Peterborough, Ontario facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Peterborough
City (single-tier)
City of Peterborough
Peterborough City Hall
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s):  "The Electric City"
Motto(s):  Dat natura, elaborant artes (Nature Provides, Industry Develops)
Peterborough Location in Southern Ontario
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
County	Peterborough
Established	1819: Scott's Plains
Incorporated as town	1850: Peterborough
Incorporated as city	July 1, 1905
Government
• Body	Peterborough City Council
Area
• Land	64.76 km2 (25.00 sq mi)
• Water	12.67 km2 (4.89 sq mi)
• Urban	54.58 km2 (21.07 sq mi)
• Metro	1,508.44 km2 (582.41 sq mi)
Elevation	195 m (640 ft)
Population  (2021)
• City (single-tier)	83,651 (72nd)
• Density	1,291.8/km2 (3,346/sq mi)
• Urban	84,793
• Urban density	1,553.7/km2 (4,024/sq mi)
• Metro	128,624 (32nd)
• Metro density	85.3/km2 (221/sq mi)
Gross Metropolitan Product
• Peterborough CMA	CA$4.9 billion (2020)
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
Postal code span	K9H, K9J, K9K, K9L
Area code(s)	705, 249, 683
Highways	Highway 7 / TCH  Highway 115
Pop. Change (2001–2006): 4.8% Dwellings: 33,042¹ ¹ According to the Canada 2006 Census

Peterborough (/ˈpiːtərbʌroʊ/ PEE-tər-BURR-oh) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Otonabee River, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. In 2021, the city had a population of 83,651 people. If you include the nearby townships, the total population was 128,624. This makes Peterborough the 32nd largest metropolitan area in Canada. The current mayor of Peterborough is Jeff Leal.

Peterborough is often called the "gateway to the Kawarthas". This is a popular area for cottages and outdoor fun. The city is named after Peter Robinson. He was an early Canadian politician who helped many people move to the area. Peterborough is also the main city for Peterborough County.

Long ago, Peterborough was known as "The Electric City". This is because it was the first town in Canada to have electric streetlights. This nickname also shows how important technology and factories have been to the city's economy. Big companies like Siemens and General Electric used to have operations here. Even Quaker Oats, which is now part of PepsiCo, moved to the city because of the cheap electricity. It is still a big part of the downtown area. However, over the years, many large factories have closed. General Electric, for example, closed its last factory in 2018. Now, more jobs are in service industries, and tourism is very important to the area.

History of Peterborough

In 1615, Samuel de Champlain traveled through this area. He came from Lake Chemong and carried his canoe over land to the Otonabee River. He stayed for a short time near where Bridgenorth is today, just north of Peterborough.

Early Settlements in the 1800s

In 1818, a man named Adam Scott settled on the west side of the Otonabee River. The next year, he started building a sawmill and a gristmill. This area became known as Scott's Plains. The mill used water from Jackson Creek to power its machines. This spot is near where Peterborough's Millennium Park is now. The local Ojibway people called this place "Nogojiwanong," which means "the place at the end of the rapids."

In 1825, many Irish immigrants arrived in Scott's Plains. They came from the city of Cork in Ireland. The British Parliament had approved a plan to help poor Irish Catholic families move to Upper Canada.

Peter Robinson, a politician and businessman, led this plan in 1825. Scott's Plains was renamed Peterborough in his honor. Robinson chose families who were Catholic, poor, and knew how to farm. They had to be healthy, and the men had to be under 45 years old. Most of these Irish families came from Fermoy, North Cork.

Thomas Poole, a writer from the 1800s, wrote that 2,024 passengers boarded nine ships in June 1825. They sailed from Cork across the Atlantic Ocean to Quebec City. The journey took 30 days. On the ship, they had bunks and food. After landing in Quebec City, they traveled further to Lachine. Then they went west to Kingston and Cobourg. They camped in tents in Cobourg for several weeks. Peter Robinson then led them to their new home in Peterborough. The long journey was hard, and many got sick, but they kept going.

