The Township of Alnwick/Haldimand is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

in central

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, in Northumberland County, situated between

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

and Rice Lake. It was formed in 2001 by the merger of Alnwick Township in the north and Haldimand Township in the south.

Alderville First Nation Alderville First Nation is a band of Mississaugas, a sub-nation of the Ojibways. The Alderville and Sugar Island 37A reserves belong to that First Nation band government. First Nation The Alderville First Nation is an Anishinaabe First Nation l ...

is an autonomously governed

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

contained within the township boundaries, in two non-contiguous sections along County Roads 45 and 18.

History

Alnwick Township

Alnwick Township was originally surveyed in 1795 when twenty-four lots were laid out on the first concession. It was named for Alnwick in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, England. The first crown grants were issued in 1798 and other surveys would follow in subsequent years. The township's first residents were made up of

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America duri ...

, attracted by large unencumbered land grants, sometimes in the thousands of acres. In 1835, 3,600 acres of land along the first and second concessions were set aside as an Indian settlement. Shortly after, the Indian Band from Grape Island was moved into this settlement and a school and church were built at Alderville. The first council meeting was held in 1845 at Alderville School. The Alnwick/Haldimand Township building located in Grafton was built in 1858. Prior to its construction, Township Council meetings were held at local taverns or the residences of council members.

Haldimand Township

Haldimand Township was formed in 1791 and was named in honour of

Sir Frederick Haldimand Sir Frederick Haldimand, Order of the Bath, KB (11 August 1718 – 5 June 1791) was a military officer best known for his service in the British Army in North America during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. From 1778 ...

– a British general who served as Governor-in-Chief of Canada between 1778 and 1796. By 1804, there were 356 settlers in Haldimand Township making it the second most populous township in the region after Hamilton Township to the West. The town hall was constructed in 1860. However, in order to be as accessible to as many rate payers as possible, council held frequent meetings in public buildings in towns across the Township. On one occasion following a fire that destroyed the Centreton Community Centre in 1943, a council meeting was held at the private residence of former reeve Stanley McBride.

Municipal restructuring

As part of provincial initiatives in the late 1990s, the

Government of Ontario The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor� ...

pursued a policy of municipal amalgamations to rationalize municipal levels of government services and "reduc government entanglement and bureaucracy with an eye to eliminating waste and duplication as well as unfair downloading by the province". On June 9, 1999, an order from the Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs for the amalgamation of Alnwick Township and Haldimand Township into a single Township of Alnwick/Haldimand received

Royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

. The amalgamation came into effect on January 1, 2001.

Geography

Geographical features

Alnwick/Haldimand is part of the Oak Ridges Moraine: a significant land form in

. 31.3 km² of the Cobourg Creek watershed runs through the Township. The majority of this area is located within the Oak Ridges Moraine. The Creek supports a diverse ecosystem including forests, meadows and wetlands. Numerous species inhabit the Creek including brown trout, rainbow trout, scuplins and darters. Migratory Chinook Salmon spawn in the creek and Atlantic Salmon are being stocked as part of a provincial initiative to return these native fish to Lake Ontario. The

Ganaraska Forest Ganaraska Region is a region located in Ontario, Canada, stretching along the shore of Lake Ontario for approximately and about wide. It contains watersheds, covering an area of from Wilmot Creek in Clarington to eastside of Cobourg and from the ...

is an 11,000-acre forest located in the Township. It is one of the largest blocks of forested land in southern Ontario. The Millvalley Hills Forest is a 297 hectare forest located within the Township of Alnwick/Haldimand. The dominant trees species are red and white pine, and red and white oak, however red oak dominates the area. The Harwood Road Wetland is a class 2 provincially significant wetland located in the Township of Hamilton and the Township of Alnwick/Haldimand. 95.9 hectares in size, the wetland is 95% swamp, and 0.5% marsh.

Communities

The township comprises the communities of Burnley, Carmel, Centreton, Dunnette Landing, Fenella, Grafton, The Gully, Lakeport, Little Germany, McCracken Landing, Oak Heights, Robins Landing, Roseneath, Vernonville and Wicklow.

