Elgin County is a
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of the
Canadian province
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...
of
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
with a 2016 population of 50,069. Its population centres are St. Thomas, Aylmer, Port Stanley, Belmont, Dutton and West Lorne. The county seat is
St. Thomas, which is separated from the county but within its geographic boundary.
Subdivisions
Elgin County is composed of seven incorporated municipalities (in order of population):
*Municipality of
Central Elgin
Central Elgin is a township located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada in Elgin County on Lake Erie. It is part of the London census metropolitan area.
History
Central Elgin was formed in 1998 through the amalgamation of the Township of Yarmouth ...
*Township of
Malahide
Malahide ( ; ) is an affluent coastal settlement in Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland, situated north of Dublin city. It has a village centre surrounded by suburban housing estates, with a population of over 17,000.
Malahide Castle dates from th ...
*Town of
Aylmer
Aylmer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Edward Aylmer, Welsh MP
* Edward Aylmer (cricketer), first-class cricketer and Royal Navy officer
* Felix Aylmer, English stage actor
* Sir Fenton Aylmer, 13th Baronet, British Arm ...
*Municipality of
Bayham
Bayham ( 2011 Population: 6,989) is a municipality in the southeast corner of Elgin County, Ontario, Canada. It is south of the town of Tillsonburg and Oxford County.
History
Bayham was named in 1810 for Viscount Bayham Charles Pratt, a frien ...
*Municipality of
West Elgin
West Elgin is a municipality in Elgin County, Ontario, Canada. The township was created on January 1, 1998, through the amalgamation of the former township of Aldborough with the village of West Lorne.
Communities
The two main population centres ...
*Township of
Southwold
Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is a ...
*Municipality of
Dutton/Dunwich
Dutton/Dunwich is a municipality located in western Elgin County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.
The municipality was formed in 1998 through an amalgamation of the Village of Dutton and former Township of Dunwich. It includes the Hamlets of ...
The City of
St. Thomas is geographically within the boundaries of Elgin County and part of the Elgin census division, but is separated from county administration.
Historical townships
![Townships of Elgin County, Ontario](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Townships_of_Elgin_County%2C_Ontario.jpg)
Originally Elgin County was once part of
Middlesex County, which was reorganized as the United Counties of Middlesex and Elgin in 1851. Elgin was named after
Lord Elgin
Earl of Elgin is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1633 for Thomas Bruce, 3rd Lord Kinloss. He was later created Baron Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, in the Peerage of England on 30 July 1641. The Earl of Elgin is the h ...
, who was
Governor-General of Canada
The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...
at the time.
The County was separated from Middlesex in September 1853.
Demographics
As a
census division
Census divisions, in Canada and the United States of America, United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-lev ...
in the
2021 Census of Population conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), 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 cultur ...
, Elgin County 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.
Notable persons from Elgin County
*
Horace Harvey
Horace Harvey (October 1, 1863 – September 9, 1949) was a lawyer, jurist, and a Chief Justice of Alberta, Canada.
Early and family life
Harvey was born in Elgin County, Canada West, on October 1, 1863, to William Harvey, Liberal Member of ...
- Chief Justice of Alberta
*
John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through t ...
- Canadian/American economist
*
Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 – January 5, 1953) was the 11th premier of Ontario, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37. He was the only Ontario Liberal Party leader in the 20th cent ...
- Premier of Ontario
*
Rachel McAdams
Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre degree program at York University in 2001, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film ''Perfect Pie'' (200 ...
- Actress
*
Joe Thornton
Joseph Eric Thornton (born July 2, 1979) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He has previously played for the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers of the ...
- NHL - Professional Hockey Player
*
Bo Horvat
Bowie William Horvat (born April 5, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL).
He was selected ninth overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. During his junior car ...
- NHL - Professional Hockey Player
See also
*
List of municipalities in Ontario
Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada with 14,223,942 residents as of Canada 2021 Census, 2021 and is List of Canadian provinces and territories by ...
*
List of Ontario Census Divisions
The Province of Ontario has 51 first-level administrative divisions, which collectively cover the whole province. With two exceptions, their areas match the 49 census divisions Statistics Canada has for Ontario.
The Province has four types of ...
*
Talbot Trail
This is a List of Ontario Tourist Routes throughout the province, which are designated to highlight places of cultural, environmental, or social importance.
It is currently unknown if the majority of these trails are still listed since many of the ...
*
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...
*
List of townships in Ontario
This is a list of townships in the Canadian province of Ontario. Townships are listed by census division.
Northern Ontario Northeastern Ontario Algoma District
Historical/Geographic Townships
*Abbott
*Aberdeen Additional
*Abigo
*Abotossaway
* ...
*
List of secondary schools in Ontario#Elgin County
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Subdivisions of Ontario
Counties in Ontario
Populated places on Lake Erie in Canada
Southwestern Ontario