In 1845, Sandford Fleming moved to Peterborough. He was the inventor of Standard Time and designed Canada's first postage stamp. He lived there until 1847.

By 1846, Peterborough was growing. It had about 2,000 people. There was a stone jail, a courthouse, seven churches, and government offices. There were also two newspapers and a post office. Industries included mills, a brewery, and foundries. Peterborough became an official town in 1850, with a population of 2,191.

In the late 1850s, a big industry for building canoes started in Peterborough. The Peterborough Canoe Company was founded in 1893. By 1930, a quarter of all boat-building workers in Canada were in the Peterborough area.

Peterborough also saw a lot of industrial growth. It was one of the first places in Canada to generate hydro-electric power. This happened even before the big power plants at Niagara Falls. Companies like Edison General Electric Company (later Canadian General Electric) and America Cereal Company (later Quaker Oats) opened here. They used the new, cheap electricity.

The 1900s and Beyond

Big events in Peterborough in the 1900s started in 1904. On July 9, the Peterborough Lift Lock was finished. It had been approved eight years earlier. Many places in Peterborough are named after Richard Birdsall Rogers. He was the person who first thought of the Lift Lock.

On July 1, 1905, Peterborough officially became a city. It had about 14,300 people then. The city's flag and coat of arms were chosen later, in 1951.

In the 1970s, the Government of Ontario helped build Peterborough Square. This mall had an Eaton's store until the company closed in the late 1990s. Now, it has offices, stores, and a food court. In 2008, the Peterborough Regional Health Centre opened.

Geography and Climate

Peterborough is in Central Ontario, in the Kawartha Lakes area. It sits in a low-lying area called the St. Lawrence Lowlands. This is just south of the Canadian Shield. The city is built around rapids in the Otonabee River. This river flows from Katchewanooka Lake to Rice Lake. The city surrounds Little Lake, and the Trent Canal runs along the city's eastern edge.

Land Features

Peterborough's land was shaped by glaciers that melted 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. The south end and downtown areas were once the bottom of a glacial lake. This area is quite flat and low, which means it can flood. A big flood happened on July 15, 2004. The land rises to the west, north, and east. This higher area is called the Peterborough Drumlin field. A drumlin is a long, oval hill made of glacial material. Tower Hill is the highest point, at 286 meters above sea level. Armour Hill, another drumlin, is where the Trent-Severn Waterway goes up using the Peterborough Lift Lock.

Weather Patterns

Peterborough has a humid continental climate. This means it has four clear seasons. It's in a middle zone between milder southern areas and colder northern areas. Peterborough's climate can change a lot, even within the city. This is because of the Oak Ridges Moraine and different land heights.

The hottest temperature ever recorded in Peterborough was 38.9°C on July 11, 1936. The coldest was -39.4°C on December 21, 1871.

Major Weather Events

In 2004, Peterborough had a big flood. On July 15, a huge amount of rain fell. The city had to send 12,500 metric tons of damaged items to landfills.

In May 2022, a strong storm called a May 2022 Canadian derecho hit the city. Many people lost power for days. The cleanup cost about $3.3 million.

People of Peterborough

In the 2021 Census, Peterborough had a population of 83,651 people. They lived in 35,977 homes. This was a small increase from 2016. The city's land area is 64.76 square kilometers. This means about 1,291 people live in each square kilometer.

Historical populations
Year Pop. ±% 1841 2,000 —     1851 2,191 +9.5% 1871 4,611 +110.5% 1881 6,812 +47.7% 1891 9,717 +42.6% 1901 11,239 +15.7% 1911 18,360 +63.4%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 20,994 +14.3% 1931 22,372 +6.6% 1941 24,977 +11.6% 1951 38,272 +53.2% 1961 47,185 +23.3% 1971 58,111 +23.2% 1981 60,620 +4.3%	Year Pop. ±% 1991 68,371 +12.8% 1996 69,742 +2.0% 2001 71,446 +2.4% 2006 74,898 +4.8% 2011 78,698 +5.1% 2016 81,032 +3.0% 2021 83,651 +3.2%

The larger Peterborough area, including nearby towns, had 128,624 people in 2021.

