127-561: The Robert Thomson Building is a 9-storey low-rise office building in Hamilton, Ontario , Canada . The building was completed in 1977, and is part of the Lloyd D. Jackson Square complex. The building is still officially known as the Robert Thomson Building , but some signage refers to the building by its address, 110 King Street West . The building's facade consists of glass windows and
254-626: A fleet action with the Royal Navy. On the high seas, the Americans pursued a strategy of commerce raiding , capturing or sinking British merchantmen with their frigates and privateers. The Navy was largely concentrated on the Atlantic coast before the war as it had only two gunboats on Lake Champlain , one brig on Lake Ontario and another brig in Lake Erie when the war began. The United States Army
381-535: A 'unique opportunity for Hamilton to renew major sport facilities giving Hamiltonians a multi-purpose stadium, a 50-metre swimming pool, and an international-calibre velodrome to enjoy for generations to come'." Hamilton's major sports complexes include Tim Hortons Field and FirstOntario Centre . Hamilton is represented by the Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League . The team traces its origins to
508-502: A British appeal to come to their aid. However, the Americans did not pursue the retreating British forces until they had largely escaped and organized a counter-offensive at the Battle of Stoney Creek on 5 June. The British launched a surprise attack at 2 a.m., leading to confused fighting and a strategic British victory. The Americans pulled back to Forty Mile Creek rather than continue their advance into Upper Canada. At this point,
635-588: A broad street and backed onto a twelve-foot lane. It took at least a decade to sell all the original lots, but the construction of the Burlington Canal in 1823, and a new court-house in 1827 encouraged Hamilton to add more blocks around 1828–9. At this time he included a market square in an effort to draw commercial activity onto his lands, but the town's natural growth occurred to the north of Hamilton's plot. The Hamilton Conservation Authority owns, leases or manages about 4,500 hectares (11,100 acres) of land with
762-578: A capacity of 1300 vehicles. Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario . Hamilton has a population of 569,353 (2021), and its census metropolitan area , which encompasses Burlington and Grimsby , has a population of 785,184. The city is situated approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) southwest of Toronto in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased
889-500: A complete victory. Late in 1813, the Americans abandoned the Canadian territory that they occupied around Fort George. They set fire to the village of Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake ) on 10 December 1813, incensing the Canadians. Many of the inhabitants were left without shelter, freezing to death in the snow. The British retaliated following their Capture of Fort Niagara on 18 December 1813. A British-Indian force led by Riall stormed
1016-411: A concrete base. The interior features a lobby with granite floors and concrete walls, a digital directory, and an elevator bank. The elevator bank features 3 modernized Otis elevators that serve floors 2 through 7, as well as the plaza level, with one of the elevators serving the underground parking lot, as well as the mechanical floor. The building also features escalators and stairs that lead from
1143-406: A day. Their leaders sought to fight only under favourable conditions and would avoid any battle that promised heavy losses, doing what they thought best for their tribes. The Indigenous fighters saw no issue with withdrawing if needed to save casualties. They always sought to surround an enemy, where possible, to avoid being surrounded and make effective use of the terrain. Their main weapons were
1270-953: A geodemographic marketing firm that created 66 different "clusters" of people complete with profiles of how they live, what they think and what they consume, sees a future Hamilton with younger upscale Hamiltonians — who are tech-savvy and university-educated — choosing to live in the downtown and surrounding areas rather than just visiting intermittently. More two and three-storey townhouses and apartments will be built on downtown lots; small condos will be built on vacant spaces in areas such as Dundas , Ainslie Wood and Westdale to accommodate newly retired seniors. Furthermore, additional retail and commercial zones will be created. Hamilton maintains significant Italian , English , Scottish , German and Irish ancestry. 130,705 Hamiltonians claim English heritage, while 98,765 indicate their ancestors arrived from Scotland, 87,825 from Ireland, 62,335 from Italy, and 50,400 from Germany. The top countries of birth for
1397-454: A long siege. He agreed to surrender on 16 August. Hull also ordered the evacuation of Fort Dearborn (Chicago) to Fort Wayne , but Potawatomi warriors ambushed them and escorted them back to the fort where they were massacred on 15 August. The fort was subsequently burned. Brock moved to the eastern end of Lake Erie, where American General Stephen Van Rensselaer was attempting a second invasion. The Americans attempted an attack across
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#17328949265751524-640: A militia force, if I had not witnessed the scenes of this day". The United States was only a secondary concern to Britain, so long as the Napoleonic Wars continued with France. In 1813, France had 80 ships-of-the-line and was building another 35. Containing the French fleet was the main British naval concern, leaving only the ships on the North American and Jamaica Stations immediately available. In Upper Canada,
1651-460: A mixture of muskets, rifles, bows, tomahawks , knives and swords as well as clubs and other melee weapons, which sometimes had the advantage of being quieter than guns. On 1 June 1812, Madison sent a message to Congress recounting American grievances against Great Britain, though not specifically calling for a declaration of war. The House of Representatives then deliberated for four days behind closed doors before voting 79 to 49 (61%) in favour of
1778-523: A new Gore District , of which the Hamilton townsite was a member. Initially, this town was not the most important centre of the Gore District. An early indication of Hamilton's sudden prosperity occurred in 1816 when it was chosen over Ancaster, Ontario to be the new Gore District's administrative centre. Another dramatic economic turnabout for Hamilton occurred in 1832 when a canal was finally cut through
1905-608: A newspaper, which eventually led to over a month of deadly rioting in the city. Prime Minister Spencer Perceval was assassinated in London on 11 May and Lord Liverpool came to power. He wanted a more practical relationship with the United States. On June 23, he issued a repeal of the Orders in Council , but the United States was unaware of this, as it took three weeks for the news to cross
