SAULT STE. MARIE CANADA

Region: Sault Ste. Marie

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This Canadian steel-making city of 79,000 dwarfs its older American counterpart across the St. Mary's River. The Ontario city of Sault Ste. Marie is home to giant Algoma Steel, a complex that dominates the view up the St. Mary's River from the Michigan side. The steel mill was created shortly after 1900 as part of American entrepreneur Francis Clergue's idea to use power generated by the Falls of the St. Mary's to turn the twin Saults into major industrial centers. He got more investors on the Canadian side than the American. The same Canadian investors built the Algoma Central Railway north into the wilderness to ship iron ore for the new steel plant and to develop the forest resources of the hinterland. The Algoma Central still hauls freight and timber but is more famous as the Agawa Canyon Tour Train (the Snow train) taking visitors to look at the wilderness in fall and winter.

Dick Lund

The giant Algoma steel factory on the St. Marys River opened in 1902, becoming a major maker of train rails. It was bought in 2007 by India's Essar Global for $1.85 billion.

Algoma Steel is one of Canada's largest steelmakers, with some 2,900 employees, plus 400 in its related tube mill. It manufactures 2..8 million tons of per year,

Rolled steel for making auto bodies is a major product, as is structural steel plate for construction. The Soo Locks Boat Tour and Locks Tours Canada through the Soo Locks provide visitors of the plant, almost surreal in size, close riverfront views.

The steel plant attracted many Italian immigrant workers early in the century. Today Italians make up over one third of the city's population. Their most visible presence is the many Italian restaurants, some of them quite good (see below).

The Canadian Sault's other big industry is 400-employee St. Mary's Paper, just east of the International Bridge along the river. Clergue founded it as a pulp mill in 1896. Into the plant by train come tons of logs daily, and out come 240,000 tons per year of the shiny paper used in magazines and advertising supplements for customers like Kmart and Target.

Dick Lund

Entering the Canadian Soo Locks from below

Kids today can still get excited about visiting Canada—for many their first trip abroad—with its different-looking coins, kilometers instead of miles, different spellings and words on signs, gas measurekment (liters) and different cereal, candy, and crackers in the supermarket. A pocket calculator helps figure out costs (multiply Canadian dollar by .8 for an approximate U.S, equivalent), gas prices (a liter is .26 gallon and about $! more per gallon than American), and distances and speed limits (a kilometer is .62 miles).

Canadians still celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday (May 24) .A number of restaurants offer afternoon tea. And from October to mid-April they play curling, that odd game involving sliding a stone on ice, its target guide by furious broom sweeping and a bellowing teammate guide them. Call the Soo Curlers Association (705-945-6174) for details.

Add a souvenir with a Canadian maple leaf for a lasting memory! It can be interesting for adults, too, to see the differences between the two North American countries, from styles of residential construction to bookstores and radio stations where the government's insistence on Canadian cultural content can be seen and heard.

In the wake of 9/ll, getting into Canada and especially getting back into the U.S. has become more complicated. Backups aren't that bed; 15 minutes is typical. Long waits occur most on peak days in summer for 2005. American customs officials are far more paranoid about the possibility of terrorists sneaking across, hence the longer wait returning to the U.S. You may be asked for a birth certificate or picture ID for each child (hard to figure the rationale for that)). Adults only need a driver's license.

Station Mall in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with over 125 stores. One-of-a-kind shops and restaurants are on Queen Street between between East and Gore. Don't expect bargains. Charity gambling was introduced in 1999 to give gamblers at Kewadin Casino a reason to cross the river and gamble in Canada. The casino, first of its kind in Ontario, is strategically located next to the Ontario Travel Information Center (705-945-6941) at the International Bridge exit.

The Canadian Sault is also the point of departure for canoe, kayak, and fishing trips to Lake Superior's scenic north shore and the Algoma Highlands. Spectacular red cliffs join #POI#Lake Superio at the edge of the rugged Canadian Shield, North America's oldest rock. Rocks and lake make a trip along the shore road to Wawa, 120 miles northwest of Sault, Ontario, a memorable experience for the most seasoned traveler—especially during fall color season. Wawa is an iron-mining and resort town of 5,000. Agawa Bayou and Lake Superior Provincial Park are popular places to stop along the way. Fishing, kayaking, and beaches are big draws. Ancient petroglyphs etched in rock add a cultural dimension. The Sault Michigan CVB's free travel guide has a good itinerary for a one-day drive along Superior's Canadian shore. For guided trips and group outings, see "To Find Out More" in the introduction.

A number of residents in and near Sault, Ontario, live here because it's so close to the wild, unspoiled north country. Managers and owners of fly-in resorts spend winters here. Some men are willing to accept dirty, unpleasant work at Algoma Steel for the tradeoff of being able to get right out into the wilderness on weekends and vacations. ("I'm here for the boosh," says a man from the Maritime provinces in a thick French accent.)

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PLACES AROUND SAULT STE. MARIE CANADA TO

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