Religions in Peterborough

In Peterborough, 50.9% of people are Christian. This is less than in 2011. About 20.6% are Catholic and 19.2% are Protestant. Many people, 43.7%, do not follow a religion. This number has grown since 2011. Other religions make up 5.5% of residents. The biggest non-Christian religions are Islam (1.5%), Hinduism (1.4%), and Buddhism (0.5%).

Ethnic Backgrounds

As of 2021, most Peterborough residents (85.7%) are white or of European background. About 9.4% are visible minorities, and 5.0% are Indigenous. The largest visible minority groups are South Asian (3.1%), Black (1.4%), and Chinese (1.0%).

Ethnic and Cultural origins (2021)	Population	Percent
English	25,955	31.8%
Irish	24,390	29.9%
Scottish	20,120	24.7%
Canadian	13,360	16.4%
French n.o.s	7,745	9.5%
German	7,160	8.8%
British Isles n.o.s	4,350	5.3%
Dutch	4,285	5.3%
Caucasian (White) n.o.s+ European n.o.s	3,615	4.4%
Italian	3,315	4%
First Nations (North American Indian) n.o.s.+ North American Indigenous, n.o.s.	2,520	3.1%
Polish	2,285	2.8%
Welsh	2,050	2.5%

Panethnic groups in the City of Peterborough (2001−2021)

Panethnic group	2021		2016		2011		2006		2001
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
European	69,920	85.69%	70,450	89.71%	70,605	92.48%	69,495	94.15%	65,910	94.76%
Indigenous	4,040	4.95%	3,275	4.17%	2,605	3.41%	1,690	2.29%	1,355	1.95%
South Asian	2,570	3.15%	1,315	1.67%	705	0.92%	555	0.75%	720	1.04%
East Asian	1,205	1.48%	1,155	1.47%	765	1%	985	1.33%	615	0.88%
African	1,115	1.37%	795	1.01%	490	0.64%	440	0.6%	390	0.56%
Southeast Asian	1,100	1.35%	655	0.83%	535	0.7%	215	0.29%	230	0.33%
Middle Eastern	745	0.91%	350	0.45%	265	0.35%	150	0.2%	115	0.17%
Latin American	420	0.51%	205	0.26%	210	0.28%	215	0.29%	115	0.17%
Other	470	0.58%	330	0.42%	170	0.22%	65	0.09%	110	0.16%
Total responses	81,600	97.55%	78,530	96.91%	76,350	96.92%	73,810	98.55%	69,555	97.35%
Total population	83,651	100%	81,032	100%	78,777	100%	74,898	100%	71,446	100%
Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses

Languages Spoken

Most people in Peterborough (90.2%) speak English as their first language. Other common first languages include French (1.0%), Chinese languages (0.6%), and Arabic (0.5%).

Economy of Peterborough

The main jobs in Peterborough are in service industries. Other important industries include manufacturing, food processing, and electronics. Quaker Oats employs 700 people. Many people who live in Peterborough also travel to Oshawa and East Toronto for work. In 2017, homes in Peterborough were more affordable than in other nearby areas.

The Peterborough Regional Health Centre is the biggest employer. It has about 2,500 employees and 500 volunteers. School boards, the local government, Trent University, and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources are also big employers.

General Electric had factories in Peterborough from 1892 to 2018. At its busiest, it employed about 6,000 people. Over the years, many large factories closed. This led to fewer manufacturing jobs. Now, there are more jobs in smaller factories and service industries.

In 2018, the city had plans for new projects. These included a $24-million Canadian Canoe Museum and a new casino. There were also plans for a new library and other downtown developments.

Peterborough is a popular place for shopping in the region. It has three shopping centers: Peterborough Square, Portage Place, and Lansdowne Place. Large stores like Walmart and Costco also have locations here.

