Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a city located in Canada, in the province of Ontario. It is currently the 8th largest city in Canada, with a population estimated at 714,900 in the metropolitan area. (source). Within the city itself the population was 490,268 in the 2001 census.

Its nicknames — all relating to its waning days as a major industrial centre — include the Ambitious City, Steeltown, the Hammer, Hammertown, and the Lunchbucket City. However, health care has outstripped heavy industry — exemplified by the twin steel giants of Stelco and Dofasco — as the largest employer. Moreover, the education, government, services and technology sectors have all dramatically developed as heavy industry has declined.

Also belying its unfounded reputation as cultural wasteland, Hamilton has built on its historical and social background. Unusual and interesting attractions include a flying museum (Canadian Warplane Heritage), a stately residence of a premier of the Province of Canada (Dundurn Castle), a functioning nuclear reactor at McMaster University, a horticultural haven (Royal Botanical Gardens) and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

History

This section summarizes the full entry found at History of Hamilton, Ontario, and stops in 1945.

History to 1913

The Iroquois Confederacy or Five (later Six) Nations first occupied the land now covered by Hamilton. French explorers made transient visits to the area, but major European settlement did not begin until United Empire Loyalists arrived around the American Revolution and War of 1812. In the latter conflict, Britain defeated American invaders at the Battle of Stoney Creek in what is now Hamilton.

Immediately after the war, in 1815, George Hamilton laid out a townsite in Barton Township which eventually outstripped close rivals like Dundas. Hamilton was incorporated as a police village in 1833 and as a city in 1846.

Hamilton was part of (and served as seat for) Wentworth County since its creation in 1816. By 1851, the county acquired its final composition of townships: Ancaster, Barton, Beverly, Binbrook, East Flamborough, West Flamborough, Glanford and Saltfleet.

In the second half of the 1800s], Hamilton became identified and self-identified with heavy industry, billing itself as the Ambitious City and the Birmingham of Canada. It became a hotbed of working class activism, and in 1872 the cradle of the Nine Hour Movement which urged the universal limitation of working hours to nine per day.

The easy access to limestone from the Niagara Escarpment, coal mined in Appalachia, iron ore mined from the Canadian Shield and export markets through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence system made Hamilton an important iron- and steel-producing city. Diverse steel works combined to form the Steel Company of Canada in 1910 and the Dominion Steel Casting Company in 1912.

History 1914–1945

Hamiltonians participated in the First World War as combatants, but due to Col. Sir Sam Hughes' mobilization plans for the Canadian Expeditionary Force, there were no major battles associated purely with Hamiltonians. Heavy industry boomed as the Canadian and British governments' war-driven demands for steel, arms, munitions and textiles increased. War profiteering by manufacturers dampened some of the mood, but generally Hamiltonians pulled together.

After the Great War the school-building boom continued, including Memorial School, Allenby School and Earl Kitchener School. In the Roaring Twenties hundreds of low-rise apartment buildings, of three to four stories and six to ten units, grew up across the city, especially in the east end. The Great Depression of the 1930s] hit Hamilton hard, with the simultaneous and prolonged decline in domestic consumption and international trade in finished industrial goods and building supplies dried up.

When the Second World War began, Hamiltonians - like most Canadians - welcomed the spike of economic demand but not its cause. In this war, the Canadian Army mobilized its territorially recruited militia units. As a consequence, Hamilton lost hundreds of its young men on a single day in 1942, when the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry [1] was effectively wiped out at Dieppe. Read more of The Hamilton Spectator's coverage of the war. Hamilton also gave The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's) to the cause.

Geography and climate

Hamilton is located on the western end of the Niagara Peninsula and at the westernmost part of Lake Ontario, most of the city including the downtown section are on the south shore. Situated in the geographic centre of the Golden Horseshoe and is roughly the midway point between Toronto and Buffalo. The two major physical features are Burlington Bay marking the northern limit of the city and the Niagara Escarpment running through the middle of the city across its entire breadth, bisecting the city into 'upper' and 'lower' parts.

