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Torbay is a town located on the eastern side of the
Avalon Peninsula The Avalon Peninsula () is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland in Canada. It is in size. The peninsula is home to 270,348 people, about 52% of the province's population, according to the 2016 Ca ...
in
Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...
, Canada. The town is located north of the capital city of St. John's and is part of the St. John's metropolitan area. Due to Torbay's close proximity to St. John's, the town's population is quickly growing. According to the 2021 census the population was 7,852, up from 7,397 in 2011.


History

The name Torbay comes from
Torbay Torbay is a unitary authority with a borough status in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. It is governed by Torbay Council, based in the town of Torquay, and also includes the towns of Paignton and Brixham. The borough consists of ...
,
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
, England and was first mapped in 1615 by John Mason. It comes from the old
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
"
Tor Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Toronto, Canada ** Toronto Raptors * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor ...
" which means "a rocky hill". Both places are geographically similar with wide-open bays that face in a northeasterly direction. An extract from Bishop Feild's journal states, "indeed there seems to be a little colony of Devon folk in Torbay." John Nutt, the pirate, settled here with his family from Devon. The community of Torbay experienced three French campaigns, the first of which occurred in December 1696. These invasions contributed to the eventual construction of the Torbay Battery in 1781, which was manned by 25 troops from the 71st Regiment and
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
. The ordnance was eventually withdrawn in 1795. The census of 1677 indicated the Cole and Corum families as residing in "Tarr-Bay" Newfoundland. The following year the Field Family joined them. By 1794 the population of Torbay included many of the surnames now associated with Torbay and totalled 108 English settlers and 99 Irish settlers. The Way Office, a mail handling facility used where there was not enough business to warrant a full post office, was established in 1891. The early history of the community was further highlighted by the landing of Colonel William Amherst and his troops in 1762 on their way to re-capturing the capital city of St. John's from the French. This event was officially recognized in 1978 when the first mayor of Torbay, William Manning, unveiled a stone monument and plaque at the present day Veterans Memorial Park.


Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population 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 ...
, Torbay 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.


Geography


Climate

Climate is from St. John's International Airport (approximately south southwest of Torbay).


Economy

The town of Torbay is a
bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
, with most of the workforce commuting to the nearby cities of St. John's and
Mount Pearl Mount Pearl is the fourth-largest municipality and second-largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The city is located southwest of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the isla ...
. No
public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...
links St. John's to its northern suburbs and exurbs, and all such commutes are done by car only. The town's economy is driven mostly by service industries that serve the residents such as a grocery store, convenience stores, doctors offices, hair salons, real-estate offices and restaurants among others. With population growth in the town in recent years the housing market has become a significant part of the local economy. Torbay has become the most expensive housing market in the province with average home prices surpassing $375,000. Between 2009 and 2010 the town also saw the largest appreciation in housing prices in the St. John's CMA, with housing prices rising 32%.


Transportation


Air

The town is serviced by St. John's International Airport, which was formally the Torbay Airport. Airlines include
Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...
, Air Canada Express,
Air Labrador Labrador Airways Limited, operating as Air Labrador, was a regional airline based at the Goose Bay Airport in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It operated scheduled daily passenger and freight services throughout Labr ...
, Air Saint-Pierre,
Air Transat Air Transat () is a List of airlines of Canada, Canadian airline headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1986, it operates scheduled and charter flights serving 60 destinations in 25 countries. Air Transat is owned and operated by Transa ...
,
Porter Airlines Porter Airlines (stylized in Letter case#All lowercase, all lowercase as porter) is a Canadian airline headquartered at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in Toronto. It is the third largest airline in Canada, behind Air Canada and WestJet. Owned ...
,
Provincial Airlines Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...
,
Sunwing Airlines Sunwing Airlines Inc. was a Canadian low-cost airline headquartered in Toronto, Ontario with its main bases at Montréal–Trudeau International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport. From 2023 onwards, it was a subsidiary of W ...
,
WestJet WestJet Airlines, is a Canadian airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Founded in 1994, it is the second-largest airline in Canada and the eighth-largest airline in North America by frequency. It began operations in 1996 with 220 employee ...
and
WestJet Encore WestJet Encore is a Canadian regional airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta that operates feeder flights for WestJet, owned by the same parent company WestJet Airlines, Ltd. WestJet Encore was formed in 2013 to allow the increased freque ...
. The airport offers services across Canada and 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 ...
and
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, Saint-Pierre and the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
.


