ThunderBay began a period of extraordinary growth in the era of Sir Wilfrid Laurier as a result of transcontinental railway building and the western wheat boom.
ThunderBay is represented in the Canadian Parliament by Joe Comuzzi (Liberal) and Ken Boshcoff (Liberal), and in the Ontario Legislature by Michael Gravelle (Liberal) and William Bill Mauro (Liberal).
ThunderBay's name is the result of a mishandled plebiscite to determine the new name of the amalgamated Fort William and Port Arthur.
Mayors may also function as the head of the city council, sometimes elected as mayor by the council rather the citizens, while day-to-day operations of the city are delegated to a professional city manager.
In Canada mayors are usually elected at large by the citizens of a municipality for a fixed term.
List of mayors of Washington, D.C. List of mayors of Akron, Ohio