In partnership with
The #1 Roth Conversion Mistake That Costs Retirees
Most people missed the first Roth conversion window. History is offering a rare second chance — but not a long one.
With today's tax rates extended, IRA Millionaires have a brief stretch of historically low brackets left. When it closes, the math changes: higher rates, bigger required distributions, and fewer conversion opportunities each year you wait.
Craig Wear, CFP®, has spent 15+ years helping more than 3,000 families with $1M+ in IRAs plan Roth conversions — helping them avoid a projected $10B+ in lifetime taxes. His new book, Roth Conversion Reset, is the step-by-step playbook:
Lock in today's low rates
Avoid RMD surprises at 73
Protect your spouse from survivor taxes
Keep more for your heirs
The book is free — no credit card, no shipping. The full PDF lands in your inbox in minutes.
Sponsored By:
📣 This slot is open. Own a Thunder Bay business and want more of the city hearing about it? This line — and the Thursday Local Business Spotlight — are available. Hit reply, or start here →
Happy Sunday, Thunder Bay! Cloudy with a 40 per cent chance of showers, a northwest wind picking up in the afternoon and a high of 26°C that will feel closer to 30. In today's issue: Frederica Street packed out for Westfort's 44th street fair, the Festival of India's chariot rolled down to Marina Park with the Festival of Colours still to come today, northwestern Ontario's municipal association says online pile-ons are scaring people off the ballot, and two First Nations have hired their own security after a third overdose death. 🎪
In this Harbour Beat Issue…
Trivia: In 1792, twenty-four New York stockbrokers signed a two-sentence pact under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street, agreeing to trade only with one another — what is that founding document of the New York Stock Exchange called? (Answer at the bottom!)
Thunder Bay Events
A colour throw on the waterfront, an off-road triathlon around Boulevard Lake, two Monday-night traditions and the last stretch of the summer concert series. ✅ Outdoor events can still shift on short notice — confirm with the organizer before you head out, especially with showers in Sunday's forecast.
Sunday, August 16
AUG 16 · XTERRA Sleeping Giant Triathlon — 7 a.m.–5 p.m. · 📍 Kinsmen Park and Boulevard Lake, Trowbridge Rd. · Free to watch · Swim, mountain bike and trail run through Trowbridge Forest — a World Championship qualifier with shorter beginner distances alongside it, so the finish chute is worth a look · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 16 · Sundays in the Park at Chippewa — 1:30–3:30 p.m. · 📍 Chippewa Park Main Stage, 1735 City Rd. · Free · Live music north of the Pavilion, courtesy of the Friends of Chippewa Park — bring a lawn chair · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 16 · Festival of Colours — from 3 p.m. · 📍 Marina Park, Water St. · Ticketed, $17.55–$38.95 · Day two of the Festival of India weekend: colour throws, live kirtan, DJs, dance and food. Wear white, and expect not to leave in it · 📅 Add to Calendar
Monday, August 17
AUG 17 · Monday Evening Concerts at Waverley Park — 6:30–9 p.m. · 📍 Waverley Park, Waverley St. · Free · The Coalition for Waverley Park's summer concert night, in the shade of the old trees · 📅 Add to Calendar
AUG 17 · Dawson Diner Monday Night Cruise-In — 6:30–8 p.m. · 📍 Dawson Diner, 1889 Dawson Rd. · Free to attend · The Lakehead Antique Car Club fills the lot with antiques, hot rods and odd builds; BBQ, ice cream and popcorn on the go. Weather permitting · 📅 Add to Calendar
Tuesday, August 18
AUG 18 · Tai Chi in the Park — 7–8 p.m. · 📍 Tai Chi Pad, Marina Park, Water St. · Free · Drop-in evening session with Peng You — no experience needed, and the lake does half the work · 📅 Add to Calendar
Wednesday, August 19
AUG 19 · Live on the Waterfront — 6–9 p.m. · 📍 Festival Area, Marina Park, Water St. · Free · The city's Wednesday-night waterfront concert, listed as the last date of the summer run — food vendors and market tables on site · 📅 Add to Calendar
Thursday, August 20
AUG 20 · Summer in the Parking Lot — from 6 p.m. · 📍 Superior Inn and Conference Centre, 555 Arthur St. W. · $7 at the gate · The final night of the 2026 series: Fluffing Wolf, Headrush and Hellbourne · 📅 Add to Calendar
Which part of Thunder Bay do you call home?
We're trying to get a picture of where everyone's reading from — one tap, and it helps us line up local businesses with the neighbourhoods they actually serve.
Which part of Thunder Bay do you call home?
Make It Make Sense
You've felt it. Skimming a headline and understanding nothing. Morning Brew fixes that: news explained like a smart friend would, minus the boring parts.
See why it’s the go-to for over 4 million people daily. Takes just 15 seconds to sign up.
✅ NO WEATHER ALERTS IN EFFECT
Environment Canada had no watches or warnings posted for Thunder Bay as of Saturday evening. Fire restrictions across the Northwest still change day to day — check the province's Restricted Fire Zone rules and your municipality's own ban before you light anything outdoors. Latest alerts at Environment Canada.
