Township Of Ignace

On the street, at the Post Office, or celebrating the season, Ignace residents like to wave hello to friends and strangers alike. Family ties link many residents to nearby towns and cities scattered across this vast region. Recent new residents have come to Ignace to work in our schools, to enjoy an active retirement, to explore job opportunities in tourism and opening a small business.

The Town has a brand new water treatment plant and a Travel Information Centre that sets a standard for the region in architecture and accessibility.

Housing in Ignace is affordable with the average price of a 3-bedroom home at about $45,000 CAN. More than 65% of homes are less than 30 years old. Come to Ignace and enjoy living close to nature.

If you need help finding a new home, there are realtors who can help and the community’s weekly newspaper, Ignace Driftwood is a good resource for new listings.

• Latitude 50 Realty

• Royal Lepage Lannon Realty

• No Realty Fee

Health 

Mary Berglund Community Health Centre provides quality health care and health care promotion services through a multidisciplinary team. Services are offered by a Health Promoter, Social Worker, Family Physician, Nurse Practitioners, Registered Nurses, Physiotherapist and Kinesiologist. A regular foot care Nurse and Chiropodist ensure a full range of foot care services, and a Chiropractor and Massage Therapist attend the Health Centre on a regular basis. The Centre provides a unique focus on seniors through an Aging at Home Program. In addition, the FOCUS core program addresses alcohol and chronic disease challenges.
Emergency services include Ignace Ambulance providing First Response medical care, and a volunteer Municipal Fire Department. The Ignace Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police is supported by the Ignace Community Policing Committee.
The Health Centre’s Van is used to deliver programs and services in Ignace and in Savant Lake.

The community offers opportunities for a mixed set of skills in forestry and mining, small business ownership in the retail, transportation, accommodations and food services sectors, and professionals in health care, finance and public administration.

Working in the forest is one of the options open to Ignace residents. A state-of-the-art sawmill is currently shutdown – a consequence of global economics and poor markets for wood products. However there are high expectations that wood pellet manufacturing facilities will be established in Ignace.

Mining skills have also been open to Ignace residents in the past and here too the horizon is bright with mineral exploration in the area identifying a number of opportunities for development during the decade ahead.

Ignace entrepreneurs have maintained the town’s capacity to meet the supply and service needs of heavy industry and manufacturing sectors.

The forest industry is portrayed on the exterior of an Ignace business, the Northwoods Motor Inn.

The tourism sector continues to grow and stimulate the local economy. There are over 50 tourist operations in the area, ranging from fly-in fishing and hunting outposts to local outfitters who are exploring new options for ecotourism such as winter dog sledding and snowshoeing.

Canoeing in the surrounding boreal forest takes visitors to the travel routes of early explorers such as the Turtle River Waterway south of Ignace and the English River system to the north.

Our Public Library is more than just about books, offering high speed internet and other electronic media. Please visit the Library on line at www.olsn.ca/ignace or at the Ignace Information Centre where you can also visit the Museum.

Ignace has an assortment of learning choices to support families with children and adult learners, including after school care, playgroups, kindergarten, schools and Distance Education programs.

Child care

Kids’ Care, operated by the Ignace Nursery School Parent Cooperative and the Ignace Nursery School, provides pre-school programs that teach self discipline, the promotion of self-esteem, and a positive self-image. Ignace Best Start Hub offers drop-in facilities for parents and provides learning resources for parents and preschool children as well as a forum for social interaction among young people.

Schools

Ignace Elementary and Secondary Public School takes a unique approach to small-town schooling: students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 share the facilities which include two gymnasiums, two science labs, two libraries and 26 classrooms. www.kpdsb.on.ca

École Immaculée-Conception. Dans une ambiance chaleureuse et sécurisante, cette école vise l'excellence académique, la promotion d’une identité culturelle et la valorisation de la foi catholique. Ils offrent une vaste gamme de programmes d'enseignement en langue française aux enfants de la maternelle à la 8e année.

This French immersion school strives for academic excellence while promoting the French language, culture, faith and heritage. It offers a wide array of French language educational programs to students from JK to grade 8.

Outdoor mural at Ecole Immaculee-Conception

Contact North offers virtual classrooms across Northern Ontario, a connection to hundreds of courses and 75 part-time and full-time programs offered by 15 Ontario colleges and universities, as well as literacy organizations enabling residents to obtain a certificate, diploma or degree without leaving the community.

Ignace School Adult Education - English as a Second Language. Through the Lakehead Adult Education Centre, Ignace School offers a range of high school credits as well as English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. Classes are for beginners, intermediate or advanced students whose first or dominant language is neither English nor French.

Other Adult Education Resources include:

• English as a Second Language: Contact North - Independent Learning Centre
• Literacy Northwest - Regional Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) Network
• Lakehead University: Continuing Education & Distributed Learning
• Confederation College

The Town’s Economic Development Office supports new small business ventures and encourages entrepreneurs to explore new business ideas. The Ignace Economic Development Committee meets monthly and invites business owners and community volunteers to become involved in initiatives to help diversify the local economy.

Ignace has a small retail sector and a strong accommodations and food service sector that caters to travellers along the Trans Canada Highway. Ignace’s location on the Highway and the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway offer business advantages and access to major markets outside the region.

Many downtown businesses have outdoor murals, this one depicting the town’s historical connection to the railroad.

The Town has easy access to natural gas and electricity sources. Highway #599 begins in Ignace, leading north to Pickle Lake and transportation routes to remote regions of northern Ontario.

High Speed Internet keeps Ignace connected to the world beyond. The Town maintains its own website promoting its services to residents and the community’s activities to the world. An industrial business park was recently opened in Ignace to encourage light manufacturing industry to locate in Ignace.

recreation

Ignace is blessed with easy access to the rivers, lakes and forests that make northwestern Ontario unique. Fishing and hunting are major attractions that draw visitors to Ignace year after year.

Canoeists set out from Ignace to journey to remote White Otter Lake to visit the legendary Castle built by Jimmy McQuat in the early 1900's. 

The Town’s sports facilities include baseball diamonds, a 9-hole golf course, a soccer pitch, and walking trails in several Parks. Our arena is used for hockey and figure skating, a summer hockey school, and regional tournaments. A Fitness Centre, a four-lane Bowling Alley, and outdoor tennis courts complement the recreation complex.

There are plenty of outdoor recreational activities to do in Ignace.Camping, skating, hiking and more.