East Gwillimbury is a town (lower-tier municipality) on the

East Holland River The East Holland River is a river in Ontario, Canada that is part of the Holland River watershed that empties into Cook's Bay in Lake Simcoe. The headwaters of the East Holland River rise in the Oak Ridges Moraine. The river runs generally north f ...

in the upper-tier municipality the

Regional Municipality of York The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional ...

. It is part of the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

of southern

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 ...

, in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It was formed by the amalgamation of the Township of East Gwillimbury with all the previously incorporated villages and hamlets within the township. The main centres in East Gwillimbury are the villages of

Holland Landing Holland Landing is a community in the town of East Gwillimbury, located in the northern part of the Regional Municipality of York, in south-central Ontario, Canada. Its major road is Yonge Street (bypassed by the former Highway 11) and the commu ...

Queensville Queensville is a village within the Town of East Gwillimbury, Ontario, Canada. History Originally named ''Four Corners'' and ''Hackett's Corners'' (after William Hackett owner of a general store), it was renamed as ''Queensville'' in 1843 to h ...

Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...

, and Mount Albert. The Civic Centre (municipal offices) are located along

Leslie Street Leslie Street is a north-south route in Toronto and York Region, Ontario, Canada. It is distinctive because of its four unconnected segments. History The road has a long history and dates back to 1850s Toronto Nursery that was run by Georg ...

in Sharon. The northernmost

interchange Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

of Highway 404 is at the North edge of East Gwillimbury, just south of

Ravenshoe Road York Region, located in southcentral Ontario, Canada, assigned approximately 50 regional roads, each with a number ranging from 1 to 99. All expenses for York Regional Roads (i.e: maintenance, traffic lights, and snow clearing) are funded by the ...

. The hamlets of Holt and Brown Hill are also within town limits. East Gwillimbury takes its name from the family of

Elizabeth Simcoe Dame Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe (22 September 1762 – 17 January 1850) was an English artist and Diary, diarist in Canada under British Imperial control (1764-1867), colonial Canada. Her husband, John Graves Simcoe, was the first Lieutenant Gove ...

, née ''Gwillim'', wife of Sir

John Graves Simcoe Lieutenant-General (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 u ...

, the first Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.

Government

The municipal council consists of a mayor and four councillors elected at large, with the mayor also representing the town in

York Regional Council York Regional Council is the political body for the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario, Canada. Created in 1970, it consists of 21 elected representatives plus the appointed Regional Chair. The elected members are the mayors of each of its n ...

. The current and recent mayors are: Virginia Hackson was elected mayor in the 2010 election, and re-elected in 2014 and 2018. In the 2018 election, where council was elected for a four-year term, East Gwillimbury's council was elected on the basis of three wards, with two councillors from each ward. The elected councillors were Loralea Carruthers, Terry Foster, Joe Persechini, Tara Roy-Diclemente, Cathy Morton and Scott Crone. The Federal Member of Parliament is Scot Davidson 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 ...

representing the riding of New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, who was elected in a by-election on February 25, 2019. He replaced

Peter Van Loan Peter Leo Van Loan, (born April 18, 1963) is a Canadian former politician who served as the Member of Parliament for the electoral district of York—Simcoe from 2004 to 2018. He was the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons from ...

, who retired as of September 30, 2018. The Member of Provincial Parliament is

Caroline Mulroney Caroline Anne Mulroney Lapham, (born June 11, 1974) is a Canadian businesswoman, jurist, lawyer, and politician who currently serves as the President of the Treasury Board of Ontario and Minister of Francophone Affairs. Born in Montreal, Ca ...

, a member of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC; ), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party, or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada. During its uninterr ...

, representing the provincial riding of York—Simcoe, who won the seat in the 2018 provincial election.

Emergency services

There are three fire and emergency services locations, in Holland Landing, Mount Albert and Queensville. They are each staffed by a District Fire Chief and volunteer firefighters. Police services are provided by the

York Regional Police The York Regional Police (YRP; ) is the police service of the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, Canada. YRP was formed in 1971 from the police forces maintained by the nine municipalities which amalgamated into York Region at the time. The ...

