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List of company towns in Canada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gagnon, Quebec, an iron mining company town of Québec Cartier Mining Company, abandoned in 1985.

This is a list of current and former company towns in Canada. True company towns are those "closed communities owned and administered by the industrial employer".[1] Other rural communities which did not function strictly in this way but were still dominated by a single industry may also be called company towns and are featured in this list.

Their formation were common in the early and mid 20th century, with the mining and pulp and paper industries making up the bulk of the towns. Many of these towns were planned communities, with their developers choosing for them unique design plans, such as the Garden city movement in the case of Kapuskasing, Ontario and Kitimat, British Columbia.

Few company towns remain in Canada, as most have been abandoned or since incorporated into a municipality. The only remaining example of a company town today may be Churchill Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador, an unincorporated community home to Nalcor Energy’s Churchill Falls Generating Station.[2]

British Columbia

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Community Founded Company Industry Status Refs
Allenby Copper mining Abandoned
Anyox 1914 Granby Consolidated Copper smelting Abandoned in 1935
Bamberton 1912 Associated Cement Company Cement plant Abandoned in 1980
Barkley Valley Gold mining Abandoned
Blakeburn Coal mining Abandoned
Blubber Bay Domtar Chemical Company Limestone quarrying Mostly depopulated
Bralorne Gold mining Mostly depopulated
Brexton 1931 Bridge River Exploration Company Gold mining Abandoned
Bridge River Bridge River Power Project Hydropower Mostly depopulated
Britannia Beach 1900 Britannia Mining and Smelting Co. Copper and gold mining
Camp McKinney 1896 Gold mining Abandoned in 1903 [3][4]
Cassiar 1952 Cassiar Asbestos Company Asbestos mining Abandoned in 1990s [5]
Cassidy Granby Company Coal mining
Clayburn 1905 Vancouver Fireclay Company Brickmaking Abandoned
Coalmont 1911 Columbia Coal and Coke Coal mining
Copper Mountain Granby Company Copper mining Abandoned 1958
Fraser Mills 1889 Crown Zellerbach Sawmilling, pulp and paper Now part of Coquitlam
Gold River 1967 Logging, pulp and paper Now incorporated
Harmac Pulp and paper Abandoned
Hendrix Lake Mining Abandoned
IOCO Imperial Oil Company Oil Abandoned.
Jedway Granby Company Iron mining Abandoned in 1969
Juskatla 1940s Logging Abandoned
Kemano 1950s Alcan Hydropower Abandoned in 2000
Kimberley 1909 Cominco Ltd. Lead and zinc mining Now incorporated
Kitimat 1951 Alcan Aluminium smelting Now incorporated
Kitsault 1979 Phelps Dodge Molybdenum mining Now private
Maillardville 1889 Crown Zellerbach Sawmilling, pulp and paper Now part of Coquitlam
Minto City 1934 Gold mining
Mount Sheer 1900 Britannia Mining and Smelting Co. Copper and gold mining
Nitinat Crown Zellerbach Sawmilling, pulp and paper
Ocean Falls 1906 Bella Coola Pulp and Paper Co. Pulp and paper Mostly depopulated
Pioneer Mine Gold mining Abandoned
Port Belmont 1918 Gold mining Abandoned in 1926
Port Hammond 1910s Pulp and paper Now part of Maple Ridge
Port Mellon Howe Sound Pulp and Paper Corp. Pulp and paper
Powell River 1910 The Powell River Company Pulp and paper Now part of City of Powell River
Premier 1918 Gold mining Abandoned in 1953
Red Gap 1912 Straits Lumber Co. Sawmilling Abandoned
Stewart 1930 Gold mining Now incorporated
Tasu 1918 Copper and gold mining Abandoned in 1980s
Tumbler Ridge 1981 BC Resources Investment Co. Coal mining Now incorporated
Van Anda Van Anda Copper & Gold Mining Co. Copper and gold mining Mostly depopulated
Woodfibre Whalen Pulp and Paper Company Pulp and paper Mostly depopulated

