Regional Municipality of York, Ontario
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| Motto: Ontario's Rising Star | ||
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Image:YorkRegion.PNG Map of York Region and the municipalities it includes. |
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| Area: | 1,761.64 km². | |
| Population - Total (2001) | 729,254 | |
| MPs | ||
| Maurizio Bevilacqua, Susan Kadis, John McCallum, Belinda Stronach, Lui Temelkovski, Peter Van Loan, Bryon Wilfert | ||
| MPPs | ||
| Frank Klees, Julia Munro, Mario Racco, Greg Sorbara, Tony Wong | ||
| Regional Chair | Bill Fisch | |
| Governing body | York Regional Council | |
| York Region | ||
The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in south-central Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. It replaced the former York County in 1971. The 2001 census population was 729,254, but the fast-growing region is estimated to have 890,000 residents as of 2005, making it more populous than all of Northern Ontario.[citation needed] It is the fastest growing census division in Canada, expected to surpass 1.5 million residents by 2020. The entire region is part of the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. The regional seat is in Newmarket.
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[edit] 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.
Towns and cities in York Region include:
- Town of Aurora
- Town of East Gwillimbury
- Town of Georgina
- Township of King
- Town 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.
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.
[edit] Government
The region is governed by a group known as York Regional Council, which is comprised of 20 elected representatives from each of the constituent towns and cities in the Region, including each of the 9 mayors plus 11 Regional Councillors, who are elected from specific municipalities as follows<ref name=council>Council Members. The Regional Municipality of York. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.</ref>:
- 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.
[edit] Federal Representation
York Region encompasses all or part of seven federal Electoral districts, as follows<ref name=MP>Members of the House of Commons. Library of Parliament of Canada. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.</ref>:
[edit] Provincial Representation
At the Provincial level, York Region has five MPPs<ref name=MPP>Members in Current Parliament. Office of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.</ref>
| Electoral District | Member of Provincial Parliament | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Markham | Tony C. Wong (Resigned) | - | Liberal |
| Oak Ridges | Frank Klees | - | Progressive Conservative |
| Thornhill | Mario Racco | - | Liberal |
| Vaughan-King-Aurora | Greg Sorbara | - | Liberal |
| York North | Julia Munro | - | Progressive Conservative |
[edit] 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, naturally, ongoing conflicts between conservationists and developers over land use. In particular, conflicts over use of the Oak Ridges Moraine have been most contentious.
[edit] Shopping
Major shopping centres located in York Region include:
- Hillcrest Mall (Richmond Hill)
- Markville Mall (Markham)
- Pacific Mall (Markham)
- The Promenade Shopping Centre (Vaughan)
- Upper Canada Mall (Newmarket)
- Vaughan Mills (Vaughan)
[edit] Transportation
See Category:Roads in York Region See Category:York Regional Roads and York Region Road Construction Project
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.
The major highways in the Region are:
- Ontario provincial highway 9 (East-west)
- Ontario provincial highway 48 (North-South)
- Ontario provincial highway 400 (North-South)
- Ontario provincial highway 404 (North-South)
- 407 ETR (East-west)
- Ontario provincial highway 427 (North-South)
[edit] Air Transportation
Most air travel is served by Toronto Pearson International Airport, Canada's largest airport. Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport is a medium-sized airport in Markham, used for small aircraft and has a flight school. There is also an unpaved airport called Hare Field, located in Holland Landing (East Gwillimbury).
[edit] Public transportation
York Region is served by:
- York Region Transit (YRT), which also runs Viva (bus rapid transit)
- GO Transit, which offers bus and train services in the Greater Toronto Area
- Toronto Transit Commission, which has several bus routes which cross York's southern border, and which offer limited services in Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Markham.
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.
[edit] Education
See Category:High schools in York Region, Ontario
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:
- Academy for Gifted Children (Richmond Hill)
- The Country Day School
- Leo Baeck Day School (Thornhill)
- Netivot HaTorah Day School (Thornhill)
- Pickering College (Newmarket)
- St. Andrew's College (Aurora, Ontario)
[edit] News media
- York Region Newspaper Group
- First Local/Rogers Television York Region
- A-Channel News (based in Barrie)
- CKDX 88.5FM - Foxy 88-5 (Newmarket)
York's news media is also served by the outlets based in Toronto.
[edit] 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. Paramount 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:
- Applewood Farm Winery (Whitchurch-Stouffville)
- Canadian Heritage Humber River
- Fred Varley Art Gallery (Markham)
- Oak Ridges Trail
- Puck's Farm (King)
- Sutton-Zephyr Trail
- Willow Springs Winery (Whitchurch-Stouffville)
- York Demonstration Forest (Whitchurch-Stouffville)
[edit] Protected areas
- Baker Sugarbush Conservation Area
- Boyd Conservation Area
- Bruce's Mills 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[1]
- 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
[edit] Sister City
The Region of York signed a "Friendship Agreement" with the city of Omsk, Russia, on November 6 1996, and later signed a "Twinning Agreement" on August 28 1997.
[edit] Demographics
According to the Canada 2001 Census<ref name=demography>York Regional Municipality. Statistics Canada. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.</ref>
- Population:
- in 2001: 729,254
- in 1996: 592,445
- change: +23.1%
- Land area (square km) 1,761.64
- Population density: 414.0 per square kilometre
- Total private dwellings: 229,239
- Average value of dwelling: $298,018
- First Languages:
- English: 59%
- French: 1%
- Other languages: 40%
- 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
[edit] Adjacent census divisions
| Northwest: Simcoe County, Ontario and Innisfil | North: Lake Simcoe | |
| West: Peel Regional Municipality, Ontario | York Regional Municipality, Ontario | East: Durham Regional Municipality, Ontario |
| South: Toronto, Ontario |
[edit] External links
[edit] References
<references/>
pl:Region York
