Census divisions of Ontario
Encyclopedia
In the Canadian province of Ontario
, there are three different types of census division
s: single-tier municipalities, upper-tier municipalities (which can be regional municipalities
or counties
) and district
s. They differ primarily in the services that they provide to their residents.
The varying structures of municipal and regional governments in Ontario can sometimes be confusing, as they result from a variety of approaches to local government, implemented at different times by different provincial governments in specific areas to serve specific needs. Due to the vast disparities among Ontario's different regions, it would be extremely difficult for a provincial government to apply a consistent, unified system across the entire province.
In some cases, as well, a census division may retain its historical name even if it changes government type (e.g. Oxford County
, Haldimand County
, Norfolk County
and Prince Edward County
are no longer counties even though they retain "county" in their name; Oxford is a regional municipality and the others are single-tier municipalities.)
These divisions are used by Statistics Canada
to aggregate census
data. A smaller municipality within a census division is called a census subdivision.
Several census divisions in Ontario have significantly changed their borders or been discontinued entirely. For more information, see also Historic counties of Ontario
.
.
A single-tier municipality is a census division which is governed by one municipal administration, with neither a county nor regional government above it, nor further municipal subdivisions below it (cf. independent city
). A single-tier municipality is either a former regional municipality or a former county, whose municipal governments were amalgamated in the 1990s into a single administration. A single-tier municipality should not be confused with a separated municipality, which is a municipality that is administratively separated from its county, but is not considered a separate census division. With the exception of Greater Sudbury, single-tier municipalities are found only in Southern Ontario
.
A single-tier municipality which is predominantly urban in nature may also be informally referred to as a megacity. Single-tier municipalities of this type (Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton and Greater Sudbury) were created where a former regional municipality consisted of a single dominant urban centre and its suburbs.
(* Brant County and the City of Brantford were still considered a single census division by Statistics Canada
in 2001, even though they are two separate single-tier municipalities. Although Haldimand-Norfolk split in 2001 to become the single-tier municipalities of Haldimand County and Norfolk County, they were still considered a single census division by Statistics Canada in that year's census. This was not the case in 2006.)
Regional municipalities (or regions) are upper-tier municipalities that generally have more servicing responsibilities than the counties. They generally provide the following services: maintenance and construction of arterial road
s, transit, policing
, sewer
and water
systems, waste disposal, region-wide land use planning
and development, as well as health and social services. Regions are typically more urbanized than counties. Regional municipalities are usually implemented in census divisions where an interconnected cluster of urban centres forms the majority of the division's area and population, but no single centre is overwhelmingly dominant over the others. Regional municipalities are found only in Southern Ontario
.
Current regional municipalities in Ontario, with regional seats listed in brackets:
Although Oxford County and the District Municipality of Muskoka are not called regions, they are defined as regional municipalities under Part 1, Section 1 of the Ontario Municipal Act, 2001.
Between 1998 and 2001, four regional municipalities that were dominated by a single city were amalgamated and are now single-tier municipalities. In 1998, the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto
became the amalgamated City of Toronto
. In 2001, the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton
became the City of Ottawa
, the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth
became the City of Hamilton
, and the Regional Municipality of Sudbury
became the City of Greater Sudbury. At the same time, the Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk
was split into Haldimand County
and Norfolk County
.
Counties have fewer responsibilities than regions, as the lower-tier municipalities (cities
, town
s, village
s, townships
) within the counties typically provide the majority of municipal services to their residents. The responsibilities of county governments are generally limited to the following: maintenance and construction of arterial roads, health and social services, and county land use planning. Counties are only found in Southern Ontario
.
Counties may be as large as regional municipalities in population, but their population density is generally lower (although not as low as in a district.) Counties may include major cities, such as London
, Kingston
and Windsor
, but these cities have generally not evolved into urban agglomerations with other communities, as in regions and "megacities".
Counties may also include separated municipalities, communities that are considered part of the county for census purposes but are not administratively connected to the county. Municipalities are separated when regional or single-tier status is not appropriate for the municipality's population patterns, but their population is still large enough that it may adversely affect the county's ability to provide services to its smaller communities.
