Question for Canadians: Where could one put a Fictional City in CU Canada ?

[Hermit]

Now and then I get the urge to make a fictional city for my players to game in. New Constantinople, for example, was in the US Pacific Northwest.

Lately I've been thinking of going outside my comfort zone .. only a little and I thought "Where would be a good spot to put a Fictional City In Canada?"

 

 

 

I figure as there will be some Silver Age logic (Albeit Tarnished Silver in my games), I can BS a lot on reasons for it having happened in the CU (My version of it) where it didn't in the real world. But I figured some of the Canadians (And Canada adjacent) folks we have on our boards might be a valuable source of wisdom and suggestions on things like "What Province could use a city with an extra million people (more or less)?" or "What touches in it's history or reason for being would make it more Canadian (or at least Canadian flavored so to speak)?"  And so on. I don't want it to be just "Millennium City in Canada" or "Vibora Bay North" though I like both of those settings.

 

Input welcome in this moment of whimsy

[Mr. R]

BC.  North of Vancouver.  Make it a Port town.  Fishing. Logging, Mining.  Basically take San Angelo, and move it NORTH.  

[death tribble]

There is also the possibility of making a 'forgotten city'. Marvel did it with Magma's people living in South America. You could have something Cthulhu like. Or some Mastermind could have sealed off an area.

[assault]

Canada... that's the buffer zone between Reality and Chaos, isn't it?

[Hermit]

6 hours ago, death tribble said:

There is also the possibility of making a 'forgotten city'. Marvel did it with Magma's people living in South America. You could have something Cthulhu like. Or some Mastermind could have sealed off an area.

 

If I were going to go with that, so that it could be a 'home' for the PCs I'd probably have it recently claimed and (perhaps too early) declared safe for citizens. Which could indeed be interesting.

[Mr. R]

M&M had an Atlas of the World and in it's description of Canada was the City of Dominion.  It was from an alternate timeline, very advanced (Nano tech in everybody)  But the Security Chief of the city (A very powerful cyborg) wanted to take over Canada and later THE WORLD!  So the AI running the city exiled him and set the city TPort device to random.  It now will randomly appear somewhere over Canada for anywhere from a day to a week and sometimes a month.  (It is basically a Plot device for new heroes to be created in its shadow due to tech or the nanos reacting or... what ever)

 

HOWEVER

 

Tone down the extremely high tech, make it about 100000 natives, and set it down in Norther Saskatchewan.  You have a ready made town, with infra structure, and locals flocking to cash in on the tech boom.  This could easily push the population to pass 500000.   Go from there! 

 

Adventures

Stopping illegal sales of high tech

Preventing Villains and Villain organizations from stealing said tech

Local Ecology

Nanites gone wild

Spirit beings take umbrage at this new city, high tech vs magic

 

 

 

 

[Hugh Neilson]

Lots of options - it's a very diverse country, geographically.  Do you want an old, established city or something recent, spurred by some new discovery?  You could build a city around some mineral resource in the Rocky Mountains, the Canadian shield or deep in the north.  You have three coasts to choose from, as well as the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence, if you want ports/water transit to explain the city's evolution.  No shortage of options.

[Cygnia]

I'd be thinking somewhere in Quebec if you want to deal with the added mess/mix of Separatist politics with that province.

[Hugh Neilson]

A lot of Western Canada has separatist feelings at present, but not as rooted in the Francophone/Anglophone history.  Certainly a good option, especially if you want to get political.

[Scott Ruggels]

 For what ius3e will be the city for?

Putting in an extra city, I would put something in between Calgary and Edmonton, more towards the mountains, and have it a general mining city with a top university.

[Clonus]

Assuming you want a largely anglophone city, I would place it on the west coast of Lake Superior.  It's an appropriately named Great Lake for a superhero city and that way you can have a dock district.  