Planning

In March, 2006 the town council passed a policy during the Committee of the Whole Council Meeting which requires all residential developments of at least ten units to comply with

Energy Star Energy Star (trademarked ENERGY STAR) is an Efficient energy use, energy-efficiency program established in 1992. It is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The EPA ...

qualifications. The town's mayor described potential benefits of the program: "Energy efficient housing is the best way to ensure that East Gwillimbury's residents are insulated against rising energy costs and won't have to make costly energy efficiency upgrade retrofits in the future." The program was developed in conjunction with the development community, and stipulates "that homes in new subdivisions must — emphasis here on ''must'' — have some of the most efficient hot water, heating and air conditioning systems, be upgraded with top-rated insulation, and have draft-proof windows." East Gwillimbury is the first jurisdiction in Canada to require Energy Star certification for residential units.

The 2010 Official Plan

In June 2010, town council passed the Official Plan for the Town of East Gwillimbury. The Official Plan was praised for its consultations with the public, developers, and other stakeholders. Designated as a future growth area under the Places to Grow Act by the Province of Ontario, East Gwillimbury will see growth from 23,000 residents in 2010, to approximately 88,400 people and 34,000 jobs by the year 2031. Despite the large amount of growth, almost 75% of East Gwillimbury land will not be developed as it is part of both the

Greenbelt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or gree ...

and the

Oak Ridges Moraine The Oak Ridges Moraine is an Ecology, ecologically important Geology, geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon, Ontario, Caledon and Rice Lake (Ontario ...

. Rather than being spread out throughout the town, growth will be concentrated in the existing villages of

and Mount Albert. Queensville will see the most growth, going from a population of 650 people in 2010, to over 30,000 residents. Much of the growth has been proposed since the early 1990s – however, growth in East Gwillimbury cannot occur until the York–Durham Sewage System is extended into the town, which has been postponed until 2012 or 2013, when costs are lowered. In October 2011, the

advised the

Ontario Municipal Board The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) was an independent administrative board, operated as an adjudicative tribunal, in the province of Ontario, Canada. It heard applications and appeals on municipal and planning disputes, as well as other matters s ...

, that they support the Official Plan for East Gwillimbury.

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; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, East Gwillimbury 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.

Climate

East Gwillimbury has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Dfb'').

Attractions

The

Sharon Temple The Sharon Temple is an open-air museum site, located in the village of Sharon, Ontario, that was in 1990 designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. It is composed of eight heritage buildings and dwellings, and houses 6,000 artifacts on ...

is located in the village of Sharon, Ontario. It was designated as a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

in 1990. The site is composed of eight distinctive heritage buildings and dwellings, and houses 6,000 artifacts on a site. The Temple was constructed between 1825 and 1831 by the "Children of Peace", a Quaker sect led by David Willson, on whose property it was built. East Gwillimbury GO Station 0512

Bare Oaks Family Naturist Park Bare Oaks Family Naturist Park is a naturist resort located in southern Ontario, about from Toronto. It encompasses typical amenities for day users, 110 serviced campsites, five cabins, and five guest rooms. The club is situated on of privately ...

is a naturist (nudist) park located between the villages of Sharon and Mount Albert. It attracts thousands of visitors to East Gwillimbury and has a significant economic impact on area tourism. It has been in that location since 1972 when it was known as the Toronto Helios Society. Stardust Drive-In Theatre on Mount Albert Road opened in 1950s as North York Drive-In and is one of a handful of drive-in theatres remaining in

Education

Schools in East Gwillimbury are governed by the

York Region District School Board The York Region District School Board (YRDSB), until 1999, English-language Public District School Board No. 16 is the English-language public school board for the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario, Canada. The York Region District School ...

and the

York Catholic District School Board The York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 42 prior to 1999) is the English-language public-separate school district authority for the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario, Cana ...

