictions for Senior players, who typically consist of those whose junior ice hockey, Junior eligibility has expired. Senior hockey leagues operate un ...

) Fort Frances was the home of the former amateur sports teams: *

Fort Frances Borderland Thunder The Borderland Thunder are a defunct Junior "A" ice hockey team from Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada. They were a part of the Superior International Junior Hockey League. History Despite four successful season in the SIJHL and a league title, the T ...

(Junior ice hockey) * Fort Frances Canadians (Senior ice hockey) * Fort Frances Royals (Junior ice hockey) Sporting facilities include : * Memorial Sports Centre * Couchiching First Nations Arena also known as "The Duke" – located in neighboring Couchiching First Nation

Sources

External links

* {{Authority control 1903 establishments in Ontario Hudson's Bay Company forts Single-tier municipalities in Ontario Towns in Ontario