2032-740: A notable presence in Hamilton with three centralized Mafia organizations: the Luppino crime family , the Papalia crime family , and the Musitano crime family . Street gangs such as the Original/Oriental Blood Brothers & the Oriole Crescent Crips, and biker crews such as Satan's Choice MC and the Hells Angels also have presence in Hamilton. Hamilton's local attractions include
2159-651: A public library in 1890, and the Right House department store in 1893. The first commercial telephone service in Canada, the first telephone exchange in the British Empire , and the second telephone exchange in all of North America were each established in the city between 1877 and 1878. The city had several interurban electric street railways and two inclines, all powered by the Cataract Power Co. Though suffering through
2286-520: A second American force led by Major Zachary Taylor in the Battle of Credit Island . These victories enabled the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo to harass American garrisons further to the south, which led the Americans to abandon Fort Johnson , in central Illinois Territory. Consequently, the Americans lost control of almost all of Illinois Territory, although they held onto the St. Louis area and eastern Missouri . However,
2413-673: A small American post on the Sandusky River near Lake Erie. They were repulsed with serious losses, marking the end of the Ohio campaign. Captain Oliver Hazard Perry fought the Battle of Lake Erie on 10 September 1813. His decisive victory at Put-in-Bay ensured American military control of the lake, improved American morale after a series of defeats and compelled the British to fall back from Detroit. This enabled General Harrison to launch another invasion of Upper Canada, which culminated in
2540-630: A threat to Canada in 1812, the United States Navy was a well-trained and professional force comprising over 5,000 sailors and marines. It had 14 ocean-going warships with three of its five "super-frigates" non-operational at the onset of the war. Its principal problem was lack of funding, as many in Congress did not see the need for a strong navy. The biggest ships in the American navy were frigates and there were no ships-of-the-line capable of engaging in
2667-619: A tornado in 2005. In 2007, the Red Hill Valley Parkway opened after extensive delays. The Stelco mills were idled in 2010 and permanently closed in 2013. This closure capped a significant shift in the city's economy: the percentage of the population employed in manufacturing declined from 22 to 12 percent between 2003 and 2013. Hamilton is in Southern Ontario on the western end of the Niagara Peninsula and wraps around
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#17328949265752794-589: Is Andrea Horwath , elected on October 24, 2022 . Hamilton's next municipal election will be held in 2026. Hamilton is served by four school boards: the English language Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board and Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board and the French language Conseil scolaire Viamonde and Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir . Each school board is governed by trustees. The English language school boards are represented by trustees elected from wards in Hamilton. The HWDSB has 11 trustees and
2921-455: Is 250m (820') above the level of Lake Ontario. According to all records from local historians , this district was called Attiwandaronia by the native Neutral people . Hamilton is one of 11 cities showcased in the book, Green City: People, Nature & Urban Places by Quebec author Mary Soderstrom , which examines the city as an example of an industrial powerhouse co-existing with nature. Soderstrom credits Thomas McQuesten and family in
3048-553: Is about 30% of Canada's flat-rolled sheet steel shipments. Dofasco was North America's most profitable steel producer in 1999, the most profitable in Canada in 2000, and a long-time member of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index . Ordered by the U.S. Department of Justice to divest itself of the Canadian company, ArcelorMittal has been allowed to retain Dofasco provided it sells several of its American assets. In
3175-404: Is home to 26,330 immigrants who arrived in Canada between 2001 and 2010 and 13,150 immigrants who arrived between 2011 and 2016. In February 2014, the city's council voted to declare Hamilton a sanctuary city , offering municipal services to undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation . Children aged 14 years and under accounted for 16.23% of the city's population, a decline of 1.57% from
3302-567: Is home to more than 100 waterfalls and cascades, most of which are on or near the Bruce Trail as it winds through the Niagara Escarpment. Visitors can often be seen swimming in the waterfalls during the summertime, although it is strongly recommended to stay away from the water: much of the watershed of the Chedoke and Red Hill creeks originates in storm sewers running beneath neighbourhoods atop
3429-647: Is ranked 4th in Canada and 69th in the world by Times Higher Education Rankings 2021. In pre- colonial times, the Neutral First Nation used much of the land. They were gradually driven out by the Five (later Six) Nations (Iroquois) who were allied with the British against the Huron and their French allies. The hamlet of Westover was built in an area that was originally a Seneca Iroquois tribal village, Tinawatawa , which
3556-657: Is represented in the Parliament of Canada by five members of Parliament and in the Legislature of Ontario by five members of Provincial Parliament . Hamilton's municipal government has a mayor, elected citywide, and 15 city councillors—one per city ward—to serve on the Hamilton City Council. The province grants the Hamilton City Council authority to govern through the Municipal Act of Ontario. Hamilton's current mayor
3683-409: The 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Hamilton had a population of 569,353 living in 222,807 of its 233,564 total private dwellings, a change of 6% from its 2016 population of 536,917 . With a land area of 1,118.31 km (431.78 sq mi), it had a population density of 509.1/km (1,318.6/sq mi) in 2021. At the census metropolitan area (CMA) level in
3810-553: The 2021 census , religious groups in Hamilton included: The most described religion in Hamilton is Christianity although other religions brought by immigrants are also growing. The 2011 census indicates that 67.6% of the population adheres to a Christian denomination, with Catholics being the largest at 34.3% of the city's population. The Christ the King Cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Hamilton . Other denominations include
3937-507: The Battle of Stoney Creek , fought in what is now a park in eastern Hamilton . The town of Hamilton was conceived by George Hamilton (a son of a Queenston entrepreneur and founder, Robert Hamilton ), when he purchased farm holdings of James Durand , the local member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada , shortly after the War of 1812. Nathaniel Hughson , a property owner to
