Chatham-Kent ( 2021 population: 104,316)"Census Profile, 2016 Census Chatham-Kent, Municipality"

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), 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 cultur ...

, August 25, 2017. is a

single-tier municipality A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

Southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula bounded by Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay, to the north and northwest; the St. Clair River, Lake St. ...

, Canada. Mostly rural, its population centres are Chatham,

Wallaceburg Wallaceburg ( 2016 population 10,098) is an unincorporated community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent in Southern (Southwestern) Ontario, Canada. Originally a small settlement, it was recognized for its significant contribution to the lumbe ...

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...

, Blenheim,

Ridgetown Ridgetown is a community located in south-east Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus. It has a 2021 population of 2,797 and is one of many small farming communities in Chatham-Kent. The town motto ...

Wheatley Wheatley may refer to: Places * Wheatley (crater), on Venus * Wheatley, Ontario, Canada * Wheatley, Hampshire, England * Wheatley, Oxfordshire, England ** Wheatley railway station * Wheatley, South Yorkshire, England * Wheatley, now Ben Rhydding, ...

and

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. The current Municipality of Chatham-Kent was created in 1998 by the amalgamation of Blenheim, Bothwell, Camden, city of Chatham, township of Chatham, Dover, Dresden, Erie Beach, Erieau, Harwich, Highgate, Howard, Orford, Raleigh, Ridgetown, Rodney, Thamesville, Tilbury East, Tilbury, Wallaceburg, Wheatley and Zone. The Chatham-Kent

census division Census divisions, in Canada and the United States of America, United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-lev ...

, which includes the independent

Delaware Nation at Moraviantown Moravian 47 (Munsee: ''Náahii'', literally 'downstream', in contrast with Munsee-Delaware Nation, referred to as "Nalahii", meaning "upstream") is an Indian reserve located in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, with an area of . It is occupied by the Delawar ...

First Nation, had a population of 102,042 in the 2016 census.

History

The area of Chatham-Kent is part of the traditional territory of the

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

and

Wyandot Wyandot may refer to: Native American ethnography * Wyandot people, also known as the Huron * Wyandot language * Wyandot religion Places * Wyandot, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Wyandot County, Ohio * Camp Wyandot, a Camp Fire Boys and ...

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

of Canada. After the Treaty of Paris in 1763 ceded control of the area from the French to the British, it became part of the Territory of Quebec. The title to the Chatham-Kent area was surrendered to the British as part of the 1790 McKee's Purchase, (named for

Alexander McKee Alexander McKee ( – 15 January 1799) was an American-born military officer and colonial official in the British Indian Department during the French and Indian War, the American Revolutionary War, and the Northwest Indian War. He achieved the ...

) to provide land for settlers. McKee's Purchase was designated an Event of National Historic Significance in Canada in 1931. A historical plaque for the purchase is located in Blenheim Park in Blenheim. Indigenous persons remain resident in the area today at the Delaware Nation at Moraviantown and

Walpole Island First Nation Walpole Island is an island and First Nation reserve in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the border between Ontario and Michigan in the United States. It is located in the mouth of the St. Clair River on Lake St. Clair, about by road from Wind ...

. European settlement of the former city of Chatham area began with a naval dockyard in 1792, at the mouth of the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. The town was named after

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him Chatham or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish ...

. It was built as a naval dockyard, a characteristic shared by

Chatham, Kent Chatham ( ) is a town located within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. The town developed around Chatham ...

, England. In England, the name Chatham came from the British root ''ceto'' and the Old English ''ham'' thus meaning a forest settlement.The Place Names of Kent, Judith Glover, 1976, Batsford. Following the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

and the

Gnadenhutten massacre The Gnadenhutten massacre, also known as the Moravian massacre, was the killing of 96 pacifist Moravian Christian Indians (primarily Lenape and Mohican) by U.S. militiamen from Pennsylvania, under the command of David Williamson, on March 8, ...

