Translation Services in Kenora – Economic Profile
Kenora, a city with a population of about 15,200 people, is located in Northwestern Ontario, 200km east of Winnipeg. It is the seat of the Kenora District.
Kenora’s economy is heavily based on forestry, tourism, and mining. Forestry has always been the driving force in the city’s economy, and the TimberStrand LSL plant is a major employer in the region. Abitibi Consolidated Inc., producing newsprint made of recycled content, is a major employer in Kenora, as well.
The Kenora region contains large amounts of lithium, tantalum, cesium and rubidium. These “metals of the future” are of high demand in high-technology applications in the aerospace, electronic, computer, chemical and ceramic industries. Major mining companies headquartered in the Kenora area are Emerald Field Resource Corp. and Avalon Ventures Ltd. The region is rich in granite as well, and four Granite Quarries are operating locally, supplying a world market. In addition, gold mining remains a key factor in the region’s economy with a huge gold deposit located near Red Lake.
The retail sector is also one of the most important for the city’s economy, and retail and commercial space downtown is nearly 100% filled. The Lake of the Woods is a famous tourist destination, drawing thousands of visitors each summer. “Ecotourism” activities such as fishing, hunting, kayaking, canoeing, sailing, hiking, and biking are very popular, in addition to learning-oriented guided tours of historical, cultural, or natural history sites. The Kenora downtown harbourfront is also a venue for numerous festivals and the “Bard on the Harbour”, a reading series of Shakespeare’s plays. In addition, the MS Kenora, a small cruise ship, offers tours of the lake. One major attraction in Kenora is a downtown art project which shows the city’s history on 20 murals.
Post secondary education in Kenora is provided by Confederation College.
Kenora has a diverse ethnical makeup. It features a large Native Canadian community and many residents of international origin. Languages spoken in Kenora include English, French, Cree, Ojibwa, Chinese, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Ukrainian, and many more. All these aspects combined have created an opportunity for multilingual services in Kenora.
