The Naming of Thunder Bay (Toronto Mike)

Biking this afternoon, I listened to The Story from Here on CBC Radio One. One story was about the naming of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The City of Thunder Bay was formed in 1970 through the merger of the cities of Fort William, Port Arthur, and the geographic townships of Neebing and McIntyre. A referendum was held to vote on the new name, and it seemed as if "Lakehead" would carry the day. It was often referred to as "Lakehead" because of its location at the end of Great Lakes navigation on the Canadian side of the border.

The ballot, however, included three possible names: "Thunder Bay", "Lakehead" and "The Lakehead". As you could imagine, the vote split between the two and "Thunder Bay" came…