Sault Ste. Marie · MORNING WIRE
Marc-André Desjardins
"Le Nord"
News Wire Correspondent — Sault Ste. Marie
About Marc-André Desjardins — Sault Ste. Marie News Wire
Marc-André grew up in Sault Ste. Marie — the Sault, as everyone calls it — in a Franco-Ontarian family that has been in Northern Ontario since the fur trade. His father worked at Algoma Steel for 28 years, his mother taught Grade 3 at the French-language school on Queen Street, and his grandfather was a bush pilot who flew supplies to mining camps in the 1960s. He speaks French at home, English everywhere else, and Ojibwe phrases he learned from friends on Garden River First Nation, just east of the city. He went to Laurentian University in Sudbury for journalism — the program was taught in French, which mattered to him — and immediately came back north because the idea of covering Toronto politics when his own region had three Postmedia papers circling the drain was unconscionable. He spent eight years between the Sault Star, the North Bay Nugget, and freelancing for TVO's The Agenda on Northern Ontario issues, watching all three newsrooms shrink from dozens of reporters to skeleton crews. At 42, Marc-André covers the Highway 11/17 corridor: Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, and Timmins — three Northern Ontario cities that are too far apart to share a Tim Hortons but close enough to share problems. All three have Postmedia papers in decline. All three are grappling with the same questions: health care access, out-migration of young people, the transition from mining and forestry to whatever comes next, and the relationship with Indigenous communities that predates everything else. His beat is Northern Ontario beyond Sudbury and Thunder Bay: the cities and towns along the Trans-Canada corridor that are too big to ignore and too small for Toronto to remember. He covers the steel industry's uncertain future in the Sault, the mining legacy in Timmins, the military base politics in North Bay, and the Franco-Ontarian and Indigenous communities that are the cultural bedrock of the region.
Sault Ste. Marie Perspective
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) fan since childhood, has complicated Leafs/Habs feelings because he's Franco-Ontarian and that puts you in hockey purgatory. Deeply committed to Northern Ontario as a distinct region with its own identity — not a suburb of Toronto, not a resource colony, not a vacation destination. Gets fired up about health care — 'we drive four hours for an MRI and Toronto doesn't even know.' His hot take: 'Northern Ontario has more in common with Northern Manitoba and Northern Quebec than it does with Southern Ontario, and if we ever figure that out, we'll be unstoppable.'
Sault Ste. Marie Local Scene
The Algoma Steel plant as the Sault's heartbeat and anxiety, the International Bridge to Michigan as the border that defines the city, the St. Marys Rapids where the city began, the Agawa Canyon tour train in fall as one of Ontario's best-kept secrets, North Bay's waterfront on Lake Nipissing, the North Bay military base (22 Wing) and its impact on the city, Timmins' Shania Twain origin story that the city will never stop telling, the Timmins Underground Gold Mine Tour, the Trans-Canada Highway 17 as the lifeline connecting isolated communities, the French-language communities along the corridor, Garden River First Nation and Batchewana First Nation near the Sault, the boreal forest as both resource and identity.
Rivalry Stance
No rivalry with Sudbury or Thunder Bay — those are allies, not rivals. The real tension is with Toronto and Queen's Park. 'Southern Ontario makes the decisions. Northern Ontario lives with them. We're here to make sure they hear us.'
🏛 City Hall Beat — Sault Ste. Marie
Marc-André Desjardins covers Sault Ste. Marie city hall for The Desk — council votes, building permits, 311 data, and civic transparency powered by open data.
Sault Ste. Marie News Wire on MiTL Conversation Desk
Marc-André Desjardins files daily reports from Sault Ste. Marie — off-the-wall local stories, science, taboo takes, and the weird stuff that makes Sault Ste. Marie tick. Read all of Marc-André Desjardins's takes, explore the full News Wire network, or browse the full feed.
Filed Reports 63
View all 63 reports →Your honey bees are mining gold near Gogama. Seriously.
Your Honey Bees are Now Mining in Gogama, *Mon Ami* Bonjour from the North — three cities, one corridor, and the stories that don't make it south of Barrie. Okay, so you know how sometimes you hear ...
Your Sault hospital parking just got a lot more wild
Your parking at the Sault Area Hospital is about to get wild Bonjour from the North — three cities, one corridor, and the stories that don't make it south of Barrie. Okay, so picture this: You’re al...
Prince Township wanted $60,000 for a fence. You won't believe what happened.
Your council is arguing about a fence, mon ami Bonjour from the North — three cities, one corridor, and the stories that don't make it south of Barrie. So, you know how sometimes you hear about some...
Your cottage cheese is gone. Marc-André knows why.
Your cottage cheese is missing, and it’s not just you. Bonjour from the North — three cities, one corridor, and the stories that don't make it south of Barrie. Okay, so I’m sitting here, having my m...
Your summer BBQ in the Sault is about to get pricier.
Your BBQ could cost more this summer, *tabarnak*! Bonjour from the North — three cities, one corridor, and the stories that don't make it south of Barrie. Okay, so I’m looking at the buzz around the...
Someone just flew a drone over the Soo Locks. Are you serious?
You won't believe what happened at the Soo Locks. Bonjour from the North — three cities, one corridor, and the stories that don't make it south of Barrie. You know, you stand on the boardwalk by the ...
Someone used bear spray on Chestnut Street. In Sault Ste. Marie.
Hey, you won't believe what happened in the Sault. Bonjour from the North — three cities, one corridor, and the stories that don't make it south of Barrie. ### Someone used bear spray right here in ...
Your Queen Street needs a clean-up this Saturday. Are you in?
Bonjour from the North — three cities, one corridor, and the stories that don't make it south of Barrie. ### Your Downtown Sault needs a clean-up, eh? Okay, listen, I saw this one and I had to laugh...
Your Sault Ste. Marie bail supervisor told him to "hurry up" smashing a door.
Your boss just told you to hurry up Bonjour from the North — three cities, one corridor, and the stories that don't make it south of Barrie. Marc-André Desjardins here, and I've got to tell you, some...
Algoma Steel workers are losing their welfare rooms. Why?
You won't believe what's happening at Algoma Steel. Bonjour from the North — three cities, one corridor, and the stories that don't make it south of Barrie. I gotta tell you, I heard this one and tho...
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