Georgina is a town in south-central

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 ...

. The northernmost municipality in 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 ...

, the town is bounded to the north by

Lake Simcoe Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly within the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century, the lake was called ''Ouentir ...

. Although incorporated as a town, it operates as a township in which dispersed communities share a common administrative council. The largest communities are Keswick,

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

, and

Jackson's Point Jackson's Point is a summer resort harbour located in the township of Georgina, on Lake Simcoe in Ontario, Canada. It was originally part of a naval land grant made to Captain William Bourchier (December 9, 1791 – January 22, 1844) in 1819 (Bo ...

. Smaller communities include

Pefferlaw Pefferlaw is a community within the Town of Georgina, located 3 kilometres south of the southeastern shores of Lake Simcoe. The Pefferlaw River runs south of the community's commercial district. Pefferlaw is passed on the north by Highway 48 and ...

, Port Bolster,

Roches Point Roche (F. Hoffmann–La Roche) is a Swiss healthcare company. Roche may also refer to: Companies *Roche Diagnostics, a division of F. Hoffmann–La Roche ** Roche Applied Science, a business group of Roche Diagnostics *The Roche Group, an Austra ...

, Udora, and Willow Beach. The town was formed by the merger of the Village of Sutton, the Township of Georgina, and the Township of North Gwillimbury in 1971 and incorporated in 1986. North Gwillimbury had been part of Georgina but became its own township in 1826. It took 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''.

Municipal composition

The main centres in Georgina are the communities of Keswick, Belhaven, Sutton West, Jackson's Point, Baldwin, Virginia,

, Port Bolster, Udora, and Willow Beach. Other settlements include Jersey, Cedarbrae, Brown Hill, Island Grove, Maple Hill, Elm Grove, Roches Point (named for the family of Author Mazo de la Roche, who is buried in the cemetery, at St. George's Anglican Church, Sibbald Point), Sibbald Point, Virginia/Virginia Beach (originally called Frenchtown), McRae Beach, Duclos Point, Balfour Beach, Varney, Brighton Beach, and a variety of other beach communities.

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 ...

, Georgina 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. Racial profile As per the 2011 Canadian Census *96.1%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

*1.6% Aboriginal *0.5%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

*0.3%

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

Religions *45.7%

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

*22.4%

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

*3.3% other

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

*0.3%

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

*28.3% non-religious Mother Tongue * 90.3% English * 1.2% French * 1.0% German * 1.0% Italian

Government

The Town of Georgina operates under a ward system, and its municipal council consists of the mayor, regional councillor (known procedurally as deputy mayor) and a councillor for each of the five wards. The current council consists of: * Mayor: Margaret Quirk * Deputy Mayor/Regional Councillor: Naomi Davison * Councillor Ward 1: Charlene Biggerstaff * Councillor Ward 2: Dan Fellini * Councillor Ward 3: Dave Neeson * Councillor Ward 4: Dale Kerr Genge * Councillor Ward 5: Lee Dale The mayor and the deputy mayor represent Georgina at meetings of

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 ...

. Georgina was part of the riding of York—Simcoe until 2025 and is now part of the federal riding of

York—Durham York—Durham is a federal electoral district in central Ontario, Canada. It came into effect upon the call of the 2025 Canadian federal election. Geography The district will include Georgina, part of Whitchurch-Stouffville, Brock, Scugog ...

, represented by Jacob Mantle 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 ...

, who was elected in

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

. Provincially, it was part of the riding of

York North York North was a federal riding in Ontario, Canada, that was in the House of Commons of Canada from Confederation in 1867 until 2004. The federal riding was eliminated in 2003 when it was redistributed between two new ridings of Newmarket� ...

until 2007 and is now part of the provincial riding of York—Simcoe, represented by

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 ...

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 ...

Attractions

* Captain William Johnson's Old Mill * St. George's Anglican Church, built in 1877 by the pioneering Sibbald family and burial place of

Stephen Leacock Stephen Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humourist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humourist in the world. Early life S ...

and

Mazo de la Roche Mazo de la Roche (; born Maisie Louise Roche; January 15, 1879 – July 12, 1961) was a Canadian writer who was the author of the ''Jalna (novel series), Jalna'' novels, one of the most popular series of books of her time. Biography Early lif ...

* Roche's Point Anglican Church, built in 1862 * The ROC (Recreational Outdoor Campus), including the Georgina Pioneer Village Museum and Archives * The Red Barn Theatre, Canada's oldest summer stock theatre. urrently not operating due to a fire in 2010.ref name="townhistory" /> * Stephen Leacock Theatre * Georgina Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Information Centre * Duclos Point Nature Reserve * Georgina Arts Centre and Gallery * The

Peter Gzowski Peter John Gzowski (July 13, 1934 – January 24, 2002), known colloquially as "Mr. Canada", or "Captain Canada",Mary Gazze Canadian Press via The ''Toronto Star'', August 23, 2010. Retrieved 2016-06-27. was a Canadian broadcaster, write ...

Festival of Stories *

Georgina Public Libraries Georgina Public Library is a library system with locations in Keswick, Sutton and Pefferlaw, Ontario, Canada. It was founded when the Town of Georgina was formed from North Gwillimbury Township, the Village of Sutton, and Township of Georgina in ...

* York Regional Forests *

Sibbald Point Provincial Park Sibbald Point Provincial Park is a provincial park located in Sutton West, Ontario, Canada on the southern shores of Lake Simcoe, north of Toronto. The park is located to the east of the vacation town of Jackson's Point, and The Briars Resort ...

* Sutton Fair and Horse Show * Ramada Jacksons Point Resort and Spa * Willow Beach Conservation Area * Georgina Military Museum *

The Briars (Georgina) The Briars is an Ontario lakeside resort located in the Jackson's Point area of Georgina, Ontario. Portions of the resort are protected by an Ontario Heritage Trust conservation easement. The Manor House and the Peacock House are the protected se ...

Climate

Notable residents

*Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame member

Whipper Billy Watson William John Potts, (June 25, 1915 – February 4, 1990) was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name "Whipper" Billy Watson. He was a two-time world champion, having held both the National Wrestling Association title and th ...

was a lifelong resident, and he spearheaded the campaign to build the Georgina Cultural Centre in the 1980s, which also houses the Stephen Leacock Theatre. *Keswick is the birthplace and childhood home of former NHL goaltender

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 ...

. * Captain William Johnson, former

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer and founder of

Pefferlaw, Ontario Pefferlaw is a community within the Town of Georgina, located 3 kilometres south of the southeastern shores of Lake Simcoe. The Pefferlaw River runs south of the community's commercial district. Pefferlaw is passed on the north by Highway 48 an ...

. * Noted writer

settled on a farm near Egypt, a hamlet within Georgina. *

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. Known primarily for his energetic slapstick performances, he has received two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for BAFTA Awards and ...

, a Canadian actor, comedian, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer. He was born in nearby Newmarket. His family settled in

in his late teens. *

and her husband own land in Jackson's Point.

Local media

* ''Georgina Advocate'

(Metroland Media Group)

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Towns in Ontario 1971 establishments in Ontario