County seats in brackets.
Districts are regional areas in Northern Ontario
that do not serve any municipal government purpose. Although districts do still contain incorporated cities, towns and townships, they do not have an upper-tier county or regional municipality level of government, and are largely composed of unorganized areas. Some districts may have District Social Service Administration Boards, which are designed to provide certain social services, but they do not serve a governmental function.
In a district, all services are provided either by the municipalities themselves, by local services boards in some communities within the unorganized areas, or directly by the provincial government. Much of Northern Ontario is sparsely populated, so a county government structure would not be an efficient or cost-effective method of administration.
The former Regional Municipality of Sudbury, created in 1973, was the only census division in Northern Ontario ever incorporated with a structure like those of census divisions in the southern part of the province. That division was dissolved in 2000, and now constitutes the single-tier municipality of Greater Sudbury.
District seats are in parentheses.
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, there are three different types of census division
Census division
Census division is an official term in Canada and the United States. The census divisions of Canada are second-level census geographic unit, below provinces and territories, and above "census subdivisions" and "dissemination areas". In provinces where they exist, the census division may correspond...
s: single-tier municipalities, upper-tier municipalities (which can be regional municipalities
Regional municipality
A regional municipality is a type of Canadian municipal government similar to and at the same municipal government level as a county, although the specific structure and servicing responsibilities may vary from place to place...
or counties
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
) and district
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
s. They differ primarily in the services that they provide to their residents.
The varying structures of municipal and regional governments in Ontario can sometimes be confusing, as they result from a variety of approaches to local government, implemented at different times by different provincial governments in specific areas to serve specific needs. Due to the vast disparities among Ontario's different regions, it would be extremely difficult for a provincial government to apply a consistent, unified system across the entire province.
In some cases, as well, a census division may retain its historical name even if it changes government type (e.g. Oxford County
Oxford County, Ontario
Oxford County is a regional municipality and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Southern portion of the province. The regional seat is in Woodstock...
, Haldimand County
Haldimand County, Ontario
Haldimand is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the Niagara Peninsula in Southern Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie, and on the Grand River. Municipal offices are located in Cayuga....
, Norfolk County
Norfolk County, Ontario
Norfolk County is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the north shore of Lake Erie in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Bloomsburg is a small town located in Norfolk County and is the hometown of David Slater. The county seat and largest community is Simcoe...
and Prince Edward County
Prince Edward County, Ontario
Prince Edward County is a single-tier municipality and a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario.-Geography:Prince Edward County is located in Southern Ontario on a large irregular headland or littoral at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, just west of the head of the St. Lawrence River...
are no longer counties even though they retain "county" in their name; Oxford is a regional municipality and the others are single-tier municipalities.)
These divisions are used by Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada is the Canadian federal government agency commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. Its headquarters is in Ottawa....
to aggregate census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
data. A smaller municipality within a census division is called a census subdivision.
Several census divisions in Ontario have significantly changed their borders or been discontinued entirely. For more information, see also Historic counties of Ontario
Historic counties of Ontario
The Canadian province of Ontario has several historic counties, which are past census divisions that no longer exist today. Most historic counties either merged with other counties, or became regional municipalities or single-tier municipalities...
.
Division map
The following data is based on 2006 Community Profile by Statistics CanadaStatistics Canada
Statistics Canada is the Canadian federal government agency commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. Its headquarters is in Ottawa....
