
Essa is a township 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, west and south of the city of
Barrie
Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...
in
Simcoe County
Simcoe County is a county and census division located in the central region of Ontario, Canada. The county is located north of the Greater Toronto Area, and forms the north western edge of the Golden Horseshoe. The county seat is located in Mi ...
. It is bounded by County Road 90 to its north, County Road 27 to its east, and
Ontario Highway 89 to its south. The township is about from
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
. 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 as 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, the former Member of Parliament for
Simcoe—Grey, 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.
Frederick Grant Banting (1891–1941), co-discoverer of
insulin
Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...
, was born in Essa.
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 State police, provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. The OPP patrols Provincial highways in Ontario, provincial highways and waterways; protects Government of Ontario, provincial government buil ...
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 ...
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 County ...
.
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)
There is also a private high school
* Convoy International Secondary Academy (Utopia)
This school is inspected by the Ministry of Education and approved to give credits for grade 9-12 courses. The school is a private day and boarding school for local and international students. Convoy offers in-class and online classes to meet each student’s needs.
Climate
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 ...
, 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.
See also
*
List of townships in Ontario
This is a list of township (Canada), townships in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Townships are listed by List of census divisions of Ontario, census division.
Northern Ontario Northeastern Ontario Algoma D ...
*
List of francophone communities in Ontario
This is a list of francophone communities in Ontario. Municipalities with a high percentage of French-speakers in the Canadian province of Ontario are listed.
The provincial average of Ontarians whose mother tongue is French is 3.3%, with a to ...
References
External links
*
{{Simcoe County
Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario
Municipalities in Simcoe County
Township municipalities in Ontario