- For the municipality that amalgamated
with Toronto in 1998, see York, Ontario
.
The
Regional Municipality of York, also called
York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario
, Canada
, between
Lake
Simcoe
and Toronto
. It
replaced the former
York County
in
1971. The 2006 census population was
892,712. It is the fastest growing
census division in Canada, expected to
surpass 1.5 million residents by 2031. The entire region is part of
the
Greater Toronto Area and
the inner ring of
Golden Horseshoe.
The
regional seat is in Newmarket
.
Geography
York
Region covers 1,776 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 map of the region
[33605] showing its major roads and communities
is available.
Towns and cities in York Region include:
There is
also one First Nation with an Indian reserve, where the Chippewas
of Georgina Island First Nation
reside.
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.
Government
The York Region Administrative
Centre.
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, including each of the
nine mayors and 11 regional councillors, who are elected from
specific municipalities as follows:
- 1 from each of Georgina and Newmarket
- 2 from Richmond Hill
- 3 from Vaughan
- 4 from Markham
The leader of Council is referred to as "
Regional Chair and
CEO". Bill Fisch, B. Comm, L.L.B. currently holds this
office.
In October 2008, the York Regional Municipality was named one of
Greater Toronto's Top
Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc., which was announced by the
Toronto Star newspaper.
Federal and provincial representation
York Region encompasses all or part of the federal
electoral districts of
Markham—Unionville,
Newmarket-Aurora,
Oak Ridges-Markham,
Richmond Hill,
Thornhill,
Vaughan and
York-Simcoe. The same districts are used in both
the
Canadian House of
Commons and the
Legislative Assembly of
Ontario.
Economy
The economy of York Region is a mix. In general, the economies in
its southern communities include a full range of businesses from
industrial to high-tech. Further north, beginning in the northern
sections of Vaughan and Markham, extensive wetlands and farmland
still remain, although new housing developments continually consume
space year after year. 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:
Transportation
See List of York
Regional Roads, :Category:York Regional
Roads.
The road network in York Region is remarkably 'grid-like', meaning
most roads run north-south or east-west. The topography of the land
has permitted roads to be set in predominantly straight lines. 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:
Air transportation
Most air
travel is served by Toronto
Pearson International Airport
, Canada's largest airport. Toronto/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
Map of York Region and the
municipalities it includes.
York Region is served by:
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:
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.
Education
See :Category:High schools in
York Region
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.
York
University
is located
just outside of York Region's southern border, in
Toronto.
In addition, there are many other religious and private schools
located in the Region. These include:
News media
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:
- Aurora Museum (Aurora)
- Georgina Village Museum (Georgina)
- King Township Museum
(King)
- Markham Museum (Markham)
- RHLS Narrow Gauge Railway (Whitchurch-Stouffville)
- Sharon Temple
(East Gwillimbury)
- Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum (Whitchurch-Stouffville)
Following is a sample of other attractions in the area:
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 Conservation
Area
- Lake St. George Conservation Area
- Mabel Davis Conservation Area
- Milne Park
- Pickering Lands Preservation Site
- Rogers Reservoir Conservation Area[33606]
- Sheppards Bush Conservation Area
- Sibbald Point
Provincial Park
- Thornton Bales King Conservation Area
- Wesley Brooks Memorial Conservation Area
- Whitchurch Conservation Area
- Willow Beach Conservation Area
Sister city
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 division in all of Ontario, it is growing at 22.4% in 5
years.
According to the Canada 2006
Census
- Population:
- in 2006: 892,712
- in 2001: 729,254
- change: +22.4%
- Land area (square km) 1,761.64
- Population density: 506.7 per square kilometre
- Total private dwellings: 287,320
- Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 275,673
According to the Canada 2001
Census
-
- Average value of dwelling: $298,018
- First Languages:
- Visible minority groups:
- Chinese: 13.9%
- South Asian: 6.5%
- Visible minority population: 30%
- Median total income of persons 15 years of age and over:
$28,566
Adjacent census divisions
See also
References
- York Region Growth Management - Planning for
Tomorrow
-
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CD&Code1=3519&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=York&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=
2006 Canadian Census for York Region
External links
(Markham)
(Markham)
(Markham)
(Vaughan)
(Newmarket)
(Vaughan)
(Aurora)
(Markham)
- A (based in Barrie
)
(Markham)
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