Brantford, Ontario facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids City of Brantford
Independent city

Nickname(s): The Telephone City
Brantford, Ontario Location in Ontario
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Established	May 31, 1877
Area
• Land	72.47 km² (27.98 sq mi)
• Metro	1,073.11 km² (414.33 sq mi)
Elevation	248 m (814 ft)
Population (2011)
• Independent city	93,650 (54th)
• Density	1,292.3/km² (3,347/sq mi)
• Metro	135,501 (30th)
• Metro density	126.3/km² (327/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code span	N3P, N3R, N3S, N3T, N3V
Area code(s)	519/226
Website	www.brantford.ca

Brantford is a city in Ontario, Canada. There were 93,650 people in Brantford the last time the Government of Canada did a census count, in 2011.

Brantford is near Hamilton.

Brantford is sometimes called The Telephone City, because the inventor of the telephone lived in Brantford. Hockey player Wayne Gretzky was born in Brantford.

History

Brantford was settled by United Empire Loyalists led by Joseph Brant of the Iroquois in 1784. It became a city in 1877.

Business

From 1900 until 1950, Brantford had many companies that made equipment and machinery. Those items were sold in Canada and many other countries. Having the river and a railroad for transportation made it easier to ship the items made in Brantford. That helped Brantford change from a farming town to an industrial city.

By the 1980s and 1990s, business in Brantford was dropping and some companies like White Farm Equipment, Massey-Ferguson, Koering-Waterous, Harding Carpets, and others stopped making products. Many people lost their factory jobs.

A new piece of highway (Highway 403) was built in 1997. The new highway made it easier to drive Hamilton and Toronto, and also to Detroit and Buffalo. So, in 2004, Procter & Gamble and Ferrero SpA moved to Brantford. Now other companies set up in Brantford because it is a good location for shipping products to eastern North America.

Education

40% of people in Brantford did not finish high-school. In the rest of the province of Ontario, this number is 33%.

People in Brantford earn 9% less than people in the rest of Canada.

Universities and colleges

Wilfrid Laurier University has a campus and offers programs in Brantford.
Nipissing University offers a program with Laurier Brantford
Conestoga College offers a Bachelor of Education program with Laurier Brantford.

Politics

The city council was elected on October 27, 2014, and is led by Mayor Chris Friel. The city council, in addition to Friel, includes Larry Kings and Rick Weaver (Ward 1), John Sless and John Utley (Ward 2), Greg Martin and Dan McCreary (Ward 3), Cheryl Antoski and Richard Carpenter (Ward 4), and David Neumann and Brian Van Tilborg (Ward 5). There are municipal elections every four years across the province of Ontario. The next election will be in October 2018.

Newspapers, radio and television (TV)

The Brantford Expositor, which began in 1852, is printed six times a week (everyday except Sunday). The Brant News is published weekly in Brantford.

AM 1380 - CKPC (AM), oldies
FM 92.1 - CKPC-FM, adult contemporary
FM 93.9 - CFWC-FM, religious

Brantford has its own television service: Rogers TV (cable 20), a local community channel on Rogers Cable. Other television stations come fromToronto, Hamilton and Kitchener.

Filming in Brantford

Brantford has been used to film parts of the Murdoch Mysteries television series because it has lots of old architecture that fits with the years that the stories take place.

Movies like Welcome to Mooseport and Where the Truth Lies were partly made in Brantford. Part of Due South, "Dr. Long Ball", was made at Arnold Anderson Stadium in a park in Brantford. Also, Weirdsville, was made in Brantford in 2006. "Silent Hill" was made in the downtown in 2005.

Airports, trains, buses and roads

Airports

Brantford Municipal Airport is in the west end of the city. It has an air show and sometimes the Snowbirds perform. The John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Hamilton is about 35 km east of Brantford. Toronto Pearson International Airport is in Mississauga, about 100 km north and east of Brantford.

Trains

The train station is located just north of downtown Brantford. VIA Rail has trains for people every day. Trains travel between Windsor, Ontario and Union Station in Toronto, Ontario.

Buses

Brantford Transit has nine bus routes that go every half-hour from the middle of the city on Darling Street. There are other buses for school times.

Greyhound Canada has buses that go to Toronto, Hamilton, London, Windsor, and other cities.

Main roads

Highway 403, East Hamilton, West Woodstock.
Highway 24, North Cambridge, South Simcoe.