.
 |
1. Algoma (pop. 117,461) 2. Brant (pop. 125,099) 3. Bruce (pop. 65,349) 4. Chatham-Kent (pop. 108,589) 5. Cochrane (pop. 82,503) 6. Dufferin (pop. 54,436) 7. Durham (pop. 561,258) 8. Elgin (pop. 85,351) 9. Essex (pop. 393,402) 10. Frontenac (pop. 143,865) 11. Greater Sudbury (pop. 157,909) 12. Grey (pop. 92,411) 13. Haldimand (pop. 45,212) 14. Haliburton (pop. 16,147) 15. Halton (pop. 439,256) 16. Hamilton (pop. 504,559) 17. Hastings (pop. 130,474) 18. Huron (pop. 59,325) 19. Kawartha Lakes (pop. 74,561) 20. Kenora (pop. 64,419) 21. Lambton (pop. 128,204) 22. Lanark (pop. 63,785) 23. Leeds and Grenville (pop. 99,206) 24. Lennox and Addington (pop. 40,542) 25. Manitoulin (pop. 13,090) |
26. Middlesex (pop. 422,333) 27. Muskoka (pop. 57,563) 28. Niagara (pop. 427,421) 29. Nipissing (pop. 84,688) 30. Norfolk (pop. 62,563) 31. Northumberland (pop. 80,963) 32. Ottawa (pop. 812,129) 33. Oxford (pop. 102,756) 34. Parry Sound (pop. 40,918) 35. Peel (pop. 1,159,405) 36. Perth (pop. 74,344) 37. Peterborough (pop. 133,080) 38. Prescott and Russell (pop. 80,184) 39. Prince Edward (pop. 25,496) 40. Rainy River (pop. 21,564) 41. Renfrew (pop. 97,545) 42. Simcoe (pop. 422,204) 43. Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (pop. 110,399) 44. Sudbury (pop. 21,392) 45. Thunder Bay (pop. 149,063) 46. Timiskaming (pop. 33,283) 47. Toronto (pop. 2,503,281) 48. Waterloo (pop. 478,121) 49. Wellington (pop. 200,425) 50. York (pop. 892,712) |
Single-tier municipalities
Independent city
An independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity. These type of cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other sovereign state.-Historical precursors:In the Holy Roman Empire,...
). A single-tier municipality is either a former regional municipality or a former county, whose municipal governments were amalgamated in the 1990s into a single administration. A single-tier municipality should not be confused with a separated municipality, which is a municipality that is administratively separated from its county, but is not considered a separate census division. With the exception of Greater Sudbury, single-tier municipalities are found only in Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
.
A single-tier municipality which is predominantly urban in nature may also be informally referred to as a megacity. Single-tier municipalities of this type (Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton and Greater Sudbury) were created where a former regional municipality consisted of a single dominant urban centre and its suburbs.
- Municipality of Chatham-Kent, formerly Kent CountyKent County, OntarioKent County, area 2,458 sq km is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario. Population in 2006 was 108,589.The county was created in 1792 and named by John Graves Simcoe in honour of the English County. The county is in an alluvial plain between Lake St...
(seat in ChathamChatham, OntarioChatham is the largest community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario. Formerly serving as the seat of Kent County, the governments of the former city of Chatham, the county of Kent, and its townships were merged into one entity known as the Municipality of Chatham-Kent in 1998.Located on...
) - City of Greater Sudbury, formerly the Regional Municipality of SudburyRegional Municipality of Sudbury, OntarioThe Regional Municipality of Sudbury was a regional municipality in Ontario, Canada, which existed from 1973 to 2000.-Structure:The regional municipality expanded the boundaries of the city of Sudbury to annex the community of Copper Cliff, the unincorporated geographic township of Broder and half...
- Haldimand CountyHaldimand County, OntarioHaldimand is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the Niagara Peninsula in Southern Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie, and on the Grand River. Municipal offices are located in Cayuga....
, formerly half of the Regional Municipality of Haldimand-NorfolkRegional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk, OntarioThe Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk was a regional municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario which existed from 1974 to 2000.It was formed by merging the historic counties of Haldimand and Norfolk...
* (seat in CayugaCayuga, OntarioCayuga is an unincorporated community and county seat in the province of Ontario, Canada located at the intersection of Highway 3 and Munsee Street and along the Grand River in Haldimand County. Cayuga is about a 20 minute drive from Lake Erie and 30 minutes south of Hamilton and 115 minutes south...
