Sault Ste. Marie, known as the Soo, is a steel and border city of about 72,000 on the St. Marys River, facing its twin in Michigan. It sits at the gateway to Algoma, a large stretch of Canadian Shield forest, and it feels far from the rest of Ontario. Toronto is about 680 km away.
The signature outing is the Agawa Canyon Tour Train, especially in fall colour season. Other good stops are the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, the canal and Whitefish Island, the downtown boardwalk, and the trails at Hiawatha Highlands. Lake Superior Provincial Park is a drive north. Winters bring heavy lake-effect snow, and Highway 17 can close. The main reason people move here is cost. It is one of the most affordable markets in Ontario, with homes well below the provincial norm and modest rents. Crime is around the national average, with some drug activity downtown and in the east end. Italian heritage is strong.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
Out of 10. Open any score to see how it’s worked out. “Data-based” scores come from published figures; “Hey! En Route estimate” scores are worked out from what we know about the city; “Hey! En Route rating” scores were set by our editors.
- Known as
- The Soo; Gateway to Algoma; Canada's border twin of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; home of the Algoma Central Railway Agawa Canyon Tour Train and the Soo Locks rivalry; Steeltown (Algoma Steel)
- Founded
- 1668 Jesuit mission established at the rapids (Sault Sainte-Marie); 1750s fur trading post; 1887 incorporated as a town; 1912 incorporated as a city
- Languages
- English (dominant); French spoken by a minority; Italian heritage community is large; Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) heard in nearby First Nations such as Batchewana and Garden River; services in French limited
- Airports
- Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM), about 15 km west of downtown (Air Canada Express to Toronto, Porter and Flair or regional flights vary by season); Chippewa County International (CIU) in Kincheloe MI, about 45 km across the border; Sudbury (YSB) about 290 km east; Thunder Bay (YQT) about 700 km northwest
- Tipping
- Restaurants 15-20% of the pre-tax bill (HST 13% is added on top of listed prices, tip on the pre-tax amount); bars $1-2 per drink or 15-20% of tab; taxis and rideshare 10-15%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 CAD per night; bellhops $2-5 CAD per bag; tour guides 10-15%; counter service optional (all amounts CAD; Ontario HST is 13%)
About this data
Populations 72,051 (city) and 76,731 (census agglomeration) and the area 223.24 sq km, elevation 192 m and 1668 founding were read from the Wikipedia page for the city (2021 Census figures reproduced there); StatCan pages were not fetched because they are robots-blocked. visitor_website is Tourism Sault Ste. Marie and event_calendar is the City of Sault Ste. Marie events page; both are recalled and were NOT confirmed to load. Coordinates, distances, event names and months, hotel ranges, cost of living, crime index, rent, prices and airline service are approximate or from general knowledge and not verified. All money in CAD.
