Thorold

Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Welland Canal passes through the city, featuring lock 7 and the Twin Flight Locks.
The first survey of Thorold, or Township 9 as it was known then, occurred in 1788. The earliest communities in what is now Thorold emerged at Beaverdams, DeCew Falls and St. Johns. In 1846, the community had a population of about 1,000 and there were three churches or chapels and a post office. Various types of tradesmen worked here. Industry included two grist mills, a cement mill, a brewery and three wagon makers. There were seven taverns. Thorold, located on the brow of the Niagara Escarpment, soon became dominant and was incorporated as a village in 1850. Its formation was linked to the creation of the First Welland Canal. The village experienced population growth as the canal became more developed. In 1875, Thorold became a town.
When the Regional Municipality of Niagara was formed in 1970, the Town of Thorold expanded to include the former Thorold Township. In 1975, the town became incorporated as the City of Thorold.
Thorold is also the location of the War of 1812 battle site, Beaverdams, where, on June 25, 1813, Colonel Charles Boerstler and his American troops were defeated by the British regulars and Caughnawaga Mohawks.
The 2021 Canadian census identified Thorold as the eighth-fastest growing municipality in Canada.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Thorold had a population of 23,816 living in 9,095 of its 9,856 total private dwellings, a change of 26.7% from its 2016 population of 18,801. With a land area of 83.29 km (32.16 sq mi), it had a population density of 285.9/km (740.6/sq mi) in 2021.
Thorold's economy, like other municipalities in the Niagara Region, has benefitted from the Welland Canal. An estimated 37 million tonnes of freight is handled and shipped there annually.
Thorold South has several industrial and manufacturing businesses.
The Thorold Reed Band has been in operation since its formation in 1851. The band has performed every year, with the exception of 2020 and 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario. The Canal Bank Shuffle is an annual musical festival that takes place in Thorold. The event features blues music.
In July 2024, downtown Thorold was used as a filming location for the eighteenth season of Murdoch Mysteries. 11 scenes were filmed in the city. Thorold was chosen due to its proximity to other filming locations and the lack of "contamination" in historical buildings. The setting being filmed for the series was Grimsby.
Officially opened in 2002, the Mel Swart Lake Gibson Conservation Park is a 29-acre waterfront park located on Lake Gibson. The park is part of the Niagara Greenbelt. The Short Hills Provincial Park is also partially located in the City of Thorold.
The Welland Canal Parkway Trail is a paved 42 km recreational path along the Welland Canal, from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie.
There are multiple historic sites in Thorold. These include:
The Thorold Blackhawks are a Junior 'B' hockey team in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. In 2023, the team permanently moved to Port Colborne from Thorold.
Thorold, along with other municipalities in the Niagara Region, hosted events for the 2022 Canada Summer Games. The Canada Games Park was built in Thorold for the event. The facility cost 102.7 million dollars. In 2023, it was determined by a municipal lawyer that the city of Thorold did not own the arena and was instead one of three co-tenants leasing it from Brock University.
In 2015, the Ontario government provided money to Thorold under the Small Communities Fund. The city used the 4.6 million dollars in funding to start building an affordable housing complex for seniors. 14.8 million dollars through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund was also used for the project.
The Thorold Tunnel is an underwater vehicular tunnel, built between 1965 and 1967, which allows Highway 58 to cross the Welland Canal without interrupting shipping. Approximately 24,300 vehicles pass through the tunnel daily.
Thorold is home to the Niagara Detention Centre, a 260-person capacity maximum-security prison. It generally serves people on remand, offenders sentenced to short terms (60 days or less), and offenders awaiting transfer to larger federal or provincial facilities.
Thorold Secondary School is the only high school in the city. In 2012, District School Board of Niagara trustees voted on whether to close the school and decided to keep it open. Thorold is close in proximity to Brock University and therefore has a large student population. In 2021, four students were arrested after a large street party took place in the city.