) - City of HamiltonHamilton, OntarioHamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, formerly the Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Municipality - City of Kawartha LakesKawartha LakesThe city of Kawartha Lakes is a unitary municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Although called a city, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typical Ontarian county and is mostly rural....
, formerly Victoria CountyVictoria County, OntarioThe County of Victoria, or Victoria County, was a county in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was formed in 1854 as The United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria, and gained independence in 1863. In 2001, the county was dissolved and reformed as the city of Kawartha Lakes...
(seat in LindsayLindsay, OntarioLindsay is a community of 19,361 people on the Scugog River in the Kawartha Lakes region of south-eastern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately west of Peterborough...
) - Norfolk CountyNorfolk County, OntarioNorfolk County is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the north shore of Lake Erie in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Bloomsburg is a small town located in Norfolk County and is the hometown of David Slater. The county seat and largest community is Simcoe...
, formerly half of the Regional Municipality of Haldimand-NorfolkRegional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk, OntarioThe Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk was a regional municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario which existed from 1974 to 2000.It was formed by merging the historic counties of Haldimand and Norfolk...
* (seat in SimcoeSimcoe, OntarioSimcoe is an unincorporated community and former town in Southwestern Ontario, Canada located near Lake Erie. It is the county seat and largest community of Norfolk County....
) - City of OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, formerly the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton - Prince Edward CountyPrince Edward County, OntarioPrince Edward County is a single-tier municipality and a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario.-Geography:Prince Edward County is located in Southern Ontario on a large irregular headland or littoral at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, just west of the head of the St. Lawrence River...
(seat in PictonPicton, OntarioPicton is an unincorporated community located in Prince Edward County in southern Central Ontario, Canada. It is the county seat and largest community. Picton is located at the south-western end of Picton Bay, a branch of the Bay of Quinte, which is along the northern shoreline of Lake Ontario...
) - Brant CountyBrant, OntarioThe County of Brant is a single-tier municipality and a census division in the Canadian province of Ontario. Despite its name, it is not a county by the standard definition, as all municipal services are handled by a single level of government. The county has service offices in Burford, Paris...
* (seat in BurfordBurford, OntarioBurford is a rural community and is part of the County of Brant, in central southwestern Ontario. It has 1,940 residents . It is located eight kilometers west of the City of Brantford along Highway 53, and seventy kilometers east of London, Ontario...
) - City of Brantford*
- City of TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, formerly Metropolitan TorontoMetropolitan TorontoThe Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
(* Brant County and the City of Brantford were still considered a single census division by Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada is the Canadian federal government agency commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. Its headquarters is in Ottawa....
in 2001, even though they are two separate single-tier municipalities. Although Haldimand-Norfolk split in 2001 to become the single-tier municipalities of Haldimand County and Norfolk County, they were still considered a single census division by Statistics Canada in that year's census. This was not the case in 2006.)
Regional municipalities
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
s, transit, policing
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, sewer
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
and water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
systems, waste disposal, region-wide land use planning
Land use planning
Land-use planning is the term used for a branch of public policy encompassing various disciplines which seek to order and regulate land use in an efficient and ethical way, thus preventing land-use conflicts. Governments use land-use planning to manage the development of land within their...
and development, as well as health and social services. Regions are typically more urbanized than counties. Regional municipalities are usually implemented in census divisions where an interconnected cluster of urban centres forms the majority of the division's area and population, but no single centre is overwhelmingly dominant over the others. Regional municipalities are found only in Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
.
Current regional municipalities in Ontario, with regional seats listed in brackets:
- Durham Reg. Mun.Regional Municipality of Durham, OntarioThe Regional Municipality of Durham, informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto, Ontario. It has an area of approximately 2,500 square kilometres. Durham Region is considered part of the Greater Toronto Area, with the communities...
(WhitbyWhitby, OntarioWhitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region...
) - Halton Reg. Mun.Regional Municipality of Halton, OntarioThe Regional Municipality of Halton, or Halton Region, is a regional municipality of Ontario, Canada located in Southern Ontario in the southwest part of the Greater Toronto Area and until 1973 was known as Halton County...
