Photo: WabbitWanderer from London, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0James L. McIntyre Centennial Library and Arthur Wishart Library / West Wing are Sault Ste. Marie’s two public libraries
The 78,574 people Sault Ste. Marie public library serves have 2 branches to choose from. 2.9 items per person served went out on loan in 2024. Ontario counts visits over one typical week and multiplies by 52, so the yearly figure is an estimate.
CCivic life#699 of 866 in OntarioSault Ste. Marie’s civic life grade, input by input
Civic life in Sault Ste. Marie grades C: #699 of the 866 towns graded in Ontario. A civic life grade combines library visits per resident, registered charities per 1,000 residents and the province’s volunteering rate, and all three exist for Sault Ste. Marie.
Informal groups and mutual aid go uncounted.
Sources: provincial statistics, the CRA, Statistics Canada.
137 registered charities give a Sault Ste. Marie mailing address
That is 1.7 per 1,000 residents, against 1.4 in the typical Ontario town and 1.4 across Canada. The CRA files each charity under its mailing address, so a service town collects its region’s charities and a suburb or rural municipality few.
32.1%
Volunteering here is a provincial number: 32.1% of people across Ontario in 2023, likely 31.0% to 33.2%, set in a ten-province range of 25.2% to 40.3%.
Statistics Canada, table 45-10-0039.
Ahead of most of Ontario’s town libraries on 1 of 3 measures
Measured per person served against the 195 town libraries of Ontario’s 2024 statistics.
Town libraries only; regional systems left out.
About 4,006 visits in a typical week
The year 2024 at Sault Ste. Marie public library, in the library’s own counts.
Sault Ste. Marie’s 2 public libraries
In order of distance from the centre of Sault Ste. Marie, as the crow flies.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Library locations. Locations merge two sources, OpenStreetMap and Statistics Canada’s 2020 list, without school, college or hospital libraries.
Questions about the library and civic life in Sault Ste. Marie
Does Sault Ste. Marie have a public library?
Yes, 2: James L. McIntyre Centennial Library and Arthur Wishart Library / West Wing.
How busy is Sault Ste. Marie public library?
It counted 208,312 in-person visits and lent 231,676 items in 2024.
Library statistics: Ontario Public Library Statistics, 2024. Library locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Statistics Canada, Open Database of Cultural and Art Facilities (2020). Charities: Canada Revenue Agency, List of charities (2024), charitable organizations only.
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).