Things to see and do

There are lots of parks and trails in Brantford
- Brantford's parks are known for their beautiful gardens
- Trails from the Hamilton, Simcoe and Cambridge areas all join up in Brantford so it is called the "Hub of Ontario Trails"
- Brantford has almost 70 kilometres of trails that can be used for walking or biking
Harmony Square has lots of events all year 'round
- Outdoor skating in the winter with family movies at the nearby Brantford Public Library
- Festivals and shows
- Summertime splash pad
- Movies and music on summer evenings
- Outdoor exercise sessions with yoga and Zumba
Brantford Public Library has more than books - it has programs for all ages
- Membership is free for all Brantford residents
- Free music downloads for members
- Free reading and craft programs for kids
- Computers to use at the library
- A 3D printer
Brantford has a Casino Brantford OLG Casino
The Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts has live shows that include music, comedy and plays.
There are many clubs and bars that have live bands and DJs

Brantford's Canada Day Festival

Brantford has a big Canada Day Festival on July 1. It has family events and Canadian music. More than 35,000 people come to the Festival.

In the past, these people have sung:

2005 – Jeff Healy

2005 – Lighthouse

2007 – The Trews

2008 – Theory of a Deadman

Sports teams

Local teams

Brantford Red Sox
Brantford Jr. Braves
Brantford Posse (minor lacrosse teams)
Brantford Intercity Soccer (Bics)
Brantford Saints (hockey team)
Brantford 99er's (hockey teams)
Brantford Ice Cats (girls hockey team)
Brantford Bisons (football team)
Brantford Red Sox (baseball team)
Brantford City Soccer Club
Brantford Briers (basketball team)
Brantford CYO (basketball team)
Brantford Aquatic Club

Bigger teams

Brantford Red Sox of the Intercounty Baseball League who play at Arnold Anderson Stadium
Brantford Braves of the Junior Intercounty Baseball League who also play at Arnold Anderson Stadium
Brantford Blast of the Major League Hockey who play at the Brantford Civic Centre
Brantford Golden Eagles of the Ontario Hockey Association who play at the Brantford Civic Centre
Brantford Harlequins of the Ontario Rugby Union

Teams that don't play anymore

Brantford Alexanders (1978 to 1984), used to play in the Ontario Hockey League at the Brantford Civic Centre. They moved and became the Erie Otters.
Brantford Smoke (1991-1998) of the CoHL, Colonial Hockey League who played at the Brantford Civic Centre. The team moved to Asheville until 2002.
Brantford Blaze of the Canadian National Basketball League.

Tournaments

The Walter Gretzky House League Tournament is a tournament that is held every year
Swim International is held every year in November

Other

Brantford won the 2008 Allan Cup.
The Brantford Golf & Country Club was started in 1879. It is the fourth oldest golf club in North America. It is 29th on Score Golf's "Top 100 Golf Courses in Canada" 2006 list.
Brantford has two municipal golf courses, Arrowdale Municipal Golf Course and Northridge Municipal Golf Course and Learning Centre

People

Main page: List of people from Brantford

Service clubs

Kinsmen Club of Brantford
Kiwanis Club of Brantford
Kiwanis Club of Grand River
Rotary Club of Brantford
Rotary Club of Brantford Sunrise
Brantford Lions Club
North Brantford Lions Club

Religion

Brantford has many churches and religious temples. It is thought that there are over 35 churches in Brantford, including Anglican, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Salvation Army, Presbyterian, United, Christadelphian, and Mormon. There are two mosques - a Sunni mosque and a Sufi mosque. There is also one Sikh temple.

Twin city

Brantford is twinned with:

Ostrów Wielkopolski in Poland

Brant (electoral district)
Brantford City Council
List of mayors of Brantford, Ontario
Service Clubs

Images for kids

Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant, Mohawk military and political leader
The Bell Memorial, commemorating the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell. The monument, paid by public subscription and sculpted by W.S. Allward, was dedicated by the Governor General of Canada, Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire with Dr. Bell in The Telephone City's Alexander Graham Bell Gardens in 1917. Included on the main tableau are figures representing "Man, the Inventor," "Inspiration whispering to Man, his power to transmit sound through space," as well as "Knowledge, Joy, Sorrow." Courtesy: Brantford Heritage Inventory
Brantford campus of Nipissing University
The Armoury
The main entrance to the Brantford Public Library