Fun Things to Do in Peterborough

Peterborough and the Kawarthas offer many fun things to see and do. There are museums, art shows, and theaters. You can also learn about Indigenous history and visit historical sites. The city has a lively arts community.

Many old buildings in Peterborough have been changed or lost over time. However, some, like the YMCA building, are still standing. These are important examples of the city's history and architecture.

The Peterborough Museum & Archives has many interesting items. It started in 1897 and moved to Armour Hill in 1967. The Archives keep old papers, photos, and other historical records.

Walter Seymour Allward designed a monument called the Peterborough Memorial (1929). It is called Valour Defeating Barbarism.

The Trent–Severn Waterway goes through Peterborough. It includes the Peterborough Lift Lock. This is the world's largest hydraulic lift lock. It opened in 1904. For many years, it was the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world, lifting boats 65 feet.

Del Crary Park is a big green space on Little Lake. It is close to downtown Peterborough. Free outdoor concerts and events happen here in the summer. This includes the international Peterborough Musicfest. The Art Gallery of Peterborough opened in 1974. It is next to Del Crary Park and has 1,300 art pieces from all over the world.

On Little Lake, there is a fountain called Centennial Fountain. It runs from May to October each year. The fountain has lights that turn on at dusk. It is a popular sight for both locals and tourists.

You can take a sightseeing boat cruise called Liftlock and River Boat Cruise. This boat takes you through the Peterborough Liftlock. It also shares facts about the city's history. The cruise runs daily from mid-May to mid-October.

Showplace Performance Centre is a theater downtown. It opened in 1996 and has 647 seats. The Canadian Canoe Museum is on Monaghan Road. It is a national heritage center. It teaches about how important canoes have been to the people of North America.

Jackson Park has an old-growth forest with trees up to 250 years old. You can visit this forest from the parking area at the north end of Monaghan Road.

The Riverview Park & Zoo is a 55.5-acre zoo. It is run by Peterborough Utilities Group. Besides animals, the zoo has a miniature train ride. The park also has a disc golf course.

The Peterborough Skateboard park is one of the biggest in Ontario. It has half-pipes, ramps, and rails. Its building was supported by West 49.

The 'Wall Of Honour' monument is in Confederation Park. It lists the names of 11,300 service members from the Peterborough area. They served in Canada's Armed Forces in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.

In the summer, Peterborough hosts the longest-running free music festival.

Downtown Peterborough

Peterborough's downtown area has many local shops and restaurants. You can find music stores, nice places to eat, and jewelry stores.

Arts and Culture

In winter, a part of the Trent-Severn Canal is flooded for ice skating.

Beavermead Campground is on Little Lake in the center of Peterborough. It has 98 campsites. You can rent kayaks and swim in a supervised area. There are also sports fields and public washrooms. Beavermead Park also hosts a beach volleyball program in the summer.

The Kawartha String Orchestra has musicians from Peterborough and nearby towns. The orchestra started around 2015/2016. It includes string musicians of all ages and backgrounds.

Public Library Services

The Peterborough Mechanics Institute started in 1868. It had a library where members could borrow books for a fee. These institutes helped make education available to everyone. In Peterborough, the Institute and Library were on Water Street. In May 1895, it became the Peterborough Public Library.

Later, the Peterborough Public Library received money from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. A new Carnegie Library opened on George Street in 1911. This building is now part of City Hall.

In February 1949, a branch library opened in the south end of Peterborough. It was above a hardware store and had sections for children and adults.

The DelaFosse Branch Library opened on December 1, 1965. It is at 729 Park Street S. This branch has about 14,000 books for all ages. It also has CDs, DVDs, and audiobooks. It is named after Frederick Montague de la Fosse, who was the Chief Librarian from 1910 to 1946.

The Main Library at 345 Aylmer Street N. opened on September 2, 1980. The new library was built where the old fire hall used to be. It was three times bigger than the old Carnegie building. The Main Library has many books, audiobooks, DVDs, and magazines. It also has a local history collection and other resources. The Main Library was used in the 2008 science fiction movie Jumper.

