- Cochrane, Ontario
-
Coordinates: 49°04′N 81°01′W / 49.067°N 81.017°W
Cochrane — Town — Cochrane as seen across Lake Commando
CochraneCoordinates: 49°04′N 81°01′W / 49.067°N 81.017°W Country 
CanadaProvince 
OntarioDistrict Cochrane District Settled 1908 Incorporated January 1, 1910 Government – Mayor Peter Politis – Governing Body Cochrane Town Council – Federal riding Timmins—James Bay (Charlie Angus, NDP) – Prov. riding Timiskaming—Cochrane (David Ramsay, OLP) Area[1] – Land 538.76 km2 (208 sq mi) Population (2006)[1] – Total 5,487 – Density 10.2/km2 (26.4/sq mi) Time zone EST (UTC-5) – Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4) Area code(s) 705 Website www.town.cochrane.on.ca Cochrane is a town in northern Ontario, Canada. It is located east of Kapuskasing, northeast of Timmins, south of Moosonee, and north of Iroquois Falls. It is about a one-hour drive from Timmins, the major city of the region. It is the seat of Cochrane District. The town's population is made up of approximately half anglophone and half francophone residents.
The town contains many references to polar bears. Its mascot is a large polar bear statue known as Chimo. There are also live polar bears at the new "Polar Bear Conservation and Educational Habitat and Heritage Village" which opened in the summer of 2004. Polar bears from the Metro Toronto Zoo were relocated to Cochrane while a new pavilion was being constructed. Those two polar bears were returned to the Toronto Zoo in the summer of 2009.[2]
Contents
History
Before Cochrane was founded, it was already used as a summer camp ground by the indigenous people, and a stopping place for fur traders traveling to Moose Factory. In the early 20th century, the National Transcontinental Railway was built through the area, and in 1907, the place was selected as the junction point with the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway. In November 1908, the lots were sold by auction and a railway town formed.[3] It was incorporated on January 1, 1910, and named for politician and merchant Frank Cochrane, a former mayor of Sudbury. He was Ontario minister of Lands & Forests and federal minister of Railways and Canals in the cabinet of Robert Borden.
The settlement was devastated by fire in 1910, 1911, and 1916, but rebuilt each time and became a transportation hub for northern Ontario.[3]
After the Reesor Siding 1963 Strike, Cochrane was the site of the trial for 20 Reesor Siding farmers charged with the killing of 3 union employees.
The Town of Cochrane amalgamated with the surrounding townships of Glackmeyer and Lamarche to create a newly expanded Town of Cochrane in 2000.
Economy
In the 2006 Census, Cochrane had a population of 5,487, a 3.6 percent decrease from the 2001 Census. Like many northern Ontario communities, the population is declining due to lack of employment. The main industries in Cochrane are the railway, tourism and lumber industries. Marginal farming also exists around Cochrane. Though the soil is considered to be of good quality, the growing season is too short to have substantial crop production.
Transportation
The Cochrane railway station.
Cochrane is situated along Ontario Highway 11, which is a major east-west trucking route part of the Trans-Canada Highway system. The town is close to the northern end of the road system in the area. The last roads in this part of Ontario end about halfway between Cochrane and Moosonee at Otter Rapids.
The Cochrane railway station is operated by the Ontario Northland Railway and serves as the northern terminus of the Northlander which runs six days per week to and from Toronto. It also serves as the southern terminus of the Polar Bear Express which operates five days per week to and from Moosonee.
The town is served by the Cochrane Airport, but has no scheduled flights.