Road


Torbay Bypass

Prior to 2011, the only major route into Torbay was Torbay Road (route 20). 2011 saw the opening of the Torbay Bypass, a $22.7 million project that required three years to complete. The south end of the bypass begins at a traffic light-controlled T-intersection with Torbay Road, North of the Stavanger Drive shopping area, and runs 7.7 km north with access via traffic lights to Indian Meal Line, and Bauline Line, before it meets Torbay Road at its northern terminus. This project also saw upgrades to portions of Torbay Road, and includes multiple grade-separated crossings.


Government


Municipal

The town council of Torbay is composed of a mayor, deputy mayor and five councillors (at large). The mayor and councillors are elected during the municipal election, which is held every four years on the last Tuesday in September. Traditionally the councillor with the highest numbers of votes is selected and confirmed as deputy mayor during the first official meeting of the new council, the mayor is elected by separate ballot. In Newfoundland and Labrador, municipal elections are nonpartisan. ''Current Torbay Town Council'' of the 2021–2025 term is represented by ''acclaimed'' Mayor Craig Scott, Deputy Mayor Mary Thorne-Gosse and five Councillors Ralph Tapper, Rhonda Manning, Trina Appleby, Ward Gosse, Tony Pollard.


Provincial

Torbay is a part of the provincial electoral district of Cape St. Francis, the district is a tory stronghold and is currently represented by Progressive Conservative (PC) MHA Joedy Wall.


Federal

The town is represented in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
by the federal riding of St. John's East, formally St. John's North. The seat was another tory stronghold and was represented by
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
MPs for the majority of time since 1949. The federal riding is now represented by Liberal Party MP Joanne Thompson.


Sports


Hockey

The town is home to the Northeast Eagles, which offers novice, atom, peewee and bantam hockey for youths. The town also has a senior hockey team for adults, both teams play at the Jack Byrne Arena. The arena is Torbay's first hockey arena which opened in October 2008, under the name North East Avalon Arena. In March 2009 the arena was officially opened by Premier Danny Williams and was renamed the Jack Byrne Arena after the former MHA who had died in early 2008.


Soccer

The Torbay soccer association runs soccer games throughout the summer for youths.


Softball

The town offers three adult softball leagues along with a minor softball house league. There is a ladies recreational league, an over 18 men's league and the long running Avalon East Slo-Pitch over 35 gentlemen's league.


Education

The town is home to Holy Trinity Elementary which offers kindergarten to grade 4 education, Juniper Ridge Intermediate which offers grades 5 to 8 and Holy Trinity High which offers education from grades 9 to 12.Holy Trinity High
/ref> English and
French immersion French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which students who do not speak French as a first language will receive instruction in French. In most French- immersion schools, students will learn to speak French and learn most subjects ...
education is offered at both schools. A new elementary school was constructed to replace the former Holy Trinity Elementary; the school opened in September 2010. The School is still called Holy Trinity Elementary School. Juniper Ridge Intermediate was opened in September 2018 with attending students from the surrounding area.


See also

*
List of municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the Population of Canada by province and territory, ninth-most populous provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada, with 510,550 residents recorded in the 2021 Canadian Census, and is the List of Canadian ...
* List of people from Newfoundland and Labrador *
List of communities in Newfoundland and Labrador This article lists unincorporated communities of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Incorporated towns and cities are incorporated municipalities and can be found on List of municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador. Newfoundl ...


Notes


References


External links


Town of Torbay Official WebsiteThe Jack Byne Arena Official WebsiteTorbay - Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, vol.5, p. 398-400.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torbay, Newfoundland And Labrador Populated coastal places in Canada Towns in Newfoundland and Labrador