 

 

Edited April 22, 2023 by Clonus

[Hermit]

8 hours ago, Hugh Neilson said:

Lots of options - it's a very diverse country, geographically.  Do you want an old, established city or something recent, spurred by some new discovery?  You could build a city around some mineral resource in the Rocky Mountains, the Canadian shield or deep in the north.  You have three coasts to choose from, as well as the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence, if you want ports/water transit to explain the city's evolution.  No shortage of options.

 

3 hours ago, Scott Ruggels said:

 For what ius3e will be the city for?

Putting in an extra city, I would put something in between Calgary and Edmonton, more towards the mountains, and have it a general mining city with a top university.

 

Sorry I know it's nebulous, but I haven't really decided what specifically I'm looking for beyond working up a new city for a campaign in Canada. I am liking a lot of the ideas folks are suggesting so far. Who knows, maybe I'll make more than one and ask you find people which sounds best

 

 

[Amorkca]

I took the supplement Meriquai Falls (available here in the store) and placed it in Saskatchewan, between Regina (Capital) and Saskatoon.

 

 

[Lord Liaden]

Canada has three western "prairie provinces" stretching from the US border to the Canadian far north: west to east, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The first two each have pairs of major cities, one to the south closer to the border, the other in the north on the Saskatchewan River. Edmonton in Alberta is the northernmost city in North America with a population of 1 million+, while Saskatoon is Saskatchewan's largest city at over a quarter-million, and over 300 thousand in its metropolitan area (and growing fast). Both are at roughly the same latitude. The growth of those cities in the modern era has been spurred by development of natural resources in the north, namely oil and mining, to which they're both called "gateway" cities.

 

Manitoba has only one city in that class, Winnipeg in south of the very large and long Lake Winnipeg (around 750,000 population), a major rail and air hub. In the north on that same latitude the Saskatchewan River flows first into Cedar Lake in the west, then on to Lake Winnipeg. In between there's a three-mile stretch of rapids which in the past was a serious block to water travel. Today there's a major hydro-electric dam on the site. The town of Grand Rapids, on the shore of Lake Winnipeg, has a bridge crossing the Saskatchewan River for the province's main highway. There are also several Cree First Nations in the region.

 

I propose a couple of "what if" changes to the history of that region. First, a "smoothing out" of the Saskatchewan River between Cedar Lake and Lake Winnipeg, freeing up water transport and facilitating expanded construction where Grand Rapids is now. There would undoubtedly be considerable road, rail, and water traffic between a new city there, and Winnipeg. Second, the discovery of some valuable mining resource in the Canadian Shield to the north. I would suggest high-grade uranium, although in a "super" world you could substitute something more exotic. Uranium would spur the growth of high-tech industries in the city diversifying its economy, as well as provide excuse for all kinds of criminal hijinks.   A nuclear power plant could also replace the hydro-electric dam. I would think all of that would justify a city of at least half a million.

 

Besides science-related plots, the city can be the jumping-off point for wilderness adventures to compromised mines, hidden villain bases, and the like. The presence of First Nations can weave in native spiritual traditions, as well as conflicts over land development and aboriginal land rights. As the province was originally settled by France and still has a substantial Francophone minority, the city could also be functionally bilingual (both languages have official status in Manitoba), as well as having representation from the distinctive Metis community (descended from mixed French and native).

 

As this was jelling in my head, a name suggestion popped into it for the new city: Northgate.

Edited May 1, 2023 by Lord Liaden

[Mr. R]

3 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

Canada has three western "prairie provinces" stretching from the US border to the Canadian far north: west to east, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The first two each have pairs of major cities, one to the south closer to the border, the other in the north on the Saskatchewan River. Edmonton in Alberta is the northernmost city in North America with a population of 1 million+, while Saskatoon is Saskatchewan's largest city at over a quarter-million, and over 300 thousand in its metropolitan area (and growing fast). Both are at roughly the same latitude. The growth of those cities in the modern era has been spurred by development of natural resources in the north, namely oil and mining, to which they're both called "gateway" cities.

