“Chimo” is an Inuit term meaning, “I am friendly”, or “Welcome”. It is also the name of our mascot, the giant Polar Bear who greets our visitors at the entrance of town. As Chimo will tell you, Cochrane has a lot to offer any traveler 12 months of the year!
The Town of Cochrane is located in the heart of the Great Clay Belt of North Eastern Ontario. The town site was laid out in 1908 on the Old Overland Packet Trail to Moosonee. Today by road, Cochrane is 720 kilometres north of the City of Toronto and 725 kilometres east of Thunder Bay.
Cochrane is located in the Arctic Watershed. All rivers from here flow north into James Bay and eventually into the Arctic Ocean. The large rivers that drain this section of Ontario provide many recreational opportunities such as canoeing, fishing and camping. As well, they provide ample hydroelectric power.
The Town lies on the forty-ninth parallel. As such, its latitude is the same as the greater part of the border between the United States and Western Canada. The climate of Cochrane is modified continental, characterised by four distinct seasons. The summer offers long daylight hours that enhance recreation.
Incorporated in 1910, the Town was named after the Honourable Frank Cochrane, then Minister of Lands, Forests and Mines. Today the Town has a population of about 5457 and functions as a service centre for a wide tributary area. It also provides business services for residents and has a strong base in forest industries, farming and government services. All of these activities give the Town a reasonably stable economic base.
Today, the Town of Cochrane is a modern, progressive community. Its residential nature is quite different from the Town's early beginnings. Fortunately, the early builders had the foresight to survey the streets and avenues in grand proportions. The wide, tree-lined avenues regulate a low-density development pattern that is nevertheless reasonably compact and segregated into particular land use areas.
Cochrane is served by Highway 11, the northern route of the Trans-Canada Highway, and by Ontario Northland Transportation Commission.
A variety of communications services are also available thanks to the partnership between the Cochrane Public Utilities Commission and the Ontario Northland Telecommunication Commission.
