Located on the Bay of Islands at the mouth of the Humber River, the city is the largest population centre in the province after St. John's. As such, Corner Brook functions as a service centre for western and northern Newfoundland. It is located on the same latitude as Gaspé, Quebec, a city of similar size and landscape on the other side of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Corner Brook is the most northern city in Atlantic Canada.
It is the administrative headquarters of the Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nations band government. The Mi'kmaq name for the nearby Humber River is "Maqtukwek".
The area was surveyed by Captain James Cook in 1767. The Captain James Cook Historic Site stands on Crow Hill overlooking the city. By the middle of the 19th century the population of Corner Brook was less than 100, and the inhabitants were engaged in fishing and lumber work.
The area was originally four distinct communities, each with unique commercial activities: Curling, with its fishery; Corner Brook West (also known as Humber West or Westside) with its retail businesses; Corner Brook East (also known as Humbermouth and the Heights) with its railway and industrial operations; and Townsite (known as Corner Brook), home to the employees of the pulp and paper mill. In 1956, these four communities were amalgamated to form the present-day City of Corner Brook.
Corner Brook is home to the Corner Brook Pulp & Paper Mill (owned by Kruger Inc.), which is a major employer for the region. The city has the largest regional hospital in western Newfoundland. It also has a wide array of shopping and retail businesses and federal and provincial government offices. It is home to Grenfell Campus, Memorial University, as well as campuses of Academy Canada and College of the North Atlantic. Corner Brook is also home to the province's newest high school, Corner Brook Regional High, which is an amalgamation of the former Regina and Herdman Collegiate high schools.
Near Corner Brook is Marble Mountain Ski Resort, a downhill skiing resort, and Blow-Me-Down trails, a cross country ski area.
The Corner Brook Royals currently play in the West Coast Senior Hockey League and were the winners of the 1986 National Title, The Allan Cup. The Royals play their home games at the Corner Brook Civic Centre, formerly the Canada Games Centre. The arena was built in 1997 and was one of the main venues used when the city of Corner Brook hosted the 1999 Canada Games.
Corner Brook was host of the 2011 Special Olympics Provincial Winter Games from February 18–20. The city also twice hosted Raid the North Extreme, a televised 6-day multi-sport expedition race held in wilderness locations across Canada, and was a leg of the ITU World Cup Triathlon.
Corner Brook is home to Grenfell Campus, Memorial University where a strong and vivacious arts community exists both within the school and well into the public. Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre among other institutions thrive in promoting the arts on all levels from visual arts to theatre and well beyond.
Corner Brook is home to Stage West Theatre Festival, a summer theatre festival running through the month of July, and Gros Morne Summer Music, a classical music festival that spans July and August.
The March Hare literary festival occurs every March and celebrates poetry and written works from around the world, featuring poets from around Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and the world. Atlantic Canada's largest poetry festival was founded in the late 1980s by poet and playwright Al Pittman, and Corner Brook author, historian Rex Brown.
In April, the April Rabbit showcases new and young writers.
Corner Brook is also home to the region's only community radio station, Bay of Islands Radio (CKVB-FM). Presently broadcasting through the internet only, on October 6, 2016 the station received its broadcast license from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to begin transmitting on 100.1 FM. The station has stated that FM broadcasting will begin in November 2017. The radio station is located on Brook Street, in the city's downtown district.
The Corner Brook City Council has six city councillors, in addition to a Mayor. The highest voting winning councillor becomes Deputy Mayor. The current mayor of the city is Jim Parsons. The deputy mayor is Bill Griffin. Municipal elections in Corner Brook are held every four years, on the last Tuesday in September. In the 2017 municipal elections held on September 26, 2017; business consultant Jim Parsons was elected Mayor defeating incumbent Charles Pender.
Route 1, the Trans-Canada Highway, passes the south side of the city on a high ridge before descending to the east, into the Humber Valley.
The city is accessed by air services at Stephenville International Airport, 65 km (40 mi) southwest, and Deer Lake Regional Airport, 55 km (34 mi) northeast.
Corner Brook Transit is a privately operated local bus service. The city is also served by four taxi cab companies.
Corner Brook has a humid continental climate typical of most of Newfoundland. It is warmer in summer than St. John's due to less maritime exposure, whereas winters are colder than in the provincial capital. In terms of its overall climate, it is quite maritime, especially taking into account how the climate is in mainland Canada on similar latitudes. Precipitation is heavy year-round, but highest in December and January and lowest in April and May, with relatively more dry, stable conditions extending into July many years. The Corner Brook area lies in an especially heavy snow belt because of cold Arctic air masses from mainland Canada, coming from the west or northwest, crossing the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and picking up moisture, resulting in "sea-effect" snow (similar to "lake effect" snow in US locations like Muskegon and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan). The "sea effect" snow comes in addition to the heavy snow that can accompany mid-latitude storms, called "nor'easters," that approach the area from the U.S. Northeastern and New England states. Such storms can bring high winds and heavy precipitation, with possibly-changing precipitation types in a single storm. The combination of intense winter storms and "sea effect" snow make December and January the wettest months on average in Corner Brook. In December and January combined, *average* snowfall exceeds 78 inches.
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