 

Manitoba has only one city in that class, Winnipeg in the south on the shore of the very large and long Lake Winnipeg (around 750,000 population), a major rail and air hub. In the north on that same latitude the Saskatchewan River flows first into Cedar Lake in the west, then on to Lake Winnipeg. In between there's a three-mile stretch of rapids which in the past was a serious block to water travel. Today there's a major hydro-electric dam on the site. The town of Grand Rapids, on the shore of Lake Winnipeg, has a bridge crossing the Saskatchewan River for the province's main highway. There are also several Cree First Nations in the region.

 

I propose a couple of "what if" changes to the history of that region. First, a "smoothing out" of the Saskatchewan River between Cedar Lake and Lake Winnipeg, freeing up water transport and facilitating expanded construction where Grand Rapids is now. There would undoubtedly be considerable road, rail, and water traffic between a new city there, and Winnipeg. Second, the discovery of some valuable mining resource in the Canadian Shield to the north. I would suggest high-grade uranium, although in a "super" world you could substitute something more exotic. Uranium would spur the growth of high-tech industries in the city diversifying its economy, as well as provide excuse for all kinds of criminal hijinks.   A nuclear power plant could also replace the hydro-electric dam. I would think all of that would justify a city of at least half a million.

 

Besides science-related plots, the city can be the jumping-off point for wilderness adventures to compromised mines, hidden villain bases, and the like. The presence of First Nations can weave in native spiritual traditions, as well as conflicts over land development and aboriginal land rights. As the province was originally settled by France and still has a substantial Francophone minority, the city could also be functionally bilingual (both languages have official status in Manitoba), as well as having representation from the distinctive Metis community (descended from mixed French and native).

 

As this was jelling in my head, a name suggestion popped into it for the new city: Northgate.

 

 

WOW!

[Hugh Neilson]

I was thinking this AM that another city in MB on similar lines to round out the prairies could work.

[Ottumn]

I'm designing a city based very loosely off my home city of Hamilton called Deer Valley (there's a part of our city that has a lot of deer in it). It's between Toronto and Buffalo. 

[GDShore]

Actually LL, not uranium (Canadians right now are down on nuclear and new mining projects, Lithium however could be the exception) a mining project for it would face massive opposition from first nations and greens.

[Hugh Neilson]

Given the Canadian Federal Budget late last month proposed clean energy tax credits for sources including nuclear, I am hard-pressed to consider the country down on nuclear.

[Cygnia]

Rare earth minerals, maybe?

[Lord Liaden]

3 hours ago, GDShore said:

Actually LL, not uranium (Canadians right now are down on nuclear and new mining projects, Lithium however could be the exception) a mining project for it would face massive opposition from first nations and greens.

 

Hugh already dealt with the "down on nuclear" issue, but Canada is already a major producer of uranium, and ships it far beyond its borders. As for first nations' and greens' objections, I figure serious uranium mining would have taken off during the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War. In that era, to be brutally honest, their objections would have carried little weight. After all this time, uranium mining in Manitoba could be as established and have as much inertia as Alberta oil sands and Saskatchewan potash. And yes, if lithium for batteries was also in the north, that would be another growth area for the city's economy.

 

But I postulated that the city of Northgate would be more interesting if it had grown beyond dependence on uranium. Research laboratories based in the city could be at the forefront of developing technology for ecologically-responsible mining, and environmental reclamation. It could be a major producer of bio-fuels derived from Manitoba's abundant grain production. Because of its relative isolation and connection to more northern areas for exploitation, Northgate could be a center for innovation in transportation, telecommunications, even aerospace engineering. And interestingly, in 2022 the highest-grossing export from Manitoba was antibiotics, so pharmaceutical research and manufacturing seems appropriate to include.

 

20 minutes ago, Cygnia said:

Rare earth minerals, maybe?

 

Yep, let's add REEs to the list of things Northgate is developing the technology to more efficiently extract and refine.

