COMMUNITY PROFILE A National Bloom 5 WINNER! A Community in Bloom The City of Pembroke has been participating in the Communities in Bloom program since 1999 – and it has had a beautiful impact on the community! The colourful street banners, the half barrels overflowing with flowers, the pretty containers hanging on the bridges, and the flower baskets hanging in the downtown core are all due to the Communities in Bloom initiative. Countless vol- unteer hours have been spent engaging the residents of Pembroke, and helping them to pitch in, take pride and partici- pate in the beautification and environmental responsibility efforts. In 2001 the City earned four blooms in the provincial competition, and the right to call itself “the prettiest little city in Ontario”. In 2004-2005, Pembroke competed at the national level, helping to introduce Pembroke to the rest of Canada, and was awarded 5 Blooms! TABLE OF CONTENTS At a Glance . 2 Location . 3 Climate . 5 Natural Resources . 6 Forestry . 6 Agriculture . 7 Minerals . 7 Utilities . 8 Electricity . 8 Fuel oil . 10 Natural gas . 11 Water . 12 Trade & Commerce . 14 Local Retail . 14 Local Industry . 14 Major Employers . 15 Trading Zone . 16 Zoning & Planning . 17 Industrial Lands . 18 Pembroke Plus! . 20 Retail Site Selection . 21 Labour Force . 22 Population . 22 Wages . 23 Income . 23 Municipal Government . 24 Tax Base . 25 Income Report . 26 Heart of the Ottawa Valley . 27 Quality of Life . 32 Education . 32 Research . 34 Health . 35 Social Services . 36 Safety . 36 Housing . 39 iv W ELCOME elcome to the heart of the Ottawa Valley and the largest regional centre between WOttawa and North Bay in Eastern Ontario. This Community Profile provides detailed information about the excellent prospects for business in Pembroke, and high- lights the local amenities which enable residents to enjoy a comfortable, affordable and attractive lifestyle. Pembroke is open for business! In recent years, its superb location, low cost of living and available skilled workforce has attracted new industry to the city and prompted the expansion of others. An encouraging economic development strategy and a formal Business Retention and Expansion program serve to welcome new companies to the area. The management staff at Pembroke City Hall will help to expedite any of your queries, and ensure that business needs are met promptly. Whether it’s help starting a new venture or expansion plans for an established business, you’re just one call away from all the information you need. Copies of this document can be obtained by contacting: Department of Economic Development, Recreation and Tourism City of Pembroke P.O. Box 277 Pembroke, ON K8A 6X3 www.pembroke.ca 1 A TAG LANCE… City of Pembroke Area of Municipality 1,137 ha (3,485 ac) Population (2006) Separated City of Pembroke 14,500 Urban Core + Rural-urban Fringe 23,819 County of Renfrew 95,138 Market Area Served (40 km/25 mi. radius) 72,400 Mother Tongue English 88% French 8% Other 4% Ethnic Origin British 55% French 21% German 19% All other 4% Retail Sales Retail Sales Estimate 2006 $ 508,540,000 % Above/Below National Avg. +77 2006 per Capita $ 21,400 2006 No. of retail establishments 240 Shopping Malls 2 Services Restaurants 45 Hotels/Motels/B&B’s 19 Financial Institutions & Services 8 Education Services 25 Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 55 Clubs & Organizations 59 2 Building Permit Values ($ million) 1996 5.0 1997 7.6 1998 7.1 1999 8.4 2000 7.2 2001 8.0 2002 37.7 2003 40.3 2004 17.6 2005 31.9 Location The City of Pembroke, with an established industrial sector, is the largest commercial service centre between Ottawa and North Bay. Centrally located and easily accessible, Pembroke is just 150 km northwest of Ottawa, Canada’s capital, and within a four hour drive of both Montreal (and the St. Lawrence Seaway), and Toronto, Ontario’s capital. Conveniently situated ONTARIO QUÉBEC Sault Ste. Marie Sudbury alongside the scenic 17 17 North Bay Pembroke Ottawa River in the Algonquin Ottawa Lak 11 Park 417 60 eastern region of e H Montréal 41 416 uro Ontario, Pembroke is n 400 7 401 Kingston Peterborough Toronto serviced by all major Lake Ontario New York overland routes within Michigan 401 Hamilton London St. Catharines Renfrew County and is Windsor Lake Erie strategically located Pennsylvania on Trans Canada Highway #17. Provincial highways #41 and #60 provide quick access to southern Ontario. U.S. border crossings at Gananoque, Ontario and Ogdensburg, New York are just three hours from Pembroke. Highway #148 links Pembroke to the province of Quebec, just across the Ottawa River. 