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4064-911: The Canadian Elite Basketball League . The team played its home games at the FirstOntario Centre . In 2022, the Honey Badgers relocated to Brampton, Ontario due to the renovations occurring at FirstOntarioCentre. Since 1958, the Hamilton Cardinals have been Hamilton's baseball team in the Intercounty Baseball League . The team has played its home games at Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium since 1971. War of 1812 1814 1813 1814 1815 East Coast Great Lakes / Saint Lawrence River West Indies / Gulf Coast Pacific Ocean The War of 1812
4191-990: The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum , the HMCS ; Haida National Historic Site, Dundurn Castle (the residence of an Allan MacNab , the 8th Premier of Canada West ), the Royal Botanical Gardens , the Canadian Football Hall of Fame , the African Lion Safari Park, the Cathedral of Christ the King , the Workers' Arts and Heritage Centre, and the Hamilton Museum of Steam & Technology. As of September 2018 , there are 40 pieces in
4318-618: The Democratic-Republican Party in favour and the Federalist Party against. News of British concessions made in an attempt to avoid war did not reach the U.S. until late July, by which time the conflict was already underway. At sea, the Royal Navy imposed an effective blockade on U.S. maritime trade, while between 1812 and 1814 British regulars and colonial militia defeated a series of American invasions on Upper Canada . The April 1814 abdication of Napoleon allowed
4445-630: The Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812 , the town of Hamilton became the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe . On January 1, 2001, the current boundaries of Hamilton were created through the amalgamation of the original city with other municipalities of the Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth . Residents of
4572-701: The Grey Cup , was played in Hamilton in 2021 and won by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers . In 2019, Forge FC debuted as Hamilton's soccer team in the Canadian Premier League . The team plays at Tim Hortons Field and shares the venue with the Tiger-Cats. They finished their inaugural season as champions of the league. In 2019, the Hamilton Honey Badgers debuted as Hamilton's basketball team in
4699-587: The Hamilton Street Railway strike of 1906, with industrial businesses expanding, Hamilton's population doubled between 1900 and 1914. Two steel manufacturing companies, Stelco and Dofasco , were formed in 1910 and 1912, respectively. Procter & Gamble and the Beech-Nut Packing Company opened manufacturing plants in 1914 and 1922, respectively, their first outside the US. In June and July 1916,
4826-548: The Köppen classification , Hamilton is on the Dfb/Dfa boundary, found in southern Ontario because the average temperature in July is 22.0 °C (71.6 °F). However, its climate is moderate compared with most of Canada. The airport's open, rural location and higher altitude results in lower temperatures, generally windier conditions, and higher snowfall amounts than lower, built-up areas of
4953-461: The Niagara River on 13 October, but they were defeated at Queenston Heights . However, Brock was killed during the battle and British leadership suffered after his death. American General Henry Dearborn made a final attempt to advance north from Lake Champlain, but his militia refused to go beyond American territory. After Hull surrendered Detroit, General William Henry Harrison took command of
5080-589: The Old Northwest . In 1807, these tensions escalated after the Royal Navy began enforcing tighter restrictions on American trade with France and impressed sailors who were originally British subjects , even those who had acquired American citizenship. Opinion in the U.S. was split on how to respond, and although majorities in both the House and Senate voted for war, they were divided along strict party lines, with
5207-586: The Six Nations of the Grand River began to come out to fight for the British as an American victory no longer seemed inevitable. The Iroquois ambushed an American patrol at Forty Mile Creek while the Royal Navy squadron based in Kingston sailed in and bombarded the American camp. General Dearborn retreated to Fort George, mistakenly believing that he was outnumbered and outgunned. British Brigadier General John Vincent
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5334-474: The United Church (6.5%), Anglican (6.4%), Presbyterian (3.1%), Christian Orthodox (2.9%), and other denominations (9.8%). Other religions with significant populations include Islam (3.7%), Buddhist (0.9%), Sikh (0.8%), Hindu (0.8%), and Jewish (0.7%). Those with no religious affiliation accounted for 24.9% of the population. Citizens of Hamilton are represented at all three levels of Canadian government: federal, provincial, and municipal. Hamilton
5461-484: The a strike of up to 2,000 machinists was caused by a failure of employers to improve working conditions or pay during a booming World War I economy. The strike disrupted production at many of the largest manufacturers and was the largest dispute in the city's history. Population and economic growth continued until the 1960s. In 1929 the city's first high-rise building, the Pigott Building, was constructed; in 1930 McMaster University moved from Toronto to Hamilton, in 1934
5588-477: The naval reserve division HMCS Star , 23 Service Battalion and the 23 Field Ambulance. The Criminal Code of Canada is the chief piece of legislation defining criminal conduct and penalty. The Hamilton Police Service is chiefly responsible for the enforcement of federal and provincial law. Although the Hamilton Police Service has authority to enforce, bylaws passed by the Hamilton City Council are mainly enforced by Provincial Offences Officers employed by
5715-420: The passage between Lakes Huron and Michigan , which was important to the fur trade. The British garrison, aided by fur traders of the North West Company and Sioux, Menominee, Winnebago, Chippewa, and Ottawa, immediately besieged and captured Mackinac . The war was conducted in several theatres: The war had been preceded by years of diplomatic dispute, yet neither side was ready for war when it came. Britain
5842-426: The "old" City of Hamilton had 331,121 residents and was divided into 100 neighbourhoods. The former region of Hamilton-Wentworth had a population of 490,268. The amalgamation created a single-tier municipal government ending subsidization of its suburbs. The new amalgamated city had 519,949 people in more than 100 neighbourhoods, and surrounding communities. The city was impacted by a widespread blackout in 2003 and
5969-424: The 1869 "Hamilton Foot Ball Club". Hamilton is also home to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame museum. The museum hosts an annual induction event in a week-long celebration that includes school visits, a golf tournament, a formal induction dinner and concludes with the Hall of Fame game involving the local CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Tim Hortons Field. The 108th championship game of the Canadian Football League,
6096-408: The 1930s who "became champions of parks, greenspace and roads" in Hamilton. Hamilton Harbour is a natural harbour with a large sandbar called the Beachstrip. This sandbar was deposited during a period of higher lake levels during the last ice age and extends southeast through the central lower city to the escarpment. Hamilton's deep sea port is accessed by ship canal through the beach strip into
