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Glace Bay

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Glace Bay (2001 pop. 16,984) is a community in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

Formerly an independently incorporated town (1901-1995), Glace Bay has been amalgamated into the larger regional municipality. Prior to amalgamation, Glace Bay had been the province's fourth largest urban area and was the largest town in Nova Scotia (in population).

Geography

Glace Bay is situated in the eastern part of CBRM and forms part of Industrial Cape Breton. It is situated at: 46°11'49"N, 59°57'25"W

Suburbs include: Reserve Mines, Dominion, Tower Road.

The local landscape is heavily forested and hilly. Some of the low lying areas at the bottom of hills consist of marshes and bogs. There are rocky cliffs around the ocean along most of the coast and erosion continues to be a problem in some areas. Part of North Street has fallen into the ocean due to erosion and because of this the street had to be split into Upper and Lower North Street.

Many areas surrounding former coal mines are beginning to collapse from subsidence as the mine shafts disappear. There are several brownfields around the community.

History

French soldiers first mined coal near Glace Bay to supply Fortress Louisbourg. They named the location Baie de Glace (literally, Ice Bay) because of the sea ice which filled the ocean each winter. The town once had a population of 28,000 in the 1950s and 1960s and was offered the option of becoming a city, but chose to remain a town to retain the title of biggest town in Nova Scotia.

Economy

Glace Bay was once a prosperous coal mining town. In 1860 the Glace Bay Mining Company was formed and it operated two mines. The first large colliery, the Hub Shaft, opened in 1861. Large-scale mining commenced in 1893 after exclusive mining rights were granted to the Dominion Coal Company. Glace Bay was incorporated as a town nine years later. At its high point the company operated eleven mines in all, and was responsible for 40% of Canada's coal production. Coal was transported on the Sydney and Louisburg Railway to both of those ports for shipping. The S & L Railway's main operations, including the roundhouse and machine shops were located in Glace Bay. Glace Bay's extensive coal and rail operations made the town the industrial center of Cape Breton. As coal mining became less important, the mines were closed until, in 1984 Colliery No. 26 was closed by the Cape Breton Development Corporation. Many residents of Glace Bay started to work at the two other coal mines in the area: Prince Colliery in Point Aconi and Phalen Colliery and Lingan Colliery in Lingan. However, coal mining continued its decline with Lingan closing in the mid-1990s, followed by Phalen in 1999, and Prince in 2001.

Fishing was also an important industry throughout the 20th century. However, by the 1990s fish stocks were so depleted that the fishery was closed. Some fish processing still occurs here.

High unemployment in the town has forced many residents to leave to find work elsewhere, although the tides are beginning to change as Glace Bay's economy becomes stronger.

Present day

The population of Glace Bay is now a little less than 20,000000. The people of Glace Bay are very proud of their mining heritage and efforts continue to be made to revive the town's economy. In 2001, the addition of the call center Stream International to Glace Bay has encouraged the local economy. This has offered new life to Glace Bay, and already the infrastructure, roads, and businesses are beginning to look better.

Parks Canada maintains a national historic site in Glace Bay honouring the role of Guglielmo Marconi in the development of radio communications. In 1902, the first official wireless message was sent from this site across the Atlantic Ocean to England. A spark gap transmitter with 75 kilowatts of power fed 4 tall antennas on the 5 acre site overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Currently there is much hope, economically. The Stream International call centre has opened and currently employs 1200 people from the surrounding area. The Australian-led consortium Xstrata Donkin Coal Development Alliance has also won the rights to develop an abandoned mine site in Donkin. If developed, this project is expected to add 300 jobs to the Glace Bay and Donkin area economies within the next several years.

Flora and fauna

Glace Bay has a large amount of forests and swamp surrounding the town and within the town limits. Mammals present in Glace Bay include squirrels, lions, humans, rabbits, fox, deer, mice, beavers, bigfoot, muskrats, bald eagles, great horned owls, lockness, coyotes and dogs, cats, and horses. Bird species include various species of waterfowl such as ducks and occasionally Canada geese. Crows, gulls,and pigeons are also common within the town limits. Smaller birds such as robins, peckerwoods, black capped chickadees, and sparrows are also present. Frogs, salamanders, and snakes are also common in Glace Bay.

Glace Bay and the surrounding areas are heavily forested. Common deciduous trees in Glace Bay include poplars, maples, and birches. Oaks, elms, and beech trees are also present but they are less common. Common conifers include spruce and balsam fir with some pine and tamarack present as well.

The introduced Asian plants of Japanese and Giant Knotweed are common throughout the town and surrounding woodlands and are colloquially known as "elephant ears". Children would commonly play "hide and seek" in them in the past.

Climate

Glace Bay has an average temperate marine climate. The average annual yearly temperature is approximately 9.1 degrees Celsius, although in recent years it is around 10.2 due to climate change. Average precipitation is around 1200mm per year. The warmest months of the year are July and August, both with a daily average of 21 degrees (26 in the day and 16 at night). The coldest months are January (-5.7) and February (-6.5). Glace Bay is usually frost-free for about 5 months of the year from about May 20th until October 20th. Summer weather starts in late June and tends to persist until mid to late September, but spring is delayed and there is ice in the harbour usually until mid to late April. Snow is usually not seen until mid November and usually not seen after the 1st of May. The normal yearly temperature range is usually between -20 degrees and 40 degrees. The highest temperature ever recorded in Glace Bay is 45.5 degrees on August 10th, 2001 and the lowest ever was -27.3 degrees on February 8th, 1994. (Source [1])

Politics

Currently, Glace Bay is represented by a Liberal at both the Federal and Provincial levels. Federally it is located in the riding of Cape Breton - Canso, currently held by MP Rodger Cuzner (LPC) who was re-elected in the 2006 Federal Election. Provincially it is represented by MLA Dave Wilson (NSLP) as the member for the riding of Glace Bay. The riding is the only one in Nova Scotia in which the town boundries also act as the boundries for the constituency.

Notable people from Glace Bay

Attractions

The town of Glace Bay has several draws:

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