Kingston, Ontario

A number of origins of "Cataraqui", Kingston's original name, have been postulated. One theory is that it is derived from the Iroquois word that means "the place where one hides".[5] The name may also be a derivation of Indigenous words that mean "impregnable", "muddy river", "place of retreat", "clay bank rising out of the water", "where the rivers and lake meet", or "rocks standing in water".[6][7][8][9]

Cataraqui was referred to as "the King's Town" or "King's Town" by 1787, in honour of King George III. The name was shortened to "Kingston" in 1788.[10][11] Cataraqui today is an area around the intersection of Princess Street and Sydenham Road, where the village of Cataraqui (formerly known as Waterloo) was located. Cataraqui is also the name of a municipal electoral district.

Archaeological evidence suggests people lived in the Kingston region as early as the Archaic Period (about 9,000–3,000 years ago).[12][13] Evidence of Late Woodland Period (about 1000–500 AD) early Iroquois occupation also exists.[14] The first more permanent encampments by Indigenous people in the Kingston area began about 500 AD.[15] The group that first occupied the area before the arrival of the French was probably the Wyandot people (Hurons), who were later displaced by Iroquoian groups.[15]

At the time the French arrived in the Kingston area, Five Nations Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) had settled along the north shore of Lake Ontario.[16] Although the area around the south end of the Cataraqui River was often visited by Iroquois and other groups, Iroquois settlement at this location only began after the French established their outpost.[17] By 1700, the north shore Iroquois had moved south, and the area once occupied by the Iroquois (which includes Kingston) became occupied by the Mississaugas who had moved south from the Lake Huron and Lake Simcoe regions.[18]

European commercial and military influence and activities centred on the fur trade developed and increased in North America in the 17th century. Fur trappers and traders were spreading out from their centres of operation in New France. French explorer Samuel de Champlain visited the Kingston area in 1615.[19]

"View of Frontenac or Cataracoui in 1759". Watercolour map depicting Fort Frontenac.

To establish a presence on Lake Ontario for the purpose of controlling the fur trade with local indigenous people, Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Governor of New France established Fort Cataraqui, later to be called Fort Frontenac, at a location known as Cataraqui in 1673.[19] The fort served as a trading post and military base, and gradually attracted indigenous and European settlement. In 1674, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle was appointed commandant of the fort. From this base, de La Salle explored west and south as far as the Gulf of Mexico.[19] The fort was rebuilt several times and experienced periods of abandonment. The Iroquois siege of 1688 led to many deaths, after which the French destroyed the fort, but would rebuild it. The British destroyed the fort during the Battle of Fort Frontenac (Seven Years' War) in 1758 and its ruins remained abandoned until the British took possession and partially reconstructed it in 1783. The fort was renamed Tête-de-Pont Barracks in 1787. It was turned over to the Canadian military in 1870–71 and is still being used by the military. It was renamed Fort Frontenac in 1939.[20] Partially reconstructed parts of the original fort can be seen today at the western end of the La Salle Causeway.

In 1783, Frederick Haldimand, governor of the Province of Quebec directed Deputy Surveyor-General John Collins to lay out a settlement for displaced British colonists, or Loyalists, who were fleeing north because of the American Revolutionary War and "minutely examine the situation and site of the Post formerly occupied by the French, and the land and country adjacent". Haldimand had originally considered the site as a possible location to settle loyal Mohawks.[21] The survey would also determine whether Cataraqui was suitable as a navy base since nearby Carleton Island on which a British navy base was located had been ceded to the Americans after the war. Holland's report about the old French post mentioned "every part surpassed the favorable idea I had formed of it", that it had "advantageous Situations" and that "the harbour is in every respect Good and most conveniently situated to command Lake Ontario".[21] Major John Ross, commanding officer of the King's Royal Regiment of New York at Oswego partly rebuilt Fort Frontenac in 1783. As commander, he played a significant role in establishing the Cataraqui settlement.