Burlington Bay/Hamilton Harbour is a natural harbour with a large sandbar called the Beachstrip. This sandbar was deposited during a period of higher lake levels during the last ice age, and extends southeast through the central lower city to the escarpment. Hamilton's deep sea port is accessed by ship canal through the beach strip into the harbour and is traversed by two bridges, the Skyway Bridge (part of the QEW highway) and the lower Canal Lift Bridge. Hamilton Harbour ranks one of Canada's largest seaports. The Hamilton Port Authority manages the heavily industrial harbour.

The escarpment is in many places a 100 metre (330 foot) vertical wall of limestone shale with many waterfalls and creeks falling over it; including Stoney Creek, Red Hill Creek, Grindstone Creek, Spencer Gorge Waterfall and Chedoke Creek — flow over the Escarpment and into the Harbour. The numerous waterfalls within the City of Hamilton limits has recently inspired local tourism interests to market Hamilton as the "City of Waterfalls." At least 20 waterfalls and cascades flow over Hamilton Mountain within city limits. On average the mountain is 4-5km inland from the Lake Ontario shoreline and at its edge affords some spectacular views of the city and harbour. Outside of the city this feature is more commonly known as Hamilton Mountain, or to locals just "the mountain", although this designation is far from being geographically accurate.

The climate of Hamilton is humid continental and relatively mild compared with most of Canada, albeit cold enough in winter. The average January temperature is -3.6C (26.5F) but most days rise just above freezing making for slushly conditions during snowfalls. Winter snowfall averages 113cm (44") with great year-to-year variation. The average July temperature is 22.5C (72.5F) and humidity is usually high during the peak of summer. Temperatures exceeding 34C (93F) occur but not with regularity.

It might be noted that the climate of the lower city is in general much more sheltered and milder than on top of "the mountain", which has a shorter growing season and, in winter is prone to more wind whipped snowsqualls. It is not uncommon for lower city residents, with no snow present in their neighbourhoods, to drive up into the upper city and be surprised at encountering a thick blanket of fresh white snow.

Summer rains can be heavy but in general severe weather is rare. One notable exception occurred November 9, 2005 when a tornado lifted off a school gymnasium roof on the Upper Mountain, injuring two students. Environment Canada confirmed a F1 tornado struck the area, this was the latest date in any year that a confirmed tornado touched down in Canada.

Demographics

According to the mid-2001 census, nearly one-quarter of the metropolitan area population of Hamilton was foreign-born, making Hamilton the Canadian city with the third highest proportion of foreign-born citizens after Toronto (44%) and Vancouver (38%).

Hamilton is overwhelmingly populated by people of a white ethnic background - 90.7%, almost half having British Isles origin[2] including Italian, German, French, Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese, and Eastern Europeans who settled during the city's early 20th-century industrial boom. Hamilton has one of the largest concentration of Serbians in Ontario, and the eastern side of the city contains a significant and growing East Indian community.

The top countries of birth for the newcomers living in Hamilton in 2001 were: Yugoslavia, Poland, India, the People’s Republic of China, the Philippines, Iraq, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. About 8% of immigrants of the 1990s cited Yugoslavia as their country of birth.

The population estimates there were 714,900 people residing in Hamilton, located in the province of Ontario, of whom 48.8% were male and 51.2% were female. Children under five accounted for approximately 5.8% of the resident population of Hamilton. This compares with 5.8% in Ontario, and almost 5.6% for Canada overall.

In mid-2001, 14.2% of the resident population in Hamilton were of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) compared with 13.2% in Canada, therefore, the average age is 37.8 years of age comparing to 37.6 years of age for all of Canada.

In the five years between 1996 and 2001, the population of Hamilton grew by 6.1%, compared with an increase of 6.1% for Ontario as a whole. Population density of Hamilton averaged 482.9 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 12.6, for Ontario altogether.

At the time of the census in May 2001, the resident population of the Hamilton city authority had 490,268 people, but had 662,401 when encompassing the Greater Hamilton Area compared with a resident population in the province of Ontario of 11,410,050 people.

Religious Groups

Christianity is the predominant religion in Hamilton. Protestantism is barely ahead of Catholicism, while Roman Catholicism has strengthened due to mostly Eastern European and Filipino population growth.

