A Financial Services Photo Essay Of My Hometown
Timmins may not be a city you have heard of. If this northern ontario town sounds familiar, you just might be a Shania Twain fan. Not only is the city with the heart of gold Shania’s hometown, it’s also a commonality between Frank Mahovlich (NHL hockey player, Canadian senator), Stompin’ Tom Connors (musician, songwriter), Steve Sullivan (NHL hockey player) and myself. I proudly called Timmins my hometown ever since my family immigrated to Canada when I was age 11. On my recent trip, I was suprised by a few changes I’ve noticed and took some pictures to share with you!
Timmins was recently listed #1 in the April 2006 issue of MoneySense magazine as the most affordable place to live in Canada. To reach this conclusion, MoneySense compared housing prices with local incomes. A year’s income for a Timmins resident would not only theoretically pay for a house, but leave them with a bit left over for paint and wallpaper!
| Median Price1 | Median Household Income2 | Years to Buy3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timmins, ON | $55,000 | $56,781 | 0.97 |
| Terrace, BC | $69,900 | $57,122 | 1.22 |
| Thompson, MB | $83,900 | $65,699 | 1.28 |
| Yorkton, SK | $59,900 | $46,786 | 1.28 |
| Kitimat, BC | $104,900 | $74,244 | 1.41 |
| Notes: 1. Single-family detached house 2. Median Household Income, 2001 Census 3. Years to buy a house. |
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| source: MoneySense | |||
Perhaps this was why I felt pleasantly surprised at Timmins’s visual transformation in its financial services landscape. The city has fallen on a bit of hard times until recent mining projects and the rise in precious metals are revitalizing its economy. The city is also undergoing a “renovation” of sorts, new buildings are springing up to replace the old. It’s not only myself that believes in this revival, many financial services company are also betting on this as a lasting strend and are setting up shop in recent years. Would you expect any of the following in a town with a population (2005 data) of 43,290? Take a look! (You can click on the thumbnails for a bigger picture with explanations.)
Here’s a list of the companies I saw, I wasn’t able to snap a picture for quite a few of them!
Banks
- Bank of Montreal
- Scotia Bank
- TD Canada Trust
- CIBC
- Royal Bank
- National Bank
- Caisse Populaire (a french credit union, not sure which company though)
Investments
- CIBC Wood Gundy
- Edward Jones
- Wells Fargo Financial
- Berkshire Securities
- Citi Financial
- Dundee Wealth Management
- Investors Group
Insurance
- The Co-operators (I saw 2 locations)
- Many more independent insurance brokers all around town!
How can a small Northern Ontario town garner so much attention from so many well-known brand name financial companies? I don’t know when I last saw Dundee, Berkshire, Citi or a Wells Fargo outside of the Greater Toronto Area. Are they wondering if there’s more than gold in those waters?
If you are a personal finance blogger? What does your hometown’s financial services landscape look like? Care to share with us?
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