To facilitate settlement, the British Crown entered into an agreement with the Mississaugas in October 1783 to purchase land east of the Bay of Quinte. Known as the Crawford Purchase, this agreement enabled settlement for much of the eastern section of the north shore of Lake Ontario.[22][23] With the completion of the Mississauga agreement, settlement could proceed, although the planning of the layout of the townsite had not waited for the completion of the negotiations. The area was surveyed, and the survey report mentioned the area was deemed to have productive lands, abundant resources, a good harbour and an existing townsite. These requirements were considered ideal to settle the Loyalists.[24] Three kinds of refugee Loyalists would settle at Cataraqui: ‘associated’ or ‘incorporated’ Loyalists who were organized into companies under militia officers, provincial colonial regiments and their dependents, and unincorporated Loyalists who came to Canada independently.[25]

Many Loyalist refugees had at first settled on Carleton Island, and operated businesses there. When the Island was ceded to the United States after the Revolutionary War, these Loyalists, along with their businesses, relocated to Cataraqui.

Notable Loyalists who settled in the Cataraqui area include Molly Brant (the sister of Six Nations leader Joseph Brant); businessman and political figure Richard Cartwright; John Stuart, a clergyman, missionary and educator who arrived in 1785; and militia captain Johan Jost Herkimer. A group of Loyalists from New York State, led by Captain Michael Grass who arrived in 1784 after sailing from New York and up the St. Lawrence River, established a camp south of Fort Frontenac at Mississauga Point.[26][27] The first name given to the settlement by the Loyalists was King's Town, which would eventually develop into the current appellation.[9]

The first high school (grammar school) in what later became the province of Ontario was established in Kingston in 1792 by Loyalist priest John Stuart; in the present day it is known as Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute.

During the War of 1812, Kingston (with a population of 2,250)[28] was a major military centre. It was the base for the Lake Ontario division of the Great Lakes British naval fleet, which engaged in a vigorous arms race with the American fleet based at Sackets Harbor, New York for control of Lake Ontario. The Provincial Marine quickly placed ships into service and troops were brought in. A Royal Naval detachment built warships in order to control Lake Ontario.[19] Fortifications and other defensive structures were built. The first Fort Henry was built during this time to protect the dockyards in Navy Bay.[29] This fort was replaced by a more extensive fort on Point Henry in 1813.[30][19] The present limestone citadel, constructed between 1832 and 1836, was intended to defend the recently completed Rideau Canal (opened in 1832) at the Lake Ontario end as well as the harbour and the naval dockyard.[31] In 1843, the advanced battery overlooking the lake to the south was completed when the casemated commissariat stores and magazines were built. Fort Henry was garrisoned by British until 1871. It was restored starting in 1936 and is a popular tourist attraction, now part of a World Heritage Site.[29]

Fort Henry Guard practice drill, Fort Henry

Kingston's location at the Rideau Canal entrance to Lake Ontario made it the primary military and economic centre of Upper Canada after canal construction was completed in 1832. It was incorporated as a town in 1838; the first mayor of Kingston was Thomas Kirkpatrick.[19] Kingston had the largest population of any centre in Upper Canada until the 1840s. Kingston was incorporated as a city in 1846.

Kingston became an important port as businesses relating to transshipment, or forwarding, grew. Since Kingston was at the junction of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario, commodities shipped along the lake from the west such as wheat, flour, meat, and potash were unloaded and stored at Kingston to await transfer to vessels that could navigate the risky St. Lawrence. With the completion of the Rideau Canal, cargoes could be transported in a safer fashion since the St. Lawrence River route could be bypassed. The canal was a popular route for transporting lumber.[32]

Regiopolis College (for training priests) was incorporated in March 1837, and in 1866 the College was given full degree-granting powers, although these were rarely used and the college closed in 1869.[19] The building became the Hotel Dieu Hospital in 1892. The College reopened at another location in 1896.[33] Queen's University, originally Queen's College,[19] one of the first liberal arts universities, first held classes in March 1842; established by the Presbyterian Church, it later became a national institution.[34] The Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) was founded in 1876.

Kingston Penitentiary, Canada's first large federal penitentiary, was established in 1835 and operated until 2013. Several more prisons would be established in later years in the greater Kingston area, including the federal Prison for Women (1930, closed in the 1990s), Millhaven Penitentiary, Collins Bay, Frontenac, and Joyceville Institutions.

