Northwestern Ontario town loses plea to keep only Scotiabank branch open
CBC
As the population of Red Lake, Ont., is expected to grow by more than 34 per cent over the next decade, the town’s mayor says there needs to be more services in the community, not less.
That’s why mayor Fred Mota appealed to Scotiabank to change its decision to close its only bank branch in the northwestern Ontario town come May.
“The decision to eliminate this service will cause real hardship, particularly for seniors, small business owners, and residents who lack reliable access to online banking,” Mota wrote to the bank in November 2025.
“It sends a troubling message to northwestern Ontario — that profitability outweighs people, and convenience outweighs community.
“We call on Scotiabank to reconsider this decision and to organize a community meeting in Red Lake to hear directly from residents, business owners and local leaders.”
Scotiabank clients in Red Lake are being redirected to access services at the Kenora branch, some 270 kilometres away. The only other physical bank in Red Lake is CIBC.
With the projected growth of mining and other development activity in the region, the population of Red Lake is expected to jump from 4,100 people to more than 5,800 people in 10 years’ time, “highlighting the growing need for accessible local banking services to support residents and businesses,” wrote Mota.
The Town of Red Lake shared the response it received from Scotiabank in a Facebook post Feb. 28, saying “while we advocated diligently for the local Scotiabank branch to remain open, regrettably, we have learned we were ultimately unsuccessful in our efforts.”
“As client preferences continue to evolve and more day-to-day banking is being conducted digitally, we regularly review how we deliver services and invest in ways that make it easier for our clients to bank with us from wherever they are,” Scotiabank's district vice president Brittany Graul wrote to Mota.
“While the decision to consolidate the Red Lake branch has already been made, our focus is on supporting clients through this transition.”
CBC News reached out to Scotiabank and received a mirrored response on March 2.
“With client preferences changing, and more day-to-day banking being done digitally, we are continuing to evolve how we serve our clients and invest in areas that make it easier for our clients to bank with us in multiple ways,” wrote Katie O’Dell, Scotiabank’s director of communications in Canadian banking retail.
“We are communicating this change to all affected clients and will be working with them to ensure a smooth transition. Our teams in Red Lake and Kenora are committed to assisting all clients with any questions they may have.”
To the northeast, the town of Marathon is also grappling with the closure of its Scotiabank this May, which is that community’s only bricks-and-mortar bank branch. As well, the last remaining bank in Schreiber, a Bank of Montreal (BMO) branch, closed in July 2025.
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