, a group of

Christian Munsee The Christian Munsee are a group of Lenape (also known as ''Delaware''), an Indigenous people in the United States, that primarily speak Munsee and have converted to Christianity, following the teachings of Moravian missionaries. The Christian M ...

settled in what is now the Moraviantown reserve. In the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, the

Battle of the Thames The Battle of the Thames , also known as the Battle of Moraviantown, was an American victory in the War of 1812 against Tecumseh's Confederacy and their British allies. It took place on October 5, 1813, in Upper Canada, near Chatham. The British ...

took place between Moraviantown and

Thamesville Thamesville is a community in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the junction of former provincial Highways 2 and 21, between Chatham and London. Its name comes from the Thames River that flows nearby and the suffix -"ville". ...

on October 5, 1813.

Black population

During the 19th century, the area was the northern

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

of the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

. As a result, Chatham-Kent is now part of the African-Canadian Heritage Tour. Josiah Henson Museum for African-Canadian History, formally known as

Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site The Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History (french: Musée Josiah Henson l'histoire des Afro-Canadiens) is an open-air museum in Dresden, Ontario, Canada, that documents the life of Josiah Henson, the history of slavery, and the Undergrou ...

is a museum of the Dawn Settlement, established in 1841 by

Josiah Henson Josiah Henson (June 15, 1789 – May 5, 1883) was an author, abolitionist, and minister. Born into slavery, in Port Tobacco, Charles County, Maryland, he escaped to Upper Canada (now Ontario) in 1830, and founded a settlement and laborer's scho ...

near Dresden as refuge for the many slaves who escaped to Canada from the United States.

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

, the abolitionist, planned his raid on the Harpers Ferry Arsenal in Chatham and recruited local men to participate in the raid. He held in Chatham a

Convention of Colored Men Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law * Convention (meeting), meeting of a (usually large) group of individuals and/or companies in a ...

on May 8–10, 1858. The small village of

North Buxton North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, part of the African Canadian Heritage Tour, also played an important role in the

. By the 1850s, the city of Chatham was referred to as the "

black mecca A black mecca, in the United States, is a city to which African Americans, particularly singles, professionals, and middle-class families, are drawn to live, due to some or all of the following factors: * superior economic opportunities for blac ...

of Canada". A museum in the city, the Black Mecca Museum, still bears this name. Chatham was home to a number of

black churches The black church (sometimes termed Black Christianity or African American Christianity) is the faith and body of Christian congregations and denominations in the United States that minister predominantly to African Americans, as well as the ...

and business, with

Black Canadians Black Canadians (also known as Caribbean-Canadians or Afro-Canadians) are people of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin, though ...

making up one-third of the city's population and controlling a significant portion of the city's political power. Nearby

and

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

were also home to thousands of land-owning black residents. However, after the abolition of slavery in the United States, many black families left the area. Today the city of Chatham is just 3.3% black, with Chatham-Kent as a whole being 2.1% black. Few of the black-owned institutions are still in operation.

After slavery ended in the United States

In 1846, the town of Chatham had a population of about 1,500, with part of the town being called Chatham North. There were four churches, a theatre, a weekly newspaper and a cricket club. The road between London and Amherstburg was open, and transportation by stagecoach was available. A fast boat also provided transportation to Detroit and Buffalo. Chatham had many tradesman, a foundry, two banks, three schools, a tavern and a library where one could read books and newspapers. By 1869, the population was 3,000 in this industrial area with several mills, foundries, and breweries; a great deal of wood was being produced. A steamboat offered transportation to Windsor and Detroit. There was one bank office. Between 1906 and 1909, the city was home to the

Chatham Motor Car Company The Chatham Motor Car Company was a Canadian brass era automobile manufacturer, based in Chatham, Ontario, from 1906 to 1909. History The company was created in 1906. Investors included Joseph T. O'Keefe and Thomas A. Drew (partners in the O ...

,Rhodes, John. "Car company made 35 units", written June 17, 2008, at
''Chatham This Week'' online
(retrieved June 13, 2017) and from 1919 to 1921, Denby Motor Truck Company of Canada. It was also where the

Hyslop and Ronald Hyslop and Ronald was a Canadian brass era steam fire engine manufacturer, based in Chatham, Ontario. They established a factory in a two-story building on Adelaide Street, about halfway between McGregor Creek and King Street. The factory was ta ...

steam

fire engine A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an i ...

manufacturer was located; the factory would be taken over by Chatham Motor Car. In addition, it hosted

meat packer The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally no ...

