Rayside-Balfour (1996 census population 16,050) was a town in

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, which existed from 1973 to 2000. It is now part of the city of

Greater Sudbury Sudbury, officially the City of Greater Sudbury, is the largest city in Northern Ontario by population, with a population of 166,004 at the 2021 Canadian Census. By land area, it is the largest in Ontario and the List of the largest cities and t ...

. The town was created as part 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 ...

and took its name from the

townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

of Rayside and Balfour, which fell within the boundaries of the new town; prior to the town's creation in 1973, Rayside and Balfour were separately incorporated as township municipalities.History of Rayside-Balfour
at Greater Sudbury Heritage Museums. Although the Regional Municipality of Sudbury was a very important centre of

Franco-Ontarian Franco-Ontarians ( or if female, sometimes known as ''Ontarois'' and ''Ontaroises'') are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2021, according to the Government of Ontario, ther ...

population and culture, Rayside-Balfour was the only town in the regional municipality which had a majority

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

population. It remains as such still today.

History

On January 1, 2001, the town and the Regional Municipality were dissolved and amalgamated into the city of

. The Rayside-Balfour area is now divided between Wards 3 and 4 on Greater Sudbury City Council, and is represented by councillors Gerry Montpellier and Geoff McCausland. In 2006, there was interest in the deamalgamation of the former town of Rayside-Balfour from the City of Greater Sudbury. However, as any referendum on the matter would require the consent of the provincial government, any such move is not likely to take place. In the

Canada 2011 Census The 2011 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population on May 10, 2011. Statistics Canada, an agency of the Canadian government, conducts a nationwide census every five years. In 2011, it consisted of a mandatory short for ...

, the entire main populated core of Rayside-Balfour was counted as part of the ''population centre'' (or

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

) of Sudbury, with no separate population statistics published for the Rayside-Balfour area alone. However, the four census tracts corresponding to the former Rayside-Balfour had a total population of 14,557. For 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 ...

, Chelmsford and Azilda were removed from the Sudbury population centre and each aggregated as their own new population centres, with Azilda having a population of 4,663 and Chelmsford having a population of 6,215. The latest population trend is increasing in Azilda, but relatively stable in Chelmsford.

Communities

Azilda

Azilda gets its name from Azilda Bélanger (née Brisebois), the first female pioneer of the area and wife of Joseph Bélanger, mayor of Rayside from 1899 to 1900 and again in 1905. She was well known in the town, especially for her healing abilities. The town had originally applied for the name Ste-Azilda until it was realized that there was no saint with that name. The community borders the shores of Whitewater Lake, except for its most western portion. Municipal Road 35, linking Azilda to downtown Sudbury, has been increased from two lanes to four lanes, which has improved the commute for Azilda's workers, who are mostly employed in the city's urban core. In addition, it shortens the travel time for tourists hoping to visit Sudbury Downs, which is located in the outskirts of Azilda. There are plans to complete the widening of Municipal Road 35 between Azilda and

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

, on which construction began in 2019 and is scheduled to be completed in 2020. On September 12, 1906, Azilda was the site of a train wreck. While the population is still growing, there are no industries other than basic agriculture (corn, potatoes, beans) and horticulture. Much of the workforce travels to Sudbury to work, often in the primary industries such as mining. Azilda's telephone and postal service also includes the smaller local neighbourhood of Bélangerville. Azilda has its own flag that was revealed in 2021.‘Dream project’: Azilda now has its own flag
''sudbury.com'', January 16, 2021 Its offices are in the Former École Secondaire Rayside building

Chelmsford

Founded in 1868, Chelmsford started out as an outpost on the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

. Some say Chelmsford was named by a Canadian Pacific Railway engineer from 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. As with many communities in

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksfur trapping were the first industries. Having depleted the lumber in the early 1900s, Chelmsford turned to mining and agriculture to support the town's economy. Errington Mine and Nickel Offset mine were two of the largest mines in Chelmsford and both closed in the 1930s. In 1909, Chelmsford was separately incorporated as a town. It retained this status until 1968, when it was reamalgamated with the township of Balfour. Today, Chelmsford has no major industries and is mostly a residential community. Although there are still some farms producing mostly

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

es, small

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

s and

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

, it is mostly supported by the mining activities in the nearby communities of Onaping Falls and

Copper Cliff This is a list of neighbourhoods in the urban core of Greater Sudbury, Ontario. This list includes only those neighbourhoods that fall within the pre-2001 city limits of Sudbury — for communities within the former suburban municipalities, see ...