Alderville First Nation

The Alderville First Nation is an Anishinaabe First Nation located in southern Ontario, Canada. As of September 2008, Alderville First Nation had 1007 registered band members, of which their on-Reserve population was only 313 people, meaning the majority of their registered population live outside the reserve (off-reserve) in neighbouring communities. The First Nation have reserved for themselves two areas. Their main reserve, the

(formerly designated as Alderville Indian Reserve 37 by

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

), is located near the south shores of Rice Lake in Ontario (). It consists of six non-contiguous areas within the Alnwick/Haldimand Township approximately north of

Cobourg Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...

, and occupies a total area of . They also maintain a smaller parcel of land on nearby Sugar Island, the Sugar Island 37A Indian Reserve (). It has been home to the Mississauga division of the

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...

(Ojibwa) Nation since the mid-1830s.General History
Alderville First Nation.

Economy

The township is rural based with agriculture being the largest contributor to the general economy. Grain, cash crops, milk, livestock, vineyards and apple farming are all viable in the area. The top industries for the employed labour force are manufacturing, public administration and construction. Approximately 15% of workers were self-employed as of the 2011 Census of Canada. Tourism is also a contributor to the local economy. Venues such as Golden Beach Resort and Ste. Anne's Country Inn & Spa are among the top private sector employers in Northumberland County. Outdoor activities including hiking, kayaking, snowmobiling, fishing, birding and camping also contribute to the tourism industry.

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; 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 ...

, Alnwick/Haldimand 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. As of the 2011

Census of Canada Statistics Canada conducts a national census of population and census of agriculture every five years and releases the data with a two-year lag. The Census of Population provides demographic and statistical data that is used to plan public servic ...

, Alnwick/Haldimand had a median age of 46.6 years. According to the 2011 National Household Survey, 13.1% of the population was foreign-born and 86.6% were Canadian born. The most common countries of birth of immigrants living in Alnwick/Haldimand are the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

(62% of the immigrant population) and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(6.4%).

Religion

According to the 2011 National Household Survey, 72.7% of the population in Alnwick/Haldimand reported a religious affiliation while 27.4% said they had no religious affiliation. The most common religion was the United Church (22.3%), followed by

Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

, (22.2%) and

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

(13.5%).

Languages spoken

Mother tongue: * English as first language: 92.4% * French as first language: 1.2% * English and French as first language: 0.2% * Other as first language: 6.2%

Government

Local government

Alnwick/Haldimand has
Township Council
of 5 members including a Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and three ward councillors. Normally, they are elected for four-year terms, along with all other municipalities in Ontario. The next election is scheduled to take place in 2022. On the current council, Greg Booth was selected to replace Raymond Benns, who died in March, 2019. In addition to the Township Council, members sit on a number of local committees.

Township Council 2018 - 2022

Source:

County government

Alnwick/Haldimand is part of Northumberland County. County Council is composed of the mayors of each of the seven towns, townships and local municipalities within its boundaries. The head of County Council is called the Warden as is elected annually from amongst its membership. Alnwick/Haldimand Mayor John Logel serves as the representative on the County Council.

Provincial representation

Alnwick/Haldimand is in the provincial electoral district of Northumberland—Peterborough South, represented by

David Piccini David Winsor Piccini is a Canadian politician who is the Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks since June 18, 2021. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election. He represents the r ...

of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.

Federal representation

As of the 2015 Federal Election, Alnwick/Haldimand is in the federal electoral district of Northumberland—Peterborough South. This riding was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and came into effect upon the calling of the

42nd Canadian federal election The 2015 Canadian federal election held on October 19, 2015, saw the Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, win 184 seats, allowing it to form a majority government with Trudeau becoming the next prime minister. The election was held to elect me ...

. The riding has been represented by Philip Lawrence of the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...

since 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alnwick Haldimand Township municipalities in Ontario Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Municipalities in Northumberland County, Ontario