Corner Brook

For the submarine, see HMCS Corner Brook (SSK 878).

Corner Brook (2011 population: 19,886 CA 26,623) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Located on the Bay of Islands at the mouth of the Humber River, the city is the largest population centre in the province outside the Avalon Peninsula. As such, Corner Brook functions as a service centre for western and northern Newfoundland.

History

The area was surveyed by Captain James Cook in 1767. The Captain James Cook Historic Site stands on Crow Hill overlooking the city. By the middle of the 19th century the population of Corner Brook was less than 100, and the inhabitants were engaged in fishing and lumber work.

The area was originally four distinct communities, each with unique commercial activities: Curling, with its fishery; Corner Brook West (also known as Humber West or Westside) with its retail businesses; Corner Brook East (also known as Humbermouth and the Heights) with its railway and industrial operations; and Townsite (known as Corner Brook), home to the employees of the pulp and paper mill. In 1956, these four communities were amalgamated to form the present-day City of Corner Brook.

Corner Brook is home to the Corner Brook Pulp & Paper Mill (owned by Kruger Inc.), which is a major employer for the region. The city has the largest regional hospital in western Newfoundland. It also has a wide array of shopping and retail businesses and federal and provincial government offices. It is also home to Grenfell Campus, Memorial University, as well as campuses of Academy Canada and College of the North Atlantic. Corner Brook is also home to the province's newest high school, Corner Brook Regional High, which is an amalgamation of the former Regina and Herdman Collegiate high schools.

Sports

Corner Brook was home to the Corner Brook Royals of the West Coast Senior Hockey League until 2012, when they moved to nearby Deer Lake. Winners of the 1986 National Title, The Allan Cup. The team plays their home games at the Pepsi Centre, formerly the Canada Games Centre. The arena was built in 1997; it was one of the main venues used when the city of Corner Brook - along with the towns of Deer Lake, Pasadena, and Stephenville - hosted the 1999 Canada Games.

Corner Brook is the only city with the distinction of twice hosting Raid the North Extreme, a televised 6-day multi-sport expedition race held in wilderness locations across Canada. In 2004, Raid the North Extreme served as the Adventure Racing World Championship.

Corner Brook was also the host of the 2011 Special Olympics Provincial Winter Games from February 18â€"20.

Corner Brook is also home to Marble Mountain Ski Resort, a downhill skiing resort, and Blow-Me-Down trails, a cross country ski area.

The city was a leg of the ITU World Cup Triathlon for seven years in a row.

Arts and culture

Corner Brook is home to Grenfell Campus, Memorial University where a strong and vivacious arts community exists both within the school and well into the public. Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre among other institutions thrive in promoting the arts on all levels from visual arts to theatre and well beyond. The area's developing community radio station, Bay of Islands Radio, is also stationed at Grenfell Campus.

Visual artists living and working within the community include Jordan Bennett, Rodney Mercer, Jillian Parsons, Jonathan S. Green, and Ellen J. Wareham.

Corner Brook is home to Stage West Theatre Festival, a summer theatre festival running through the month of July, and Gros Morne Summer Music, a classical music festival that spans July and August.

The March Hare literary festival occurs every March and celebrates poetry and written works from around the world, featuring poets from around Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and the world.

In April, the April Rabbit showcases new and young writers.

Municipal government

The Corner Brook City Council has five city councillors, in addition to a mayor and deputy mayor. The current mayor of the city is Charles Pender. The deputy mayor is Bernd Staeben. Municipal elections in Corner Brook are held every four years, on the last Tuesday in September. In the 2009 municipal elections held on September 29, 2009; Neville Greeley was elected mayor in a close race against incumbent Charles Pender (2005-2009). In the most recent elections held on September 24, 2013, Greeley did not run for re-election and Charles Pender was again elected mayor over councillor Donna Francis. The current mayor and council were sworn in on September 29, 2013.

Transportation

Route 1, the Trans-Canada Highway, passes the south side of the city on a high ridge before descending to the east, into the Humber Valley.

The city is accessed by air services at Stephenville International Airport, 65 km (40 mi) southwest, and Deer Lake Regional Airport, 55 km (34 mi) northeast.

Corner Brook Transit is a privately operated local bus service. The city is also served by four taxi cab companies.

Climate

See also

• List of cities and towns in Newfoundland and Labrador
• Ernest Harmon Air Force Base

References

External links

• Richard Symonds, Architecture and Planning of the Corner Brook Townsite 1923-1925, Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador
• Railway Society of Newfoundland - Maintains historic train display at Humbermouth in Corner Brook
• Corner Brook website

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