Leamington, Ontario
| Leamington | ||
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| Municipality (lower-tier) | ||
| Municipality of Leamington | ||
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| Nickname(s): The Sun Parlour of Canada, The Tomato Capital of Canada. | ||
| Motto: Live | Work | Play | ||
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 Leamington
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| Coordinates: 42°04′N 82°35′W / 42.067°N 82.583°WCoordinates: 42°04′N 82°35′W / 42.067°N 82.583°W | ||
| Country |
 Canada
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| Province |
 Ontario
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| County | Essex | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | John Paterson | |
| • MP | Dave Van Kesteren (CONS) | |
| • MPP | Rick Nicholls (PC) | |
| Area | ||
| • Land | 261.92 km2 (101.13 sq mi) | |
| • Urban | 25.64 km2 (9.90 sq mi) | |
| • Metro | 508.76 km2 (196.43 sq mi) | |
| Population (2011) | ||
| • Municipality (lower-tier) | 28,403 | |
| • Density | 108.4/km2 (281/sq mi) | |
| • Urban | 31,254 | |
| • Urban density | 1,218.9/km2 (3,157/sq mi) | |
| • Metro | 49,765 | |
| • Metro density | 97.8/km2 (253/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) | |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | |
| Area code(s) | 519, 226, 548 | |
| Website | www.leamington.ca | |
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.
Known as the "Tomato Capital of Canada", it is the location of a tomato processing factory owned by Highbury-Canco, previously owned until 2014 by the Heinz Company. Due to its location in the southernmost part of Canada, Leamington uses the motto "Sun Parlour of Canada". In 2006, MoneySense Magazine ranked Leamington as the No. 1 best place to live in Canada.
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.
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.
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Wikipedia