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Good morning, Thunder Bay — and welcome to issue one hundred and forty-five. Clearing after morning fog, with a high of 16°C. It's Friday, and 8,800 people had already voted in the municipal election by noon Thursday. In today's issue: that turnout and where you can still vote in person on Saturday, a near-doubling of housing permits, new fuel tanks planned for the marina, and a rare look inside the landfill. Plus tonight's high school football and eight things to do through Tuesday.
In this Harbour Beat Issue…
Trivia: Pixar's first feature-length film, released in 1995, was which — Toy Story, A Bug's Life, or Finding Nemo? (Answer at the bottom!)
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Thunder Bay Events
From a magic show, a symphony-and-flamenco night and Finnish stand-up to a church concert, election day and a JUNO winner at Magnus, here's what's on through Tuesday.
Friday, October 23
OCT 23 · Savio Joseph: Wonderstruck — 7 p.m., tickets from $58 · 📍 The Auditorium, 1 Paul Shaffer Dr. · A night of magic and illusion from the Brampton-born entertainer. · 📅 Add to Calendar
OCT 23 · Matt Sellick: Watching the Sky (TBSO) — 7:30 to 10 p.m., single tickets and reserved tables of eight · 📍 Italian Cultural Centre, 132 Algoma St. S. · The Northern Lights series opens with the flamenco guitarist playing his album with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. · 📅 Add to Calendar
OCT 23 · Harri Soinila (Finnish comedy) — doors 7:30 p.m., show 8 p.m., $25 plus tax and fees, 19+, mature content · 📍 Campfire Comedy, 117 Cumberland St. N. · The Finnish comedian is on his Canadian tour, with a second show Saturday at 7 p.m. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Saturday, October 24
OCT 24 · Halloween Hoot — noon to 4 p.m., also Oct. 25; $12 adults, $10 students, seniors and youth, free for ages 5 and under · 📍 Fort William Historical Park · Costumes encouraged: trick-or-treating, scarecrows, farm animals and themed games. · 📅 Add to Calendar
OCT 24 · Dwayne Gretzky — 7:30 p.m., tickets from $69 · 📍 The Auditorium, 1 Paul Shaffer Dr. · A party band playing classic hits from the '70s, '80s and '90s. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Sunday, October 25
OCT 25 · Flipper Flanagan's Flat Footed Four in concert — 2 to 4 p.m., $20 per person · 📍 Lakeview Presbyterian Church, 278 Camelot St. · Northern Ontario recording artists play a church concert; call 807-345-8823 for tickets. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Monday, October 26
OCT 26 · 2026 Municipal Election Day — 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. · 📍 Citywide · The City's events calendar lists election day voting from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Tuesday, October 27
OCT 27 · Hawksley Workman Duo — 6:30 p.m., tickets $53.85 · 📍 Magnus Theatre, 10 Algoma St. S. · The JUNO Award-winning singer-songwriter brings an evening of theatrical glam and indie rock. · 📅 Add to Calendar
✅ NO WEATHER ALERTS IN EFFECT
Environment Canada has no alerts posted for Thunder Bay at the time of this update. Friday starts with fog patches that dissipate through the morning.
⛅ Friday, October 23 — Thunder Bay
16°C
Overnight low 8°C
Clearing in the morning as the fog patches dissipate, with a high of 16°C and a UV index of 2 or low. Clear overnight, becoming partly cloudy in the evening, with a low near 8°C.
Saturday is cloudy with a 60 per cent chance of showers and a high of 18°C. Sunday turns sunny and windy with a high of 10°C. Election day Monday is sunny with a high near 6°C, and Tuesday is sunny with a high of 6°C. Forecast from Environment Canada.
Advance voting has drawn 8,800 voters, with two in-person kiosks open Saturday
As of noon Thursday, 8,800 people had voted in the 2026 municipal election, according to deputy clerk Jeff Walters: just over 6,000 online and roughly 2,700 at advance polling stations. Walters says that works out to about 10 per cent of eligible voters, and he'd love to see turnout climb back past the 50.7 per cent seen in 2018; it was 43 per cent in 2022. He cautions that comparing advance numbers to 2022 is tricky because that advance period was longer. If you haven't voted yet, in-person internet voting stations are open Saturday, Oct. 24 at the Thunder Bay Country Market from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and at Goods and Co. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; election day is Monday.
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Thunder Bay's housing permits have nearly doubled
Joel DePeuter, the City's director of development services, says 401 housing permits have been issued this year, compared with 220 last year. CMHC data show 334 housing starts between January and September, up from 182 in 2025 and 256 in 2024, or 351 once 17 additional units such as basement and backyard homes are counted. DePeuter says about 80 per cent of the development is apartment buildings and higher-density projects, while single-family homes have stayed relatively flat. Building permits for 300 Tokio St. and 144 Fanshaw St. are to be submitted before the end of the year, with construction starting in 2027. If you're hunting for a place to rent, most of what is being built is apartments, and two more large sites are set to start construction in 2027.
🗳️ Your call: With about 80% of new building now apartments, what would you like to see more of?
Thunder Bay housing permits have nearly doubled, and about 80% of new building is apartments. What do you want to see more of?
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The marina's 40-year-old fuel tanks are due for replacement
The City has a tender out for a contractor to install a new above-ground tank for gasoline and diesel on the south side of the marina, replace the fuel dispensers, and remove and remediate the existing underground tanks. Those tanks date back to at least the 1980s and are "at the end of life," says Werner Schwar, the City's supervisor of parks and open space planning, though there has been no leak. The new tank would hold 10,000 litres each of gasoline and diesel, up from 6,000 litres each now. Two earlier tenders planned underground tanks but were dropped as too expensive, and bids on this one close Nov. 3. Nothing changes at the fuel dock this fall; the work is slated for 2027.
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The City opens its landfill for a behind-the-scenes tour
On Thursday, residents toured the Thunder Bay Solid Waste and Recycling Facility on a free shuttle, the first public tour since COVID-19 restrictions. The recycling area was the first stop. Lee Amelia, the City's waste diversion coordinator, said the aim was to show people it's "an actual engineered facility" that manages waste properly, and that hazardous waste, electronic waste and recycling are diverted before material enters the landfill. Attendees mostly asked what can be recycled and how to clean items first. Hazardous waste, electronic waste and recycling can be dropped off at the facility free of charge for residents.
🏈 THE WEEKEND SCOREBOARD
Tonight, Friday, Oct. 23 — Fort William Stadium (final regular-season games, per the SSSAA schedule):
5 p.m. — Senior football: Hammarskjold vs. St. Patrick
7 p.m. — Senior football: Westgate vs. St. Ignatius
Playoffs follow this weekend, according to TBNewsWatch, and the Hammarskjold Vikings have already clinched top spot in the senior standings.
Latest posted results (last week)
Senior football: Hammarskjold 31, St. Ignatius 22
Senior football: St. Patrick 34, Westgate 3
Junior football: Westgate 49, St. Patrick 27
Thursday's junior games (Hammarskjold–St. Patrick and Westgate–St. Ignatius) had no scores posted at press time.
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Trivia answer: Toy Story. Released in November 1995, it was the first feature-length film made entirely with computer animation.
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