What's the best thing about Thunder Bay? We asked Mayor Keith Hobbs

For the mayor of Thunder Bay, Ont., there is one spot that encapsulates everything he loves about his city.

Standing beside the bronze statue ofaniconic Canadian, set against the backdrop of the boreal forest, and the bright blue of Lake Superior, Keith Hobbs describes what he sees when he looks at the Terry Fox Monument.

"I see a person of courage and a hero," said Hobbs, "and behind him I see the largest great lake in the world, and it kind of defines us, as citizens of Thunder Bay."

"We are larger than life ... resilient, strong, courageous people."

"I saw that in the 2012 flood and how people came together and helped one another, and that's basically what Terry Fox did. He tried to help people overcome cancer which affects just about every family in Canada and he did it with grace and courage."

The Terry Fox monument is located just east of the city, on the side of Highway 11/17. The spot attracts a steady stream of tourists, who stop to reflect near the spot where Fox was forced to end his Marathon of Hope in 1980.

On the last day of the marathon, Hobbs remembers standing on Arthur Street in Thunder Bay, waiting with his two children (he now has three) for Fox's arrival.

Fox never arrived.

"He never made it," said Hobbs, "and when we watched the news that night and heard about his cancer returning and [that] he had to quit his run, we actually cried."

Today, the fact that a monument remembering Fox and celebrating his achievements is framed by such beautiful scenery, is fitting, said Hobbs.

"I think the best thing about Thunder Bay is our beauty," he said.