During the Upper Canada Rebellion, 1837–38, much of the local militia was posted in Kingston, under Lt. Col. Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle who completed construction of the new Fort Henry.

Governor General Lord Sydenham chose Kingston as the first capital of the united Canadas, and it served in that role from 1841 to 1844. The first meeting of the Parliament of the Province of Canada on June 13, 1841, was held on the site of what is now Kingston General Hospital. The city was considered too small and lacking in amenities, however, and its location near the border made it vulnerable to American attack. Consequently, the capital was moved to Montreal in 1844,[35] and it alternated between Quebec City and Toronto from 1849 until Ottawa, then a small lumber village known as Bytown, was selected as the permanent capital by Queen Victoria. Subsequently, Kingston's growth slowed considerably and its national importance declined.

In 1846, with a population of 6,123, Kingston was incorporated as a city, with John Counter as the first mayor.[19] By that time, there were stone buildings, both residential and commercial. The market house was particularly noteworthy as "the finest and most substantial building in Canada" which contained many offices, government offices, space for church services, the post office, the City Hall (completed in 1844)[36] and more. Five weekly newspapers were being published. Fort Henry and the marine barracks took up a great deal of space. Kingston Penitentiary had about 400 inmates. (The prison opened in 1835, with a structure intended to reform the inmates, not merely to hold or punish them.)[37] Industry included a steam grist mill, three foundries, two shipbuilders, ship repairers and five wagon makers; tradesmen of many types also worked here. All freight was shipped by boat or barges and ten steamboats per day were running to and from the town. Five schools for ladies and two for boys were operating, and the town had four bank agency offices. There were ten churches or chapels and the recently opened Hotel Dieu hospital was operated by sisters with the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph as a charity.[38]

Both Hotel Dieu and Kingston General Hospital (KGH) cared for victims of the typhus epidemic of 1847.[39] The KGH site held the remains of 1,400 Irish immigrants who had died in Kingston in fever sheds along the waterfront, during the typhus epidemic of 1847, while fleeing the Great Famine. They were buried in a common grave. The remains were re-interred at the city's St. Mary's Cemetery in 1966.[40] In 1995, KGH was designated a National Historic Site of Canada, because it is "the oldest public hospital in Canada still in operation with most of its buildings intact and thus effectively illustrates the evolution of health care in Canada in the 19th and 20th centuries".[41]

In 1848, the Kingston Gas Light Company began operation. (Gas lamps would be used until 1947.) By that time, the town was connected to the outside world by telegraph cables.[19]

The Grand Trunk Railway arrived in Kingston in 1856, providing service to Toronto in the west, and to Montreal in the east. Its Kingston station was two miles north of downtown. Kingston became an important rail centre, for both passengers and cargo, due to difficulty travelling by ship through the rapids-and-shoal-filled river.

By 1869, the population had increased to 15,000, and there were four banks. There were two ship building yards.[42]

Kingston was the home of Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. He won his first election to Kingston City Council in 1843, and would later represent the city for nearly 50 years at the national level, both before and after Confederation in 1867. One of his residences in Kingston, Bellevue House, is now a popular National Historic Site of Canada open to the public, and depicting the house as it would have been in the 1840s when he lived there.

In the early hours of April 18, 1840, a dock fire, fanned by high winds, spread to a warehouse containing between 70 and 100 kegs of gunpowder. The resulting explosion spread the fire throughout the city's downtown area, destroying a large number of buildings, including the old city hall. To prevent similar incidents from occurring in future, the city began building with limestone or brick. This rebuilding phase was referred to as "the Limestone Revolution" and earned the city the nickname "The Limestone City".[43][44][45]

The Canadian Locomotive Company was at one time the largest locomotive works in the British Empire and the Davis Tannery was at one time the largest tannery in the British Empire. The tannery operated for a century and was closed in 1973.[46] Other manufacturing companies included the Marine Railway Company, which built steamboats; the Victoria Iron Works, which produced iron in bars from scrap; several breweries; a distillery; and two soap and candle manufacturers.[47] (By the start of the 21st century, most heavy industry would leave the city and their former sites would be gradually rehabilitated and redeveloped.)

