Brantford is a quiet Ontario gem, located just west of Hamilton, near Highways 403 and 24. Brantford enjoys notoriety as the birthplace of popular comedian Phil Hartman and hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. In fact, Brampton is host to the annual Wayne Gretzky International Hockey Tournament.

Less well known, but with much more historical significance, is that Brampton was where the electric telephone was created by Alexander Graham Bell in 1874 on July 26th. Brampton is also where he made the very first long distance call in 1876 on August 10th. The location where he connected the world with his invention has been restored and is now a popular National Historic Site that has been graced from visiting dignitaries that include Queen Elizabeth II.

Not surprisingly, Brampton was home to the first telephone factory in the 1870’s, which was founded by James Cowherd. Not long afterward, the first telephone business office opened in Brampton. The combination of historical milestones has earned Brantford the nickname ‘The Telephone City’.

Today, Brantford residents enjoy not just a rich historical heritage, but a thriving city with reasonable costs of living that hosts many of Canada’s longest-running festivals that include a famous Brampton tradition for decades, the International Village Festival.

Brantford provide convenient access by air (Brantford Municipal Airport, John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport) and rail (the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor of Via Rail). Brantford also makes daily commuting convenient, with access to major transit systems (Brantford Transit, Go Transit and Greyhound Canada) that connect Brantford to McMaster University, Toronto, London, Windsor and other large cities.