Sports in Peterborough

Peterborough offers many sports and recreational activities.

Peterborough's junior hockey team is the Peterborough Petes. They play in the Ontario Hockey League. The team started in 1956 and is the longest-running team in the league. They have played in the Memorial Cup tournament nine times and won it once. Many Petes players have gone on to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). Some famous names include Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Steve Yzerman, and Wayne Gretzky. Many coaches who worked with the Petes also became famous.

The Peterborough Memorial Centre was built in 1956. It is the home of the Peterborough Petes and the Peterborough Lakers. It was named to honor war veterans from the area. In 2003, the Memorial Centre was updated with new seating, a scoreboard, and air conditioning.

Peterborough also hosts the Peterborough Liftlock U11 Hockey Tournament. It started in 1958 with 8 teams. By 2023, it had grown to 87 teams over four days.

The city also has a girls' hockey association called the IceKats. They have about 15 competitive teams and 9 house league teams. Box lacrosse is also very popular. The Major Series Lacrosse Peterborough Sr. A Lakers and the Peterborough Jr. Lakers are well-known. The Jr. Lakers hold a record of 12 Canadian Minto Cup championships.

Peterborough used to have an Olympics-like competition with its sister city, Ann Arbor, Michigan. These were called the Arborough Games. They started in 1983 and ended in 2000.

Peterborough has a rowing club. It offers programs for learning to row, recreational rowing, and competitive races. This club is home to Trent University Rowing teams. It also hosts many high school teams. The club started in 1977 and is on the Otonabee River.

In 2021, Electric City FC was founded. This semi-professional soccer team plays in League1 Ontario.

The Peterborough Youth Soccer Club (PYSC) offers soccer for kids aged 4 to 18. They have both fun and competitive teams.

City Services and Transportation

Getting Around Peterborough

Air Travel

Peterborough Airport is south of the city. It is mainly for recreation and business flights. No airlines have regular scheduled flights from here. It has two runways. About 25,000 to 30,000 planes use the airport each year.

Bridges

Four road bridges cross the Otonabee River in Peterborough. These include the Nassau Mills Road Bridge and the Parkhill Road Bridge. The Hunter Street Bridge connects East City with downtown. The Lansdowne Street Bridge is the most southern one. Highway 115 also crosses the river. Many other bridges cross the Trent Canal and smaller creeks. The longest crossing in the area is the James A. Gifford Causeway. It crosses Chemong Lake and connects Bridgenorth with Ennismore.

Canals

The Otonabee River and Trent Canal are part of the Trent–Severn Waterway. This waterway connects Lake Ontario to Lake Huron. The canal runs along the eastern part of the city. It is home to the Peterborough Lift Lock. The Peterborough Marina is on Little Lake. It has 90 spots for boats and many services.

Highways

Peterborough is connected by Highway 115. This freeway links the city to Toronto. Highway 7, part of the Trans-Canada Highway, connects to Lindsay and Ottawa. Other important highways are Highway 7A and Highway 28.

Public Transportation

Public transit in Peterborough is run by Peterborough Transit. It has 9 regular bus routes and 3 community bus routes. The main bus station is on Simcoe Street downtown. In 2021, the city changed the bus routes to a grid system.

Other bus services also connect Peterborough. GO Transit has a bus service from Peterborough to Oshawa. This service started in 2009 and also stops at Trent University. A rural bus service connects Curve Lake and Selwyn to Trent University.

Train Services

Peterborough is served by the Canadian Pacific Railway. There are no passenger trains right now. However, the government plans to bring back high-speed rail. This route would connect Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City. It would stop in Peterborough.

The old railway station in Peterborough is important for its link to the early development of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Walking and Biking Paths

Peterborough has many trails for walking and biking. These trails go through the city and connect to places like Trent University. They also lead to rural areas and nearby towns. In 2022, the city is planning to add more bike routes. This will make cycling safer and easier all year.

