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Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Barrie, Ontario, Canada

Barrie

Ontario, Canada
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Victim in fatal Etobicoke shooting is a Barrie teen. Here’s what we know • Nov. 10, 2026, 4:24 PM ET (CTV News)
Where does Barrie rank in Canada’s top places to live? • Nov. 10, 2026, 9:51 AM ET (CTV News)
Barrie truck driver dead following collision on QEW in Niagara • Nov. 6, 2026, 11:04 AM ET (CTV News)
Barrie Legion is remembering the fallen through flags of honour • Oct. 30, 2026, 8:06 AM ET (CTV News)
Fatal house fire in north-end Barrie • Oct. 25, 2026, 7:08 PM ET (CTV News)

Barrie, city in Simcoe county, southeastern Ontario, Canada. It lies along Kempenfelt Bay, an arm of Lake Simcoe, 55 miles (90 km) north-northwest of Toronto. In 1812 a storehouse was probably built on the site, which during the War of 1812 was the landing and starting point of the Nine-Mile-Portage (a military supply route to the upper Great Lakes). A permanent settlement was established in 1828, named for Commodore Robert Barrie, commander of a naval squadron at Kingston, Ontario. The early economy was based on agriculture and lumbering. Allandale village to the south was annexed in 1897.

Barrie
BarrieView over Kempenfelt Bay of Barrie, Ontario, Canada.

Barrie is now a summer and winter resort, with an economy based on services and diversified manufacturing. Its attractions include Centennial Park and, immediately to the north, the Simcoe County Museum and Archives and Springwater Provincial Park. Georgian College of Applied Arts and Technology was founded in Barrie in 1967. Canadian Forces Base Borden is a few miles west. Inc. town, 1851; city, 1959. Pop. (2011) 136,063; metro. area, 187,013; (2021) 147,829; metro. area, 212,856.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Mindy Johnston.
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