Edited April 23, 2023 by Lord Liaden

[Lord Liaden]

The city of Winnipeg is known across Canada as a major center for the arts, performing and plastic, derived from both European and First Nations traditions. 12.4% of Winnipeg's population is of indigenous descent, far higher than most cities in the rest of Canada and the United States. Because of its relative isolation Winnipeg has also developed unique cuisine making extensive use of locally grown produce and raised or caught animals, as well as diverse ethnic foods from a highly multicultural populace.

 

I see no reason why much of that could not be echoed in Northgate.

Edited April 23, 2023 by Lord Liaden

[Lord Liaden]

On 4/21/2023 at 10:06 PM, Hermit said:

I figure as there will be some Silver Age logic (Albeit Tarnished Silver in my games), I can BS a lot on reasons for it having happened in the CU (My version of it) where it didn't in the real world.

 

 

Just noticed that you were thinking of setting this city in a modified CU.  In that case I should mention that in the Champions Online MMORPG, a big vein of questionite was discovered in the Canadian North by ARGENT. The situation gets more improbably complicated than that, but it's not necessary to follow that continuity. However, speaking of improbable continuity,

 

On 4/22/2023 at 4:30 AM, death tribble said:

There is also the possibility of making a 'forgotten city'. Marvel did it with Magma's people living in South America. You could have something Cthulhu like. Or some Mastermind could have sealed off an area.

 

On 4/22/2023 at 11:23 AM, Hermit said:

 

If I were going to go with that, so that it could be a 'home' for the PCs I'd probably have it recently claimed and (perhaps too early) declared safe for citizens. Which could indeed be interesting.

 

Champions Of The North has some interesting tidbits along those lines, on p. 34 sidebar.

 

"The domed city of the Underlords, a civilization that lived underneath Lake Ontario, was destroyed in 1967 by the Mighty Canadians’ nemesis Clair De Lune in an attempt to force war between Canada and the Lake peoples that went tragically awry. The ruins are now the site of a small UNTIL base."

 

"Teleios has taken advantage of the [Canadian] Shield’s geography many times. One of his former lairs, known as “the Pit,” is so heavily infested with his genetic monstrosities that even superheroes have been unable to fully penetrate it; UNTIL would like to clear the lair of obstructions so it can see if it can find some useful information on the master villain."

 

"Perhap the deadliest place in Canada is an underground cavern 200 km northwest of Churchill, Manitoba. This was the location of the impenetrable Ice Dome of King Vultok, Canada’s most dangerous Golden Age villain, which was destroyed by an underground nuclear explosion. Numerous villains (including the Mighty Canadians’ archnemesis Atomica) have tried to brave the radiation and exploit Vultok’s buried technological wonders, but thankfully none have yet succeeded. UNTIL has designated the area as a Class 8 Hazard Site and keeps a permanent watch station near the entrance."

 

And in the GM's Vault section of COTN there's this description of Teleios's "Project Roentgen — the development of Radio-Men. This is a mutation that allows superhumans to function safely in heavily radioactive environments. In essence Teleios is breeding a race of drones from the DNA of King Vultok’s Ice People. He would like to take over the ruins of the Kingdom and rebuild it into a major base. Then the final stage of Teleios’s plans concerning Canada will be to drive a wedge between UNTIL and the Canadian government to weaken UNTIL’s watch over Vultok’s realm until he can infiltrate it and make it his own." (Golden Age Champions has more background on Vultok and his people, which I could summarize if desired.)

[Hermit]

22 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

As this was jelling in my head, a name suggestion popped into it for the new city: Northgate.

 

If a neighbor to Canada's south might suggest, perhaps it should be named after the famous explorers and brothers, Scott and Bennie North.

 

[Lord Liaden]

Your instinct to pay tribute to Scott Bennie is admirable.   Perhaps those brothers founded the first settlement on that site, although "Bennie" as an English first name in that era sounds improbable.

 

But it's your city. Wherever you end up putting it, you can name it whatever you want. We're just making suggestions.

Edited April 24, 2023 by Lord Liaden