3 A Point Well Taken Situated on the shores of the beautiful Ottawa River where it meets the Muskrat River, Pembroke was first established as the County Town of Renfrew County in 1864. It was a rough and ready frontier spirit that first forged the town, as it quickly became the centre for the logging industry in eastern Ontario. Today, the Cockburn Pointer Boat Monument pays perpetual tribute to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the lumberjacks who used the pointer boat, built in Pembroke, to drive their massive logs through the fast river waters on their way to the sawmill. Rail and Air Accessibility Pembroke businesses are served by Ottawa Valley Railink and Ottawa Central Railway, both offering freight service from Pembroke. Pembroke and Area Airport is just 10 km from downtown and is one of the most advanced regional terminals in Canada. A 5000 ft. runway accommodates both corporate business and charter travel. There is also parking for 55-70 small aircraft and a full range of air transport services, reservations and service garages. Ottawa International Airport is the closest passenger terminal, for domestic and international travel. Several firms offer daily shuttle service. From Pembroke to… km hours Ottawa 150 1.5 North Bay 220 2.5 Kingston 245 2.7 Montreal 365 3.5 Toronto 385 4.0 Buffalo 550 7.5 Detroit 750 9.0 Cleveland 850 11.0 New York City 900 11.5 4 Climate Pembroke’s climate, like that of much of central Ontario and southwestern Quebec is noted for its four distinct seasons. The warm, wet months of spring, and hot, dry summer season stand in marked contrast to the crisp, frosty days of fall or the sub-zero temperatures and snowfalls of the winter months. Season Averages Spring Temperature(˚C) Precipitation (mm) April 4.5 61.8 May 12 68.5 June 16 81.3 Summer July 19 76.5 August 17.5 81.1 September 12.5 79.0 Fall October 5 75.1 November -1 67.2 December -8 67.1 Winter January -13 52 February -11 46.4 March -4.5 60.4 Renfrew County is the largest county in Ontario 5 N ATURAL R ESOURCES Forestry Pembroke was founded on the economic viability of its forest industry and it is still one of the mainstays of the local economy. The City is at the eastern edge of the Ottawa-Huron forest region which contains on average, 46% hardwood and mixed stands of hardwood and pine, 4% coniferous, 37% poplar and birch, and 2% recent burn. The remaining 11% is barren rock. The hardwoods include hard maple, white birch, poplar, black ash, soft maple and elm. Substantial commercial hardwood quantities are available in beech, elm, oak, white birch and poplar. Coniferous supplies include cedar, hemlock, white, red and jack pine, spruce, tamarack and balsam. Most local wood-based industries harvest raw material from the region surrounding the City including Algonquin Park, while others import it from various parts of Canada and northern United States. Presently, much of the timber which is harvested within the Pembroke area is shipped either unprocessed or semi-processed, across Canada and the United States. Much of the woodland surrounding the City is carefully managed and harvested under the administration of Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources. To achieve ultimate benefit from local timber supplies, the Association of Forest Operators of Renfrew County is promoting increased use of the industry’s wood pro- cessing by-product. Algonquin Forestry Authority 84 Isabella Street Pembroke, ON K8A 5S5 T. (613) 735-0173 “…the Ottawa Valley is wonderful. It has spectacular scenery; it is picturesque; it has a great variety of landscapes and a deeply rooted sense of history.” Robert Bateman, Canadian wildlife artist 6 Agriculture The agricultural base in the region surrounding the City of Pembroke consists mainly of cattle and dairy farming, with limited hog and grain activity. Following industry trends, consistent throughout Ontario over the past two decades, total farm numbers across the region have declined while average farm sizes in terms of acreage, sales and assets continue to rise. Pembroke benefits from the fact that the dairy industry has continually maintained the most stable position with the local agricultural sector. Milk is collected from area producers and processed into a variety of dairy products for distribution to consumers throughout the Ottawa Valley. Several market gardens operate from farms adjacent to the City, offering local residents a wide variety of freshly picked fruit and vegetables as well as ‘pick-your-own’ crops throughout the summer growing season. A thriving Farmers’ Market is held in downtown Pembroke twice a week from mid-May until Thanksgiving, bringing fresh local produce to the community. Minerals The Pembroke-Renfrew region is part of the Grenville Province of the Canadian Shield. It is characterized by a unique geology, favourable not only to the occurrence of deposits of uranium, base metals (chiefly lead and zinc), but also copper, molybdenum and iron, industrial minerals and rocks (dolomite, marble, graphite, and abrasive materials), and construction aggregates (sand and gravel).