. Postal delivery and telephone service in Chelmsford also includes the smaller neighbourhoods of Boninville and Larchwood. Chelmsford is host to an annual fiddle festival, Fiddle Works, in May. Its offices are on Highway 144 beside Petro-Canada.

Boninville

Boninville is located on the border with Valley-East in the Rayside Township. The name was created from two prominent farming families in the area: Bonin and Rainville. The main intersection is at Montée Rouleau and Rue St-Laurent. The area is known for potato farming. The families are French-Canadian and worship at the Roman Catholic Church Notre-Dame-du-Très-Saint-Rosaire in Blezard Valley. Its offices are between Val Caron and Chelmsford

Languages

The towns have different languages. However, Chelmsford has a stronger francophone population with 53% speaking French at home and the 47% remaining speaking English at home and Azilda on the other hand has a slight anglophone population with 52% speaking and 48% French speaking.

Economy

* R.M. Bélanger Ltd. (1961), construction company

Politics

Rayside-Balfour had two mayors prior to the amalgamation of Greater Sudbury: Gilles Pelland (1972–1988) and Lionel Lalonde (1988–2000). As part of the city, it is divided between Ward 3 (Chelmsford and the former town of Onaping Falls) and Ward 4 (Azilda and the northwestern portion of the former city of Sudbury) on Greater Sudbury City Council, represented by city councillors Gerry Montpellier and Geoff McCausland since October 2018 respectively. The Rayside-Balfour area is in the federal riding of Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, represented in the Canadian House of Commons by Jim Belanger of the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

, and in the provincial riding of Nickel Belt, represented by

France Gélinas France Gélinas is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who was elected in 2007. She represents the riding of Nickel Belt. Background Gélinas was born and raised in Shawiniga ...

of the

Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP; , NPD) is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. It is Ontario’s provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. The ...

. As tradition goes, the area itself generally votes NDP both provincially and federally.

Transportation

Chelmsford and Azilda are served by Greater Sudbury Transit'
702 Azilda/Chelmsford
bus, which departs approximately every 2 hours. Both communities are also connection points for Greater Sudbury Transit's transcab service, which connects passengers along Municipal Road 15 to Blezard Valley at Azilda, and Dowling, Onaping, and Levack at Chelmsford respectively. For intercity transit, both communities are

flag stop In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a bus stop, stop or train station, station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or drop ...

s for

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

's Sudbury–White River route, as well as Ontario Northland's coach service.

Education

Azilda Students: those in the English Catholic stream attend St Charles School in the neighbouring community of Chelmsford and Bishop Carter Alexander Catholic Secondary School in Hanmer for boys and Marymount Academy for girls in nearby Uptown Sudbury. Those in the English public stream attend Chelmsford Public School and Chelmsford Valley District Composite School. Both of these schools are in the neighbouring community of Chelmsford. Those in the French Catholic stream attend École Ste-Marie in Azilda and École secondaire catholique Champlain in the neighbouring community of Chelmsford or Collège Notre-Dame in Sudbury. Those in the French public stream attend Franco-Nord and École secondaire Macdonald-Cartier. Chelmsford Students: those in the English catholic stream attend St Charles School and Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School for boys and Marymount Academy for girls. Both of those schools in the neighbouring communities of Hanmer and Uptown Sudbury. Those in the English public stream attend Chelmsford Public School and Chelmsford Valley District Composite School. Those in the French Catholic stream attend École Alliance-St-Joseph and École secondaire catholique Champlain or Collège Notre-Dame. Those in the French public stream attend École Pavilion de L'Avenir and École secondaire Macdonald-Cartier

Notable people

* Robert Campeau, financier * Randy Carlyle, NHL hockey player * Chuck Labelle, musician * Stéphane Paquette, musician and actor

References

External links

www.azilda.ca
- Azilda Community Action Network
Hello Chelmsford
- Chelmsford Community Action Network {{authority control Neighbourhoods in Greater Sudbury Populated places established in 1973 Former towns in Ontario Populated places disestablished in 2000