Urban Neighbourhoods of Sudbury - Copper Cliff

Copper Cliff, an area centred on Godfrey Drive and Creighton Road running south to Regional Road 55, was incorporated as a separate company town in 1901, and for a time was in fact larger than the neighbouring community of Sudbury. However, Sudbury had surpassed Copper Cliff in population by 1930 when it was reincorporated as a city. The city of Sudbury attempted to annex Copper Cliff a number of times over the next 40 years, but was rebuffed by the Ontario Municipal Board because the city's desire to gain municipal taxation rights over Inco's mining facilities in the community was deemed incompatible with federal and provincial taxation rules around the mining industry. The neighbourhood was eventually annexed by the city in 1973 as part of the provincially mandated municipal restructuring which resulted in the creation of the Regional Municipality of Sudbury.

However, in many respects it continued to be treated as a distinct community, rather than as part of the city — for example, postal service in Copper Cliff was never integrated into the city's urban forward sortation areas. Instead, Copper Cliff retained a rural P0M postal code.

Vale Inco's operations in the city are headquartered in the Copper Cliff area. Most notably, Copper Cliff is the location of the Inco Superstack, the second tallest chimney in the Western Hemisphere, which towers over Inco's main smelter facility.

A local community museum, the Copper Cliff Museum, is located on the site of the very first homestead in what is now Copper Cliff.

The community is now located in Ward 2 on Greater Sudbury City Council, along with the former town of Walden. The location on the south western edge of old Sudbury gives it ready access to the Fielding Bird Sanctuary and Fielding Park along Kelley Lake, to the south west.

This area also includes the micro neighbourhood of Little Italy nestled at the base of the Inco Superstack, centred on Diorite Street and Craig Street, the area is reminiscent of Venice with its tiny winding streets and charm. The Societá italiana di Copper Cliff (Italian Club) is one of the oldest social clubs in the area.