A telephone system began operation in Kingston in 1881; at that time the population was 14,091. Electricity was not available in Kingston until 1888.

Kingston grew moderately through the 20th century through a series of annexations of lands in adjacent Kingston Township, including a 1952 annexation of some 5,500 acres (22 km²)[19] which encompassed areas west to the Little Cataraqui Creek (including the village of Portsmouth), where a number of large residential subdivisions were built in the late 1950s and early '60s.

Kingston's economy gradually evolved from an industrial to an institutional base after World War II. Queen's University grew from about 2,000 students in the 1940s to its present size of over 28,000 students, more than 90 per cent of whom are from outside the Kingston area. The Kingston campus of St. Lawrence College was established in 1969, and the college has 6,700 full-time students. The Royal Military College of Canada was founded in 1876, and has about 1,000 students. Kingston is a regional health care centre, anchored by Kingston General Hospital and the medical school at Queen's. The city's economy is also dominated by post-secondary education, military institutions, and prison installations.

Municipal governance had been a topic of discussion since the mid-1970s due to financial imbalance between the city and the surrounding townships, which now had large residential areas and a population approaching that of the city proper. On January 1, 1998, the City was amalgamated with Kingston Township and Pittsburgh Township to form the new City of Kingston. The city's boundaries now encompass large rural areas north of Highway 401 and east of the Cataraqui River.

Sydenham Street Methodist Church in 1910. It was built in 1852 and later expanded.

In 2011, 78,800 Kingston residents, or about two-thirds of the population, were members of Christian groups; the largest were Roman Catholics, who numbered 33,410 (28.1%), the United Church of Canada (15,520 or 13.0%), and the Anglican Church of Canada (12,340 or 10.5%).

The Presbyterian Church was particularly influential in the 19th century development of Kingston post-secondary education. The church was a founder and financial supporter of Queen's University until 1912 when it was agreed the university should become a secular institution.[64] Sir John A. Macdonald was also a member of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Kingston.

The religious history of the city can still be seen in the monumental stone churches throughout the downtown core, some of which now serve as community[65] and co-working spaces.[66] Newer churches in the city like Reunion Kingston,[67] tend to seek rental options rather than building new physical spaces.

Groups other than Christians and the non-religious include Muslims (1,735 or 1.5%), Jews (785 or 0.7%), and Hindus (520 or 0.4%).[68]

35,435 people, or 29.8% of the population, identified as non-religious.

For its municipal government, the city is divided into 12 wards; each elects one councillor. All voters in the city cast ballots for the mayor, currently Bryan Paterson, an economics professor at the Royal Military College of Canada. Paterson was re-elected in the 2018 Ontario municipal elections for the 2018–2022 term.[69][70]

The councillors elected for the same term were:

• Gary Oosterhof – Countryside District
• Simon Chapelle – Loyalist-Cataraqui District
• Lisa Osanic – Collins-Bayridge District
• Wayne Hill – Lakeside District
• Bridget Doherty – Portsmouth District
• Robert Kiley – Trillium District
• Mary Rita Holland – Kingscourt-Rideau District
• Jeff McLaren – Meadowbrook-Strathcona District
• Jim Neill – Williamsville District
• Peter Stroud – Sydenham District
• Rob Hutchison – King's Town District
• Ryan Boehme – Pittsburgh District

On November 20, 2018 Kingston City Council received Report 18-384 which presented the results of the 2018 ranked choice ballots referendum question and outlined potential next steps. The Municipal Elections Act requires that at least 50 percent of the total number of eligible electors in the municipality must vote on the referendum question in order for the results to be "binding". Based on the official 2018 election results the number of eligible electors was 83,608. The total number of electors that voted on the referendum question was 32,803 or 39.2 percent of eligible electors.[71] Since 50 percent of eligible electors did not vote on the referendum question, the results are not "binding" on Council. Of the electors that voted on the referendum question, 62.9 percent were in favour of using ranked choice voting to elect the mayor and district councillors. Although the result of the referendum question is not "binding", Council has directed staff to initiate the process to implement ranked choice voting for the 2022 municipal election.[72]

A by-law to establish ranked choice elections has not been passed to elect City of Kingston Mayor and District Councillors. The required ranked choice Voting Bylaw would have to be passed by May 1, 2021.