O'Keefe and Drew O'Keefe and Drew was a meat packer and pork retailer based in Chatham, Ontario.Rhodes, John. "Chatham was home to luxury car manufacturer that took on city's name", written 18 October 2016, a''Chatham This Week'' online(retrieved 13 June 2017) H ...

. The

Hawaiian pizza Hawaiian pizza is a pizza originating in Canada, and is traditionally topped with pineapple, tomato sauce, cheese, and either ham or bacon. History Sam Panopoulos, a Greek-born Canadian, created the first Hawaiian pizza at the Satellite Res ...

is claimed to have been invented in Chatham in 1962 at the Satellite Restaurant by

Sam Panopoulos Sotirios "Sam" Panopoulos ( el, Σωτήριος Πανόπουλος; 20 August 1934 8 June 2017) was a Greek-born Canadian cook and businessman, credited as the inventor of Hawaiian pizza. Early life Sotirios Panopoulos was born in Vourvoura ...

. In the U.S., former

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Governor

Jim Rhodes James Allen Rhodes (September 13, 1909 – March 4, 2001) was an American Republican politician who served as Governor of Ohio from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1975 to 1983. , Rhodes was one of only seven U.S. governors to serve four four-year ...

proposed building a bridge across Lake Erie linking

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

to the southern coast of Kent County. Before 1998, Kent County consisted of the

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

of Camden,

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

, Orford,

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

, Romney, Tilbury East and

Zone Zone or The Zone may refer to: Places Climate and altitude zones * Death zone (originally the lethal zone), altitudes above a certain point where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span * Frigid zone, ...

. In some of Canada's earliest post-Confederation censuses, some residences in Kent County were incorrectly reported as being in Bothwell "County", which was a separate

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

comprising parts of Kent and Lambton counties but not a distinct county in its own right. In 1998, the

County of Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

and the city of Chatham were amalgamated by the Province of Ontario to form the Municipality of Chatham–Kent. Most services were also combined. Since then, bus service has begun to serve all of Chatham-Kent. Starting in 2007, routes were set up to include the former towns of

and

. Before 1998, each town had their own fire department. It then became the Chatham-Kent Fire Department upon amalgamation. The county also had separate police departments until 1998. The city of Chatham, as well as the towns of

, and

, each had their own departments. The Chatham-Kent Police Service was formed on September 1, 1998. Many residents opposed amalgamation, as 18 city councillors boycotted the official vote, and the final decision to amalgamate was imposed on the County by a provincial commissioner. In a study on amalgamations in Ontario from 2003, 48% of respondents in Chatham-Kent felt the value they received as taxpayers became worse after amalgamation, and 64% of respondents still did not think of the community as "the Municipality of Chatham-Kent." Chatham-Kent has many historic festivals throughout the year, such as the

Battle of Longwoods The Battle of Longwoods took place during the Anglo-American War of 1812. On 4 March 1814, a mounted American raiding party defeated an attempt by British regulars, volunteers from the Canadian militia and Native Americans to intercept them near ...

reenactment, which takes place on Labour Day weekend at Fairfield Museum on Longwoods Road. Chatham Kent is also home to many historic buildings which are part of an annual ghost tour offered each year at Halloween. The participants go on a guided walk of downtown while the guide informs them of various ghost stories tied to the local buildings in which they pass. Chatham-Kent was a major part of the

and as such hosts the

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

Homecoming each September. This celebrates the areas black culture and the roots laid by early black settlers in the Buxton area.

Communities

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent currently consists of the following communities, listed by the Townships of the former Kent County (pre-1998 amalgamation): * Camden Township: **

; Croton, Dawn Mills, North Thamesville; Wabash; Oakdale * Chatham Township: ** Chatham,

; Appledore, Arkwood, Darrell, Eberts, Kent Bridge, Louisville, Oldfield, Thornecliffe, Tupperville, Turnerville, Whitebread; Ennett, Riverside * Dover Township: ** Mitchell's Bay, Pain Court; Bagnall, Baldoon, Bearline, Bradley, Dover Centre, Electric, Grande Pointe, Oungah; Bass Haven * Harwich Township: ** Blenheim, Erieau,

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

; Bates Subdivision, Eatonville, Erie Beach, Fargo Station, Guilds, Huffman Corners, Kent Centre, Lake Morningstar Estates, McKay's Corners, Mull, New Scotland, Northwood, Pinehurst, Raglan, Rondeau Bay Estates, Troy, Van Horne, Vosburg, Wilson's Bush; Blenheim Junction, Lynnwood Subdivision, Porkies Corners, Richardson Station, Rushton's Corners * Howard Township: **

Morpeth Morpeth may refer to: *Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia ** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales * Morpeth, Ontario, Canada * Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK ** Morpeth (UK ...

