City of Port Colborne

Population: 18,599 (2006) 

Size: 123.37 km²

Motto: Gateway to Navigation

Official Flower: Geranium

Get facts from Statistics Canada on Port Colborne's Community Profile.

Our community was first called Sugarloaf and later Gravelly Bay. Following the completion of the canal, William Hamilton Merrit purchased the land surrounding Gravelly Bay and re-named the Canal’s southern port of entry in honour of Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada – Sir John Colborne.

The present City of Port Colborne is an amalgamation of two municipalities, Port Colborne and Humberstone. Humberstone is the older of the two and is the north end of the city, centering around Main Street.

Port Colborne is famous for its location on the St. Lawrence Seaway’s Welland Canal, making Port Colborne one of Canada’s largest inland Ports.

Sherkston’s sand dunes served as an important look-out point for the British Army during the War of 1812.

National Hockey League members Ted “Teeder” Kennedy, Don Gallinger, Scott Gruhl, Don Simmons, Harry Dick and Bronco Horvath are all from Port Colborne.

Francis “Dinty” Moore, the goalie for Canada at the 1936 Winter Olympics was from Port Colborne.

The Port Colborne rock band “Ruckus” played on the Jerry Lewis Telethon in the mid-seventies.

Port Colborne is home to one of the original Dairy Queens.

At one time the city was home to the largest flourmill in the British Empire.

Port Colborne’s signature event is the Canal Days Marine Heritage Festival, held annually on the August Civic long-weekend.