In provincial elections, the city consists of one riding, Kingston and the Islands formed after the 1999 redistribution, incorporating half of the former Frontenac-Addington and most of the former Kingston and the Islands riding.[73]

Kingston is part of two federal ridings. Most of the city is in Kingston and the Islands, created in 1966 from Kingston and parts of Hastings—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington and Prince Edward—Lennox. A small portion north of Highway 401 is in Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, which was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally defined in the 2013 representation order. It came into effect upon the call of the 42nd Canadian federal election on October 19, 2015.[74]

Coat of Arms

Highway 401, which runs across the northern section of the urbanized portion of the city, is the principal access route into Kingston. The first sections of the highway in the Kingston area were opened in 1958, although it was not fully completed for another ten years. Highway 15 is an alternative route between Kingston and the Ottawa region. From the south, Interstate 81 connects with Highway 401 at the Thousand Islands Border Crossing east of Kingston.

Regular ferry service operates between downtown Kingston and Wolfe Island. Seasonal ferry service from Cape Vincent, New York, via Wolfe Island, into downtown Kingston is an alternate route to and from the United States. There are also tourist ferries departing downtown Kingston regularly, although with greater frequency in the summer months.

Via Rail corridor service connects Kingston along the main line between Windsor, Ontario and Quebec City. Its current station was built in 1974, relocated from the original station site 2 km further east. Kingston is a regular stop on train services operating between Toronto and Ottawa and between Toronto and Montreal.

On June 30, 2020, Air Canada announced its intention to cease operations at Kingston Airport.[76] Air Canada said the timing of the suspensions and shutdowns will be governed by requirements for regulatory notice.

Megabus (Coach Canada) provides frequent service from the Kingston Bus Terminal to Toronto and Montreal. Megabus also operates a limited-service shuttle between Toronto Pearson Airport and Queen's University in Kingston. Shuttle Kingston was reported in 2013 to connect to Watertown and Syracuse.[77][78]

Kingston Transit provides local municipal bus service.

Kingston Access Services provides accessible municipal bus service to residents who cannot use Kingston Transit due to disability.[79] In 2017, Kingston Access Services celebrated its 50th anniversary as Ontario's oldest accessible transit service having been established originally as the "Kingston Bus for the Handicapped" in 1967.[80][81]

According to Statistics Canada, the tourism industry in Kingston represents a vital part of the city's economy. In 2004, over 3,500 jobs were contributed to Kingston's economy due to the tourism industry. The tourism industry has been at a healthy growth rate and has become one of the most performing sectors of Kingston. Unique opportunities are presented for this industry in this time of shifting travel trends and the baby boomer generation. The success of Kingston's tourism industry is heavily dependent on information about travellers; however, data availability still remains a challenge.[82]

Kingston has launched several tourism campaigns including Downtown Kingston! and Yellow Door. The city launched a campaign to attract more traffic to downtown Kingston. The campaigns mission statement promises, "to promote downtown Kingston as the vibrant and healthy commercial, retail, residential, and entertainment centre of our region, attracting more people to live, shop, work and gather".[83] The downtown area of Kingston is known as the central business district, and is the gathering place for various events including the Kingston Buskers Rendezvous, FebFest, the 1000 Islands Poker Run and The Limestone City Blues Festival.

Alternatively, Yellow Door promotes tourism to the entire city. The goal of the campaign is to increase the consumer's exposure to Kingston tourism, while remaining financially reasonable.[84] A yellow door was used as a metaphor for Kingston – and the good times people have – and used street workers to gather potential tourists from nearby Toronto and Ottawa. "Yellow Door" promotes interest by offering potential tourists a trip to Kingston. In 2013, Yellow Door received the Tourism Advertising Award of Excellence for the marketing and promotion of an Ontario tourism product.[84]

TripAdvisor users rate the following among the best attractions in and near the city: Canada's Penitentiary Museum, Fort Henry (Fort Henry National Historic Site), Wolfe Island (via ferry), Bellevue House National Historic Site, City Hall and the downtown waterfront nearby.[85] Ontario Travel's recommendations include cruising the Thousand Islands, The Grand Theatre and Leon's Centre.[86]

Queen's University is one of Ontario's oldest universities and offers a variety of degree programs. The university was founded in 1841 under a royal charter from Queen Victoria. It has an enrolment of nearly 25,000 students. Queen's Main Campus is rather self-contained, but is within close walking distance of downtown Kingston, making it a pedestrian-friendly university for students and faculty alike.