; Beechwood, Botany, Selton; Slabtown, Trinity * Orford Township: **

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...

; Clearville, Duart, Muirkirk, Palmyra, Turin; Austen's, Clachan, Henderson's, Lee's * Raleigh Township: **

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

; Dealtown, Doyles,

, Ouvry, Pardoville, Prairie Siding, Rhodes, Ringold, Sleepy Hollow, South Buxton; Sandison, Southside Estates; Cedar Springs * Romney Township: **

; Coatsworth, Port Alma, Renwick; Holiday Harbour * Tilbury East Township: **

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

; Fletcher, Glenwood, Jeannette, Jeannette's Creek, Port Crewe, Quinn, Stevenson, Stewart, Valetta * Zone Township: **

Bothwell Bothwell is a conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, east-south-east of Glasgow city centre. Description and history An ancie ...

; Bothwell Station, Briarwood Estates; Fairfield, Zone Centre

Geography

At , Chatham-Kent is the 12th largest municipality by area in Canada and the largest in southwestern Ontario. Over 44,000 of the 107,000 residents live in the former City of Chatham. Other population centres in the municipality include

, Blenheim and

and

. The Lower

runs through Chatham–Kent to

Lake St. Clair Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day ...

in the west, while the

Sydenham River The Sydenham River is a river in Chatham-Kent, Lambton County and Middlesex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, flowing southwest from its source west of London, Ontario and emptying into Lake Saint Clair. The length of the river is and it ...

flows through Wallaceburg and Dresden. The municipality has approximately 88 kilometres of shoreline along lake

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

and 24 kilometres along lake St. Clair. The

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." Ind ...

of Bkejwanong (commonly referred to as Walpole Island) borders on Chatham–Kent, whereas the Indian reserve of Moravian 47 is an enclave within the city and is part of the Chatham–Kent census agglomeration and census division.

Climate

Chatham-Kent 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 freezing ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Dfa''), with cold, snowy winters and warm to hot, humid summers. A typical summer will feature heat waves with temperatures exceeding often. Winters are cold, and feature occasional cold snaps bringing temperatures below , but also commonly include mild stretches of weather above freezing.

Adjacent counties and municipalities

Lambton County Lambton County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the north by Lake Huron, which is drained by the St. Clair River, the county's western border and part of the Canada-United States border. To the south is Lake Saint Cla ...

(north and northwest) * Middlesex County (northeast) *

Elgin County Elgin County is a county of the Canadian province of Ontario with a 2016 population of 50,069. Its population centres are St. Thomas, Aylmer, Port Stanley, Belmont, Dutton and West Lorne. The county seat is St. Thomas, which is separated from t ...

(northeast and east) * Across

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") 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 therefore also has t ...

: the City of

and Cuyahoga, Lorain and

Counties,

, US (south) * Essex County (southwest and west) * Across

: Macomb and St. Clair Counties,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, US (west)

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the 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%, which is sli ...

conducted by

, Chatham-Kent 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.

Racial statistics

*White: 92% *Black: 2.1% *First Nations: 2% *Metis: 1.5% *South Asian: 0.6% *Other groups: 1.8%

Ethnocultural statistics

''For all groups that comprise at least 1% of the population. Note that a person can report more than one ethnic origin.'' *"Canadian": 34.7% *English: 32.9% *French: 21.9% *Scottish: 20.2% *Irish: 19.1% *German: 12.2% *Dutch: 11.1% *Belgian: 5.9% *First Nations: 3.1% *Italian: 2.1% *African descent: 2.1% *Polish: 2.1% *Ukrainian: 2.0% *Welsh: 1.5% *Czech: 1.4% *Metis: 1.2% *American (modern immigrant): 1.2% *Hungarian: 1.2% *Portuguese: 1.2% *Mexican: 1.0%

Language

Although most of the population of Chatham-Kent is English-speaking, a few of its communities and Catholic parishes were settled by francophone (French-speaking) farmers in the mid-nineteenth century. These include Pain Court, Tilbury and Grande Pointe, where French is still spoken by a significant percentage of the population. These communities are designated French language service areas under Ontario's

French Language Services Act The ''French Language Services Act'' (french: Loi sur les services en français) (the ''Act'') is a law in the province of Ontario, Canada which is intended to protect the rights of Franco-Ontarians, or French-speaking people, in the province. ...

