The Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth was a Regional Municipality in

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 C ...

, Canada, that existed between the dates of January 1, 1974, and January 1, 2001, primarily centered on the City of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. It was proclaimed and created in 1974 by restructuring Wentworth County and it's constituent municipalities into the newly created Region of Hamilton–Wentworth. It was one of the last Regional Municipalities to be created in Ontario, and it served as an upper-tier level of municipal government, aggregating municipal services on a region-wide basis like the other Counties and Regional Municipalities in

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 ...

. The Regional Municipality was dissolved in 2001, with the towns and cities in the Region of Hamilton–Wentworth merging to form the current single-tier City of

, with a 2021 total population of 569,353.

Overview

Regional Municipalities were an experiment in two-tiered municipalities created between the late 1960s to mid-1970s. They existed mainly in the

Golden Horseshoe The Golden Horseshoe is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. 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 ...

, but also existed in the form of the

Regional Municipality of Sudbury The Regional Municipality of Sudbury was a Regional Municipality that existed in Ontario, Canada, from 1973 to 2000, and was primarily centred on the city of Sudbury. It served as an upper-tier level of municipal government, aggregating municipal ...

northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Pro ...

and the

Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in eastern Ontario. The regions were proved somewhat controversial upon their creation and the Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth was one of the last created by this process. Almost immediately after its creation, some sort of merger was advocated, with "Wentworth" being among some of the candidate names for the new megacity. The Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth was established as an Upper-Tier Municipality and comprised the bulk of the former Wentworth County, of which it replaced. Its Lower-Tier Municipalities were, in order of population, the city of

, the town (later city) of Stoney Creek, the town of Ancaster, the town of

Flamborough Flamborough is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north-east of Bridlington town centre on the prominent coastal feature of Flamborough Head. The most prominent man-made feature o ...

, the town of Dundas and the township of

Glanbrook Glanbrook is the south-western district of the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It was first created as an independent township in 1974 through the amalgamation of Mount Hope, Binbrook, Glanford, and other nearby communities. In 2001, Glanbrook ...

. The Region provided Police Services, Public Transit, and Social Services, while the lower-tier provided Fire Services and Recreation Services; although, both tiers shared the responsibility for maintaining Roads and Water. It was governed by a Regional Chair who presided over a Regional Council with representatives from each of Hamilton's wards and two each from other constituent municipalities. Near the end of its existence, the Regional Chair was chosen by Direct Election.

History

The Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth was created by Act of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1973, which took effect on January 1, 1974. The creation of the Regional Municipality resulted in the consolidation of the former municipalities of Wentworth County into six new municipalities:

Merger

A different Progressive Conservative government amalgamated all of the constituent municipalities in Hamilton–Wentworth into the larger single-tier City of

in 2001, against great opposition from its suburban and rural parts. This was part of a broader series of municipal reorganizations in urban and rural Ontario, and was also the fate of

Metropolitan Toronto The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...

, the

Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton The Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton was a Regional Municipality and Census Division in Ontario, Canada, that existed between January 1, 1969, and January 1, 2001, and was primarily centred on the City of Ottawa. It was created in 1 ...

, Chatham-Kent, Prince Edward County, and many others.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth Former counties in Ontario Populated places disestablished in 2001 History of Hamilton, Ontario