6223-433: The 2011 census. Hamiltonians aged 65 years and older constituted 17.3% of the population, an increase of 2.4% since 2011. The city's average age is 41.3 years. 54.9% of Hamiltonians are married or in a common-law relationship, while 6.4% of city residents are divorced. Same-sex couples (married or in common-law relationships) constitute 0.8% (2,710 individuals) of the partnered population in Hamilton. Environics Analytics,
6350-417: The 2021 census, the Hamilton CMA had a population of 785,184 living in 307,382 of its 320,081 total private dwellings, a change of 5% from its 2016 population of 747,545 . With a land area of 1,373.15 km (530.18 sq mi), it had a population density of 571.8/km (1,481.0/sq mi) in 2021. In the 2016 Canadian census , 24.69% of the city's population was not born in Canada . Hamilton
6477-429: The American Army of the Northwest . He set out to retake the city, which was now defended by Colonel Henry Procter and Tecumseh. A detachment of Harrison's army was defeated at Frenchtown along the River Raisin on 22 January 1813. Procter left the prisoners with an inadequate guard and his Potawatomie allies killed and scalped 60 captive Americans . The defeat ended Harrison's campaign against Detroit, but "Remember
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#17328949265756604-399: The American Lake Ontario squadron began bombarding Fort George . An American amphibious force assaulted Fort George on the northern end of the Niagara River on 27 May and captured it without serious losses. The British abandoned Fort Erie and headed towards Burlington Heights . The British position was close to collapsing in Upper Canada; the Iroquois considered changing sides and ignored
6731-414: The American attack on Fort George and Newark in May. The British were vulnerable along the stretch of the St. Lawrence that was between Upper Canada and the United States. In the winter of 1812–1813, the Americans launched a series of raids from Ogdensburg, New York that hampered British supply traffic up the river. On 21 February, George Prévost passed through Prescott, Ontario on the opposite bank of
6858-503: The American attacks as he lacked artillery and supplies. Hull withdrew to the American side of the river on 7 August 1812 after receiving news of a Shawnee ambush on Major Thomas Van Horne 's 200 men, who had been sent to support the American supply convoy. Hull also faced a lack of support from his officers and fear among his troops of a possible massacre by unfriendly Indigenous forces. A group of 600 troops led by Lieutenant Colonel James Miller remained in Canada, attempting to supply
6985-504: The American position in the Sandwich area, with little success. Major General Isaac Brock believed that he should take bold measures to calm the settler population in Canada and to convince the tribes that Britain was strong. He moved to Amherstburg near the western end of Lake Erie with reinforcements and attacked Detroit , using Fort Malden as his stronghold. Hull feared that the British possessed superior numbers, and Fort Detroit lacked adequate gunpowder and cannonballs to withstand
7112-406: The American victory at the Battle of the Thames on 5 October 1813, where Tecumseh was killed. The Mississippi River valley was the western frontier of the United States in 1812. The territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 contained almost no American settlements west of the Mississippi except around St. Louis and a few forts and trading posts in the Boonslick . Fort Belle Fontaine
7239-412: The Americans into surrender. Meanwhile, Commodore James Lucas Yeo had taken charge of the British ships on the lake and mounted a counterattack, which the Americans repulsed at the Battle of Sackett's Harbor . Thereafter, Chauncey and Yeo's squadrons fought two indecisive actions, off the Niagara on 7 August and at Burlington Bay on 28 September. Neither commander was prepared to take major risks to gain
7366-501: The Atlantic. On 28 June 1812, HMS Colibri was dispatched from Halifax to New York under a flag of truce. She anchored off Sandy Hook on July 9 and left three days later carrying a copy of the declaration of war, British ambassador to the United States Augustus Foster and consul Colonel Thomas Henry Barclay . She arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia eight days later. The news of the declaration took even longer to reach London. British commander Isaac Brock in Upper Canada received
7493-439: The British Empire Games) in 1930 . Hamilton bid for the Commonwealth Games in 2010 but lost to New Delhi . On November 7, 2009, in Guadalajara, Mexico , it was announced Toronto would host the 2015 Pan Am Games after beating out two rival South American cities, Lima , Peru , and Bogotá , Colombia . The city of Hamilton co-hosted the Games with Toronto. Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger said "the Pan Am Games will provide
7620-413: The British had the Provincial Marine . While largely unarmed, they were essential for keeping the army supplied since the roads were abysmal in Upper Canada. At the onset of war, the Provincial Marine had four small armed vessels on Lake Ontario , three on Lake Erie and one on Lake Champlain. The Provincial Marine greatly outnumbered anything the Americans could bring to bear on the Great Lakes. When
7747-405: The British needed Indigenous allies to compensate for their numerical inferiority. The Indigenous allies of the British, Tecumseh's confederacy in the west and Iroquois in the east, avoided pitched battles and relied on irregular warfare , including raids and ambushes that took advantage of their knowledge of terrain. In addition, they were highly mobile, able to march 30–50 miles (50–80 km)
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#17328949265757874-534: The British to send additional forces to North America and reinforce the Royal Navy blockade, crippling the American economy . In August 1814, negotiations began in Ghent , with both sides wanting peace; the British economy had been severely impacted by the trade embargo, while the Federalists convened the Hartford Convention in December to formalize their opposition to the war. In August 1814, British troops captured Washington , before American victories at Baltimore and Plattsburgh in September ended fighting in
8001-413: The City of Hamilton. In 2020, the city saw 18 murders and 51 shootings (up from 47 in 2019), the most shootings the city seen in at least a decade. 2021 saw the homicides in the city increase to 20, giving the city a rate of around 3.5 per 100,000 residents. Hamilton ranked first in Canada for police-reported hate crimes in 2016, with 12.5 hate crimes per 100,000 population. Organized crime also has
8128-422: The Downtown Arts Centre on Rebecca Street has spurred creative activities in the core. The Community Centre for Media Arts (CCMA) continues to operate in downtown Hamilton. The CCMA works with marginalized populations and combines new media services with arts education and skills development programming. Hamilton hosted Canada's first major international athletic event, the first Commonwealth Games (then called
