Photo: Derek Hatfield from Peterborough, Canada · CC BY 2.0At 2.9 loans per person served, Thunder Bay Public Library lends less than 75% of Ontario’s town libraries
Thunder Bay Public Library serves 108,843 people from 3 branches. 2.6 visits per person served came through its doors in 2024. The yearly visit count is an estimate: Ontario libraries count a typical week, then multiply by 52.
C+Civic life#444 of 866 in OntarioWhat Thunder Bay’s civic life grade weighs
Thunder Bay gets a C+ for civic life, #444 of 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 Thunder Bay.
Informal groups and mutual aid go uncounted.
Sources: provincial statistics, the CRA, Statistics Canada.
243 registered charities give a Thunder Bay mailing address
It works out to 2.1 per 1,000 residents, where the typical Ontario town has 1.4 and Canada’s 1.4. Counting by mailing address favors a service town, where the surrounding area’s charities get their mail, over the suburbs and countryside around it.
32.1%
Across Ontario, 32.1% of people volunteered through an organization in 2023, a provincial estimate with a likely range of 31.0% to 33.2%; the lowest province sits at 25.2% and the highest at 40.3%.
Statistics Canada, table 45-10-0039.
Behind most of Ontario’s town libraries on all 3 measures
Each figure is per person served, set against 195 town libraries in Ontario’s statistics for 2024.
Town libraries only; regional systems left out.
About 5,371 visits in a typical week
What Thunder Bay Public Library counted in 2024, as the library reported it.
3 public libraries in Thunder Bay
Nearest first, measured in a straight line from the centre of Thunder Bay.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Library locations. Two sources make the map, OpenStreetMap and a 2020 Statistics Canada list, with academic and private libraries dropped.
Questions about the library and civic life in Thunder Bay
Does Thunder Bay have a public library?
Yes, 3: Mary J.L. Black, Thunder Bay Public Library and Thunder Bay Public Library: Brodie Resource Library.
How busy is Thunder Bay Public Library?
The 2024 totals: 279,292 in-person visits, 314,291 loans.
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).