Collingwood, a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada, is nestled on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay. The area was first inhabited by the Iroquoian-speaking Petun nation, who built a string of villages near the Niagara Escarpment. The region saw an influx of white settlers and freed Black slaves in the 1840s, bringing with them their unique cultures and religions.
Collingwood was incorporated as a town in 1858, named after Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, Lord Nelson's second in command at the Battle of Trafalgar. The town has had several other names, including Hurontario, Nottawa, and Hens-and-Chickens Harbour.
In 1855, the Ontario, Simcoe & Huron Railway arrived in Collingwood, transforming the harbour into a shipment point for goods destined for the upper Great Lakes ports. The town also became a hub for shipbuilding, with the Collingwood Shipyards opening in 1883. Despite the demise of shipbuilding in 1986, Collingwood has continued to thrive, attracting numerous manufacturing firms and becoming the largest industrial employer in the region.
Collingwood experiences a humid continental climate, with modest amounts of snow and rain throughout the year. The town's proximity to Georgian Bay results in a gradual warming in the spring, with temperatures ranging from −5 °C to 22 °C. Summers are warm to hot with frequent lake breezes, and temperatures can range from 11 °C to 26 °C. Fall arrives later in Collingwood due to the warm waters of Georgian Bay, with temperatures typically ranging from -10 °C to 20 °C. Winter is a cloudy and cool season, with temperatures typically ranging from -20 °C to 5 °C.
The Collingwood Heritage Conservation District, formally recognized in the Canadian Register of Historic Places in 2002, surrounds the town's downtown core. It contains 260 properties and several landmarks, including the Shipyards redevelopment on the former site of Collingwood Shipbuilding, Collingwood Terminals grain elevator, and the town hall.
Creative Simcoe Street, located within the Collingwood Heritage Conservation District, is home to several artist's studios, art galleries, and restaurants. It also includes the Collingwood Museum and Collingwood Public Library, the historic Tremont House building, and the Simcoe Street Theatre.
Collingwood is served by Highway 26 and county road 124. The town also has a rail trail along the former Barrie Collingwood Railway section, connecting Collingwood to the towns of Owen Sound and Barrie. Colltrans, the Town of Collingwood's local public transit system, and Simcoe County LINX, the region's inter-community transit service, provide public transportation. Collingwood is also served by Collingwood Airport, a medium-sized airport about 4 miles south of the town.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Collingwood had a population of 24,811 living in 11,174 of its 13,216 total private dwellings, a change of 13.8% from its 2016 population of 21,793.
Collingwood is a popular destination for winter and summer recreational activities such as swimming, hiking, biking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, and downhill skiing. The town also has a rich hockey history, with the first recognized hockey game played in 1894. The Park Street Arena, now known as the Collingwood Curling Club, was built in 1909, and the arena now known as Eddie Bush Memorial was built in 1948.
Collingwood has established sister city relationships with Boone, North Carolina, United States; Zihuatanejo, Mexico; and Katano, Japan.
