Leamington, Ontario

Leamington is a municipality in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. With a population of 28,403, it is the second largest municipality in the Windsor-Essex County area (after the separated municipality of Windsor, Ontario). It includes Point Pelee, the southernmost point of mainland Canada. The previous home to the H. J. Heinz Company, who closed operations in June 2014. Is known as the "Tomato Capital of Canada", with 4 km² of this crop in the vicinity. It also lays claim to being the "Sun Parlour" of Canada due to its southern location.

History
Leamington was incorporated as a village in 1876. The community was named after Royal Leamington Spa in England, after having originally been called "Gainesville". It was a crossroads hamlet with about 300 residents and was known for its lumber products rather than its tomatoes. There were several docks, and fish were plentiful in Lake Erie, so much so that sturgeon could be speared from the shore and fish was the cheapest food available. Leamington once had many tobacco farms but now they are virtually nonexistent. In 1908 the H. J. Heinz company came to Leamington, bringing many jobs to the area and contributing to Leamington's growth.

In the early hours of Sunday, June 6, 2010, an F1 tornado ripped through portions of southern Essex County, stretching from Harrow, through Kingsville, to southern Leamington before dissipating near Point Pelee National Park, creating considerable damage, but no loss of life or any direct injuries.

Climate
Leamington enjoys the second warmest climate in Canada, after the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Leamington lies on the 42nd Parallel, the same latitude as Chicago, Rome, the northern border of California, and Zaragoza. Leamington is situated on the north shore of Lake Erie and is home to Point Pelee National Park, a major site for migrating birds especially in the autumn. As such, it plays host to many birdwatchers from Canada, the United States, and all around the world. The region is also known for the migration of Monarch butterflies, which congregate in the fall at Point Pelee before making their way across Lake Erie on their route to winter quarters in central Mexico.

Another important natural area near Leamington is the wetland at Hillman Marsh, located six kilometres east of the town.

Demographics
According to the Canada 2011 Census there were 28,403 people living in Leamington. The Leamington Census agglomeration (metro area) includes Kingsville. Leamington is the most populous city on the Canadian side of Lake Erie, with a slightly larger population than both Fort Erie and Port Colborne.

Language
The majority of people from Leamington speak English. According to the 2006 census, 16,915 speak English only, 8460 male and 8460 female. Around 600 people speak French due to the French school, 10,840 speak other languages such as German, Spanish and Arabic, and 45 speak English and French.

Residents of Leamington include a population of Lebanese, Portuguese and Italian. Mennonite settlers have also increased the size of the population.

Age
According to the 2011 census, the median age of people living in Leamington is 37.2 years - for men the age was 37.7 and for women the age was 40.9 years of age.

Immigration
According to a 2006 survey 19,365 people are not immigrants while 7,485 are immigrants. The majority of immigrants come from Mexico and Jamaica and are seasonal laborers. According to the census, Leamington had the highest percentage of Latin Americans in Canada, with 4.9%.

Tourism


Leamington has been known for its tourism and attractions and is known as the tomato capital of Canada. Leamington's attractions include cycle paths and nearby Point Pelee National Park. Leamington also has a large and modern marina. On June 6, 2010, a tornado passed through Leamington, Ontario, damaging various important landmarks in the town including the Marina. The town's water tower, visible for miles in the flat southern Ontario landscape, is also in the shape and colour of a giant tomato. Celebrating its position as an agricultural powerhouse and its heritage as the H. J. Heinz Company's centre for processing "red goods," the city hosts a "Tomato Festival" each August, as a kickoff of the tomato-harvesting season. Car shows, beauty pageants, parades, and a fair are featured at the festival.

Leamington's position on the north shore of Lake Erie makes it an important recreational centre. The tourist information booth in the centre of town is a large fiberglass tomato.

Parks


Leamington has several parks including Seacliff Park, The Marina Park, Mersea Park and Garrison Gardens,Henry Park and Chestnut Park.

Leamington is also home to Point Pelee National Park, which contains the southernmost point on mainland Canada and draws thousands of visitors annually and is also home to one of the largest migrations of Monarch butterflies annually.

Transportation
Leamington has a variety of transportation. It has a bicycle path going from the middle of town to the Marina, previously the rail line for Heinz. Leamington has two ferries, the (M/V Jiimaan and M/V Pelee Islander) owned by the Owen Sound Transportation Company run on a regularly scheduled seasonal basis from Leamington to Pelee Island. Transportation around Leamington is offered by the Leamington Transit bus system. Leamington has a small private airport located four kilometres to the east of town. The town is also connected to the provincial highway network by Highway 3 (to Windsor), and Highway 77 (to Highway 401).