. Approximately 8,500 residents of Chatham-Kent have French as a mother tongue and 1,500 have French as their home language. Essex County also has a relatively large francophone population, especially in the municipality of Lakeshore. Together, Chatham–Kent and Essex Counties make up one of the concentrations of

Franco-Ontarian Franco-Ontarians (french: Franco-Ontariens or if female, sometimes known as ''Ontarois'' and ''Ontaroises'') are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2016, the Government of On ...

s in the province of Ontario. Both elementary and secondary francophone schools exist across the municipality. A French cultural organization, ''La Girouette'', which is based in Pain Court, promotes French-Canadian culture and language in the area. Knowledge of official language statistics:Community Profiles from the 2006 Census, Statistics Canada – Census Division
*English only: 92.2% *French only: <0.1% *English and French: 7.2% *Neither English nor French: 0.5%

Economy and industry

Chatham–Kent's economy has a base in the agricultural and automotive sectors. The municipality and senior levels of government are keen to promote continuing diversification. The CP railway splits Chatham city in two, and the unstaffed

Chatham railway station Chatham railway station may refer to *Chatham railway station (Kent), England *Chatham railway station, Melbourne, Australia *Chatham railway station (Ontario), Canada *Chatham station (Massachusetts), United States *Chatham station (NJ Transit), N ...

attends to

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

passengers.

Agribusiness and chemical

At the outskirts of Chatham is the headquarters for Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited (a division of

DuPont DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...

), a major agricultural seed breeding and biotechnology company. GreenField Specialty Alcohols Inc.'s Commercial Alcohols division, Canada's largest

ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...

plant and one of the world's largest, opened in Chatham in 1996. The plant produces ethanol for industrial, medical, and beverage uses. There are a number of

vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

in the municipality.

Automotive

Chatham's roots in the automotive sector go back to Gray-Dort Motors Ltd., one of Canada's earliest automobile manufacturers. In the 21st century, auto industry plants in the municipality include

Autoliv Autoliv Inc. is a Swedish-American automotive safety supplier with sales to all leading car manufacturers worldwide. Together with its joint ventures, Autoliv has over 68,000 employees in 27 countries, of whom 5700 are involved in research, dev ...

Canada in Tilbury (airbags), Mahle in Tilbury (emissions controls and plastics), in Ridgetown (automotive electronic pedal assembly and sensors), Dana Canada in Chatham (heat shields for thermal and acoustic management of exhaust manifolds, catalytic converters, and turbochargers), and Continental Corporation (Powertrain Canada ULC) in Chatham (design, development, and testing of Actuators for clean, efficient vehicles). Chatham-Kent also is home to RM Auctions, a vintage automobile auction house, and RM Restorations, a vintage automobile restoration company. The nickname "The Classic Car Capital of Canada"comes from the abundance of classic car events in the community.

Energy

Chatham is home to a major corporate office of Enbridge Gas Inc., a natural gas utility and

Enbridge Enbridge Inc. is a multinational pipeline and energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Enbridge owns and operates pipelines throughout Canada and the United States, transporting crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. ...

company. Other energy related companies include

wind farms Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...

near the shores of

Public sector

The Canadian Federal government is one of the largest employers in the Chatham-Kent area with over 450 employees in several departments in the area. The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Disability Unit is housed in the Judy Lamarsh (see Notable Residents) Building in downtown Chatham. This federal office is the single largest disability processing centre in Canada, processing 50% of all CPP Disability benefits. The office also processes Old Age Security benefit claims.

Retail hub

Chatham serves as a retail centre for the municipality and surrounding area. This includes the large

big-box stores A big-box store (also hyperstore, supercenter, superstore, or megastore) is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The te ...

in Super Centre on St. Clair Street and arguably the north end of Communication Road in Blenheim.

