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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Government
Thunder Bay is a single-tier municipality governed by a council-manager system. The Thunder Bay City Council is a unicameral legislative body comprising a mayor and twelve councillors. The mayor and five "councillors-at-large" are elected by the entire voting population of the city, while the seven remaining councillors are elected in wards. The mayor and members of the city council serve four-year terms without term limits. (Prior to the 2006 municipal election, the mayor and city councillors served three-year terms.) The seven wards are Current River, McIntyre, McKeller, Neebing, Northwood, Red River, and Westfort.[1] Thunder Bay's city manager is Tim Comisso.[2] As the city's senior administrative official, the city manager is responsible for the overall administration of city departments and developing policies, and provides advice to city councillors on city organization and operating procedure.[3]
Thunder Bay is represented in the Canadian Parliament by New Democratic Party members Bruce Hyer and John Rafferty, and in the Ontario Legislature by Ontario Liberal Party members Michael Gravelle and Bill Mauro.
City symbols
There are various symbols associated with the City of Thunder Bay.
- Sleeping Giant
The Sleeping Giant is a formation of mesas and sills on the Sibley Peninsula in Lake Superior which resembles a reclining giant is a well known symbol of the city. The Sibley Peninsula partially encloses the waters of Thunder Bay, and dominates the view of the lake from the northern section of the city. The Sleeping Giant also figures on the city's coat of arms and the city flag. It received the most votes in the online survey for the Seven Wonders of Canada competition sponsored by the CBC. It did not make it to the final list of seven but was designated as the "People's Choice" wonder.[4]
- Coat of arms
thumb|right|The Coat of Arms of the City of Thunder Bay, which incorporates features from the coats of arms of Port Arthur and Fort William. The Coat of arms of Thunder Bay, Ontario is a combination of the coats of arms of both Port Arthur and Fort William, with a unifying symbol—the Sleeping Giant—at the base of the arms.[5]
- Corporate logo
The city logo depicts a stylized thunderbird, called Animikii, a statue of which is located on the city's Kaministiquia River Waterfront Park. The slogan, Superior by Nature, is a double play on words reflecting the city's natural setting on Lake Superior.[6]
- City flag
Thunder Bay's flag was created in 1972, when mayor Saul Laskin wanted to promote the city by having a distinctive flag. The city held a contest, which was won by Cliff Redden. The flag has a 1:2 ratio, and depicts a golden sky from the rising sun behind the Sleeping Giant, which sits in the blue waters of Lake Superior. The sun is represented by a red maple leaf, a symbol of Canada. Green and gold are Thunder Bay's city colours.[7]
Sister cities
Thunder Bay has five sister cities on three continents, which are selected based on economic, cultural and political criteria.[8]