Economy
Known as the tomato capital of Canada, Leamington became the home of the H. J. Heinz factory in 1908. The Heinz products are shipped from Leamington, with English and French labels, mostly to the United States. Ketchup and baby food are the main products. In November 2013 Heinz announced that it would close the Leamington plant in 2014, meaning job losses for 740 employees at the plant and hundreds more support workers.

Leamington has also been known for its greenhouses, and now has the largest concentration of commercial greenhouses in all of North America, with 1969 acres of greenhouse vegetable production in the general area. Major products of the greenhouse industry, in addition to tomatoes, are peppers, cucumbers, roses, and other flowers. Hydroponic farming has been very successfully adopted by many greenhouse operators in Leamington. Historically, tobacco was an important crop in the area, but tobacco production declined in the 1960s and today is virtually nonexistent.

Migrant workers, mostly Mexican and Caribbean seasonal labourers, annually arrive in the region to work in Leamington's greenhouses and farms. Several Mexican and Jamaican shops and a Mexican consulate have opened to service the migrants.

Leamington District Memorial Hospital serves the city of Leamington, as well as Essex and Chatham Kent.

Sports

 * Leamington Flyers play in the Western Division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League at Heinz Arena
 * Wheatley-Southpoint Sharks play in the Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League
 * Southpoint Capitals play in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA)
 * Leamington District Minor Baseball Association - t-ball / baseball / softball for over 500 kids
 * Leamington Minor Soccer Association has over 800 players every year
 * Leamington S.C. United Soccer Club formed in Dec. 2008 has become a major sports club, with 10 competitive traveling teams from under-11 to Senior Mens
 * Sun County Crows play in the Zone 7 of the Ontario Lacrosse Association at Heinz Arena
 * Velocity Volleyball

Media
Leamington's weekly newspaper is the Southpoint Sun. The weekly newspaper that was Leamington Post ceased operations in 2012 after 138 years in publication. Leamington is home to two regional commercial radio stations. Mix 96.7FM was originally known as CJSP and was on 710 on the AM dial, having signed on the air on February 17, 1955. In 2008, a second radio station with the call-sign of CJSP signed on at 92.7 FM as a country music station. A community television station, CFTV channel 34, launched in 2006. CFTV-TV is on channel 100 on Cogeco digital cable (having been moved from channel 79 to 100).

Leamington In media

 * Aspects of the fictional town of Port Ticonderoga in The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (including street names, demographics and a store name) appear to have been derived from Leamington. Atwood is a part-time resident of Pelee Island, which is accessed by ferry from Leamington.
 * The fictional town of the Sun Parlour in the book Lives of the Saints by Nino Ricci is based on Leamington.
 * The book Splat! By Eric Walters takes place in Leamington at the tomato festival.
 * Stompin' Tom Connors mentions Leamington in his tune The Ketchup Song
 * David Letterman referred to Leamington as the tomato capital of Canada in a monologue in July 2009.

Education
English-language public education for kindergarten through secondary school grades in Essex County is administered by the Greater Essex County District School Board, along with the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board which oversees English-language catholic education.

French-language public and catholic education are overseen by the Conseil scolaire Viamonde and the Conseil scolaire de district des écoles catholiques du Sud-Ouest respectively. The scope of all of these organizations includes both the County and the City of Windsor.

Prior to 1998 the Essex County Board of Education operates Anglophone secular public schools.

Elementary
Leamington has six public elementary schools, Margaret D. Bennie, Mill Street, Queen Elizabeth, Gore Hill, Mount Carmel - Blytheswood Public School and East Mersea. Leamington has two Catholic elementary schools: Queen of Peace and Saint Louis. Leamington also has one French speaking Catholic School, St. Michel. South Shore Christian School is a private elementary school located in Leamington. Leamington has two main school boards the Greater Essex County District School Board and the Windsor-Essex Catholic School Board.

Secondary
Leamington has three secondary schools: Leamington District Secondary School (LDSS); Cardinal Carter Catholic High School (Leamington), and U.M.E.I (United Mennonite Education Institute).

Notable people from Leamington

 * Major league pitcher Bob Hooper and infielder Danny Klassen.
 * NHL players Brad Selwood, Pat Ribble, Randy Manery, Darren McCarty, Kirk Bowman
 * Environmentalist David Suzuki
 * Authors Bill Sherk, Nino Ricci, Jean Brown, Lynsay Sands, Vesna Bailey
 * Sandra Campbell, Miss Dominion of Canada 1974, represented Canada in Miss Universe and Miss World beauty pageants.
 * Musician Jody Raffoul
 * Wally Tatomir the equipment manager for the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL
 * CBC Radio 3 personality Lana Gay
 * Arena Football League Defensive Back Corey Petryschuk
 * Actor Jeff Hammond