⛅ Sunday, August 16 — Thunder Bay
26°C
Feels like 30 · Overnight low 10°C
Cloudy · 40% chance of showers · NW wind 20 km/h · UV 5 (moderate)
Warmer than Saturday and a good deal muggier. Cloudy with a 40 per cent chance of showers and a high of 26°C, with a humidex of 30 — so if you are out on the XTERRA course or standing in a colour throw at Marina Park, water matters more than a jacket. A northwest wind of 20 km/h arrives in the afternoon and should take some of the stickiness out of it. UV index 5 (moderate) even under cloud. Overnight turns partly cloudy with fog patches and a low of 10°C. Monday is the pick of the week — sunny and 25°C — then Tuesday eases to 23°C with sun, cloud and a 30 per cent chance of showers. Full forecast and any new alerts at Environment Canada.
Westfort fills Frederica Street for the 44th time
Grey skies and a bit of rain did nothing. The 44th annual Westfort Street Fair closed Frederica Street to traffic at 9 a.m. Saturday and organizer Aaron Gillingham says it was already full by then. “For it being a little bit of a gloomy day, I was shocked at 9 a.m. when the street shut down to have the street already be filled,” he said — before joking that the city had set a record for strollers in one place. More than 100 vendors, Westfort businesses, food and entertainment took over the street for the day. In the hot dog eating contest, Steve Dorval got through 13 in five minutes, one better than last year, and is already planning for 14. Michael Deprophetis took the hot pepper title for a fourth straight year, crediting a training regimen his wife would rather not describe. Gillingham first came as a teenager for the three-on-three basketball tournament in Jansen's parking lot: “Now as an adult coming back and I see what it's become and all the community effort that goes into it, you get so much more appreciation.” Next year is the 45th, and he says there is something planned he is not ready to spill.
The chariot rolled to Marina Park — and the colours come today
The Festival of India — pushed back from earlier this month because of the smoke — finally got its day Saturday. It started on the street with the Rath Yatra chariot parade from Waverley Park down to Marina Park, then filled the waterfront with live music, dance, an Indian bazaar, cultural exhibits, kids' activities and a free vegetarian meal. “We had hundreds of people joining the parade in the rainy weather and it was a fantastic, unique experience,” organizer Dr. Prashant Jani said. Performers came in from New York, New Jersey, Florida, California, Winnipeg and Toronto. Jani's read on the city: “The city of Thunder Bay is very kind and open-minded. They help and support all the multicultural activities.” The weekend finishes today with the Festival of Colours — Holi — which he says usually draws thousands. Wear white.
Fewer people are running for council, and NOMA blames the pile-on
With nomination papers due Aug. 21, the president of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association says the ballot is thinning out — and he thinks he knows why. “You're doing all this effort and energy, putting it into your community that you live in with the same people that are voting you in, and yet you get beat up by a small percentage of people, and I think that scared a lot of people away,” said Rick Dumas, who is also mayor of Marathon. Councillors get home from a meeting to find their phones “blowing up,” he said, and it is the same everywhere he asks. As of this week, Alberton, Emo and Ear Falls had no candidate at all for mayor or reeve. Municipal advisor Ellen Beaudry told a candidate information session that what happens next depends on each municipality's own vacancy policy — some run a by-election, some take expressions of interest. Dumas's pitch to anyone still thinking about it: “stop worrying about the one per centers.” Election day is Oct. 26.
Two First Nations hire their own security after a third overdose death
“I am heartbroken, and I'm angry.” That is Chief John O'Nabigon of Long Lake #58 First Nation, about 300 km northeast of Thunder Bay, after losing a third young community member to a drug overdose this year. The community declared a state of emergency in January over traffickers supplying its members, then a joint emergency this spring with neighbouring Ginoogaming First Nation. Saying governments and police have not answered, both have now hired an Indigenous-run security company to run community checkpoints. Ginoogaming Chief Sheri Taylor says incidents are down since her community brought the group in — at its own expense. “Under our treaty, we have a right to have protection in our community and those gaps are real,” she said. The Anishinabek Police Service says it is increasingly intercepting drugs trafficked north from the Greater Toronto Area. The Thunder Bay district still has the highest opioid-related death rate in Ontario, close to five times the provincial average. O'Nabigon wants treatment, detox and aftercare delivered in the community: “Our strength comes from standing together, especially during times of loss.”
Meme of the Day
Brought to you by Harbour Beat
What's faster than word of mouth? The Harbour Beat Spotlight! Keeps you updated on what's going on locally and connects businesses to our vibrant community.
Master Claude AI (Free Guide)
The professionals pulling ahead aren't working more. They're using Claude.
Our free guide will show you how to:
Configure Claude to be the perfect assistant
Master AI-powered content creation
Transform complex data into actionable strategies
Harness Claude’s full potential
Transform your workflow with AI and stay ahead of the curve with this comprehensive guide to using Claude at work.
Trivia answer: The Buttonwood Agreement. Signed on May 17, 1792, it ran to just two sentences — the brokers promised to trade only with each other and to charge a fixed minimum commission — and that small cartel grew into the New York Stock Exchange.
You're reading Harbour Beat. Forward it to a neighbour — they can subscribe at harbourbeat.ca.