Demographics
District courthouse and town hallPopulation trend:[4]
- Population in 2006: 5487 (2001 to 2006 population change: -3.6 %)
- Population in 2001: 5690
- Population total in 1996: 5955
- Cochrane (town): 4443
- Glackmeyer (township): 1092
- Population in 1991:
- Cochrane (town): 4585
- Glackmeyer (township): 1068
Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 2281 (total dwellings: 2492)
Mother tongue:[1]
- English as first language: 50.6 %
- French as first language: 43.8 %
- English and French as first language: 1.5 %
- Other as first language: 4.1 %
Climate
Climate data for Cochrane Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 7.2
(45.0)11.7
(53.1)20
(68)30
(86)33.9
(93.0)36.7
(98.1)37.2
(99.0)36.1
(97.0)35
(95)28.9
(84.0)20
(68)13
(55)37.2
(99.0)Average high °C (°F) −12.1
(10.2)−8.9
(16.0)−1.9
(28.6)7.4
(45.3)16.4
(61.5)21.1
(70.0)24
(75)22.3
(72.1)15.5
(59.9)8.2
(46.8)−0.4
(31.3)−9.4
(15.1)6.9 Daily mean °C (°F) −18.4
(−1.1)−15.8
(3.6)−8.9
(16.0)0.7
(33.3)9.2
(48.6)13.8
(56.8)16.8
(62.2)15.5
(59.9)9.9
(49.8)3.6
(38.5)−4.5
(23.9)−15
(5)0.6 Average low °C (°F) −24.7
(−12.5)−22.7
(−8.9)−15.9
(3.4)−6
(21)2
(36)6.4
(43.5)9.5
(49.1)8.6
(47.5)4.3
(39.7)−1
(30)−8.5
(16.7)−20.5
(−4.9)−5.7 Record low °C (°F) −47
(−53)−45.6
(−50.1)−41.7
(−43.1)−31.1
(−24.0)−13.9
(7.0)−6.7
(19.9)−3
(27)−2.8
(27.0)−7.8
(18.0)−16
(3)−38.3
(−36.9)−45.6
(−50.1)−47
(−53)Precipitation mm (inches) 72.3
(2.846)42.4
(1.669)58.3
(2.295)44.6
(1.756)73.2
(2.882)91.1
(3.587)90.1
(3.547)87.9
(3.461)109
(4.29)77.8
(3.063)64
(2.52)69.3
(2.728)880
(34.65)Source: Environment Canada[5] Born in Cochrane
Cochrane is the birthplace of Tim Horton, a hockey player who founded the Tim Hortons doughnut and coffee shop chain in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1964. A new multi-purpose arena and events centre, the Tim Horton Events Centre, built in honour of him, was officially opened in the fall of 2006. Numerous construction delays hindered its official opening, but it is now fully operational. The Tim Horton Museum is also situated in the facility containing hockey memorabilia.
Cochrane is also the birth place of Tim Horton classmate Donald McKinnon (born 1929). McKinnon was first in forestry but later became a prospector. He is most famous as the co-discoverer of the goldfields at Hemlo on Lake Superior, resulting in three great gold mines. He lives and works out of Timmins under McKinnon Prospecting and was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1996. A book, The Scholarly Prospector — Don MacKinnon, was published by Michael Barnes in 2007.
Died in/near Cochrane
William "Bashin' Bill" Barilko (born March 25, 1927 in Timmins, Ontario – died August 26, 1951 near Cochrane), was a Canadian hockey player of Ukrainian descent who played his entire National Hockey League career for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Tragically Hip's song titled "Fifty Mission Cap" describes Barilko's mysterious disappearance. Barilko, who donned the blue and white Maple Leaf sweater for five seasons, scored the Stanley Cup clinching goal for the Leafs over their rivals the Montreal Canadiens in the 1951 cup finals. Four months and five days later, Barilko climbed into a small, single-engine airplane with friend and dentist, Henry Hudson. The plane disappeared between Rupert House and Timmins, Ontario, leaving no trace of Barilko or Hudson.
Eleven years later, on June 7, 1962, helicopter pilot Ron Boyd discovered the plane wreckage roughly 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Cochrane, Ontario (about 35 miles off-course). Barilko was finally laid to rest in his home town of Timmins, the same year that the Maple Leafs won their next Stanley Cup.
The song's lyrics also reference the WWII style U.S. Army officer's cap, mentioned in the song's title. The fifty mission cap was a cloth cap with visor issued to U.S. Army officers in World War II. Over time its folded and creased look would signify their participation in 50 aerial missions.
References
- ^ a b c Statistics Canada 2006 Census - Community Profiles: Cochrane
- ^ Toronto Zoo - Animals Off Display
- ^ a b Ontario Heritage Foundation, Ministry of Culture and Communications
- ^ Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census
- ^ Environment Canada—Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000, accessed 10 January 2010
External links
City 
Towns Townships First Nations reserves Abitibi 70 • Constance Lake 92 • Factory Island 1 • Flying Post 73 • Fort Albany 67 • Moose Factory 68 • New Post 69 • New Post 69AUnorganized territories See also: Communities in Cochrane District • Census divisions of OntarioCategories:- Cochrane, Ontario
- Ontario communities with large francophone populations
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