Kingsville is a town in Essex County in southwestern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost municipality with town status. The town had a population of 22,119 in th
Canada 2021 Census
a 2.6% increase from the previous census figure of 21,552 in the

Canada 2016 Census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial censu ...

History

Kingsville was incorporated as a town in 1901. On 1 January 1999, the Town was amalgamated with the adjoining Township of Gosfield North and Township of Gosfield South to form an expanded municipality.

Geography

Kingsville is west of the Municipality of Leamington, south of the Town of Lakeshore and southeast of the Town of Essex and north of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

. The geography of Kingsville is typical of most of Essex County. The terrain is generally flat, and consists of glacial drift which is a mixture of various rocks, sand and clay. The town is approximately 570 feet above sea level.

Communities

In addition to the primary settlement at Kingsville, the municipality also includes the smaller communities of Cedar Beach, Cedar Island, Cedarhurst Park, Cottam, Klondyke, Linden Beach, North Ridge, Olinda, Ruthven and Union. The community of Albuna is located on the boundary between Kingsville and Leamington, and the communities of Arner and Elford are located on the boundary between Kingsville and Essex.

Climate

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Kingsville had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Attractions

Kingsville is home to the Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary. Jack Miner was awarded The

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) for his achievements in conservation in the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. It was awarded June 23, 1943, by

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

, as

King of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's Government#Forms, form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is one of the key components of Canadian sovereignty and sits at the core of Canadian federalism, Canada's cons ...

. Jack Miner is considered "the father of the conservation movement on the continent". Kingsville is home to Colasanti's Tropical Gardens which attracts people from all over Ontario. The gardens have many varieties of tropical plants and animals. Kingsville is also home to the Kingsville Music Festival which is organized by the Kingsville Music Society. It began in early August 2014 and has continued each year with headliners such as

Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn ( ; born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to folk- and jazz-influenced rock to soundscapes accompanying spoken stories. His lyrics reflect interests in spirit ...

Ashley MacIsaac Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac (born February 24, 1975) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and actor from Cape Breton Island. He has received three Juno Awards, winning for Best New Solo Artist and Best Roots & Traditional Album – Solo at th ...

Steven Page Steven Jay Page (born June 22, 1970) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was a founding member, lead singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the music group Barenaked Ladies. Page left the band in February ...

, and

Kathleen Edwards Kathleen Margaret Edwards (born July 11, 1978
) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. Her 2002 debut album, ''

Sports

Kingsville was, for 26 years, the home town of the Great Lakes Jr. C team Kingsville Comets. The team was sold and moved to Amherstburg in 2013, becoming the Amherstburg Admirals. The town was among the top 5 places in Canada chosen for CBC's Kraft Hockeyville 2008, and finished in 2nd place in the competition with over 1.5 million votes. In 2015, the Kingsville Kings were formed and added to the South Conference of the

Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League The Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL) is a Canadian developmental junior ice hockey league. The league has primarily had teams in the Greater Toronto Area, Central Ontario, Northeastern Ontario, and Quebec. As of December 2019, the le ...

. They play out of the Kingsville Arena Complex. After playing a neutral site game in Kingsville during the 2016–17 season, the

St. Clair Shores Fighting Saints The St. Clair Shores Fighting Saints were a minor professional ice hockey team in the Federal Hockey League that began play in the 2016–17 season based in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. The Fighting Saints played their home games at the St. Clai ...

of the

Federal Hockey League The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. ...

relocated to Kingsville for the 2017–18 season as the North Shore Knights. The team played most of its home games out of the Kingsville Arena Complex with a few other neutral site home games in various cities in Ontario and Quebec. After cancelling several games during the season, the Knights were not listed as an FHL member the following season.

Education

Kingsville has two schools, St. John de Brebeuf Catholic Elementary School and Erie Migration District School. Erie Migration District School opened in September 2024 and amalgamated the student body of three previous schools Kingsville Public School, Jack Miner Public School and Kingsville District High School; all of which were closed as of June 2024. Several community members were critical of the name chosen for the new school. A fourth school, Ruthven Public School, was closed in the summer of 2013 due to overall declining enrollment. Students from Ruthven were assigned to Jack Miner Public School.

Notable people

Meghan Agosta Meghan Christina Agosta (born February 12, 1987) is a Canadian women's ice hockey forward, who last played for the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Agosta played for the Canada women's national ice hockey team and is a thr ...

, ice hockey player * Ellie Moon, playwright and actor *

Paul Quantrill Paul John Quantrill (born November 3, 1968) is a Canadian former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 14 seasons, from 1992 to 2005; his longest tenure was six seasons with the Toronto B ...

, baseball player * Dalton Prout, ice hockey player

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places on Lake Erie in Canada Towns in Ontario Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Municipalities in Essex County, Ontario