The Royal Military College of Canada, established in 1876, is Canada's only military university (Collège Militaire Royal in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec is a military college), providing academic and leadership training to officer cadets, other members of Canada's armed forces and civilians. There are 1,100 undergraduate students and 500 full- and part-time graduate students.[91]

St. Lawrence College offers baccalaureate degree programs at its Kingston campus in behavioural psychology, industrial trades, microelectronics, nursing, and business administration (the latter via a partnership with Laurentian University[92]), in addition to certificate, diploma, and advanced diploma programs.

The Limestone District School Board serves students in the City of Kingston and the counties of Frontenac and Lennox and Addington. Along with the Limestone School of Community Education, which provides adult education and training programs, approximately 21,000 students attend 70 elementary and secondary schools along with supporting education centres. The Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board serves students of the Roman Catholic faith. Approximately 12,800 students attend 36 elementary schools and five secondary schools in this district. The Catholic high schools in the immediate Kingston area include Regiopolis Notre-Dame and Holy Cross Catholic High School. The francophone community is served by two school boards, the Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario and the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est, each providing one secondary school in the area.

Secondary schools in Kingston:

Kingston lays claim to being the birthplace of ice hockey, though this is contested. Support for this is found in a journal entry of a British Army officer in Kingston in 1843. He wrote "Began to skate this year, improved quickly and had great fun at hockey on the ice."[106] Kingston is also home to the oldest continuing hockey rivalry in the world by virtue of a game played in 1886 on the frozen Kingston harbour between Queen's University and the Royal Military College of Canada. To mark this event, the city hosts an annual game between the two institutions, played on a cleared patch of frozen lake with both teams wearing period-correct uniforms and using rules from that era. The two schools also contest the annual Carr-Harris Cup, named for Lorne Carr-Harris, under modern competitive conditions to commemorate and continue their rivalry.

The Memorial Cup, which serves as the annual championship event for the Canadian Hockey League, began in 1919 on the initiative of Kingstonian James T. Sutherland. The first championship was held in Kingston. Sutherland, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, also helped establish the annual exhibition game between the Royal Military College of Canada and the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1923.

Kingston is represented in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) by the Kingston Frontenacs. Kingston had a team in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), the Kingston Voyageurs but ceased after the 2018-19 season. The Frontenacs general manager is Darren Keily.

The International Hockey Hall of Fame, was established in September 1943 with a building constructed in 1965. The original building was near the Kingston Memorial Centre (which was opened in 1950), but has since been relocated to Kingston's west end at the Invista Centre. The International Hockey Hall of Fame, founded by the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, is the oldest sports hall of fame in Canada.[107] The museum's collection is home to various items that pay homage to Kingston's role in the history of hockey in Canada. These include: the original square hockey puck from the first Queens University vs. the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) game in 1886, hockey's oldest sweater worn by a Queen's student in 1894, and Canada's first Olympic gold medal from 1924, among others.[108]

New to the city is Leon's Centre, in the downtown core. The arena opened in February 2008, and serves as home ice for the Frontenacs. The Voyageurs played at the Invista Centre in the city's west end.

The Kingston Junior Gaels (formerly the Kingston Clippers) Soccer Club represents the highest (but still amateur) level of soccer for both men and women in the city.

Royal Military College of Canada robotic sailboat

The city is known for its fresh-water sailing, and hosted the sailing events for the 1976 Summer Olympics. CORK – Canadian Olympic-training Regatta, Kingston – now hosted by CORK/Sail Kingston Inc. is still held every August. Since 1972, Kingston has hosted more than 40[109] World and Olympic sailing championships. Kingston is listed by a panel of experts among the best yacht racing venues in the US,[110] even though Kingston is in Canada.

Kingston sits amid excellent cruising and boating territory, with easy access to Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, and the Thousand Islands including the St. Lawrence Islands National Park.

