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Demographics

According to the 2006 Canadian Census, more than one-fifth of the local population was not born in Canada. This is the third highest such proportion in Canada after Toronto at 49%, and Vancouver at 39%. Between 2001 and 2006, the foreign-born population increased by 7.7% while the total population of the Hamilton census metropolitan area (CMA) grew by 4.3%. The share of Canada's recent immigrants who settle in Hamilton has remained unchanged since 2001 at 1.9%. Hamilton was home to 20,800 immigrants who arrived in Canada between 2001 and 2006, half of whom were born in Asia and the Middle East, while nearly one-quarter (23%) were from Europe. Hamilton also had a high proportion of people with English, Scottish and Irish ancestry. Nearly three in ten residents reported English as their sole ethnic origin or as one of their ancestral origins. As well, nearly one in five reported Scottish ancestry either alone or in combination with another ethnic origin.

The top countries of birth for the newcomers living in Hamilton in the 1990s were: former Yugoslavia, Poland, India, China, the Philippines, and Iraq. The city proper of Hamilton was home to 67,845 visible minorities in 2006, representing 13.6% of its population, up from 10.9% in 2001. Visible minorities comprised 22.8% of Ontario's population, primarily due to high proportions in Toronto . The population is 84.8% White, 3.0% South Asian/East Indian, 2.8% Black, 1.9% Chinese, 1.5% Aboriginal, 1.2% Southeast Asian, 1.1% Latin American, 1.1% Arab, 0.8% Filipino, and 1.8% Other.

Children aged 14 years and under accounted for 17.8% of the population while those 65 years of age and older constituted 14.9%, resulting in an average age of 39.6 years.

The most described religion in Hamilton is Christianity although other religions brought by immigrants are also growing. The 2001 census indicates that 77.56% of the population adheres to a Christian denomination, Protestants constituting 37.08% of the population, while Roman Catholics number 35.48% (significantly lower than the national average) with Christ the King Cathedral as the seat of the Diocese of Hamilton. The remaining 5.0% consists of Orthodox and independent Christian churches. The largest non-Christian religion is Islam with 12,880 adherents or 1.96% of the total population. Other religions, including Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism, constitute less than one percent each. Those with no religious affiliation accounted for 115,510 (17.63%) in 2001.

Environics Analytics, a geodemographic marketing firm that created 66 different ''clusters'' of people complete with profiles of how they live, what they think and what they consume, sees a future Hamilton with younger upscale Hamiltonians—who are tech savvy and university educated—choosing to live in the downtown and surrounding areas rather than just visiting intermittently. More two and three storey townhouses and apartments will be built on downtown lots; small condos will be built on vacant spaces in areas such as Dundas and Westdale to accommodate newly retired seniors; and more retail and commercial zones will be created. The city is also expected to grow by more than 28,000 people and 18,000 households by the year 2012.

Economy

The most important economic activity in Ontario is manufacturing, and the Toronto-Hamilton region is the most highly industrialized section of the country. The area from Oshawa, Ontario around the west end of Lake Ontario to Niagara Falls, with Hamilton at its centre, is known as the Golden Horseshoe and has a population of approximately 8.1 million people. The phrase was first used by Westinghouse President, Herbert H. Rogge, in a speech to the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, on January 12, 1954. ''Hamilton in 50 years will be the forward cleat in a golden horseshoe of industrial development from Oshawa to the Niagara River...150 miles long and 50 mi km wide...It will run from Niagara Falls on the south to about Oshawa on the north and take in numerous cities and towns already there, including Hamilton and Toronto.''

