Travel to Thunder Bay

The City of Thunder Bay, host to the 2024 International Nickel-Copper Symposium, is located in the geographic centre of Canada. The organizers would like to provide registrants with the following information to assist in organizing their travel to the Symposium.

Thunder Bay is a regional center in northwestern Ontario, it is located approximately 1,390 km (865 mi) northwest of Toronto, 700 km (430 mi) east of Winnipeg, Manitoba and 550 km (340mi) northeast of Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. With these distances in mind, the most practical means of travelling to Thunder Bay is by air. The City of Thunder Bay is serviced by Air Canada, Westjet, Porter Airlines and Bearskin Airlines, and can be reached by transiting through Toronto Pearson International Airport (Toronto Pearson).

Travellers are cautioned that almost all flights pass through Toronto Pearson. Travel agents not familiar with booking to Thunder Bay may find flights transiting through Winnipeg and Minneapolis but they will all link through Toronto Pearson. As such it is much more convenient, and saves time, to request that your flight be routed through Toronto Pearson. There is no direct air service connecting Minneapolis, Minnesota with Thunder Bay, you would be routed through Toronto.

Driving from any of the three major hubs is not recommended for international travellers. Driving from Toronto requires two days while Winnipeg is eight hours and Minneapolis, Minnesota is seven hours. With that being said, for those that are adventurous and have the time, the drive from Toronto to Thunder Bay especially when you reach the Canadian Shield north of Sault Ste. Marie, is very scenic and in some places, spectacular. Several roadside geological guides are available online e.g. Geology and Scenery, North Shore of Lake Superior, E.G. Pye, Geological Guidebook No. 2. While this publication is dated, 1969, other more recent publications are available.