Attractions

The long, white sandy beaches, fishing, hiking trails and conservation areas make Erieau a popular vacation spot. There are two

Provincial Parks file:Ischigualasto national park.jpg, Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countr ...

in Chatham-Kent:

Rondeau Provincial Park Rondeau Provincial Park is the second oldest provincial park in Ontario, Canada, having been established with an order in council on 8 September 1894. The park is located in Southwestern Ontario, on an 8 km long crescentic sand spit extend ...

and

Wheatley Provincial Park Wheatley Provincial Park is a protected area in the municipality of Chatham–Kent in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Erie near the community of Wheatley and occupies an area of . Visitors to nearby Point Pelee National Park o ...

, There are also numerous local conservation areas. Downtown Chatham is home to the annual "Retrofest" organized by the Historic Downtown Chatham BIA, in partnership with the Kent Historic Auto Club. Hundreds of classic car enthusiasts travel to downtown Chatham to showcase their classic cars and vintage vehicles. Downtown Chatham is also home to the Chatham Capitol Theatre, a theatre that, when it opened in 1930, was the largest in the region. The theatre is run by the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and hosts world class shows and entertainers. Chatham was home to the iconic Wheels Inn, a family resort for four decades until its closure in 2010. In 2011, the Chatham-Kent John D. Bradley Convention Centre was constructed on the site of the Wheels Inn. In July 2019, a new Cascades casino was opened in Chatham, close to the Convention Centre on Richmond Street.

Arts and culture

Chatham-Kent boasts a rich visual culture throughout the entirety of the municipality. Both the Thames Art Gallery and ARTspace, located in the historic downtown, feature exhibitions showcasing local artists from the Chatham-Kent area, while also housing other Canadian and international works.

Health care

Chatham-Kent is served by the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance. The Public General Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital in Chatham were moved to a single campus in 2004, while the former Sydenham District Hospital remains in Wallaceburg. The eastern portion of the municipality is served by the Four Counties Health Services in Newbury in nearby Middlesex County. Research published in 2002 by the

Heart and Stroke Foundation The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is a Canadian charity dedicated to advocacy, education, and the funding of research surrounding heart disease and stroke. Nomenclature In November 2016, the organization re-branded as ''Heart & Stro ...

cited Chatham-Kent as a hotspot for

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

in Ontario. Further research is underway to determine the reasons for this and other hotspots. The Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit launched a campaign in fall 2007 to tackle other ailments prevalent throughout the community, including

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

, chronic allergies, sinus problems, many types of cancer,

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

inflammatory bowel disease Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammation, inflammatory conditions of the colon (anatomy), colon and small intestine, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis being the principal types. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine a ...

, alcoholism, and obesity. In October 2008, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was featured in ''Maclean's'' newsmagazine. Chatham-Kent features one of the 14 provincial Local Health Integration Networks (LHIN). The Erie St. Clair (ESC) LHIN services the Chatham-Kent Community as well as Sarnia/Lambton and Windsor/Essex. The ESC LHIN is located in the town of Chatham.

Media

Television stations

Chatham-Kent is also served by stations coming from Windsor, London, Template:Detroit TV, Detroit, Template:Toledo TV, Toledo, and Template:Cleveland TV, Cleveland.

Radio broadcast stations

Print media

The ''Chatham Daily News'' is the only daily newspaper in Chatham-Kent. There are several weeklies located in Chatham and the various communities in the municipality, including the ''Chatham Voice, Wallaceburg Courier Press'', the ''Blenheim News Tribune'', ''Chatham-Kent This Week'', ''Ridgetown Independent News'', ''Tilbury Times'', and the ''Wheatley Journal''. The ''Chatham Daily News'', ''Chatham-Kent This Week'', and ''Wallaceburg Courier Press'' are all owned by Postmedia.

Online media

''The Chatham Daily News'', ''Chatham-Kent This Week'', ''Wallaceburg Courier Press'', ''Chatham Voice'' and ''CKReview'' are daily online news media in Chatham-Kent with coverage of local news, sports, entertainment, and cultural events as well as a number of regular contributing columnists. The ''Chatham-Kent Sports Network'' is an online source covering local sports news, scores, and highlights from each of Chatham-Kent's communities. CKSN also follows Chatham-Kent athletes who have progressed to the Junior, College, International, or Professional ranks.

Education

Elementary and secondary

There are two anglophone school boards and one francophone school board in Chatham–Kent. These are the Lambton Kent District School Board (headquartered in both Chatham and Sarnia), the St. Clair Catholic District School Board (headquartered in Wallaceburg) and the ''Conseil scolaire catholique Providence'' (CSC Providence). The LKDSB is a public school board, and consists of 13 secondary and 53 elementary schools. Chatham-Kent Secondary School is the largest public high school in Lambton-Kent. The St. Clair Catholic board consists of two secondary schools (one in Chatham and one in Sarnia) and 26 elementary schools. There are also independent schools, such as Wallaceburg Christian School and Chatham Christian Schools—an elementary and secondary school in the same building. The French Catholic board, headquartered in Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, has its Chatham-Kent regional office in Pain Court.

Post-secondary

Chatham–Kent is the home of two colleges – St. Clair College and University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus, popularly known as Ridgetown College. St. Clair College is a satellite of St. Clair College of Windsor. There are two campuses located in the municipality – Thames Campus (located in Chatham) and the Wallaceburg Campus (located in Wallaceburg). More than 5,000 full-time and 12,000 part-time students attend the college each year. The Ridgetown Campus of the University of Guelph offers diplomas in agriculture, horticulture, and veterinary technology. It is part of the University of Guelph's Ontario Agricultural College, and formerly known as Ridgetown College of Agricultural Technology.

Sports

Hockey

The Chatham Maroons are a team in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. There are also four teams in the Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League * Blenheim Blades * Dresden Jr. Kings * Wheatley Sharks * Wallaceburg Lakers Other teams in Chatham-Kent include the Chatham Outlaws Girls Hockey Association, the Chatham AAA Cyclones and the AA Kent Cobras.

Canadian football

The Chatham-Kent Cougars Football Club started in 2006. In 2006 Chatham-Kent entered a team into the inaugural season of the Allstar Peewee Football League, and in 2007 entered a team into the Jr. Ontario Varsity Football League. Now Chatham-Kent plays in the OFC with 4 spring/summer teams.

Rugby Union football

Founded in 2001, the Chatham-Kent Havoc rugby team plays in the Southwest Rugby Union.

Transportation

Road

Chatham-Kent is situated just off Highway 401 (Ontario), Highway 401, connecting Montreal, Toronto, Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, London, Ontario, London, and Windsor, Ontario; and Detroit, Michigan via the Ambassador Bridge. Blenheim, Chatham and Wallaceburg are linked with Sarnia, Ontario and the Blue Water Bridge to the United States by Ontario Highway 40, Highway 40. The sections of Ontario Highway 2, Highway 2 and Ontario Highway 3, Highway 3 (the Talbot Trail) in Chatham–Kent were downloaded by the province in 1998, becoming local roads 2 and 3, but they remain significant through routes and are still locally known by their old names. The first gas station in Canada to sell E85 fuel to the public is located on Park Avenue East in Chatham.

Rail

Chatham railway station (Ontario), Chatham station is served by

passenger services between Toronto and Windsor, part of the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor with four trips in each direction daily, and the community is served by both the Canadian National Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway for freight transportation.

Bus

Within Chatham public bus services are provided by CK Transit. Chatham-Kent has an intercity bus service, also provided by CK Transit, between all communities in the municipality except Wheatley.

Air

There is a Chatham-Kent Airport, municipal airport located 14 km south east of Chatham featuring a 1500m paved, lighted runway, with refuelling facilities, tie-down services, pilot training and chartered flights. The nearest airports served by regional carriers are Windsor, Ontario, Windsor and London, Ontario, London.