Protestant: 242,940 or 37.0%
Roman Catholic: 232,435 or 35.4%
other Christian: 32,760 or 5.0%
Muslim: 12,880 or 1.9%
Buddhist: 4,725 or 0.6%

Old Hamilton

The term "old city of Hamilton" is used throughout this article to describe the city before amalgamation in 2001, which then had 331,100 residents.

Downtown began and remains around Gore Park and the intersection of King and James Streets. Central Hamilton extends from the base of the Mountain north to Barton Street, west to Chedoke Creek or Dundurn Street, and east to approximately Wentworth Street or Sherman Avenues. West Hamilton or the west end begins at Dundurn Street or Chedoke Creek. East Hamilton or the east end begins at approximately Ottawa Street or Kenilworth Avenue. North Hamilton or the north end begins at Barton Street or the Canadian National Railways (CN) tracks.

As city limits expanded to include the Mountain, the retronym for the city below the Escarpment became the Lower City (now often just referred to as downtown). The east/west divide line for the mountain is Upper James Street, and the east/west divide line for downtown is James Street. The south Mountain begins at approximately Limeridge Road or the Lincoln M. Alexander Expressway.

The former boroughs of Hamilton-Wentworth Region, are: Stoney Creek, Dundas, Flamborough, Ancaster and Township of Glanbrook. They have maintained their names as wards in the municipal government in the city of Hamilton. Locally these boroughs are referred to as "the suburbs" of Hamilton.

Attractions

Despite its blue-collar reputation, Hamilton has a large variety of historical, cultural and educational attractions.

Historical attractions

Canadian Warplane Heritage, static and flying museum, Mount Hope airport
Dundurn Castle, including the Hamilton Military Museum and Dundurn Park, west end
Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology, east end
Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Heritage Museum, downtown
Whitehern Historic House & Garden, downtown
Erland Lee House, birthplace of Women's Institutes, Upper Stoney Creek
Battlefield House Museum, Stoney Creek

Popular attractions

(see also Sports below)

Hess Village, a popular summer patio hangout. Many bars, clubs and restaurants feature live music and attractions all year round. Hess Street, downtown.
African Lion Safari, Flamborough
Flamboro Downs, horse racing as well as car racing, Flamborough
Canadian Football Hall of Fame, downtown
Confederation Park, featuring water park, east end, Stoney Creek

Economy and environment

Industrial economy and environment

By the 1940s, the ecological cost of pollution had taken its toll on Hamilton: heavy metals made fish from the Bay inedible, air pollution made breathing difficult and industrial dumps (notably the Lax lands) contaminated land. People recognized there was a problem, but two decades of economic depression and war left them with no stomach to face the costly investments and social changes to fix it.

Veterans returned to the factories just in time to see the founding strike of Local 1005 of the United Steelworkers of America at Stelco, one of four major ones in 1946. Labour peace ensured by the Rand formula, established by Mr. Justice Ivan Rand when he settled the Ford strike in Windsor, allowed the industrial economy to grow. Studebaker set up shop in Hamilton, shutting down in 1966 as its last car factory.

Despite the promise shown in the booming 1960s, signs of trouble were beginning to show. The Harbour dredging scheme (including its associated political scandal) and reports by the International Joint Commission revealed that a few more decades of pollution had all but destroyed the marine environment.

In the early 1980s, Hamilton had entered the economic downturn common to most steel towns in the developed world, such as Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, but survived relatively well. But a couple of bitter strikes at [Stelco did not help matters. The days of heavy industry were numbered.

In the last decade, Hamilton's heavy industry reached a stable level, Stelco has returned to profitability in more recent quarters and non-unionized Dofasco is the world's most profitable steel maker. The Hamilton Harbour Commision continues to report healthy shipments and steady increases. Decreased industrial activity and increased pollution control measures have combined to increase water and air quality, and to allow Hamilton to showcase its fine natural attributes in a better light. For those employed in or relying on the industrial sector, prospects are not good.

As of December 18, 2005, Stelco is still in bankruptcy protection. Dofasco is likely to be bought by a foreign company.

Cultural economy

As the industrial economy has faltered, the local economy by necessity became much more diversified. However, this process was made possible by decisions taken as early as the 1930s as discussed above.

