Elliot Lake, Ontario

Elliot Lake is a city in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is north of Lake Huron, midway between the cities of Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie in the Northern Ontario region. Once dubbed the "uranium capital of the world," Elliot Lake has since diversified to a hub for advanced manufacturing, forest harvesting, mine reclamation 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 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 for the mining industry in 1955 after the discovery of uranium 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 Reactors and Ontario Hydro'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. 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 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.

Geography and environment

Situated on the Canadian Shield, 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, white-tailed deer, American black bear, beaver, loon, muskrat, otter, Canada goose, and lynx, to name but a few. Fish species include lake trout, speckled trout, rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, pickerel (walleye), and sturgeon.

Since December 1990 the town has been home to the Elliot Lake Research Field Station, established by Laurentian University to investigate environmental radioactivity.

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 (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, 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