Thorold is a city in

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, located on the

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is an approximately discontinuous, arc-shaped but generally northward-facing escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States. The escarpment begins south of Lake Ontario and circumscribes the top of the Great Lake ...

. It is also the seat of the

Regional Municipality of Niagara The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a regional municipality in southern Ontario, Canada, which occupies most of the Niagara Peninsula. As of 2024, the region had an estimate ...

. The

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller, Ontario, Port Weller on Lake Ontario, and Port Colborne on Lak ...

passes through the city, featuring lock 7 and the Twin Flight Locks.

History

The first survey of Thorold, or Township 9 as it was known then, occurred in 1788. The earliest communities in what is now Thorold emerged at Beaverdams, DeCew Falls and St. Johns. In 1846, the community had a population of about 1,000 and there were three churches or chapels and a post office. Various types of tradesmen worked here. Industry included two grist mills, a cement mill, a brewery and three wagon makers. There were seven taverns. Thorold, located on the brow of the

, soon became dominant and was incorporated as a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in 1850. Its formation was linked to the creation of the First Welland Canal. The village experienced population growth as the canal became more developed. In 1875, Thorold became a town. When the

was formed in 1970, the Town of Thorold expanded to include the former Thorold

Township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

. In 1975, the town became incorporated as the City of Thorold. Thorold is also the location of 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 ...

battle site, Beaverdams, where, on June 25, 1813, Colonel Charles Boerstler and his American troops were defeated by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

regulars and Caughnawaga Mohawks. The

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

identified Thorold as the eighth-fastest growing municipality in Canada.

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 ...

, Thorold 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.

Economy

Thorold's economy, like other municipalities in the Niagara Region, has benefitted from the Welland Canal. An estimated 37 million tonnes of freight is handled and shipped there annually. Thorold South has several industrial and manufacturing businesses.

Arts and culture

The Thorold Reed Band has been in operation since its formation in 1851. The band has performed every year, with the exception of 2020 and 2021, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario The COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario was a viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Canada w ...

. The Canal Bank Shuffle is an annual musical festival that takes place in Thorold. The event features blues music. In July 2024, downtown Thorold was used as a filming location for the eighteenth season of

Murdoch Mysteries ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick ...

. 11 scenes were filmed in the city. Thorold was chosen due to its proximity to other filming locations and the lack of "contamination" in historical buildings. The setting being filmed for the series was

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

Attractions

Parks and trails

Officially opened in 2002, the Mel Swart Lake Gibson Conservation Park is a 29-acre waterfront park located on Lake Gibson. The park is part of the Niagara Greenbelt. The Short Hills Provincial Park is also partially located in the City of Thorold. The Welland Canal Parkway Trail is a paved 42 km recreational path along the Welland Canal, from

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

Historic sites

There are multiple historic sites in Thorold. These include:

Sports

The Thorold Blackhawks are a Junior 'B' hockey team in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. In 2023, the team permanently moved to

Port Colborne Port Colborne is a city in Ontario, Canada that is located on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The original settlement, known as Gravelly Bay, dates from 1832 and was renamed after ...

from Thorold. Thorold, along with other municipalities in the Niagara Region, hosted events for the 2022 Canada Summer Games. The Canada Games Park was built in Thorold for the event. The facility cost 102.7 million dollars. In 2023, it was determined by a municipal lawyer that the city of Thorold did not own the arena and was instead one of three co-tenants leasing it from

Brock University Brock University is a public university, public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The ...

Infrastructure

In 2015, the Ontario government provided money to Thorold under the Small Communities Fund. The city used the 4.6 million dollars in funding to start building an

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...

complex for seniors. 14.8 million dollars through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund was also used for the project.

Transportation

The Thorold Tunnel is an underwater vehicular tunnel, built between 1965 and 1967, which allows Highway 58 to cross the Welland Canal without interrupting shipping. Approximately 24,300 vehicles pass through the tunnel daily.

Niagara Detention Centre

Thorold is home to the Niagara Detention Centre, a 260-person capacity maximum-security prison. It generally serves people on remand, offenders sentenced to short terms (60 days or less), and offenders awaiting transfer to larger federal or provincial facilities.

Education

Thorold Secondary School is the only high school in the city. In 2012, District School Board of Niagara trustees voted on whether to close the school and decided to keep it open. Thorold is close in proximity to Brock University and therefore has a large student population. In 2021, four students were arrested after a large street party took place in the city.

Notable people

Owen Nolan Owen Liam Nolan (born 12 February 1972) is a Northern Irish-born Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was drafted first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. During his 18-year NHL career, he played for the ...

, professional hockey player * Joey Martin (ice hockey), professional hockey player *

Sean Bentivoglio Sean Bentivoglio (born October 16, 1985) is a Canadian-Italian professional ice hockey forward (ice hockey), forward who is currently playing with the Dundas Real McCoys in the ACH (Allan Cup Hockey) League. Playing career Bentivoglio was born i ...

, professional hockey player * Conor Timmins, professional hockey player

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Ontario Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario