Regional Municipality of York

History

At a meeting in Richmond Hill on 6 May 1970, officials representing the municipalities of York County approved plans for the creation of a regional government entity to replace York County. The plan had been presented in 1969 by Darcy McKeough, the Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs, taking about a year to determine municipal boundaries within the new regional government.

The Regional Municipality of York was created by Act of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1970, which took effect on January 1, 1971. The creation of the regional municipality resulted in the consolidation of the fourteen former municipalities of York County into nine new municipalities:

The township of Whitchurch was merged with the town of Stouffville to create the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, ceding land to Aurora, Newmarket, and Richmond Hill to the west of the proposed Highway 404 and annexing a northern strip of land from the township of Markham. The eastern boundary of the new town of Markham was defined to be at Yonge Street, where its northern boundary was formed with Richmond Hill (to which it ceded some land) and its western boundary with the new town Vaughan. The new town of Vaughan would consist of all communities in the area bounded by Markham and Richmond Hill in the east, Metro Toronto in the south, the periphery of the regional municipality in the west, and the new township of King in the north. The townships of Georgina, North Gwillimbury, and Sutton were merged into the township of Georgina, and the East Gwillimbury neighbourhood of East Gwillimbury Heights was merged into Newmarket. King formed the northwestern part of the new region, but the eastern lot from Bathurst Street to Yonge Street was ceded to Newmarket, Aurora, and Oak Ridges, the latter of which became a part of Richmond Hill. The boundary between Aurora and Newmarket was defined to be St. John's Sideroad, and Newmarket's northern boundary was defined to be Green Lane.

The towns of Aurora, Newmarket, and Richmond Hill were defined to be the growth centres for the regional municipality, which was to become a greenbelt between the denser urban areas of Toronto to the south and Barrie to the north. The growth centres were each restricted to grow to a maximum population of 25,000 by 2000, and the regional municipality to 300,000.

The municipal realignment merged 40% of East Gwillimbury's population into Newmarket. The council of East Gwillimbury voted to amalgamate with Newmarket, but Newmarket council opposed the amalgamation. In the plan presented by McKeough, the councils of the towns of Newmarket and Aurora were given ten years to decide whether or not to amalgamate.

The internal municipal realignments resulted in some politicians residing in a new municipality from that which they represented at the time of realignment. The reeve of Whitchurch Township resided in the western portion of the town that was annexed by Aurora, three East Gwillimbury councillors resided in land annexed by Newmarket, including its future mayor Ray Twinney, and King councillor Gordon Rowe was a resident of Oak Ridges, which became part of Richmond Hill.

Hydro Commissions

Because of the mix of urban and rural areas in the Region, the provision of electricity was governed in a different manner from the rest of the regional services:

the hydro-electric commissions and public utilities commissions that existed at the end of 1970 continued to provide electricity within their respective areas;

the councillors of the former Township of Vaughan and the trustees of the former Police Village of King City became members of new Hydro-Electric Commissions for their respective areas;

Ontario Hydro continued to have responsibility for providing electricity to those portions of the Region that were not served by any of the above commissions.

Electric distribution was partially rationalized in 1978, when:

hydro-electric commissions were established for all area municipalities except East Gwillimbury (but the latter could establish a commission later on, subject to Ontario Hydro's consent);

effective January 1, 1979, all assets of the former commissions in the Region were transferred to the new commissions;

Ontario Hydro withdrew its provision of services from all areas except those in East Gwillimbury, Georgina, King and Whitchurch-Stouffville;

Georgina, King and Whitchurch-Stouffville could take over responsibility for such areas at a later date, subject to Ontario Hydro's consent

Police

The York Regional Police was also created at this time, amalgamating the fourteen town, township, and village police forces.

Geography

York Region covers 1,762 square kilometres from Lake Simcoe in the north to the city of Toronto in the south. Its eastern border is shared with Durham Region, to the west is Peel Region, and Simcoe County is to the northwest. A detailed map of the region showing its major roads, communities and points of interest is available.

Towns and cities in York Region include:

Town of Aurora

Town of East Gwillimbury

Town of Georgina

Township of King

City of Markham

Town of Newmarket

Town of Richmond Hill

City of Vaughan

Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville

There is also one First Nation with an Indian reserve, where the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation reside on Georgina Island, Fox Island and Snake Island.

York Region's landscape includes farmlands, wetlands and kettle lakes, the Oak Ridges Moraine and over 2,070 hectares of regional forest, in addition to the built-up areas of its municipalities.

Climate

York Region is situated on a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) with warm summers and cold winters.

Government

The region is governed by a group known as York Regional Council, which consists of 20 elected representatives from each of the constituent towns and cities in the region. These include each of the nine mayors, and 11 regional councillors who are elected from the constituent municipalities as follows:

1 from Georgina

1 from Newmarket

2 from Richmond Hill

3 from Vaughan

4 from Markham

The leader of Council is referred to as "Regional Chair and CEO". Wayne Emmerson, a former mayor of Whitchurch-Stouffville, was elected to this office in December, 2014.

In October 2008, the York Regional Municipality was named one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc.

Federal and provincial representation

Starting with the 2015 federal election, York Region encompasses all or part of the federal electoral districts of Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, King—Vaughan, Markham—Stouffville, Markham—Thornhill, Markham—Unionville, Newmarket—Aurora, Richmond Hill, Thornhill, Vaughan—Woodbridge, and York—Simcoe.

Provincially, York Region is represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by Members of Provincial Parliament for the electoral districts of Markham—Unionville, Newmarket—Aurora, Oak Ridges—Markham, Richmond Hill, Thornhill, Vaughan and York—Simcoe.

Economy

The economy of York Region is diverse. In general, the economy includes a full range of businesses from industrial to high-tech to rural / agricultural. New developments continually consume space year after and are especially focused along the Yonge Street corridor from Vaughan/Richmond Hill in the south to Newmarket/Aurora in the north. There are ongoing conflicts between conservationists and developers over land use. Most contentious is the conflict use of the Oak Ridges Moraine.

Shopping

Major shopping centres located in York Region include:

Aurora North Smart Centre (Aurora)

Hillcrest Mall (Richmond Hill)

Green Lane Centre (Newmarket)

King Square Shopping Mall (Markham)

Markville Shopping Centre (Markham)

Pacific Mall (Markham)

Market Village (Markham)

The Promenade Shopping Centre (Vaughan)

Times Square (Richmond Hill)

Langham Square (Markham)

Upper Canada Mall (Newmarket)

Woodside Mall (Markham)

Vaughan Mills (Vaughan)

First Markham Place (Markham)

Health Care

There are currently three hospitals within the Municipality of York including:

Markham Stouffville Hospital

Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital

Southlake Regional Health Centre

All three hospitals are part of the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) Hospital Partnerships.

In 2011 the construction of Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital was approved by the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Deb Matthews. The hospital site is proposed within the City of Vaughan at Major Mackenzie Drive on the east side of Highway 400. Current plans include a new $80 million building.

In April 2013, Counselling Services for York Region opened Ontario's first Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Clinic. The clinic specializes in offering a specialized empirically supported form of individual and group therapy.

Transportation

The arterial road network in York Region is a grid, with most roads running north-south or east-west. This was done under the orders of British surveyor Augustus Jones during the 1790s. York Region assigned approximately 50 roads as York Regional Routes, meaning that the cost of maintaining of these roads is paid for by York Region.

The major highways in the Region are:

Highway 7 (east-west)

Highway 9 (east-west)

Highway 48 (north-south)

Highway 400 (north-south)

Highway 404 (north-south)

Highway 407 (east-west)

Highway 427 (north-south)

Former highways include:

Highway 11 (north-south)

Highway 27 (north-south)

Highway 47 (east-west)

Highway 49 (east-west)

Highway 50 (north-south)

Note: Highway 27 and Highway 50 are still referred to as such on municipal road signs, but are no longer provincial highways.

Air transportation

Most air travel is served by Toronto Pearson International Airport, Canada's largest airport. Buttonville Municipal Airport is a regional airport in Markham, used for general aviation and business aircraft. There are also a few unpaved airports serving the region. Hare Field is located in Holland Landing (East Gwillimbury) and Belhaven Airport is located in Georgina.

Public transportation

York Region is served by:

York Region Transit (YRT), which includes the Viva bus rapid transit network

GO Transit, which offers bus and train service

Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), which has several bus routes which cross York's southern border, and which offer limited services in Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Markham. Starting in 2017, Vaughan will also be served by Toronto's subway system, as well as Richmond Hill and Markham in the coming decade.

Until 2001, the towns of York Region operated separate public transit services, which did not connect very well with each other. YRT was created by the Regional Government to combine five of these services:

Vaughan Transit

Markham Transit

Richmond Hill Transit

Aurora Transit - merged in 1999 with Newmarket Transit

Newmarket Transit

Since 2001, bus routes have been extensively enhanced in the five communities which had pre-existing services, but YRT's services to East Gwillimbury is limited to two routes, and service to King, Georgina and Whitchurch-Stouffville are even more limited due to the relatively sparse populations in each of those towns.

Water

Water in southern York is provided by Toronto Water and Peel Region by way of 3 pumping stations and reservoirs (Bayview, Dufferin and Milliken (tank and underground reservoir)) using water from Lake Ontario. Keswick and Sutton obtain water from Lake Simcoe by way of water treatment plants. The remainder of York obtains water from a combination of water from Lake Ontario and underground wells. Some wells are maintained by the Region and the rest privately.

Georgina -water from Lake Simcoe and private wells

East Gwillimbury - region and private wells

Newmarket - region wells and water from Lake Ontario

Whitchurch-Stouffville - Region wells, water from Lake Ontario, private wells

Markham - water from Lake Ontario and private wells

Richmond Hill - water from Lake Ontario and private wells

Aurora - water from Lake Ontario and private wells

Vaughan - water from Lake Ontario and private wells

King - water from Lake Ontario, Region and private wells

Water is distributed from 14 water pumping stations and stored at 37 elevated tanks and reservoirs:

List of water tanks

Reesor Park water tank - built 1971, now out of service and dismantled

Newmarket - 211 Harry Walker Parkway South

Richmond Hill - 81 Coon's Road

Schomberg - 186 Church Street, built 1997

King - 60 Fisher Street, built 1982

Stouffville - 12519 Tenth Line, built 1984

Stouffville - Bethesda Rd, built 2005

Aurora - 126 Allenvale Drive, 240 Orchard Heights Boulevard, built 1984

Aurora - 180 Bloomington Road, built 2008

Markham - 4355 14th Avenue

Treatment Plants

Sutton Water Treatment Plant - closed

Georgina Water Treatment Plant - replaces Sutton plant

Keswick Water Treatment Plant

Education

Public schools, with classes up to grade 12, are administered by the York Region District School Board, which operates 180 schools. In addition, the York Catholic District School Board operates 95 schools with a curriculum based in Roman Catholic doctrine.

Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology has three campuses located in York Region, in King, Markham and Newmarket. There is currently no university presence in York Region, however, York University is located just outside York Region's southern border in Toronto.

In addition, there are many other religious and private schools located in the Region. These include:

Academy for Gifted Children (Richmond Hill)

Blyth Education (Thornhill)

The Country Day School (King City)

Holy Trinity School (Richmond Hill)

Leo Baeck Day School (Thornhill)

Ner Israel Yeshiva College (Thornhill)

Netivot HaTorah Day School (Thornhill)

Pickering College (Newmarket)

St. Andrew's College (Aurora)

St. Thomas of Villanova College (King City)

Toronto Waldorf School (Thornhill)

Town Centre Montessori Private School (Markham)

News media

York Region Media Group

First Local/Rogers TV York Region

CKVR - CTV Two (based in Barrie)

CFU758 - 90.7 RAV FM (Thornhill)

CKDX 88.5FM - Foxy 88-5 (Newmarket)

CFMS-FM - 105.9 The Region (Markham)

CIWS-FM - WhiStle Community Radio Whitchurch–Stouffville

York's news media is also served by the outlets based in Toronto.

Attractions

York Region has an unusual assortment of points of interest, ranging from nature reserves to pioneer-era museums, to a modern amusement park.

In Vaughan, the major attractions include the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, located in the community of Kleinburg and features works by Canadian artists including Inuit and First Nations artists. Canada's Wonderland, which features roller coasters and other rides, concerts and fireworks shows, is also in Vaughan.

Heritage sites and historical museums in the Region include:

Hillary House National Historic Site (Aurora)

Historic Main Street Newmarket (Newmarket)

Georgina Military Museum (Georgina)

Georgina Village Museum (Georgina)

King Township Museum (King)

Markham Museum (Markham)

RHLS Narrow Gauge Railway (Whitchurch–Stouffville)

Sharon Temple National Historic Site (East Gwillimbury)

Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum (Whitchurch–Stouffville)

York-Durham Heritage Railway (Whitchurch–Stouffville)

Following is a sample of other attractions in the area:

Applewood Farm Winery (Whitchurch–Stouffville)

Canadian Heritage Humber River

Fred Varley Art Gallery (Markham)

Canada's Wonderland (Vaughan)

Oak Ridges Trail

Puck's Farm (King)

Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts

Sutton-Zephyr Trail

Willow Springs Winery (Whitchurch–Stouffville)

Words Alive Literary Festival (East Gwillimbury)

Bare Oaks Family Naturist Park (East Gwillimbury)

York Demonstration Forest (Whitchurch–Stouffville)

Travel Region

York Region lies within the Central Counties of Ontario, a tourism related association.

Protected areas

Baker Sugarbush Conservation Area

Boyd Conservation Area

Bruce's Mill Conservation Area

Duclos Point Provincial Nature Reserve

Gold Creek Conservation Area

Holland Landing Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve

Kortright Centre for Conservation

Lake St. George Conservation Area

Mabel Davis Conservation Area

Milne Park

Pickering Lands Preservation Site

Rogers Reservoir Conservation Area [1]

Sheppards Bush Conservation Area

Sibbald Point Provincial Park

Thornton Bales King Conservation Area

Wesley Brooks Memorial Conservation Area (known as "Fairy Lake" locally)

Whitchurch Conservation Area

Willow Beach Conservation Area

Sister city

Omsk (Russia)

The Region of York signed a "Twinning Agreement" with the city of Omsk, Russia, on August 28, 1997, after it signed a "Friendship Agreement" one year previous.

Demographics

The Regional Municipality of York is one of the fastest growing census divisions in Canada; from 2001 to 2006, its population increased by 22.4%. The 2009 mid-year population estimate by Statistics Canada was 1,016,379 residents. It is the third-largest census division in Ontario, next to that of Toronto and Peel Region, and seventh-largest in Canada. Its population density of 585.9 residents per square kilometre is 11th highest in Canada.

According to the Canada 2011 Census:

Population:

in 2011: 1,032,524

in 2006: 892,712

change: +15.7%

Land area (square km) 1,762.17

Total private dwellings: 334,447

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 323,543

According to the 2006 census visible minorities comprised 37.2% of the population of York Region.

Visible Minority groups

Chinese: 15.6%

South Asian: 9.1%

West Asian: 2.4%

Black: 2.4%

Filipino: 1.9%

Korean: 1.2%

South East Asian: 1.1%

Latin American: 1.0%

Arab: 0.8%

Japanese: 0.2%

Other: 0.4%

Multiple Visible Minority: 1.0%

European Ethnicities

16.9%

15.1%

10.0%

9.2%

5.0%

4.0%

3.6%

3.5%

2.1%

2.0%

2.0%

Other

0.2%

According to the Canada 2001 Census:

Average value of dwelling: $298,018

First languages:

English: 59%

French: 1%

Other languages: 40%

Median total income of persons 15 years of age and over: $28,566