Notable people

* Sally Ainse – Oneida people, Oneida diplomat and fur trader * Chris Allen (ice hockey), Chris Allen – former NHL player with the Florida Panthers * Doug Anakin – won a gold medal at the 1964 Winter Olympics, 1964 Olympics in the bobsled * Bill Atkinson (baseball), Bill Atkinson – former Major League Baseball relief pitcher * Courtney Babcock-Key, Courtney Babcock – Olympic distance runner * Shae-Lynn Bourne – championship Figure skating, figure skater * T. J. Brodie – NHL hockey player with the Toronto Maple Leafs * Ernest Burgess – 24th President of the American Sociological Association, author and Urban sociology, urban sociologist who is known for his groundbreaking Social ecology (theory), social ecology research * June Callwood – prominent magazine writer in the 1950s who became an Officer in the Order of Canada in 1986 * Joseph Caron – former High Commissioner to India and former Canadian ambassador to China and Japan * Bridget Carleton - WNBA Player for the Minnesota Lynx * Chandra K. Clarke – entrepreneur, published author, and humour columnist * James J. Couzens, James Couzens – U.S. Senator, Mayor of Detroit, industrialist, philanthropist, and vice president and general manager of the Ford Motor Company * Robertson Davies – novelist, playwright * Kenne Duncan – western/action movie actor * Andy Fantuz – former Canadian Interuniversity Sport, CIS offensive MVP, former slotback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League, CFL * Wally Floody – the "Tunnel King" from ''Stalag Luft III escape, The Great Escape'' * Dave Gagner – retired NHL hockey player; brother-in-law of Diane Gagner; former Chatham–Kent mayor * W. B. George (1899–1972), president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and agriculturalist at Kemptville College, Kemptville Agricultural School, was born in Highgate * Ashley Goure – Paralympic sledge hockey player * Lee Giffin – professional ice hockey player * Frank Gross, philanthropist; awarded the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship in 2006 * Ken Houston (ice hockey), Ken Houston (born September 15, 1953) – former NHL player * Tracey Hoyt – actress, Aurora Farqueson on the CBC Television series ''The Tournament (TV series), The Tournament'' * Jeff Jackson (ice hockey, born 1965), Jeff Jackson – NHL hockey player * Ferguson Jenkins – Baseball Hall of Famer * Anna H. Jones – teacher, speaker at the First Pan-African Conference in 1900 * Ryan Jones (ice hockey), Ryan Jones – former finalist of 2008 Hobey Baker Award and former member of the Edmonton Oilers; currently playing in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, DEL for the Cologne Sharks * Judy LaMarsh – former Canadian Minister of Health (Canada), Minister of Health * Archibald Lampman – one of Canada's finest 19th-century Romantic poets, born Morpeth, Kent County, 1861 *Bobbi Lancaster, a medical doctor and trans woman noted for playing in the LPGA Qualifying Tournament in 2013Boivin, P. (2013)
Transgender golfer dreams of playing in LPGA
/ref> * Lori Lansens – author of ''Rush Home Road'' and ''The Girls (2005 novel), The Girls'' * Chad Laprise – UFC fighter * John B. Lee – author, poet and current Poet Laureate of Brantford, Ontario * Doug Melvin – general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers * Harry Miner, Harry Garnet Bedford Miner – Victoria Cross winner during World War I, born in Cedar Springs * Dave Nichol – award-winning product marketing expert and former president of Loblaw Companies, Loblaw's * Geoffrey O'Hara – early 20th-century composer, singer and music professor who was the writer of such popular songs as the 1918 hit "K-K-K-Katy" *

– inventor of the

* Ron Pardo – comic-impressionist; actor for ''History Bites'' and voice actor on animated shows like ''PAW Patrol and ''World of Quest''; from Pardoville * Ray Robertson – novelist * The Next Star, Brooklyn Roebuck – 2012 ''The Next Star''; under licence with Sony Music Canada * Doug Shedden – professional ice hockey coach and former player * Glen Skov – National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey, hockey player * Ron Sparks (comedian), Ron Sparks – award-winning comedian, actor, writer and producer (''Video on Trial'') * Joseph Storey – architect, designer of many local landmarks in the 1950s and 1960s * Shaun Suisham – Pittsburgh Steelers kicker (formerly with Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins) * Sylvia Tyson – singer-songwriter, broadcaster, and guitarist who found early fame with her then-husband Ian Tyson in their folk duo Ian and Sylvia * Todd Warriner – former NHL hockey player picked 4th overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques * Derek Whitson – Paralympic sledge hockey player * Brian Wiseman – 1999 International Hockey League (1945–2001), IHL MVP Houston Aeros (1994–2013), Houston Aeros * Michelle Wright – country music singer

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Chatham-Kent, 1998 establishments in Ontario Populated places on the Underground Railroad Single-tier municipalities in Ontario Southwestern Ontario Populated places on Lake Erie in Canada