Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario

The Regional Municipality of Durham, informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality

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...

located 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...

east 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...

, Ontario

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....

. It has an area of approximately 2,500 square kilometres. Durham Region is considered part of the Greater Toronto Area

Greater Toronto Area

The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...

, with the communities of Oshawa, Whitby, and Clarington making up the Oshawa Census Metropolitan Area. The regional government is headquartered in Whitby

Whitby, Ontario

Whitby 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...

.

The Region of Durham was established in 1974 as one of several new regional governments in the Province of Ontario

Ontario

, primarily in fast-growing urban and suburban areas. Durham Region encompasses areas that were previously part of Ontario County

Ontario County, Ontario

Ontario County was the name of two historic counties in the Canadian province of Ontario.The original Ontario County existed from 1792 to 1800 as part of the Eastern District, and consisted of the islands in the St. Lawrence River...

and the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham

United Counties of Northumberland and Durham, Ontario

The United Counties of Northumberland and Durham was a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario. The two counties were originally combined in the District of Newcastle formed in 1798, and continued with joint administration until January 1, 1974 when portions Durham County were...

. It was the culmination of a series of studies into municipal governance in the "Oshawa-Centred Region" that had begun in the late 1960s. The ultimate boundaries of the region were somewhat different than had been anticipated; for example, it was widely expected that Pickering would be annexed to 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...

, and that the region would extend further east to include Hope Township and the town of Port Hope

Port Hope, Ontario

Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, about east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County...

.

The southern portion of the region, on Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

is primarily suburban in nature, forming the eastern end of the 905

Area code 905/289

Area code 905 is a telephone dialling area in southern Ontario. It includes the Niagara Peninsula, Hamilton, Oshawa, and the suburban Greater Toronto Area. It was assigned in October 1993, as a split from area code 416...

belt of suburbs around Toronto. The northern area comprises rural areas and small towns. Durham Region contains one Indian reserve

Indian reserve

In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...

, the Mississaugas of Scugog Island

Mississaugas of Scugog Island, Ontario

Mississaugas of Scugog Island is an Indian reserve for the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation in south-central Ontario, Canada. It is located near Lake Scugog in Durham Region.According to the Canada 2001 Census:*Population: 51...

.

Durham Region consists of the following local municipalities

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

The City of Pickering
Pickering, Ontario
Pickering is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, the largest metropolitan area in Canada.- Early Period :...
The Town of Ajax
Ajax, Ontario
Ajax is a town in the Durham Region in the Greater Toronto Area.The town is named for the HMS Ajax a Royal Navy cruiser that served in World War II. Ajax is a part of the Greater Toronto Area and the...
The Town of Whitby
Whitby, Ontario
Whitby 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...
The City of Oshawa
Oshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
The Municipality of Clarington
Clarington, Ontario
Clarington is a municipality in Ontario, Canada in the Regional Municipality of Durham. It took its present name in 1994 after having been known as the Town of Newcastle from 1974-93. The name change was made to alleviate long-standing confusion between the municipality as a whole and the included...
The Township of Uxbridge
Uxbridge, Ontario
Uxbridge is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Greater Toronto Area.The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge...
The Township of Scugog
Scugog, Ontario
Scugog is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham, south-central Ontario, Canada. A smaller Scugog Township was also a historic municipality and geographic township prior to the amalgamation that formed the current municipality.-History:...
The Township of Brock
Brock, Ontario
Brock is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada. Brock Township is also a former municipality and geographic township prior to the amalgamation that formed the current municipality.-History:...

Local government

Durham Region is governed by Durham Region Council, which consists of the Mayors of the local municipalities as well as Regional Councillors directly elected in each municipality. The list below indicates the number of Regional Councillors elected in each local municipality.

Pickering
Pickering, Ontario
Pickering is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, the largest metropolitan area in Canada.- Early Period :...

- 3
Ajax
Ajax, Ontario
Ajax is a town in the Durham Region in the Greater Toronto Area.The town is named for the HMS Ajax a Royal Navy cruiser that served in World War II. Ajax is a part of the Greater Toronto Area and the...

- 2
Whitby
Whitby, Ontario
Whitby 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...

- 3
Oshawa
Oshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...

- 7
Clarington
Clarington, Ontario
Clarington is a municipality in Ontario, Canada in the Regional Municipality of Durham. It took its present name in 1994 after having been known as the Town of Newcastle from 1974-93. The name change was made to alleviate long-standing confusion between the municipality as a whole and the included...

- 2
Uxbridge
Uxbridge, Ontario
Uxbridge is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Greater Toronto Area.The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge...

- 1
Scugog
Scugog, Ontario
Scugog is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham, south-central Ontario, Canada. A smaller Scugog Township was also a historic municipality and geographic township prior to the amalgamation that formed the current municipality.-History:...

- 1
Brock
Brock, Ontario
Brock is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada. Brock Township is also a former municipality and geographic township prior to the amalgamation that formed the current municipality.-History:...

- 1

The Council is led by a Chair, who is selected by the Council itself rather than direct election by the public. The current Chair is Roger Anderson. In 2006, Pickering, Ajax, and Oshawa placed non-binding referendum

Referendum

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

s on their local election ballots to ask voters whether the Chair should be directly elected. Over 80% voted in the affirmative, and so this issue is likely to be a major one during the current term of Council.

The current council was elected in November 2006. In the past, Council has sat for a three year term, but the Ontario

Ontario

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

recently passed legislation increasing the length of municipal council terms in Ontario to four years. A municipal election

Election

An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...

took place in November 2010.

Services

The Regional government, within its geographic area, has sole responsibility for the following:

Durham Regional Police Service
Durham Regional Police
The Durham Regional Police Service is the police service operated by and serving the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The force serves the following local municipalities, with a combined population of 589,850:* Pickering, Ontario...

provides local policing for all municipalities.
- The Ontario Provincial Police
  Ontario Provincial Police
  The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...
  
  patrol provincial highway
  Highway
  A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
  
  s
Durham Region Transit
Durham Region Transit
Durham Region Transit is the regional public transit operator in Durham Region, east of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are at 605 Rossland Rd East in Whitby, Ontario, and there are regional centres in Ajax, Whitby, and Oshawa.-Overview:...

provides public transit service
Main roads, traffic lights and controls
Strategic land use planning
Subdivision and condominium approval
Water supply and distribution
Sewage collection and treatment
Collection of recyclable materials
Waste collection, except in Whitby
Whitby, Ontario
Whitby 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...

and Oshawa
Oshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
Waste disposal
Public Health and social services

The Region also provides services in:

Economic Development
Tourism

Local Municipalities have responsibility for:

Local planning
Local streets and sidewalks
Fire protection
Parks and recreation
Tax collection
Building inspection and permits
Public libraries
Licensing
Waste collection in Whitby
Whitby, Ontario
Whitby 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...

and Oshawa
Oshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...

Economy

Major employers include General Motors of Canada, Ontario Power Generation

Ontario Power Generation

Ontario Power Generation is a public company wholly owned by the Government of Ontario. OPG is responsible for approximately 70% of the electricity generation in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Sources of electricity include nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, wind, and fossil fuel...

, Lakeridge Health Corporation

Lakeridge Health Corporation

The Lakeridge Health Corporation is the governing body of hospitals in the Ontario towns of Oshawa, Whitby, Scugog and Clarington. The organization was created in November 1997 to oversee Memorial Hospital Bowmanville, North Durham Health Services , Oshawa General Hospital and Whitby General...

, Durham District School Board

Durham District School Board

The Durham District School Board is a public school board in Ontario, Canada. The DDSB serves most of the Regional Municipality of Durham, except for schools within the Municipality of Clarington, which belongs to the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board...

, Durham College

Durham College

Durham College of Applied Arts and Technology is located in the Durham Region with campuses in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada and Whitby and additional locations in Uxbridge, Port Hope, Port Perry and Beaverton...

, University of Ontario Institute of Technology

University of Ontario Institute of Technology

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology is located in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The university shares its campus with Durham College. The university was founded in 2002 and accepted its first students in 2003, making it one of Canada's newest universities...

, and many smaller component and transportation firms supplying the automotive industry.

Automobile industries

Durham Region is a major centre of the Canadian automobile industry. Oshawa

Oshawa

Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...

is the Canadian headquarters of General Motors

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

and home of GM's largest plant in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. In addition, the Canadian headquarters of Volkswagen

Volkswagen

Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...

is located in the Region. The worldwide recession and spike in oil prices resulted in large-scale layoffs at GM beginning in 2008, along with the closure of the Oshawa Truck plant in 2009. This dramatically reduced employment levels at GM, and also resulted in significant employment losses and closures in the auto parts industry. GM's ongoing financial woes and the 2009 bankruptcy of the parent U.S. firm continue to cast a shadow over the local economy. This has recently turned around with the production of several new models in Oshawa.

Highways

Durham Region is traversed by Highway 401 as well several other provincial highways, although there is far less highway capacity in Durham Region than in the other regions in the Greater Toronto Area

Greater Toronto Area

.

On August 22, 2006, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

reported that federal Finance Minister

Finance minister

The finance minister is a cabinet position in a government.A minister of finance has many different jobs in a government. He or she helps form the government budget, stimulate the economy, and control finances...

Jim Flaherty

James Michael "Jim" Flaherty, PC, MP is Canada's Minister of Finance and he has also served as Ontario's Minister of Finance. From 1995 until 2005, he was the Member of Provincial Parliament for Whitby—Ajax, and a member of the Progressive Conservative Party caucus...

was considering providing federal funding for the extension of Highway 407.

400-series freeways

Highway 401
Highway 407 Express Toll Route

Public transportation

Public transit in the Region is operated by Durham Region Transit

Durham Region Transit

Durham Region Transit is the regional public transit operator in Durham Region, east of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are at 605 Rossland Rd East in Whitby, Ontario, and there are regional centres in Ajax, Whitby, and Oshawa.-Overview:...

, which was formed in January 2006 when the five preexisting municipal public transit systems in the region were merged under the Region's administration.

In addition, GO Transit

GO Transit

GO Transit is an inter-regional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada. It primarily serves the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area conurbation, with operations extending to several communities beyond the GTHA proper in the Greater Golden Horseshoe...

provides the following services within the Region:

Lakeshore East GO Trains serve Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, and Oshawa GO Stations, providing connections to Toronto's Union Station
Union Station (Toronto)
Union Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Toronto, located on Front Street West and occupying the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in the central business district. The station building is owned by the City of Toronto, while the...
Morning Highway 401 peak hour service to Finch Bus Terminal from Oshawa GO Station via Whitby GO Station, Ajax GO Station and Scarborough Town Centre
Scarborough Centre (TTC)
Scarborough Centre is a station on the Scarborough RT line of the Toronto subway and RT. It is located north of Ellesmere Road between Brimley and McCowan Roads, just south of Highway 401...

, with reverse service in the afternoon
Durham Highway 2/Kingston Road (the former provincial Highway 2
Highway 2 (Ontario)
King's Highway 2, usually referred to simply as Highway 2 is a provincially maintained highway in Ontario. Once the primary east–west route across the southern end of the province, Highway 2 became mostly redundant in the 1960s following the completion of Highway 401, which more or less...

) between Pickering and Oshawa is served by buses providing connections to the Toronto Transit Commission
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...

at Scarborough Town Centre
Scarborough Town Centre
The Scarborough Town Centre is an upscale shopping mall in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Central to the Scarborough City Centre, it is adjacent to the Scarborough Centre RT station and Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal. It was constructed by Oxford Properties and opened in...

, York Mills
York Mills (TTC)
York Mills is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 4015 Yonge Street at Wilson Avenue/York Mills Road...

, and Yorkdale Shopping Centre
Yorkdale Shopping Centre
Yorkdale Shopping Centre is a large shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It contains over 250 stores and is located in the community of Downsview, in North York. It is the fifth largest shopping mall in Canada and also enjoys the highest sales per square foot of any mall in Canada, with...
Clarington
Clarington, Ontario
Clarington is a municipality in Ontario, Canada in the Regional Municipality of Durham. It took its present name in 1994 after having been known as the Town of Newcastle from 1974-93. The name change was made to alleviate long-standing confusion between the municipality as a whole and the included...

is served by buses connecting with Lakeshore East GO Trains at Oshawa GO Station
Port Perry
Port Perry, Ontario
Port Perry is a community located in Scugog Township, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. The town is located east of Uxbridge and southwest of Peterborough. Many residents commute to Toronto on a daily basis. Port Perry's municipal website reported a population of just over 9,500 in 2010.Port Perry...

in Scugog Township
Scugog, Ontario
Scugog is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham, south-central Ontario, Canada. A smaller Scugog Township was also a historic municipality and geographic township prior to the amalgamation that formed the current municipality.-History:...

is served by buses from Whitby GO Station
Uxbridge
Uxbridge, Ontario
Uxbridge is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Greater Toronto Area.The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge...

is served by buses from the Stouffville Corridor

Education

The Durham District School Board

Durham District School Board

operates all public schools within Durham Region, except for those schools within Clarington

Clarington, Ontario

Clarington is a municipality in Ontario, Canada in the Regional Municipality of Durham. It took its present name in 1994 after having been known as the Town of Newcastle from 1974-93. The name change was made to alleviate long-standing confusion between the municipality as a whole and the included...

, which are part of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board

Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board

Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board has its headquarters in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board is the public, English language school board that takes in the regions of the previous Peterborough County Board of Education and the...

. This is a holdover from the pre-1974 structure in which the area now forming Clarington was part of Durham County, while the other municipalities were part of Ontario County.

The Durham Catholic District School Board

Durham Catholic District School Board

The Durham Catholic District School Board is a publicly-funded Catholic school board located in Durham Region, east of Toronto, Ontario. There are 44 elementary schools, and 7 secondary schools. Also within the Board are one Adult Education Centre in Ajax, and one Continuing Education Centre in...

operates the separate Catholic school system within Durham Region, again with the exception of schools in Clarington, which are part of the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board

Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board

The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board has its headquarters in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada....

.

Neither school board is an operating division of the Regional government. Instead, as is true of all school boards in Ontario

Ontario

, they are separate entities with distinct but overlapped service areas. Elected public trustee

Trustee

Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...

s responsible for their operation.

Durham Secondary Academy and Middle School offers private elementary and secondary education for students in the Region of Durham.

The Region also is home to the University of Ontario Institute of Technology

University of Ontario Institute of Technology

(UOIT), Durham College, and Trent University. The UOIT and Durham college campuses are located in Oshawa, with a Trent satellite campus. Trent University's main campus is in Peterborough. Durham College also has a satellite campus in Whitby. UOIT is currently Ontario's fastest growing university and expected to grow at enormous rates over the next few years.

External links

Durham Region Durham Region official site.
Durham Region's Official List of Businesses and Organizations

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Local government

Services

Economy

Automobile industries

Highways

400-series freeways

Public transportation

Education

See also

External links