Essa is a township in Ontario, Canada, west and south of the city of

Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...

Simcoe County Simcoe County is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. The county is just north of the Greater Toronto Area, stretching from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. Simcoe County forms part of the ...

. It is bounded by County Road 90 to its north, County Road 27 to its east, and

Ontario Highway 89 King's Highway 89, commonly referred to as Highway 89, is an east–west provincially maintained highway in the south central portion of the Canadian province of Ontario, stretching from the junction of Highway 9 and Highway 23 ...

to its south. The township is about from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. The township is well known for its agriculture industry, particularly potato farming. Nearby CFB Borden brings a strong military presence to the area as well, including a high number of Francophone families.

Communities

The main communities of this township are Angus, Thornton, and Baxter. Other small hamlets are Cedargrove, Colwell, Egbert, Elmgrove, Hoe Doe Valley, Ivy, Utopia and West Essa. Angus is the largest community in Essa Township, and the main access to the neighbouring Canadian Forces Base Borden. It offers services such a
Essa Public Library
catholic and public elementary schools, public secondary school, a small shopping centre, many stores, a chamber of commerce and a recreation facility. Angus is located in the northwestern corner of Essa township. Located in Essa's municipal Ward 1, the township councillor for Angus is Pieter Kiezebrink. Angus is named in honour of Angus Morrison, former Member of the Legislative Assembly for Simcoe North.

Notable residents

Controversial politician

Helena Guergis Helena C. Guergis, ( ; born February 19, 1969) is a Canadian politician of Assyrian descent. She represented the Ontario riding of Simcoe—Grey in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2011, and was appointed Minister of State (Status of ...

, the former Member of Parliament for

Simcoe—Grey Simcoe—Grey is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997. It was created in 1996 from parts of Barrie—Simcoe—Bradford, Bruce—Grey, Simcoe Centre, Simcoe Nor ...

, resides in Angus."Growing Up Guergis: The evolution of a political family"
''Simcoe Life'', Spring 2007. Her cousin David Guergis was Essa's mayor until 2010.

Local Government

Essa is governed by a Mayor, a Deputy Mayor and three Councillors, with one Councillor representing each of the three municipal wards. The Mayor of Essa represents the town on the Simcoe County Council. As of the 2022 election, the elected council members are: Mayor: Sandie MacDonald Deputy Mayor: Michael Smith Councillors: * Ward 1: Pieter Kiezebrink * Ward 2: Henry Sander * Ward 3: Liana Maltby

Fire, EMS and police services

Township of Essa Fire Department is a fire services staffed by full-time chief, Doug Burgin and deputy chief, Gary McNamara. With 54 volunteer fire fighters at two stations (Angus and Thornton). Ambulance service is covered by County of Simcoe Paramedic Service station in Angus. Policing in Essa Township is covered by

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorpo ...

Nottawasaga Detachment.

Education

Essa Township has 4 elementary schools and a high school: *Angus Morrison Elementary School (Angus) *Pine River Elementary School (Angus) *Baxter Central Public School (Baxter) *Our Lady of Grace Catholic School (Angus) * Nottawasaga Pines Secondary School (Angus) These schools are managed by the

Simcoe County District School Board Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB, known as English-language Public District School Board No. 17 and Simcoe County Board Of Education prior to 1999) is an Ontario, Canada, English speaking public school board, serving Simcoe County. The s ...

and the

Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board The Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board (SMCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 44 prior to 1999) administers and governs separate school Catholic education from kindergarten through grade 12 in Simcoe Count ...

. There are also two French Schools accessible to Essa residents, managed by the French Public School Board
Conseil Scolaire Viamonde
* Academie La Pinède (Borden) * Ecole Secondaire Romeo Dallaire (Barrie)

Climate

Demographics

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 ...

, Essa 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.

References

External links

* {{Simcoe County Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Municipalities in Simcoe County Township municipalities in Ontario