Kingston is also home to the youth sail training ship called the St. Lawrence II.

During the summers, the RMC campus in Kingston plays host to a Royal Canadian Sea Cadets camp called HMCS Ontario, which provides sail training along with much other training to youth from across Canada. The Kingston Yacht Club in downtown Kingston has a learn to sail program for both children and adults.

Kingston is known for fresh-water wreck diving. Kingston's shipwrecks are well preserved by its cool fresh water, and the recent zebra mussel invasion has caused a dramatic improvement in water clarity that has enhanced the quality of diving in the area.

The Kingston Lawn Bowling Club has been at its location on Napier Street since 1932, although the sport's beginnings in Kingston have been traced back to 1914.[111] While the club offers a variety of recreational opportunities, a number of its members have gone on to compete successfully at the provincial level and beyond. Most notable of these was Dick Edney, who was inducted into the Kingston and District Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.[112]

The Kingston area has eight golf courses, two of which are entirely public.[113] The Kingston Golf Club, established in 1884, was a founding member of the Royal Canadian Golf Association in 1895; however, this club ceased operating in the mid-1920s. The first winner of the Canadian Amateur Championship that same year was Kingstonian Thomas Harley, a Scottish immigrant carpenter. Richard H. (Dick) Green, who immigrated to the area from England in the late 1920s, was the longtime club professional for nearly 40 years at Cataraqui Golf and Country Club (founded in 1917 and redesigned by Stanley Thompson in 1930). Green also helped design several courses in eastern Ontario, including Smiths Falls (1949), Glen Lawrence (1955), Rideau Lakes (1961), Amherstview (1971), Garrison (1971), Evergreen (1972), Belle Park Fairways (1975), Rivendell (1979), and Colonnade (1984). Matt McQuillan, a professional player on the PGA Tour for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, was born and raised in Kingston, and developed his game at the Garrison Golf and Curling Club. McQuillan won the 2005 Telus Edmonton Open on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour.

Three curling clubs are in the Kingston area: the Cataraqui Golf & Country Club, Garrison Golf & Curling Club, and the Royal Kingston Curling Club.[114] The Royal Kingston Curling Club (RKCC) was founded in 1820, and was granted Royal patronage in 1993. In 2006, the RKCC moved to a new facility at 130 Days Road, to make way for the construction of a new complex at Queen's University, the Queen's Centre.

Kingston has a history of hosting major curling competitions. In 2020, Kingston hosted the Tim Hortons Brier, the national men's curling championship. Kingston previously hosted the Brier in 1957. In 2013, Kingston hosted the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the national women's curling championship.[115]

The Kingston Panthers Rugby Football Club (KPRFC) was founded in 1959, and from that moment onward has established a reputation as a strong community player. KPRFC is a non-profit organization answering directly to the Eastern Ontario Rugby Union (EORU), the Ontario Rugby Union (ORU), and Rugby Canada (RC). The Kingston Panthers R.F.C, recently celebrated their fortieth anniversary with an EORU championship in the Division 1 championship game at Twin Elm Rugby Park in Ottawa, Ontario.

The earliest known incarnation of an organized football team in Kingston is the Kingston Granites which played in the predecessor league to the Canadian Football League, the Ontario Rugby Football Union, (ORFU). The team played for four seasons between 1898 and 1901 winning 1 ORFU title in 1899 defeating the Ottawa Rough Riders 8–0. Kingston also hosted the 10th Grey Cup on December 2, 1922. The Limestone Grenadiers now represent Kingston and the surrounding area in the OVFL. The Club franchise catchment area draws players from Frontenac, Hastings, Lanark, Leeds, Lennox and Prince Edward counties. League play runs from late May through August. The Junior and Varsity teams' main schedule pits the Grenadiers against eastern Ontario opponents and cross-over games with western Ontario teams leading to a provincial title championship game. Many notable football people, CFL, NFL players, coaches and personalities have been associated with Kingston including:

The Kingston Volleyball Club (KVC) was founded in 2015. It is a non-profit organization, a member of the Ontario Volleyball Association (OVA), Volleyball Canada (VC). The club relies on fundraising in order to operate.