(MiltonMilton, OntarioMilton is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Milton received a tremendous amount of awareness following the release of the results of the 2006 Census, which indicated that Milton is the fastest growing municipality in the Greater Golden...
) - Muskoka District Mun.Muskoka District Municipality, OntarioThe District Municipality of Muskoka, more generally referred to as the District of Muskoka, or simply Muskoka, is a Regional Municipality located in Central Ontario, Canada. Muskoka extends from Georgian Bay in the west, to the northern tip of Lake Couchiching in the south, to the western border...
(BracebridgeBracebridge, OntarioBracebridge is a town and the seat of the Muskoka District Municipality of Ontario, Canada.The town was built around a waterfall on the Muskoka River in the centre of town, and is known for its other nearby waterfalls . It was first incorporated in 1875...
) - Niagara Reg. Mun.Regional Municipality of Niagara, OntarioThe Regional Municipality of Niagara , also known as the Niagara Region, or, colloquially, "Regional Niagara", is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada....
(ThoroldThorold, OntarioThorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara....
) - Oxford CountyOxford County, OntarioOxford County is a regional municipality and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Southern portion of the province. The regional seat is in Woodstock...
(WoodstockWoodstock, OntarioWoodstock is a city and the county seat of Oxford County in Southern Ontario, Canada. Woodstock is located 128 km southwest of Toronto, north of Highway 401 along the historic Thames River...
) - Peel Reg. Mun.Regional Municipality of Peel, OntarioThe Regional Municipality of Peel is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of three municipalities to the west and northwest of Toronto: the cities of Brampton and Mississauga, and the town of Caledon. The entire region is part of the Greater Toronto Area and the inner...
(BramptonBramptonBrampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.Brampton may also refer to:- Canada :* Brampton, a city in Ontario** Brampton GO Station, a station in the GO Transit network located in the city- United Kingdom :...
) - Waterloo Reg. Mun.Regional Municipality of Waterloo, OntarioThe Regional Municipality of Waterloo is a regional municipality located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo, and the townships of Wellesley, Woolwich, Wilmot, and North Dumfries. It is often referred to as the Region of Waterloo or just...
(KitchenerKitchener, OntarioThe City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
) - York Reg. Mun.Regional Municipality of York, OntarioThe 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, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area and the inner ring of the Golden Horseshoe...
(NewmarketNewmarket, OntarioNewmarket is a town in Southern Ontario located approximately 50 km north of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and is connected to Toronto by freeway, and is served by three interchanges along Highway 404. It is also connected to Highway 400 via Highway 9...
)
Although Oxford County and the District Municipality of Muskoka are not called regions, they are defined as regional municipalities under Part 1, Section 1 of the Ontario Municipal Act, 2001.
Between 1998 and 2001, four regional municipalities that were dominated by a single city were amalgamated and are now single-tier municipalities. In 1998, the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto
Metropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
became the amalgamated City of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. In 2001, the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton
Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton
The Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton was a regional government area and census division in Ontario, Canada which existed from 1969 until 2001...
became the City of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth
Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Municipality, Ontario
The Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth was proclaimed by the Progressive Conservative government of Ontario on January 1, 1974 ....
became the City of Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, and the Regional Municipality of Sudbury
Regional Municipality of Sudbury, Ontario
The Regional Municipality of Sudbury was a regional municipality in Ontario, Canada, which existed from 1973 to 2000.-Structure:The regional municipality expanded the boundaries of the city of Sudbury to annex the community of Copper Cliff, the unincorporated geographic township of Broder and half...
became the City of Greater Sudbury. At the same time, the Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk
Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk, Ontario
The Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk was a regional municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario which existed from 1974 to 2000.It was formed by merging the historic counties of Haldimand and Norfolk...
was split into Haldimand County
Haldimand County, Ontario
Haldimand is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the Niagara Peninsula in Southern Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie, and on the Grand River. Municipal offices are located in Cayuga....
and Norfolk County
Norfolk County, Ontario
Norfolk County is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the north shore of Lake Erie in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Bloomsburg is a small town located in Norfolk County and is the hometown of David Slater. The county seat and largest community is Simcoe...
.
Counties
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
, town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
s, village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
s, townships
Township (Canada)
The term township generally means the district or area associated with a town. However in some systems no town needs to be involved. The specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country, usually to describe a local rural or semi-rural government within the county...
) within the counties typically provide the majority of municipal services to their residents. The responsibilities of county governments are generally limited to the following: maintenance and construction of arterial roads, health and social services, and county land use planning. Counties are only found in Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
.
Counties may be as large as regional municipalities in population, but their population density is generally lower (although not as low as in a district.) Counties may include major cities, such as London
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
, Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
and Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, but these cities have generally not evolved into urban agglomerations with other communities, as in regions and "megacities".
Counties may also include separated municipalities, communities that are considered part of the county for census purposes but are not administratively connected to the county. Municipalities are separated when regional or single-tier status is not appropriate for the municipality's population patterns, but their population is still large enough that it may adversely affect the county's ability to provide services to its smaller communities.
County seats in brackets.
- Bruce CountyBruce County, OntarioBruce County is a county in western Ontario, Canada, and includes the Bruce Peninsula. As of 2006, the population was 65,349. The area was . The county seat is Walkerton, Ontario. It is located at ....
(WalkertonWalkerton, OntarioWalkerton is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within and governed by the municipality of Brockton. It is the site of Brockton's municipal offices and the county seat of Bruce County...
) - Dufferin CountyDufferin County, OntarioDufferin County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is Orangeville, and the current Warden is Deputy Mayor Warren Maycock of the Town of Orangeville, Ontario. The Current Chief Administrative Officer is Linda J. Dean...
(OrangevilleOrangeville, OntarioOrangeville is a town in south-central Ontario, Canada, and the seat of Dufferin County.-History:Before European settlers, Orangeville was thought to be a native hunting ground...
) - Elgin CountyElgin County, OntarioElgin County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario with a current population of approximately 46,000. The county seat is St. Thomas.It consists of:*Town of Aylmer*Municipality of Bayham*Municipality of Central Elgin...
(St. ThomasSt. Thomas, OntarioSt. Thomas is a city in southern , Ontario, Canada. It is the seat for Elgin County and gained its city charter on March 4, 1881.-History:...
) - Essex CountyEssex County, OntarioEssex County is a county and census division located in Southwestern Ontario and covers an area at the southernmost tip of Canada. The administrative seat is Essex...
(EssexEssex, OntarioEssex is a town with a population of 20,032 in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, whose municipal borders extend to Lake Erie. Essex is also the name of the largest community within the municipality. The present mayor is Ron McDermott...
) - Frontenac CountyFrontenac County, OntarioFrontenac County, as defined by Statistics Canada, is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. The City of Kingston is included in the census division, but is politically separated from the County of Frontenac. It has a land...
(KingstonKingston, OntarioKingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
) - Grey CountyGrey County, OntarioGrey County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is in Owen Sound. The population was 92,411 in 2006. It is located in the subregion of Southern Ontario named Southwestern Ontario...
(Owen Sound) - Haliburton CountyHaliburton County, OntarioHaliburton is a county of Ontario, Canada, known as a tourist and cottage area in Central Ontario for its scenery and for its resident artists. Minden Hills is the county seat. Haliburton County was established in 1983, but had existed as the Provisional County of Haliburton since 1874...
(MindenMinden, OntarioMinden Hills is a township in, and the county seat of Haliburton County, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the geographical townships of Snowdon, Lutterworth, Anson, Hindon and Minden. It is usually referred to as Minden, after its largest community. Minden Hills had a permanent population...
) - Hastings CountyHastings County, OntarioHastings County is located in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is The Cheese Capital of Canada. Geographically, it is located on the border of Eastern Ontario and Central Ontario. The population was 125,915 in 2001 and grew to 130,474 in the 2006 Canada Census...
(BellevilleBelleville, OntarioBelleville is a city located at the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in Southern Ontario, Canada, in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the seat of Hastings County, but is politically independent of it. and the centre of the Bay of Quinte Region...
) - Huron CountyHuron County, OntarioHuron County is a census division and county of the province of Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeast shore of its namesake, Lake Huron, in the southwest part of the province...
(GoderichGoderich, OntarioGoderich is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario and is the county seat of Huron County. The town was founded by William "Tiger" Dunlop in 1827. First laid out in 1828, the town is named after Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, who was British prime minister at the time. The town...
) - Lambton CountyLambton County, OntarioLambton County is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county is located in Southwestern Ontario. It is bordered on the north by Lake Huron, which flows into the St. Clair River, the county's western border and part of the Canada-United States border. To the south is Lake...
(Wyoming) - Lanark CountyLanark County, OntarioLanark County is a county located in the Canadian province of Ontario. As of 2006, the population is 63,785. Its county seat is Perth.The county took its name from the town of Lanark in Scotland.-Geography:...
(PerthPerth, OntarioPerth is a town in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada . It is located on the Tay River, 83 km southwest of Ottawa, and is the seat of Lanark County.-History:...
) - Leeds and Grenville United CountiesLeeds and Grenville United Counties, OntarioThe United Counties of Leeds and Grenville are located Ontario, Canada. The population, as of the 2006 census, was 99,206. The United Counties have a land area of . Leeds and Grenville are located in the subregion of Southern Ontario named Eastern Ontario, and front on the St. Lawrence River and...
(BrockvilleBrockville, OntarioBrockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Though it serves as the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Brockville is politically independent and is grouped with Leeds and Grenville for census purposes only.Known as the "City of the 1000...
) - Lennox and Addington CountyLennox and Addington County, OntarioLennox and Addington County, Ontario is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is Greater Napanee. It is located in the subregion of Southern Ontario named Eastern Ontario.It includes the following municipalities:...
(NapaneeGreater Napanee, OntarioGreater Napanee is a town in Lennox and Addington County in the Eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada and is approximately 40 kilometres or 24.8 miles west of Kingston. It is located on the eastern end of the Bay of Quinte...
) - Middlesex CountyMiddlesex County, OntarioMiddlesex County is a primarily rural county in Southwestern Ontario. Landlocked, the county is bordered by Huron and Perth counties on the north, Oxford County on the east, Elgin County on the south, and Chatham-Kent and Lambton County on the west.The seat is the city of London, although the city...
(LondonLondon, OntarioLondon is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
) - Northumberland CountyNorthumberland County, OntarioNorthumberland County is situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in central Ontario, Canada. It is located east of Durham County , west of Hastings, southeast of Kawartha Lakes and south of Peterborough County. The county seat is Cobourg...
(CobourgCobourg, OntarioCobourg is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario 95 km east of Toronto. It is the largest town in Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is located along Highway 401 and the former Highway 2...
) - Perth CountyPerth County, OntarioPerth County is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is Stratford and is located in Southwestern Ontario, west of Toronto. It encompasses , 90% of which is classified as prime agricultural land...
(StratfordStratford, OntarioStratford is a city on the Avon River in Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada with a population of 32,000.When the area was first settled by Europeans in 1832, the townsite and the river were named after Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is the seat of Perth County. Stratford was...
) - Peterborough CountyPeterborough County, OntarioPeterborough County is located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is projected to reach a population of 159,840 by 2031, according to the Ontario Ministry of Finance's Ontario Population Projections Update...
(PeterboroughPeterborough, OntarioPeterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
) - Prescott and Russell United CountiesPrescott and Russell United Counties, OntarioThe United Counties of Prescott and Russell are consolidated counties located in the Canadian province of Ontario. As of 2006, the population is 80,184. Its county seat is L'Orignal, Ontario. It was created as a result of a merger between Russell County and Prescott County in 1820...
(L'OrignalL'Orignal, OntarioL'Orignal is a village and former municipality, now part of Champlain Township in eastern Ontario, Canada. It likely took its name from its location on the Ottawa River once known as Pointe à l'Orignal , where moose crossed the river.-History:The Seigniory of L'Orignal , was granted by the Company...
) - Renfrew CountyRenfrew County, OntarioRenfrew is a county in the Canadian province of Ontario. In 2006, the population was 97,545 and county covered , giving a population density of . There are 17 official municipalities.-Government:...
(PembrokePembroke, OntarioPembroke is a city in the province of Ontario, Canada, at the confluence of the Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley...
) - Simcoe CountySimcoe County, OntarioSimcoe County is located in central portion of Southern Ontario. The County is situated just north of the Greater Toronto Area stretching from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west...
(Springwater TownshipSpringwater, OntarioSpringwater is a township in central Ontario, Canada, in Simcoe County near Barrie. It includes the former townships of Flos and Vespra. Springwater is the County seat of Simcoe.-Communities:...
) - Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry United CountiesStormont, Dundas and Glengarry United Counties, OntarioThe United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry is an upper tier county and census division in the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is Cornwall...
(CornwallCornwall, OntarioCornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...
) - Wellington CountyWellington County, OntarioWellington County is a county located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Guelph, a city which is politically independent, but Guelph's status as the seat means it houses the county's administrative offices...
(GuelphGuelphGuelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
)
Districts
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...
that do not serve any municipal government purpose. Although districts do still contain incorporated cities, towns and townships, they do not have an upper-tier county or regional municipality level of government, and are largely composed of unorganized areas. Some districts may have District Social Service Administration Boards, which are designed to provide certain social services, but they do not serve a governmental function.
In a district, all services are provided either by the municipalities themselves, by local services boards in some communities within the unorganized areas, or directly by the provincial government. Much of Northern Ontario is sparsely populated, so a county government structure would not be an efficient or cost-effective method of administration.
The former Regional Municipality of Sudbury, created in 1973, was the only census division in Northern Ontario ever incorporated with a structure like those of census divisions in the southern part of the province. That division was dissolved in 2000, and now constitutes the single-tier municipality of Greater Sudbury.
District seats are in parentheses.
- Algoma District (Sault Ste. MarieSault Ste. Marie, OntarioSault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
) - Cochrane District (CochraneCochrane, OntarioCochrane is a town in northern Ontario, Canada. It is located east of Kapuskasing, northeast of Timmins, south of Moosonee, and north of Iroquois Falls. It is about a one-hour drive from Timmins, the major city of the region. It is the seat of Cochrane District...
) - Kenora District (Kenora)
- Manitoulin District (Gore BayGore Bay, OntarioGore Bay is a town on Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada. Located on Gore Bay, a bay of Lake Huron's North Channel, it is one of the two incorporated towns of Manitoulin District....
) - Nipissing District (North BayNorth Bay, OntarioNorth Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...
) - Parry Sound District (Parry SoundParry Sound, OntarioParry Sound is a town in Central Ontario, Canada, located on Parry Sound on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay. Parry Sound is located south of Sudbury and north of Toronto. It is the seat of Parry Sound District, a popular cottage country region for Southern Ontario residents. It is also the...
) - Rainy River District (Fort FrancesFort Frances, OntarioFort Frances is a town in, and the seat of, Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The population as of the 2006 census was 8,103 and Fort Frances' population peaked in 1971 at 9,947...
) - Sudbury District (EspanolaEspanola, OntarioEspanola is a town in Northern Ontario, Canada, and is the seat of Sudbury District. It is situated on the Spanish River, approximately 70 kilometres west of downtown Sudbury, and just south of the junction of Highway 6 and Highway 17.- History :The name "Espanola" has been attributed to a story...
) - Thunder Bay DistrictThunder Bay DistrictThunder Bay District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The district seat is Thunder Bay....
(Thunder BayThunder Bay-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
) - Timiskaming District (Haileybury)
See also
- Subdivisions of Canada
- List of Ontario census divisions by population
- List of communities in Ontario