Manitoba

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Community Founded Company Industry Status Refs
Flin Flon 1927 Hudbay Copper and zinc mining Now incorporated
Sherridon Sherritt Gordon Nickel mining Mostly depopulated
Thompson 1956 Inco Ltd. Nickel mining Now incorporated
Pine Falls 1926 Manitoba Pulp & Paper Co. Pulp & Paper Now Incorporated

Newfoundland and Labrador

[edit]
Community Founded Company Industry Status Refs
Churchill Falls 1961 Nalcor Energy Hydropower Still a company town [6]
Grand Falls 1905 Anglo-Newfoundland Development Co. Pulp and paper Now incorporated
Labrador City 1960s Iron Ore Company of Canada Iron mining Now incorporated
Wabush 1962 Iron Ore Company of Canada Iron mining Now incorporated

Nova Scotia

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Community Founded Company Industry Status Refs
Broughton 1905 Breton Coal, Iron & Railway Co. Coal mining Mostly depopulated [7]
New Waterford Coal mining Now part of Cape Breton RM

Nunavut

[edit]
Community Founded Company Industry Status Refs
Nanisivik 1975 Breakwater Resources Lead and zinc mining Abandoned in 2002

Ontario

[edit]
Community Founded Company Industry Status Refs
Batawa 1939 Bata Shoe Company Shoemaking Now part of Quinte West
Burchell Lake 1959 North Coldsteam Mines Limited Copper mining Abandoned in 1967
Creighton 1900 Inco Ltd. Mining Abandoned in 1988
Dubreuilville 1961 Dubreuil Brothers lumber company Sawmilling Now incorporated
Espanola 1900s Mead Corporation Pulp and paper Now incorporated
Iroquois Falls 1912 Abitibi Power and Paper Company Pulp and paper Now incorporated
Jerome Mine 1937 Mining Corporation of Canada Gold mining Abandoned
Kapuskasing Kimberly-Clark Forest Products Pulp and paper Now incorporated
Killarney Mostly depopulated
Manitouwadge 1953 General Engineering Co Limited Copper extraction Now incorporated
Ramsey 1937 Mining Corporation of Canada Gold mining Abandoned
Smooth Rock Falls approx. 1930's Abitibi / Tembec / Malette Pulp and Power Closed in 2006
Terrace Bay 1947 Kimberly-Clark Forest Products Pulp and paper Now incorporated
Timmins 1912 Hollinger Mines Gold mining Now incorporated
Walkerville 1890 Hiram Walker and Sons Ltd. Distilling Now part of Windsor


Quebec

[edit]
Community Founded Company Industry Status Refs
Arvida 1927 Alcoa Aluminium smelting Now part of Saguenay
Fermont 1971 Québec Cartier Mining Company Iron mining Now incorporated
Gagnon 1957 Québec Cartier Mining Company Iron mining Abandoned in 1985

Saskatchewan

[edit]
Community Founded Company Industry Status Refs
Eldorado 1946 Eldorado Mining and Refining Uranium mining Abandoned [8]
Goldfields 1936 Cominco Ltd. Gold mining Abandoned
Uranium City 1956 Eldorado Mining and Refining Uranium mining Incorporated and since dissolved [9]

Yukon

[edit]
Community Founded Company Industry Status Refs
Clinton Creek 1967 Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Asbestos mining Abandoned in 1978
Elsa 1935 Treadwell/United Keno Hill Lead, silver, and zinc mining Abandoned in 1989
Keno City Hecla Mining Lead and zinc mining Mostly depopulated

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Company Towns | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  2. ^ "Our Story". Churchill Falls. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  3. ^ Julie Cancela (from The Ditch, 1986). "Camp McKinney". Osoyoos and District Museum. Retrieved April 24, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Hester White. "The Story of Camp McKinney (excerpt)". Osoyoos and District Museum. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  5. ^ "Cassiar... do you remember? Cassiar and Clinton Creek Section". Cassiar in 1976. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Our Story". Churchill Falls. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  7. ^ "Book tells story of Cape Breton's ghost town - Community - Cape Breton Post". www.capebretonpost.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-25. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  8. ^ "Chapter 7. Uranium Mining in Northern Saskatchewan: A Public-Private Transition (Part 2)". International Development Research Centre. Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
  9. ^ Fission Avenue: Uranium City "Beaverlodge"[permanent dead link]