8255-401: The Francophone community maintains a population of 6,760, while 30,530 residents, or 5.8% of the city's population, have knowledge of both official languages. The Franco-Ontarian community of Hamilton boasts two school boards, the public Conseil scolaire Viamonde and the Catholic Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir , which operate five schools (2 secondary and 3 elementary). Additionally,
8382-475: The HWCDB has 9 trustees. The French language school boards are represented by one trustee each from Hamilton and the surrounding area. The Canadian Military maintains a presence in Hamilton, with the John Weir Foote Armoury in the downtown core on James Street North, housing the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry as well as the 11th Field Hamilton-Wentworth Battery and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada. The Hamilton Reserve Barracks on Pier Nine houses
8509-407: The Indians in the Old Northwest from Montreal via Mackinac. On 3 July, the Americans sent a force of five vessels from Detroit to recapture Mackinac. A mixed force of regulars and volunteers from the militia landed on the island on 4 August. They did not attempt to achieve surprise, and Indians ambushed them in the brief Battle of Mackinac Island and forced them to re-embark. The Americans discovered
8636-495: The Niagara escarpment, and water quality in many of Hamilton's waterfalls is seriously degraded. High e. coli counts are regularly observed through testing by McMaster University near many of Hamilton's waterfalls, sometimes exceeding the provincial limits for recreational water use by as much as 400 times. The storm sewers in upstream neighbourhoods carry polluted runoff from streets and parking lots, as well as occasional raw sewage from sanitary lines that were improperly connected to
8763-418: The Northeast were opposed to the war, but it obtained financing from London-based Barings Bank to cover overseas bond obligations. New England failed to provide militia units or financial support, which was a serious blow, and New England states made loud threats to secede as evidenced by the Hartford Convention . Britain exploited these divisions, opting to not blockade the ports of New England for much of
8890-401: The River Raisin!" became a rallying cry for the Americans. In May 1813, Procter and Tecumseh set siege to Fort Meigs in northwestern Ohio. Tecumseh's fighters ambushed American reinforcements who arrived during the siege, but the fort held out. The fighters eventually began to disperse, forcing Procter and Tecumseh to return to Canada. Along the way they attempted to storm Fort Stephenson ,
9017-642: The Royal Navy. The United States was also not prepared for war. Madison had assumed that the state militias would easily seize Canada and that negotiations would follow. In 1812, the regular army consisted of fewer than 12,000 men. Congress authorized the expansion of the army to 35,000 men, but the service was voluntary and unpopular; it paid poorly and there were initially few trained and experienced officers. The militia objected to serving outside their home states, they were undisciplined and performed poorly against British forces when called upon to fight in unfamiliar territory. Multiple militias refused orders to cross
9144-721: The Sauk raided even into these territories, clashing with American forces at the Battle of Cote Sans Dessein in April 1815 at the mouth of the Osage River in the Missouri Territory and the Battle of the Sink Hole in May 1815 near Fort Cap au Gris . This left the British and their Indian allies in control of most of modern Illinois and all of modern Wisconsin. Meanwhile, the British were supplying
9271-495: The St. Lawrence. Hampton was delayed by road and supply problems and his intense dislike of Wilkinson limited his desire to support his plan. Charles de Salaberry defeated Hampton's force of 4,000 at the Chateauguay River on 25 October with a smaller force of Canadian Voltigeurs and Mohawks . Salaberry's force numbered only 339, but it had a strong defensive position. Wilkinson's force of 8,000 set out on 17 October, but it
9398-891: The Toronto–Hamilton region is Canada's most industrialized area. The area from Oshawa , Ontario around the west end of Lake Ontario to Niagara Falls, with Hamilton at its centre, is known as the Golden Horseshoe and had a population of approximately 8.1 million people in 2006. With sixty percent of Canada's steel produced in Hamilton by Stelco and Dofasco , the city has become known as the Steel Capital of Canada. After nearly declaring bankruptcy, Stelco returned to profitability in 2004. On August 26, 2007 United States Steel Corporation acquired Stelco for C$ 38.50 in cash per share, owning more than 76 percent of Stelco's outstanding shares. On September 17, 2014, US Steel Canada announced it
9525-450: The United States after the war. Some British officers and Canadians objected to handing back Prairie du Chien and especially Mackinac under the terms of the Treaty of Ghent. However, the Americans retained the captured post at Fort Malden near Amherstburg until the British complied with the treaty. Fighting between Americans, the Sauk and other indigenous tribes continued through 1817, well after
9652-512: The United States and settled into winter quarters. He resigned his command after a failed attack on a British outpost at Lacolle Mills . The Americans again invaded the Niagara frontier. They had occupied southwestern Upper Canada after they defeated Colonel Henry Procter at Moraviantown in October and believed that taking the rest of the province would force the British to cede it to them. The end of
9779-519: The United States and the British Empire and its First Nation allies, have been long debated. The War of 1812 was caused by multiple factors and ultimately led to the US declaration of war on Britain : American expansion into the Northwest Territory (now Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and northeast Minnesota) was impeded by Indian raids. Some historians maintain that an American goal in
9906-571: The United States. In 1997, there was a devastating fire at the Plastimet plastics plant. Approximately 300 firefighters battled the blaze, and many sustained severe chemical burns and inhaled volatile organic compounds when at least 400 tonnes of PVC plastic were consumed in the fire. On January 1, 2001, the new city of Hamilton was formed from the amalgamation of Hamilton and its five neighbouring municipalities: Ancaster , Dundas , Flamborough , Glanbrook , and Stoney Creek . Before amalgamation,
10033-416: The area in 1803 as he remembered it: "The city in 1803 was all forest. The shores of the bay were difficult to reach or see because they were hidden by a thick, almost impenetrable mass of trees and undergrowth". George Hamilton , a settler and local politician, established a town site in the northern portion of Barton Township in 1815. He kept several east–west roads which were originally Indian trails, but