With sixty percent of Canada's steel being produced in Hamilton by Stelco and Dofasco, the city has become known as the Steel Capital of Canada. After nearly declaring bankruptcy, Stelco returned to profitability in 2004 and on August 26, 2007 United States Steel Corporation acquired Stelco for $38.50 (Canadian) in cash per share, owning more than 76 percent of Stelco's outstanding shares. Dofasco, in 1999, was the most profitable steel producer in North America and in 2000, the most profitable in Canada. It currently has approximately 7,300 employees at its Hamilton plant and produces over four million tons of steel annually, representing about 30% of Canada's flat rolled sheet steel shipments. Dofasco is one of North America's most profitable steel companies, and Dofasco was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index in 2006 for the seventh year in a row. Dofasco produces steel products for the automotive, construction, energy, manufacturing, pipe and tube, appliance, packaging and steel distribution industries. Dofasco is currently a stand alone subsidiary of Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel producer. Previously ordered by the U.S. Department of Justice to divest itself of the Canadian company, Arcelor Mittal has now been allowed to retain Dofasco provided it sells several of its American assets instead.

Originally, in the 1940s the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport was used as a wartime air force training station. Today TradePort International Corporation manages and operates the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport. Under TradePort management, passenger traffic at the Hamilton terminal has increased from 90,000 in 1996 to approximately 900,000 in 2002. The airport's mid-term target for growth in its passenger service is five million air travelers annually. The air cargo sector of the airport has 24-7 operational capability and strategic geographic location, allowing its capacity to increase by 50% since 1996; 91,000 metric tonnes (100,000 tons) of cargo passed through the airport in 2002. Courier companies with operations at the airport include United Parcel Service and Cargojet Canada. In 2003, the city began developing a 30-year growth management strategy which called, in part, for a massive aerotropolis industrial park centred around Hamilton Airport. The aerotropolis proposal, now known as the ''Airport Employment Growth District'', is touted as a solution to the city's shortage of employment lands. Hamilton turned over operation of the airport to TradePort International Corp. in 1996. In 2007, YVR Airport Services (YVRAS), which runs the Vancouver International Airport, took over 100 per cent ownership of TradePort in a $13-million deal. The airport is also home to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.

A report by Hemson Consulting identified an opportunity to develop 1000 ha acre -2 of greenfields (the size of the Royal Botanical Gardens) that could generate an estimated 59,000 jobs by 2031. A proposed aerotropolis industrial park at Highway 6 and 403, has been debated at City Hall for years. Opponents feel the city needs to do more investigation about the cost to taxpayers before embarking on the project.

Government

Citizens of Hamilton are represented by three tiers of government. The federal representation consists of five members of parliament serving in the Parliament of Canada. At the provincial tier, there are five elected members who serve in the Legislature of Ontario. The municipal tier consists of one mayor, elected city wide, and 15 city councillors, elected individually by each of the 15 ward divisions, to serve on the Hamilton City Council. Additionally, at the municipal tier, each ward elects a school board trustee for each of the school boards serving in their respective area.

right.]] Municipal elections in Hamilton occur every four years, the last one falling on November 13, 2006. The next election will occur on November 8, 2010.

The Hamilton City Council is granted authority to govern by the province through the Municipal Act of Ontario. The Province of Ontario has supervisory privilege over the municipality and the power to redefine, restrict or expand the powers of all municipalities in Ontario. Further, the province provides oversight of Hamilton City Council through the Ontario Municipal Board.

The Criminal Code of Canada is the chief piece of legislation defining criminal conduct and penalty. The Hamilton Police Service is chiefly responsible for the enforcement of federal and provincial law. Although the Hamilton Police Service has authority to enforce, bylaws passed by the Hamilton City Council are mainly enforced by Provincial Offences Officers employed by the City of Hamilton.

There is a strong military presence in Hamilton, with the John Weir Foote Armoury located on downtown John street, housing the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry as well as the 11th Field Hamilton-Wentworth Battery. The Hamilton Reserve Barracks, located on Pier Nine, houses the naval reserve division HMCS Star, 23 Service Battalion and the 23 Field Ambulance.

Education

Hamilton is home to several post-secondary institutions that have created numerous direct and indirect jobs in education and research. McMaster University moved to the city in 1930 and today has over 22,000 enrolled students, of whom almost two-thirds come from outside the immediate Hamilton region. Brock University of St. Catharines, Ontario has a satellite campus used primarily for teacher education located in Hamilton. Colleges in Hamilton include:

Public education for students from kindergarten through high school is administered by three school boards. The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board manages approximately 120 public schools, while the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board operates 60 schools in the greater Hamilton area. The Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest operates one elementary and one secondary school (École secondaire Georges-P.-Vanier), and the Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud operates two elementary schools and one secondary school. Calvin Christian School/Hamilton District Christian High School is a private K-12 school in the area. Hillfield Strathallan College is located on the West Hamilton mountain and is a CAIS member, non-profit school for children from early Montessori ages through grade twelve.

