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Every year, Ontario celebrates Local Government Week during the third week of October to increase public and youth awareness of the important role local governments play in our communities. This year, Local Government Week is October 15 to 21.
Every day, local governments work hard to make life happen. From taking care of necessities like roads, waste, and water, to creating diverse arts, culture, and tourism experiences, to finding innovative solutions to tomorrow’s challenges, local government professionals are change-makers and community builders.
A little history on the City of Port Colborne
The City of Port Colborne was born in 1830 as a small community on the shores of Lake Erie, known as Gravelly Bay.
In 1834, a post office was established at Gravelly Bay. This was named “Port Colborne” in honour of Sir John Colborne, the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada at the time.
Port Colborne was incorporated as a village in 1870 and at a location a mile north of the village, pioneer settlers, in order to be able to cross the creek, had sunk stones in the water. This place became a small village called “Stonebridge”, although the official name was “Petersburgh”. The name of the post office, however, was “Humberstone”. In 1890, its population was about 700.
On January 1, 1918, the village of Port Colborne proudly became a town. Then on January 1, 1952 the town of Port Colborne and the village of Humberstone amalgamated. The combined population of the two municipalities totalled 12,744.
In 1966, the town of Port Colborne was incorporated as a city, with a population of 17,542. It became the 31st city in Ontario and the 159th city in Canada.
How to get involved
Subscribe - Stay up to date on what’s happening in our city by subscribing to our website to get news updates right to your inbox.
Follow - Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Watch - Tune in to Council Meetings in person or live streamed on YouTube and Facebook. Council meetings are scheduled the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. Visit the our website for the full Committees, Boards and Council Calendar.
Apply - The City of Port Colborne has numerous boards and committees of Council designed to improve and shape the future of our community by providing advice and feedback on a variety of issues. Some boards and committees also organize and participate in community events. Joining a citizen board or committee is a great way to get involved and offer your voice and valued skills in order to strengthen our shared sense of community. 2023 applications our now available on our website.
Join the team - Looking to join our team? Current career opportunities can be found on our website.
Thank you to all local government professionals who work hard to help make life happen! #LocalGovWeek
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