. There are several elementary schools. Under the public system, the school board operates Holland Landing Public School, Park Avenue Public School, located in

and Phoebe Gilman Public School in the Harvest Hills neighborhood. Sharon Public School, Queensville Public School and Mt. Albert Public School are located in

and Mount Albert respectively. The

operates Good Shepherd Catholic School (

and Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Elementary School in

). There are currently no secondary schools in East Gwillimbury, so students in

attend Dr. John M. Denison Secondary School in Newmarket and students from

and Mount Albert attend Huron Heights Secondary School, also in Newmarket or Stouffville District Secondary School located in Whitchurch-Stouffville. Good Shepherd and Our Lady of Good Counsel students may proceed to Sacred Heart Catholic High School for secondary school. No post-secondary campuses are located in East Gwillimbury, though there are plans to bring a post-secondary institution to the

area. East Gwillimbury's newest public school, Robert Munsch Public School, opened in 2014 in Mount Albert.

Transportation

Local public transportation is provided by

York Region Transit York Region Transit (YRT) is the public transit operator in York Region, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Richmond Hill, at 50 High Tech Road. YRT operates 65 full-time rush hour and limited routes, 35 school services, and six Viva ...

, who operate bus services to Sharon, Holland Landing and Mount Albert.

GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven mil ...

also offers commuter train and bus services to Toronto through its East Gwillimbury Station on the

Barrie line Barrie is one of the seven commuter lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Union Station in Toronto in a generally northward direction to Barrie, and includes ten stations along its route ...

Ontario Highway 404 King's Highway 404 (pronounced "four-oh-four"), also known as Highway 404 and colloquially as the 404, is a north-south 400-series highways, 400-series highway in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. A continua ...

has been extended to just south of Keswick in the Town of Georgina, passing through East Gwillimbury. The town is served by three interchanges along Highway 404, namely Green Lane just north of Newmarket, Queensville Sideroad, and Woodbine Ave at the north end.

History

East Gwillimbury began with the early development of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe in the late 18th century. On his order,

Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...

was constructed from

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 (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

to what is now the village of

in East Gwillimbury. The areas to the north and east were named East Gwillimbury and North Gwillimbury in honour of Simcoe's wife, Elizabeth Gwillim. In 1849 the Baldwin Act incorporated the Township of East Gwillimbury effective January 1, 1850. The Province of Ontario incorporated the Town of East Gwillimbury effective January 1, 1971. As the East Gwillimbury area grew, a number of communities developed. They were the villages or hamlets of Brown Hill, Franklin,

, Holt (formerly Eastville), Mount Albert,

(formerly colloquially known as The Four Corners), Ravenshoe, River Drive, and

(formerly Hope). In 1913, all township records were destroyed in a fire at the clerk's office in Queensville.

Notable people

* William S. Beaton, former mayor of Sudbury * Sam Bennett, NHL player with the Florida Panthers *

John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian who is best known for his work in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood films. Candy first rose to national prominence in the 1970s as a member of the Tor ...

, actor and comedian *

Ebenezer Doan Ebenezer Doan, Jr. (1772–1866) was the Master Builder or architect-contractor in charge of designing and building the Sharon Temple, a National Historic Site of Canada. Doan was a highly accomplished builder, as evidenced by the creative techniq ...

, master builder of

Samuel Lount Samuel Lount (September 24, 1791 – April 12, 1838) was a blacksmith, farmer, magistrate and member of the Legislative Assembly in the province of Upper Canada for Simcoe County from 1834 to 1836. He was an organizer of the failed Upper Ca ...

, organizer of the 1837

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the Oligarchy, oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the Lower Canada Rebe ...

Curtis Joseph Curtis Shayne Joseph (né Munro; born April 29, 1967) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional player. Nicknamed "Cujo", Joseph was immediately recognizable on the ice for his masks featuring a snarling dog, drawing inspiration from ...

, retired NHL goalie *

Guy Paul Morin Guy Paul Morin is a Canadian who was wrongfully convicted of the October 1984 rape and murder of his nine-year-old next-door neighbour, Christine Jessop of Queensville, north of Toronto, Ontario. DNA testing led to a subsequent overturning of ...

, wrongly convicted *

Brett Rheeder Brett Rheeder (born February 16, 1993) is a professional freeride (mountain biking), freeride mountain bike rider from Mount Albert, Ontario. Rheeder is an X-Games athlete and gold medalist winner of the 2013 Munich Slopestyle Mountain Bike event ...

, mountain biker * David Willson, founder of the Children of Peace

References

External links

* {{Authority control Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Towns in Ontario