10160-618: The border and fight on Canadian soil. American prosecution of the war suffered from its unpopularity, especially in New England where anti-war speakers were vocal. Massachusetts Congressmen Ebenezer Seaver and William Widgery were "publicly insulted and hissed" in Boston while a mob seized Plymouth's Chief Justice Charles Turner on 3 August 1812 "and kicked [him] through the town". The United States had great difficulty financing its war. It had disbanded its national bank , and private bankers in
10287-476: The city are known as Hamiltonians. Traditionally, the local economy has been led by the steel and heavy manufacturing industries. During the 2010s, a shift toward the service sector occurred, such as health and sciences. Hamilton is home to the Royal Botanical Gardens , the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum , the Bruce Trail , McMaster University , Mohawk College , and Redeemer University . McMaster University
10414-490: The city maintains a Francophone community health centre that is part of the LHIN (Centre de santé communautaire Hamilton/Niagara), a cultural centre (Centre français Hamilton), three daycare centres, a provincially funded employment centre (Options Emploi), a community college site (Collège Boréal) and a community organization that supports the development of the francophone community in Hamilton (ACFO Régionale Hamilton). According to
10541-468: The city operating 1,077 hectares (2,661 acres) of parkland at 310 locations. Many of the parks are along the Niagara Escarpment, which runs from Tobermory at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula in the north, to Queenston at the Niagara River in the south, and provides views of the cities and towns at Lake Ontario's western end. The hiking path Bruce Trail runs the length of the escarpment. Hamilton
10668-485: The city's Public Art Collection. The works are owned and maintained by the city. Founded in 1914, the Art Gallery of Hamilton is Ontario's third largest public art gallery. The gallery has over 9,000 works in its permanent collection that focus on three areas: 19th-century European, Historical Canadian and Contemporary Canadian. The McMaster Museum of Art (MMA), founded at McMaster University in 1967, houses and exhibits
10795-497: The city. Growth in the arts and culture sector has garnered media attention for Hamilton. A 2006 article in The Globe and Mail , entitled "Go West, Young Artist", focused on Hamilton's growing art scene. The Factory: Hamilton Media Arts Centre, opened a new home on James Street North in 2006. Art galleries have sprung up on streets across the city: James Street , King William Street , Locke Street and King Street . The opening of
10922-429: The city. The highest temperature ever recorded in Hamilton was 41.1 °C (106 °F) on July 14, 1868. The coldest temperature ever recorded was −30.6 °C (−23 °F) on January 25, 1884. In 2023, it was found that the city has areas of poor air quality with a high concentration of benzo(a)pyrene , particularly in neighbourhoods near industrial sites. Manufacturing is important to Ontario's economy, and
11049-516: The community included three breweries, ten importers of dry goods and groceries, five importers of hardware, two tanneries, three coachmakers, and a marble and a stone works. As the city grew, several prominent buildings were constructed in the late 19th century, including the Grand Lodge of Canada in 1855, West Flamboro Methodist Church in 1879 (later purchased by Dufferin Masonic Lodge in 1893),
11176-409: The first declaration of war . The Senate concurred in the declaration by a 19 to 13 (59%) vote in favour. The declaration focused mostly on maritime issues, especially involving British blockades, with two thirds of the indictment devoted to such impositions, initiated by Britain's Orders in Council. The conflict began formally on 18 June 1812, when Madison signed the measure into law. He proclaimed it
11303-422: The first two years of the war. He urged Lieutenant General George Prévost to maintain a defensive strategy. Prévost, who had the trust of the Canadians, followed these instructions and concentrated on defending Lower Canada at the expense of Upper Canada, which was more vulnerable to American attacks and allowed few offensive actions. Unlike campaigns along the east coast, Prevost had to operate with no support from
11430-496: The government called out 450,000 men from the state militias during the war. The state militias were poorly trained, armed, and led. The failed invasion of Lake Champlain led by General Dearborn illustrates this. The British Army soundly defeated the Maryland and Virginia militias at the Battle of Bladensburg in 1814 and President Madison commented "I could never have believed so great a difference existed between regular troops and
11557-564: The harbour and is traversed by two bridges, the QEW's Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway and the lower Canal Lift Bridge. Between 1788 and 1793, the townships at the Head-of-the-Lake were surveyed and named. The area was first known as The Head-of-the-Lake for its location at the western end of Lake Ontario. John Ryckman, born in Barton township (where present day downtown Hamilton is), described
11684-673: The indigenous fighters attacked it and besieged it – with support from the British. This was one of the few battles fought west of the Mississippi. Black Hawk played a leadership role. The American victory on Lake Erie and the recapture of Detroit isolated the British on Lake Huron. In the winter a Canadian party under Lieutenant Colonel Robert McDouall established a new supply line from York to Nottawasaga Bay on Georgian Bay . He arrived at Fort Mackinac on 18 May with supplies and more than 400 militia and Indians, then sent an expedition which successfully besieged and recaptured
11811-465: The key trading post of Prairie du Chien , on the Upper Mississippi. The Americans dispatched a substantial expedition to relieve the fort, but Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo warriors under Black Hawk ambushed it and forced it to withdraw with heavy losses in the Battle of Rock Island Rapids . In September 1814, the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo, supported by part of Prairie du Chien's British garrison, repulsed
11938-556: The main level (lobby and mall) to the plaza level. The plaza level of the Robert Thomson building extends farther north than floors 2 to 7, and is located above the centre portion of the Jackson Square mall. The building features column-free floor plates. The Jackson Square mall, as well as the 3 other office buildings in the complex are accessible from the lobby level. The building features a large common underground parking lot with
12065-409: The neighbouring town of Lewiston, New York on 19 December; four American civilians were killed by drunken Indians after the battle. A small force of Tuscarora warriors engaged Riall's men during the battle, which allowed many residents of Lewiston to evacuate the village. The British and their Indian allies subsequently attacked and burned Buffalo on Lake Erie on 30 December 1813 in revenge for