Attempts at nourishing and spreading cultural economic activities paid off. Dundurn Castle was refurbished as Centennial project. Local TV station CHCH introduced Canadians to Smith & Smith, which featured Steve and Morag Smith (the former better known from his stint as Red Green). Hamilton became a moderately important film and television adjunct of the Toronto film market.

Hamilton gave birth or havens to a number of successful musicians of various genres over the years. Jazz-blues musicians The Washingtons were popular in the 1940s, and brother Jackie Washington continues to perform. Folksinger Stan Rogers was born in Dundas, where he lived until his death in 1982. The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra under Boris Brott, although often troubled financially since his departure as Music Director in 1990, achieved wide renown as one of Canada's finest orchestras. The eponymous Brott Music Festival, founded in 1988 is Canada's largest orchestral music festival and is a cornerstone cultural activity of the summer months. It joins the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the Philharmonic, Theatre Aquarius and Opera Hamilton as one of the City's the leading arts organizations.

Among the rock-pop acts formed in Hamilton or by Hamiltonians were: Teenage Head, Forgotten Rebels, Junkhouse, Sarah Harmer, and Appleton. Furthermore, Daniel Lanois, a solo artist in his own right and producer for U2, lived in Hamilton and recorded at Grant Avenue Studios. The Sonic Unyon label started and fostered the Hamilton sound in the early 1990s and continues today as one of Canada's most successful independent record labels and distributors.

Hamilton hosted several cultural and craft fairs since the 1970s, notably Festival of Friends and Earthsong, which made it a major tourist destination. Unfortunately, these fair trade venues and celebrators of world music declined in quality, with the cancellation of Earthsong, only the Festival of Friends remains, now in 2006, it's 31st season.

Other economy

The growth of post-secondary education — heralded by the arrival of McMaster University in 1930 and the foundation of Mohawk College in 1967 — led to numerous direct and indirect jobs in education and research. The addition of a medical school at McMaster in the late 1960s built upon local health care strengths to such an extent that health care has outstripped industry as the region's primary employer. A massive McMaster University research campus called Innovation Centre is planned for development on the former Camco lands near Westdale.

A business collaboration between a Canadian hockey player and a retired Hamilton policeman began quietly in 1964 at 65 Ottawa Street North. After the player's untimely death in 1974, an ambitious expansion scheme of the retiree's led Tim Hortons Donuts to become an enormously successful food retailer selling doughnuts, coffee and light snacks. Founder Ron Joyce sold the business to the Wendys fast food empire, but not before bestowing his name on Hamilton Place.

An enthusiasm for urban renewal gripped Hamilton, as it did most other cities in North America, in the 1960s and early 1970s. Historic buildings, including Old City Hall and the original farmers market, were destroyed to make way for wider streets, more parking and large shopping centres. Hamilton's penchant for one-way streets and synchronized traffic lights, only recently reconsidered and slightly modified, date from just before this period.

Outside the industrial sector, a brutal recession from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, combined with the accelerated tendency to relocate commercial activity in the cheaper suburbs, devastated the downtown core, and many small businesses. Qualified or failed attempts at reviving the central business district included the restoration of the Gore Park fountain, the proposed conversion of vacant office space into condominium apartments and allowing two-way traffic on certain downtown streets for the first time in half a century.

More dramatic and successful have been the greening projects of Hamilton undertaken since the 1990s: the Lax lands on Bay Street North were capped with clay and landscaped into a beautiful park, remediation began at Cootes Paradise in west Hamilton, a waterfront trail linking these two places was built, abandoned railway right-of-ways in both the east end and west end were converted to multi-use paths.

Politics

Politically, Hamilton is known for producing groundbreaking, colourful and left-wing politicians — illustrated by the polarizing and erratic career of Sheila Copps. Locally, though, the big political stories have included the controversial amalgamation of Hamilton with its suburbs in 2001, and the destruction of green space around the Red Hill Valley to make way for the Red Hill Creek Expressway.

Municipal politics

Hamilton has had a city charter since 1846]. In 1974], it combined with the Wentworth County and the latter's other towns and townships to form the two-tier municipal federation of Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth. Portions of the former county became part of Burlington and Cambridge.

The old city of Hamilton was represented at regional council by one councillor each from its two-councillor wards; the other municipalities by their mayors and an additional regional councillor each. The regional chair was appointed by the Ontario government rather than by the residents or the regional councillors. After a successful drive to make the office elective, the point became moot in 2001.

