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Fort William IR 52

Fort William 52Ontario

1,038 residents make their home in this First Nations reserve in Ontario. Statistics Canada counts it in the Thunder Bay metro area.

2 places within 19 kmMap →
Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Fort William IR 52

Fort William 52, Ontario · Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Population
1,038
people, 2025 estimate
Median age
37.6
years · Ontario’s towns: 46.8
Postsecondary
36%
of residents 15 and over hold a postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree · Canadian towns: 56%
Walk, cycle, transit
9%
walk, cycle or take transit to work · Canadian towns: 8%

Is Fort William 52 a good place to live?

Floods and other hazards weigh less here (A−). Its weakest is jobs & income (C−). Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for schools and B− for walkability. It lags on health as well (C−).

Reserves such as Fort William 52 stay out of the grades and the ranked lists. Statistics Canada publishes too little of their data, and what it does publish can’t be weighed fairly against other towns.

Rents here are the metro area's average, shared by every town and neighbourhood in it. No Safety Grade: no police service publishes a crime rate for this place on its own. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread. A First Nations reserve: subject grades only, with no overall grade and no place in ranked lists.

How Fort William 52 grades

Each subject compares Fort William 52 with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.

How grading works

Reserves such as Fort William 52 stay out of the grades and the ranked lists. Statistics Canada publishes too little of their data, and what it does publish can’t be weighed fairly against other towns.

How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →

What makes Fort William 52 stand out

The 2 things Fort William 52 does most differently from other towns.

Picked automatically from the data

The data

Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Fort William 52.

Work & commuteJobs & income C−

Trips to work from Fort William 52 are shorter than from Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: 18 min on average

9%walk, cycle or take transit

The car took 88% of commuters, about level with both Ontario’s towns (88%) and Canadian towns (89%).

How working residents got to work · census 2021

Car or van88%
Public transit5%
Walk5%
Census 2021Fort William 52OntarioCanada
Average trip18 min29 min26 min
Car or van88%88%89%
$57,600
median household income, 2020
14%
worked from home, May 2021
47%
of commuters work inside the municipality

Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Counted in May 2021, under pandemic rules: fewer commutes and more people between jobs than in a normal year.

HealthHealth C−

Lives run shorter around Fort William 52: 76.5 years, 5.0 below the typical Canadian town’s region

49%very good or excellent healthC−Health Grade

Source area for health survey and life expectancy: the Thunder Bay District Health Unit

Adults who call their own health very good or excellent: 49%, below Ontario’s towns (51%) and Canadian towns (52%) alike. At 17%, the share of adults who smoke tops the 11% for Ontario. The town’s own part is the trip to care, and Fort William 52’s is long: 6.9 km to a hospital on average, against 3.7 km typical.

Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised

Fort William 5249%
Ontario’s towns51%
Canadian towns52%
HealthFort William 52OntarioCanada
Life expectancy at birth76.582.881.5
Smokers17%10%12%
Very good or excellent health49%51%52%
Chronic conditions (average share)18%17%17%
76.5
years of life expectancy, 2022/2024
6.9 km
from homes to a hospital, on average
17%
of adults smoke, age-standardised
6.1 km
from homes to a pharmacy, on average

Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities

Natural hazardsHazard risk A−

Flood mapping exists for Fort William 52: 2 on record, latest by Lakehead Region Conservation Authority

Lowwildfire bandA−Hazard risk Grade

12% of radon tests in the survey area came in above the guideline, above both Ontario’s towns (4%) and Canadian towns (6.6%). Shaking is less of a worry than in most places, at $0.004 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). Burn scars are few around Fort William 52, with 0.2% of the land within 25 km touched by fire since 1986 (0.006% a year).

Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³

Fort William 5212%
Ontario’s towns4%
Canadian towns6.6%
HazardsFort William 52OntarioCanada
Radon tests above the guideline12%4%6.6%
Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year$0.004$0.043$0.030
$0.004
expected earthquake loss a year per $1,000 of buildings
Low
wildfire band
16 km
to the nearest land burned since 1986
2
flood studies on the national inventory

NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory

Climate

Fort William 52 has colder winters than Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: January lows of −19.2°C

24.9°CJuly afternoons

For the wettest month, look to July: 117 mm on average. There are 206 days of frost in a typical year, above Ontario’s towns (139) and Canadian towns (159) alike. Summer highs in Fort William 52 reach 24.9°C in July.

Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020

Winter−5.8°C
Spring8.6°C
Summer23.6°C
Autumn10.9°C
Normals, 1991–2020Fort William 52OntarioCanada
January night low−19.2°C−9.1°C−13.5°C
Days with frost a year206139159
July afternoon high24.9°C26.7°C25.5°C
Precipitation a year790 mm902 mm883 mm
206
days with frost a year
110
days with precipitation a year

Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Thunder Bay)

Who lives here

More of Fort William 52’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: 87%

37.6median age

Those 65 and older account for 16% of residents. Children under 15 make up 20%, higher than both Ontario’s towns (15%) and Canadian towns (16%).

Fort William 52OntarioCanada

Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021

Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over

No certificate, diploma or degree36%
Postsecondary qualification36%

Women and men · all residents

50.8% of Fort William 52’s residents are women

Women numbered 490 and men 475 in 2021, next to a 50.9% share of women for Canada.