12192-418: The new base at Nottawasaga Bay and on 13 August they destroyed its fortifications and the schooner Nancy that they found there. They then returned to Detroit, leaving two gunboats to blockade Mackinac. On 4 September, the British surprised, boarded, and captured both gunboats. These engagements on Lake Huron left Mackinac under British control. The British returned Mackinac and other captured territory to
12319-459: The newcomers living in Hamilton in the 1990s were: former Yugoslavia , Poland , India , China , the Philippines , and Iraq . Hamilton also has a notable French community for which provincial services are offered in French. In Ontario, urban centres where there are at least 5,000 Francophones are designated areas where bilingual provincial services have to be offered. As per the 2016 census,
12446-410: The news much faster. He issued a proclamation alerting citizens to the state of war and urging all military personnel "to be vigilant in the discharge of their duty", so as to prevent communication with the enemy and to arrest anyone suspected of helping the Americans. He also ordered the British garrison of Fort St. Joseph on Lake Huron to capture the American fort at Mackinac . This fort commanded
12573-637: The next day. This was the first time that the United States had formally declared war on another nation, and the Congressional vote was approved by the smallest margin of any declaration of war in America's history. None of the 39 Federalists in Congress voted in favour of the war, while other critics referred to it as "Mr. Madison's War". Just days after war had been declared, a small number of Federalists in Baltimore were attacked for printing anti-war views in
12700-479: The north, cooperated with George Hamilton to prepare a proposal for a courthouse and jail on Hamilton's property. Hamilton offered the land to the crown for the future site. Durand was empowered by Hughson and Hamilton to sell property holdings which later became the site of the town. As he had been instructed, Durand circulated the offers at York during a session of the Legislative Assembly, which established
12827-590: The north. In the Southeastern United States , American forces and Indian allies defeated an anti-American faction of the Muscogee . In early 1815, American troops led by Andrew Jackson repulsed a major British attack on New Orleans , which occurred during the ratification process of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent , which brought an end to the conflict. The origins of the War of 1812 (1812–1815), between
12954-540: The north–south streets were on a regular grid pattern. Streets were designated "East" or "West" if they crossed James Street or Highway 6. Streets were designated "North" or "South" if they crossed King Street or Highway 8. The townsite's design, likely conceived in 1816, was commonplace. George Hamilton employed a grid street pattern used in most towns in Upper Canada and throughout the American frontier. The eighty original lots had frontages of fifty feet; each lot faced
13081-485: The outer sand bar that enabled Hamilton to become a major port. A permanent jail was not constructed until 1832, when a cut-stone design was completed on Prince's Square, one of the two squares created in 1816. Subsequently, the first police board and the town limits were defined by statute on February 13, 1833. Official city status was achieved on June 9, 1846, by an act of Parliament of the Province of Canada . By 1845,
13208-440: The population was 6,475. In 1846, there were useful roads to many communities as well as stagecoaches and steamboats to Toronto, Queenston, and Niagara. Eleven cargo schooners were owned in Hamilton. Eleven churches were in operation. A reading room provided access to newspapers from other cities and from England and the U.S. In addition to stores of all types, four banks, tradesmen of various types, and sixty-five taverns, industry in
13335-458: The region. These new settlers were soon followed by many more Americans, attracted by the availability of inexpensive, arable land. At the same time, large numbers of Iroquois who had allied with Britain arrived from the United States and were settled on reserves west of Lake Ontario as compensation for lands they lost in what was now the United States. During the War of 1812 , British regulars and local militia defeated invading American troops at
13462-441: The river with reinforcements for Upper Canada. When he left the next day, the reinforcements and local militia attacked in the Battle of Ogdensburg and the Americans were forced to retreat. The Americans made two more thrusts against Montreal in 1813. Major General Wade Hampton was to march north from Lake Champlain and join a force under General James Wilkinson that would sail from Sackett's Harbor on Lake Ontario and descend
13589-541: The second Canadian Tire store in Canada opened here; in 1940 the airport was completed; and in 1948, the Studebaker assembly line was constructed. Infrastructure and retail development continued, with the Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway opening in 1958, and the first Tim Hortons store in 1964. Since then, many of the large industries have moved or shut down operations in a restructuring that also affected
13716-473: The storm sewers instead of the separate sanitary sewer system. Notably, in March 2020, it was revealed that as much as 24 billion litres of untreated wastewater has been leaking into the Chedoke creek and Cootes' Paradise areas since at least 2014 due to insufficiencies in the city's sewerage and storm water management systems. Hamilton's climate is humid-continental , characterized by changeable weather patterns. In
13843-452: The thousands of sailors and shipwrights assigned there and recruited more from New York. They completed a warship (the corvette USS Madison ) in 45 days. Ultimately, almost 3,000 men at the shipyard built 11 warships and many smaller boats and transports. Army forces were also stationed at Sackett's Harbor, where they camped out through the town, far surpassing the small population of 900. Officers were housed with families. Madison Barracks
13970-667: The university's art collection of more than 7,000 objects. Supercrawl is a large community arts and music festival that takes place in September in the James Street North area of the city. In 2018, Supercrawl celebrated its 10th anniversary with over 220,000 visitors. In March 2015, Hamilton was host to the JUNO Awards . The Hamilton Film Festival stages an annual program of over 100 independent feature and short films annually, many but not all with direct production connections to
14097-707: The war and encouraging smuggling. An American army commanded by William Hull invaded Upper Canada on July 12, arriving at Sandwich ( Windsor, Ontario ) after crossing the Detroit River . Hull issued a proclamation ordering all British subjects to surrender. The proclamation said that Hull wanted to free them from the "tyranny" of Great Britain, giving them the liberty, security, and wealth that his own country enjoyed – unless they preferred "war, slavery and destruction". He also threatened to kill any British soldier caught fighting alongside Indigenous fighters. Hull's proclamation only helped to stiffen resistance to
14224-532: The war and played pivotal roles in several engagements, including the Battle of the Chateauguay which caused the Americans to abandon the Saint Lawrence River theatre. The highly decentralized bands and tribes considered themselves allies of, and not subordinates to, the British or the Americans. Various tribes fighting with United States forces provided them with their "most effective light troops" while
14351-684: The war broke out, the British Army in North America numbered 9,777 men in regular units and fencibles . While the British Army was engaged in the Peninsular War , few reinforcements were available. Although the British were outnumbered, the long-serving regulars and fencibles were better trained and more professional than the hastily expanded United States Army. The militias of Upper Canada and Lower Canada were initially far less effective, but substantial numbers of full-time militia were raised during
14478-496: The war ended in the east. Both sides placed great importance on gaining control of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River because of the difficulties of land-based communication. The British already had a small squadron of warships on Lake Ontario when the war began and had the initial advantage. The Americans established a Navy yard at Sackett's Harbor, New York , a port on Lake Ontario. Commodore Isaac Chauncey took charge of
14605-465: The war was to annex some or all of Canada, a view many Canadians still share. However, many argue that inducing the fear of such a seizure was merely an American tactic, which was designed to obtain a bargaining chip . Some members of the British Parliament and dissident American politicians such as John Randolph of Roanoke claimed that American expansionism , rather than maritime disputes,
14732-455: The war with Napoleon in Europe in April 1814 meant that the British could deploy their army to North America, so the Americans wanted to secure Upper Canada to negotiate from a position of strength. They planned to invade via the Niagara frontier while sending another force to recapture Mackinac. They captured Fort Erie on 3 July 1814. Unaware of Fort Erie's fall or of the size of the American force,
14859-495: The westernmost part of Lake Ontario ; most of the city, including the downtown section, is on the south shore. Hamilton is in the geographic centre of the Golden Horseshoe . Its major physical features are Hamilton Harbour, marking the northern limit of the city, and the Niagara Escarpment running through the middle of the city across its entire breadth, bisecting the city into "upper" and "lower" parts. The maximum high point
14986-558: Was an old trading post converted to an Army post in 1804 and this served as regional headquarters. Fort Osage , built in 1808 along the Missouri River , was the westernmost American outpost, but it was abandoned at the start of the war. Fort Madison was built along the Mississippi in Iowa in 1808 and had been repeatedly attacked by British-allied Sauk since its construction. The United States Army abandoned Fort Madison in September 1813 after
15113-439: Was applying for bankruptcy protection and it would close its Hamilton operations. A stand-alone subsidiary of ArcelorMittal , the world's largest steel producer, Dofasco produces products for the automotive, construction, energy, manufacturing, pipe and tube, appliance, packaging, and steel distribution industries. It has approximately 7,300 employees at its Hamilton plant, and the four million tons of steel it produces each year
15240-517: Was delayed by weather. Wilkinson heard that a British force was pursuing him under Captain William Mulcaster and Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Wanton Morrison and landed near Morrisburg, Ontario by 10 November, about 150 kilometres (90 mi) from Montreal. On 11 November, his rear guard of 2,500 attacked Morrison's force of 800 at Crysler's Farm and was repulsed with heavy losses. He learned that Hampton could not renew his advance, retreated to
15367-408: Was encouraged when about 800 Iroquois arrived to assist him. An American force surrendered on 24 June to a smaller British force due to advance warning by Laura Secord at the Battle of Beaver Dams , marking the end of the American offensive into Upper Canada. British Major General Francis de Rottenburg did not have the strength to retake Fort George, so he instituted a blockade, hoping to starve
15494-771: Was first visited by the French in September 1699. After the American Revolutionary War , about 10,000 United Empire Loyalists left the United States to settle in Upper Canada , now southern Ontario. In 1792, the Crown purchased the land on which Hamilton now stands from the Mississaugas in Treaty 3, also known as the Between the Lakes Purchase. The Crown granted the Loyalists lands from this purchase to encourage settlement in
15621-870: Was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in North America . It began when the United States declared war on Britain on 18 June 1812. Although peace terms were agreed upon in the December 1814 Treaty of Ghent , the war did not officially end until the peace treaty was ratified by the United States Congress on 17 February 1815. Anglo-American tensions stemmed from long-standing differences over territorial expansion in North America and British support for Tecumseh's confederacy , which resisted U.S. colonial settlement in
15748-696: Was heavily engaged in the Napoleonic Wars, most of the British Army was deployed in the Peninsular War in Portugal and Spain, and the Royal Navy was blockading most of the coast of Europe. The number of British regular troops present in Canada in July 1812 was officially 6,034, supported by additional Canadian militia. Throughout the war, the British War Secretary was Earl Bathurst , who had few troops to spare for reinforcing North America defences during
15875-470: Was initially much larger than the British Army in North America. Many men carried their own long rifles while the British were issued muskets , except for one unit of 500 riflemen. Leadership was inconsistent in the American officer corps as some officers proved themselves to be outstanding, but many others were inept, owing their positions to political favours. Congress was hostile to a standing army and
16002-557: Was later built at Sackett's Harbor. Having regained the advantage by their rapid building program, on 27 April 1813 Chauncey and Dearborn attacked York , the capital of Upper Canada. At the Battle of York , the outnumbered British regulars destroyed the fort and dockyard and retreated, leaving the militia to surrender the town. American soldiers set fire to the Legislature building, and looted and vandalized several government buildings and citizens' homes. On 25 May 1813, Fort Niagara and
16129-399: Was the primary motivation for the American declaration of war. That view has been retained by some historians. During the years 1810–1812, American naval ships were divided into two major squadrons, with the "northern division", based at New York, commanded by Commodore John Rodgers, and the "southern division", based at Norfolk, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur. Although not much of
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