Shuniah
Shuniah is a municipal township in Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada, bordering the city of Thunder Bay to the southwest. Shuniah was incorporated by an act of the Ontario legislature in 1873, and at that time included much of present-day Thunder Bay and its predecessor and surrounding municipalities.
Shuniah, named after the Ojibwa word "zhooniyaa" for "money" or "silver", was settled largely due to silver mining potential identified in the mid-19th century.
History
The Municipality of Shuniah was incorporated on March 29, 1873, making it the oldest municipality in Thunder Bay District and one of the oldest in the province. Prince Arthur's Landing was its seat of local government, with John McKellar as the first reeve. At that time, its area included the geographic townships of Blake, Crooks, McIntyre, McGregor, McTavish, Neebing, Paipoonge, Pardee, and Sibley, as well as some islands southwest from Black Bay. Its territory was gradually reduced as follows:- In 1874, the townships of Sibley and McTavish were removed.
- In 1881, the Township of Neebing was separately incorporated.
- In 1884, the village of Prince Arthur's Landing was incorporated as the Town of Port Arthur.
- In 1904, the Township of Paipoonge was separately incorporated.
From 1994 to 2014, the township reeve was Maria Harding. On October 27, 2014, Wendy Landry was elected as Reeve and as of January 26, 2015 the title of the Head of Council was changed from Reeve to Mayor. Landry was re-elected in 2018.
Geography
The township is part of Thunder Bay's Census Metropolitan Area, and consists of the communities of:- Amethyst Harbour
- Ancliff
- Bowker
- Ishkibibble
- Loon
- Mackenzie
- Navilus
- Pass Lake
- Pearl
- Silver Harbour
Serving today primarily as a rural bedroom community to Thunder Bay, Shuniah is also a popular cottaging locale, stretching about along Thunder Bay and Black Bay of Lake Superior's northern shoreline.