Who lives in Fort William 52
Fort William 52OntarioCanada
Under 1520%15%16%
15 to 6464%65%64%
65+16%19%19%
No certificate, diploma or degree36%15%16%
Postsecondary qualification36%56%56%

Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Ontario and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+

SchoolsSchools B

Catholic schools are a larger share around Fort William 52: 7 of 12, against 34% in Ontario

12schools within 3 kmBSchools Grade

On the tests, 3 of 9 schools land above the middle in Ontario, 3 under it. Over three years, results rose at 6 of its 9 tested schools. Within 3 km, 2 boards share the schools, below Ontario’s towns (4) and Canadian towns (3) alike. None of them teaches in French, though 10% of schools in Ontario do.

SchoolLevelStudentsSystem
Pope John Paul II Elementary School CatholicLargest elementary schoolElementary · Grades 7–8Elementary · Grades 7–8530English Catholic
Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute VocationalLargest secondary schoolSecondary · Grades 9–12Secondary · Grades 9–121,075English public
Nor'wester View Public School Top fifth in OntarioResults in the top fifth in OntarioElementary · Grades JK–8Elementary · Grades JK–8300English public

See all 12 schools →

Schools by system · Schools within 3 km

English Catholic7
English public5
Schools within 3 kmFort William 52OntarioCanada
School boards243
Nearest elementary school4.6 km0.5 km0.5 km
Nearest secondary school5 km1.2 km1.2 km
4,790
students at the schools within 3 km, 2024-25
5 km
to the nearest secondary school
4.6 km
to the nearest elementary school

Provincial school lists and results, 2024-25

Weather

In Fort William 52, November normally means 3°C afternoons and −7°C nights

3°Ca normal November afternoon

Next comes December, with normal highs of −5°C and lows of −15°C. Rain and snow over a typical November come to 40 mm. The year peaks in July (25°C) and bottoms out in January (−19°C). The forecast on the Weather page is ECCC’s for Thunder Bay.

Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020

November3°C
December−5°C
January−8°C
February−5°C
SeasonHighLowRain and snow
Winter−6°C−17°C96 mm
Spring9°C−5°C166 mm
Summer24°C10°C311 mm
Autumn11°C−1°C216 mm
−7°C
a normal November night
40 mm
of rain and snow in a normal November

ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Thunder Bay); the forecast is on the Weather page

Town hall

Fort William 52 sends Marcus Powlowski (Liberal Party of Canada) to the Commons from Thunder Bay—Rainy River

The Liberal Party of Canada has 71 of the 122 MPs elected in Ontario.

Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada

Library & civic lifeCivic life grade D

Fort William 52 has no public library of its own; the nearest is Mary J.L. Black, 4.8 km away

After it comes Thunder Bay Public Library: Brodie Resource Library (Thunder Bay), 5.8 km away.

Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada

Outdoors

A national park 19 km from Fort William 52: Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area

0.3%of the land within 10 km protected

Of the land within 10 km, 0.3% has protected status, below both Ontario’s towns (2.3%) and Canadian towns (2.3%). A provincial park, Thompson Island Provincial Park, lies 13 km away. 2 areas within 10 km are protected for nature. Swimmers have 3 beaches within 5 km, Sand Trap the nearest.

Protected land · of the land within 10 km

Fort William 520.3%
Ontario’s towns2.3%
Canadian towns2.3%
OutdoorsFort William 52OntarioCanada
Protected land within 10 km0.3%2.3%2.3%
Public protected areas within 10 km044
19 km
to Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area
13 km
to Thompson Island Provincial Park
3
beaches within 5 km

Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Fort William 52

15pages on Fort William 52
Nearby attractions

St. Patrick's Cathedral and 7 more in and around Fort William 52

The best-known places to visit in and around Fort William 52 come first; the full list is on the Attractions page.

All attractions →
Places: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Wikidata · ODCAF · federal and Québec heritage registers · CPCAD

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (3)

Famous people from around Fort William 52

No notable person born in Fort William 52 is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.

How we find them →
Photo credits

Marie Avgeropoulos: vagueonthehow from Tadcaster, York, England, CC BY 2.0 · Kevin Durand: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Eric Staal: Benjamin Reed, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jordan Staal: Benjamin Reed, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Alex Delvecchio: TGC-Topps Gum Cards, Public domain · Matt Murray: Michael Miller, CC BY-SA 4.0

About Fort William 52

First Nations reserve in Ontario

Fort William 52 is a First Nations reserve in Ontario, which Statistics Canada treats as a census subdivision of its own.

Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.

Population
1,038 (people, 2025 estimate)
Province or territory
Ontario
Census division
Thunder Bay
Metro area
Thunder Bay
First Nation
Fort William
Census subdivision
3558003

Fort William 52’s neighbours

The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada

Thunder BayOliver PaipoongeThunder BayOliver PaipoongeFort William 52
How the neighbours grade
TownPeoplekmOverallCostSafetyHealth
Fort William 521,038————C−
Thunder Bay117,6719.6C−C−C−C−
Oliver Paipoonge6,52419B−B−B−D

People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.

Questions about Fort William 52

What kind of homes are in Fort William 52?

Single-detached houses make up 81% of the homes here, where Canadian towns sit at 64%; 0% are in high-rise apartments. 24% of households are one person, and the average is 2.7.

Has Fort William 52 grown?

Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses it fell from 981 to 964 residents (1.7% down; Canadian towns’ median grew 4.1%); Statistics Canada now estimates 1,038.

Is Fort William 52 a young town or an old one?

The median resident is 37.6 years old, against 45.2 for the median of Canadian towns. 20% are under 15 and 16% are 65 or over.

Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).