Municipal powers were divided or shared in turn by the city and the county (or its constituent parts besides Hamilton). For instance, the city and county continued their separate boards of education, while the police service and social services became regional responsibilities, and fire service and business licensing remained second-tier responsibilities.

In 2001, the former two-tier Hamilton-Wentworth region was amalgamated into a one-tier city called Hamilton like one of its predecessor governments. New ward boundaries coincided substantially or exactly with old Hamilton's wards and the former municipal boundaries of its suburbs.

As in most Ontario cities, incumbent councillors and mayors tend to be re-elected in municipal elections marked by low turnout. However, in the 1940s, Hamilton City Council was presided over by Sam Lawrence, a unionized worker called the Labour Mayor. However, for most of the time, moderates of the centre-right or centre-left — such as Lloyd D. Jackson in the 1960s and Robert Morrow in the 1980s — presided over council.

Victor "Vic" Copps was a popular centre-left mayor in the 1970s. While taking part in the Around the Bay Race in 1976, he suffered a stroke which incapacitated him. His wife Geraldine Copps served as a city councillor after that unfortunate event. Copps Coliseum is named after him rather than his daughter, Sheila Copps.

Provincial politics

Hamilton has traditionally been represented by four to six Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) or Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Old Hamilton was always suspicious of its larger neighbour and provincial capital, Toronto and had a reputation for being highly unionized. These factors combined to electing working class and left-wing MPPs, often from the New Democratic (NDP) and Liberal parties, who frequently achieved notoriety if not power outside Hamilton.

Liberal MPP Lily Munro was caught in the Patti Starr scandal which contributed to Premier David Peterson's electoral defeat in 1990. So often under- or unrepresented in at Queen's Park, the old city of Hamilton boasted that each of its three MPPs were ministers in the NDP government of Bob Rae in the 1990s.

In contrast, the former suburbs and rural precincts of old Hamilton voted for less radical and less noteworthy Progressive Conservative representatives, including government backbenchers for Rae's successor, Mike Harris. The Harris government's forced amalgamation of Hamilton was highly controversial among suburban and urban Hamilton voters. It also made provincial riding boundaries and names automatically coincide with those at the federal level, reducing new Hamilton's representation at Queen's Park, the Provincial Legislature, in Toronto, by one member.

Federal politics

Progressive Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker appointed the late Ellen Fairclough as Secretary of State, making her Canada's first female cabinet minister, in 1957. A downtown provincial office building is named in her honour.

John Munro, a Trudeau-era Liberal cabinet minister and a sometime husband of Lily Munro, was the subject of political innuendo and criminal allegations dismissed after an Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) probe. He came in fourth in the first mayoral election for amalgamated Hamilton. The Hamilton International Airport was renamed in his honour.

Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Joe Clark appointed Lincoln "Linc" Alexander, the first Black Canadian Member of Parliament, as Minister of Labour in his short-lived government. Alexander later became Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, another first for blacks in Ontario and Canada. Ironically for a man who never learned to drive, Linc was honoured by having the long-awaited Mountain east-west expressway named after him.

Sheila Copps, daughter of Victor and Geraldine, was a Liberal candidate, first for the Ontario legislature and then for the House of Commons, where she represented Hamilton East from 1984] until 2004. She was a leading and vociferous member of the Liberal "Rat Pack" while the Liberals were in opposition until 1993. An early and strong supporter of the leadership of Jean Chrétien, she served in several posts including Deputy Prime Minister. When Paul Martin assumed the prime ministership, Copps' star waned as she was excluded from cabinet and lost her bitter nomination campaign to Tony Valeri in her re-districted riding.

In the 2006 federal election, all three of Hamilton's main urban ridings were won by NDP candidates, Wayne Marston, David Christopherson and Chris Charlton. The two predominantly rural ridings were both won by Conservatives, David Sweet and Dean Allison.

