Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough | |
|---|---|
| City of Peterborough | |
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| Nickname: "The Electric City" | |
| Motto(s): Dat natura, elaborant artes (Nature Provides, Industry Develops) | |
| Coordinates: 44°18′04″N 78°20′00″W / 44.30111°N 78.33333°W | |
| 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 |
| • Mayor | Jeff Leal |
| • MP | Emma Harrison (LPC) |
| • MPP | Dave Smith (OPCP) |
| 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) | |
| 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 |
| Website | www |
Peterborough (/ˈpiːtərbʌroʊ/ PEE-tər-burr-oh) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), which includes the surrounding Townships of Selwyn, Cavan Monaghan, Otonabee-South Monaghan, and Douro-Dummer, was 128,624 in 2021. In 2021, Peterborough ranked 32nd among the country's 41 census metropolitan areas according to the CMA in Canada. The current mayor of Peterborough is Jeff Leal.
Peterborough is known as the gateway to the Kawarthas, "cottage country", a large recreational region of the province. It is named in honour of Peter Robinson, an early Canadian politician who oversaw the first major immigration to the area. The city is the seat of Peterborough County, though it is politically independent from the county.
Peterborough's nickname in the distant past was "The Electric City" as it was the first town in Canada to use electric streetlights. It also underscores the historical and present-day importance of technology and manufacturing as an economic base of the city, which has operations from large multi-national companies such as Siemens, Rolls-Royce Limited, General Electric, and more local businesses such as Merit Precision Ltd., Dynacast and Bryston. Electricity was one of the reasons Quaker Oats moved to the city, and as part of PepsiCo remains a major fixture in the downtown area. However, over the years the number of major manufacturing plants has declined, and General Electric closed its last remaining facility in 2018. As a result, employment has been shifting toward the service industries and tourism is now the leading industry in the area.