The Rotary Greenway Trail is 25 kilometers long. It has benches and signs about history and nature. It goes through Peterborough from Little Lake to Lakefield.

The Jackson Creek Kiwanis trail is 10 kilometers long. It is part of the Trans-Canada Trail. It connects Jackson Park to Hastings and Lindsay. This path also goes along the Otonabee River through Millennium Park.

The Parkway Trail is 4 kilometers long. It runs between Jackson Park and Riverview Park and Zoo.

The Crawford trail is 2 kilometers long. It is being extended between Townsend Street and Monaghan Road.

You can also find the Lang-Hastings Trail from the west end of the city. This trail is 33 kilometers long.

Since 2013, Peterborough has required sidewalks on both sides of new streets. They also try to add planted areas between sidewalks and roads. This makes walking safer and nicer.

City Services

Hydro One provides electricity to Peterborough. They bought the service from Peterborough Utilities Group (PUG) in 2020. Peterborough Utilities still provides water to the city. They also run the River Park Zoo, where the water filtration plant is. The city fully owns Peterborough Utilities. They have also started new projects like generating electricity and offering telecom services. Enbridge Inc. provides natural gas for heating.

Healthcare Services

Peterborough has the Peterborough Regional Health Centre. This hospital serves Peterborough and nearby counties. It is located at 1 Hospital Drive. The hospital has 400 beds. Its emergency department is one of the busiest in Ontario.

Education in Peterborough

School Boards

The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB) is the public English school board. Its main office is in Peterborough. Over 35,000 students attend its schools. It covers a large area, including Peterborough County. The KPRDSB runs 82 elementary schools and 15 secondary schools. Sixteen elementary schools and five high schools are in Peterborough city. The board offers a French Immersion program.

The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board is the Catholic English school board. Its main office is also in Peterborough. It runs 33 elementary schools and five secondary schools. Nine elementary and two secondary schools are in the city.

The Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud is the Catholic French school board. It covers a large region, including Peterborough. The only French elementary school in Peterborough is Monseigneur-Jamot.

Colleges and Universities

Trent University

Trent University started in 1964. It is a smaller university focused on liberal arts and science. Trent's main campus is in the north end of the city. It is about 14.6 square kilometers. More than half of this area is a nature reserve.

Trent University has several colleges: Champlain, Lady Eaton, Catharine Parr Traill, Otonabee, Peter Gzowski, and Julian Blackburn. Each college has its own residences and student government.

Fleming College

Fleming College started in 1967. It has two main campuses in Peterborough.

Sutherland Campus is in the west end of the city. It has been greatly expanded. The new St. Joseph's at Fleming is a long-term care home built on a college campus. In 2005, the Peterborough Sport & Wellness Centre was built for the college's sports needs.

McRae Campus used to be in a renovated factory. It closed in 2014 when the Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre opened at the Sutherland Campus.

Fleming College also has campuses in nearby Lindsay, Cobourg, and Haliburton.

Kawartha Lakes Bible College

Kawartha Lakes Bible College (KLBC) is a small Bible college. It opened in 1973 and moved to its current location in 2001.

Master's College and Seminary

Master's College and Seminary is a Christian higher education school. It has a college on campus, a seminary in churches, and online learning programs. The school works with Trent University.

Media in Peterborough

Peterborough has many radio stations for its size. This is partly because of its location in a valley. Peterborough also has one local TV station, CHEX-DT, which is part of the Global network. TVCogeco is a local cable TV channel. Peterborough has two main newspapers: the Peterborough Examiner, which publishes six days a week, and Peterborough This Week, which publishes every Thursday. SNAP Peterborough is a monthly publication that focuses on local news and photos.

Sister City

Peterborough has one sister city:

• Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States (since 1983).

Famous People from Peterborough

Many notable people have lived in Peterborough. These include athletes, musicians, and authors. Catherine Parr Traill, who wrote The Backwoods of Canada, was an early settler. Lester B. Pearson, who later became Prime Minister, went to school at PCVS in Peterborough.

See also

In Spanish: Peterborough (Ontario) para niños