Media

Radio

AM 820 - CHAM, country
AM 900 - CHML, news/talk
AM 1150 - CKOC, oldies
FM 93.3 - CFMU, McMaster University campus radio
FM 94.7 - CIWV, ("The Wave"), smooth jazz
FM 95.3 - CING, ("Country 95.3"), country
FM 101.5 - CIOI, Mohawk College campus radio
FM 102.9 - CKLH, ("K-Lite FM"), adult contemporary
FM 107.9 - CJXY, ("Y108"), classic rock (licensed to Burlington but marketed toward Hamilton)

Television

Channel 11: CHCH, CH
Channel 14: "Cable 14"
Channel 45: CKXT-1, "Sun TV" (from Toronto)

CTV, CBC, SRC and TVOntario service is received directly from the network's Toronto transmitters; Global service is received from CIII's rebroadcaster in Paris.

Print

The city's main daily newspaper is the Hamilton Spectator. Established in 1876, it has a daily circulation over 100,000 and over 300,000 weekly readers. It is owned by City Media Group, a division of Torstar.

Brabant Newspapers. Publishes weekly editions for Hamilton News, Ancaster News, Dundas Star, and Stoney Creek News (now owned by City Media.)

View Magazine (local weekly)

Hamilton Magazine (published by Town Media, recently sold to Osprey Media)

Biz Magazine (also published by Town Media)

Recently Hamilton several newspapers and magazines have been launched: H-Magazine, Urbanicity and Mayday Magazine, possibly due to the loss of once-locally-owned print media being sold to Toronto-based corporations.

Sports

Current professional teams

Logo Club League Venue Established Championships Hamilton Tiger Cats logo Hamilton Tiger-Cats Canadian Football League Ivor Wynne Stadium 1950 8 Hamilton Bulldogs logo Hamilton Bulldogs American Hockey League Copps Coliseum 2002 0

Notable residents and former players include Angelo Mosca. The CFL's annual Eastern Division Labour Day classic pits the Hamilton Tiger-Cats against perennial rivals the Toronto Argonauts. Oddly, for many years before his death, Harold Ballard owned both the Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Maple Leafs, the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise in rival city Toronto. The team's prowess has fallen dramatically from its glory days in the 1960s and early 1970s, when it was a powerhouse.

In recent decades, Hamilton has yearned and applied for an NHL franchise. It has been continually disappointed, and voted against by nearby Buffalo and Toronto who would lose revenue if Hamilton had a NHL franchise. The world class arena Victor K. Copps Coliseum was built downtown on Bay Street North. The sports and entertainment arena, named for a former mayor and father of Sheila Copps, has hosted the World Junior Championship Games and is home ice for the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League. The Hamilton Tigers played in the NHL during the early '20s.

The Around the Bay Race circumnavigates Hamilton Harbour or Burlington Bay. Although it is not a proper marathon, it is the longest continuously held long distance foot race in North America. The local newspaper also hosts the amateur Spectator Indoor Games.

Hamilton is twinned with Flint, Michigan, and its amateur athletes compete in the Canusa Games, held alternatively there and here since 1957. Hamilton hosted the very successful World Road Cycling Championship Games in 2003.

File:Hamilton 2010.gif

Logo for unsuccessful bid for Commonwealth Games 2010

The Hamilton Golf Club hosted the 2003 Canadian Open golf championship in which Bob Tway won. The traditional course layout, designed by famed course architect Hary Colt, proved very popular with touring pros and will again host the Canadian Open in 2006.

In 1998, the Ontario Raiders of the National Lacrosse League were based in Hamilton and played at Victor K. Copps Coliseum. In 1999, the team moved to Toronto and became the Toronto Rock.

Since 2002, the Hamilton Thunder have played in the Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL). They play at the Brian Timmis Stadium next to the larger Ivor Wynne Stadium. The Hamilton Steelers played in the Canadian Soccer League during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The Hamilton Thunderbirds play in the Intercounty Baseball League.

The Hamilton Wildcats play in the Ontario Australian Football League.

Hamilton were the hosts of the first Commonwealth Games (then called British Empire Games) in 1930, and bid unsuccessfully for the Commonwealth Games in 2010, losing out to New Delhi in India

Famous athletes from Hamilton

Dave Andreychuk, professional hockey player in the NHL.
Steve Christie, ex-placekicker in the NFL, who holds a Super Bowl record for longest field goal kicked at 54 yards.
Ken Dryden, ex-professional hockey player in the NHL, elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983.
Marty McSorley, ex-professional hockey player infamous for his assault of Donald Brashear in a game on February 21, 2001.
Pat Quinn, ex-professional hockey player, and current head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Steve Staios, professional hockey player playing for the Edmonton Oilers.