The Dundas Valley School of Art is an independent art school which has serviced the Hamilton region since 1964. Students range in age from 4 years old to senior citizens and enrollment as of February 2007 was close to 4,000. In 1998, a new full time diploma programme was launched as a joint venture with McMaster University. The faculty and staff are highly regarded regional artists.

The Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts is home to many of the area's talented young actors, dancers, musicians, singers and visual artists. The school is equipped with a keyboard studio, spacious dance studios, art and sculpting studios, gallery space and a 300 seat recital hall. HCA offers over 90 programs for ages 3–93, creating a “united nations” of arts under one roof.

Culture

Hamilton has built on its historical and social background with attractions including the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, the HMCS Haida National Historic Site (Canada's most famous warship and the last remaining Tribal Class in the world), Dundurn Castle (the residence of a Prime Minister of Upper Canada), the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the African Lion Safari park, and the Cathedral of Christ the King.

Founded in 1914, the Art Gallery of Hamilton is Ontario's third largest public art gallery. The Gallery has over 9,000 works in its permanent collection that focus on three areas: 19th-century European, Historical Canadian and Contemporary Canadian.

The McMaster Museum of Art, founded on campus in 1967, houses McMaster University’s collection of more than 6,000 works of art, including exhibitions on the historical and contemporary work and the Herman Levy collection of Impressionist painting.

Growth in the arts and culture sector has garnered high level media attention for Hamilton. A ''Globe and Mail'' article in 2006, entitled ''Go West, Young Artist,'' focused on the growing art scene in Hamilton. The Factory: Hamilton Media Arts Centre, opened up a new home on James Street North in 2006. Art galleries are springing up on many streets across the City: James Street, Locke Street and King Street, to name a few. This, coupled with growth in the downtown condo market which is drawing people back to the core, is having an impact on the cultural fabric of the city. The opening of the Downtown Arts Centre on Rebecca Street has spurred further creative activities in the core. The Community Centre for Media Arts (CCMA) continues to operate in downtown Hamilton. The CCMA works with marginalized populations and combines new media services such as website development, graphic design, video, and information technology, with arts education and skills development programming.

Sports

Hamilton was the host of Canada's first major international athletic event, the first Commonwealth Games (then called the British Empire Games) in 1930. Hamilton bid unsuccessfully for the Commonwealth Games in 2010, losing out to New Delhi in India.

The Around the Bay Road 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, and is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon The museum hosts an annual induction event in a week long celebration that includes school visits, a golf tournament, a formal induction dinner and concludes with the Hall of Fame game involving the local CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Ivor Wynne Stadium.

In addition to team sports, Hamilton is also home to an auto race track, Flamboro Speedway and Canada's fastest half-mile harness horse racing track, Flamboro Downs. Another auto race track, Cayuga International Speedway, is located near Hamilton in the Haldimand County community of Nelles Corners, situated between Hagersville and Cayuga.

Hamilton hosted an NHL team in the 1920s called the Hamilton Tigers. The team folded after a player's strike in 1925. Research in Motion CEO Jim Balsillie has shown interest in bringing an NHL team to southern Ontario. The NHL's Phoenix Coyotes filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and have included within their Chapter 11 reorganization a plan to sell the team to Balsillie and move the team and its operations to Hamilton, Ontario. However, due to legal issues, the move of the Coyotes to the Hamilton area seem improbable.

Sister cities

Hamilton is a sister city with Flint, Michigan, and its young amateur athletes compete in the Canusa Games, held alternatively in the two cities since 1958. Flint and Hamilton hold the distinction of having the oldest continuous sister-city relationship between a U.S. and Canadian city, since 1957.

Other City Relationships: