Regional Municipality of York
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 2006 census population was 892,712, making it more populous than all of Northern Ontario.[About Northern Ontario] It is the fastest growing census division in Canada, expected to surpass 1.5 million residents by 2031.[York Region Growth Management - Planning for Tomorrow] 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 showing its major roads and communities is available.
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.
Government
The region is governed by a group known as York Regional Council, which consists of 20 elected representatives from each of the constituent towns and cities in the region, 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 2007, the York Regional government was named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers, as published in Maclean's magazine, the only regional government to receive this honour.
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, naturally, ongoing conflicts between conservationists and developers over land use. In particular, conflicts over use of the Oak Ridges Moraine have been most contentious.
Shopping
Major shopping centres located in York Region include:
Hillcrest Mall (Richmond Hill)
Markville Shopping Centre (Markham)
Pacific Mall (Markham)
The Promenade Shopping Centre (Vaughan)
Upper Canada Mall (Newmarket)
Vaughan Mills (Vaughan)
Woodside Mall (Markham)
First Markham Place (Markham)
Transportation
See List of 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:
Highway 9 (East-west)
Highway 48 (North-South)
Highway 400 (North-South)
Highway 404 (North-South)
407 ETR (East-west)
Highway 427 (North-South)
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 executive jets. Buttonville is also home to Toronto Airways Flight School as well as Seneca College. There are also a few unpaved airports serving the region. Hare Field is located in Holland Landing (East Gwillimbury) and Belhaven Airport is located in Georgina.
Public transportation
York Region is served by:
York Region Transit (YRT), which 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.
Education
See
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 (King City)
Holy Trinity School (Richmond Hill)
Leo Baeck Day School (Thornhill)
Netivot HaTorah Day School (Thornhill)
Pickering College (Newmarket)
St. Andrew's College (Aurora)
St. Thomas of Villanova College (King City)
News media
York Region Media Group
First Local/Rogers Television York Region
CKVR - A (based in Barrie)
CKDX 88.5FM - Foxy 88-5 (Newmarket)
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:
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)
Words Alive Literary Festival (East Gwillimbury)
York Demonstration Forest (Whitchurch-Stouffville)
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
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
Omsk (Russia)
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.
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. [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]
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:
*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
External links
York Region Official site
Yorkregion.com online news
York Regional Police
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