Transportation

Air

John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport is located on the Mountain at Mount Hope in the former Glanbrook Township. Scheduled passenger service is provided by WestJet, who for several years used the airport as their primary point of access to Southern Ontario over the more expensive Toronto Pearson International Airport, and Air Canada Jazz; other airlines also offer vacation charters. The airport is also a major lower-cost alternative to Pearson for cargo air service.

Rail

Canadian National Railways (CN) serves Hamilton for lifting and setting off traffic for the Rail America (Southern Ontario Railway Shortline), but as heavy industry declined and the preferred mode of transportation changed to road, the number of branch lines and feeder tracks has declined dramatically. Until the early 1970s, the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway offered passenger service. Since the late 1980s, GO Transit has offered sporadic passenger train service from its James Street North station. In the late 1990s, GO Transit operations were consolidated at the refurbished Art Deco building on Hunter Street which formerly served as the TH&B station. The nearest VIA Rail Canada station is at Aldershot (GO Station) in west Burlington. YA

Bus

Hamilton has good bus connections with cities in southern Ontario and western New York. GO Transit offers frequent and reliable express bus service to Toronto, now from the TH&B station and formerly from Rebecca Street. Various other companies, such as Greyhound Canada and Coach Canada offer less frequent service to St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Buffalo, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Brantford and London.

Within the city, the Hamilton Street Railway or HSR offers good service in the lower city (especially on east-west routes), reduced service on the Mountain and skeletal service outside the old city of Hamilton (except for Dundas, which is served about as well as the Mountain). Burlington Transit also serves Burlington via York Boulevard and the former Highway 2, and HSR connects downtown Burlington under the Burlington Skyway Bridge.

Highways and expressways

The following controlled access highways and expressways serve Hamilton:

Queen Elizabeth Way, north Hamilton and Stoney Creek
Highway 403, Ancaster and west Hamilton
Highway 6, Flamborough, Hamilton and Glanbrook
Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway, ‘The LINC,' Mountain
Burlington Street (upper deck), north Hamilton

There are several other current or former Ontario highways in Hamilton, but they are not divided, controlled access highways. The controversial Red Hill Creek extension of the LINC is under construction, and will join the existing mountain portion of the LINC with the QEW in east Hamilton.

City streets

All of the old city of Hamilton is on a broken great grid pattern, with major north-south streets spaced approximately one mile apart. Great grid streets on the Mountain bear the name of their lower city counterparts with the prefix "Upper" except for Garth Street, which would be Upper Dundurn Street if the pattern held.

East-west streets on the Mountain are pretty regular, while those in the lower city (especially major ones) are very irregular. King and Main Streets run approximately parallel to one another though they intersect at the Delta. They are usually one way streets in opposite directions, so they are best conceptualized as a single very wide boulevard and are envied by other Ontario cities for their usually efficient flow of traffic.

However, some contend that the very efficiency that makes driving easy discourages pedestrian streetlife and hurts downtown businesses. Streets that have recently converted from one-way to two-way, like James St. North, have enjoyed a resurgence in local business, reinvestment in buildings, and improving economic activity.

City neighbourhoods

Lower City (below Escarpment)

[Westdale] http://www.westdalevillage.ca/
North End
Chinatown
Corktown
Durand
The Delta, where King and Main Streets (normally parallel) intersect
Bartonville
Normanhurst
Rosedale
Greenhill
Stoney Creek
Jamesville
[International Village] http://www.hamiltoninternationalvillage.ca/
[LoSo][8]
East Hamilton
Riverdale
Dundas

Mountain (above Escarpment)

Concession [9] (oldest settlement area on the mountain, once an African American neighbourhood settled by slaves escaping the U.S. via the underground railroad[[10]])
Ancaster Village
Mount Hope (site of John C. Munro International Airport)
Binbrook
Sherwood (Fennell East between Upper Ottawa and Mountain Brow Blvd)
Meadowlands
Waterdown

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