Red LakeOntario

Commuters in Red Lake have a short way to work, 13 min on average, less than in Ontario’s towns and Canadian towns

91% of commuters drove, in line with Ontario’s towns (88%) and Canadian towns (89%).

Rent takes less of local pay in Red Lake than in Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: 14% of household income

Shelter took 30% or more of income for 13% of households, lower than both Ontario’s towns (22%) and Canadian towns (18%). Three quarters of households own their home, in line with Ontario’s towns (76%) and Canadian towns (74%).

Violent crime weighs more on Red Lake than on Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: a violent severity index of 253

Violent incidents came to 50.5 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Ontario’s towns (10.5) and Canadian towns (12). Property crime accounts for 20.4 incidents per 1,000 residents a year.

Winter nights bite in Red Lake: January lows of −23.5°C, colder than Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns

Frost usually lifts by 28 May and returns around 20 September: 114 days without it. There are 203 days of frost in a typical year, higher than both Ontario’s towns (139) and Canadian towns (159). Expect July highs of around 24.0°C in Red Lake. Snow peaks in November: 45 cm in a normal year.

Lives run shorter around Red Lake: 73.7 years, 7.8 below the typical Canadian town’s region

The health survey and life expectancy numbers here cover the Northwestern Health Unit

Arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure affect 16% of the region’s adults on average, below Ontario’s towns (17%) and Canadian towns (17%) alike. The region has more smokers than Ontario, 16% of adults to 11%. By contrast, the survey puts the region’s share in very good or excellent health at 44%, behind the 51% for Ontario. The town’s own part is the trip to care: residents of Red Lake live 4.0 km from a hospital on average, close to the typical town’s 3.7 km.

Red Lake’s grade for hazard risk: a B

Wildfire is a moderate presence around Red Lake: 5.4% of the land within 25 km has burned since 1986, 0.14% a year, short of the band that counts against Risk. Earthquakes matter little: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.006 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. The national flood inventory has no study of the town.

More of Red Lake’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: 24%

19% are under 15, higher than both Ontario’s towns (15%) and Canadian towns (16%). People 65 and over make up 16% of the town.

In Red Lake, November normally means −2°C afternoons and −9°C nights

Into December, the normals move to −10°C and −19°C. In November, the normal is 44 mm of rain and snow. Hour-by-hour figures come from ECCC’s Red Lake forecast, on the Weather page.

Each person Balmertown Library serves borrows 1.6 items, fewer than at 96% of Ontario’s town libraries

Balmertown Library serves 4,094 people from a single building.

More of the land around Red Lake is protected than around nearly 9 in 10 Canadian towns

No national park lies within 100 km. 4 beaches are mapped within 5 km, none with a name. The largest is Trout Lake Conservation Reserve: 60,186 ha, 0.2 km from the edge of town.

The schools around Red Lake answer to 3 boards

Schooling in French is on offer at one of the 5; in Ontario, one in ten schools teach in it. Elementary schools here average 158 students; in Ontario, 365. Also worth knowing: the 4 with results split, 1 in the upper two fifths in Ontario and 2 in the lower. Taken together, Red Lake and its 3 km edge hold 4 elementary schools and 1 secondary school for 745 students.