The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a
regional municipality
A regional municipality (or region) is a type of Canadian municipal government similar to and at the same municipal government level as a county, although the specific structure and servicing responsibilities may vary from place to place. R ...
in
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a Region, primary region of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada, with approximately 13.5 million people, approximately 36% o ...
, Canada, between
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 ...
and
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 region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional Municipality of York, in 1970. It replaced the former
York County in 1971, and 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 ...
and the inner ring of the
Golden Horseshoe
The Golden Horseshoe () is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. T ...
. The regional government is headquartered in
Newmarket.
As of the
2021 census, York Region's population was 1,173,334, with a growth rate of 5.7% from 2016.
The
Government of Ontario
The Government of Ontario () is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. The term ''Government of Ontario'' refers specifically to the executive—political Minister ...
expects its population to surpass 1.5 million residents by 2031. The three largest cities in York Region are
Markham Markham may refer to:
Biology
* Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia
* Markham's grass mouse (''Abrothrix olivaceus markhami''), a rodent subspecies found on Wellington Island and the ne ...
,
Vaughan
Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...
and
Richmond Hill.
History
At a meeting in
Richmond Hill on May 6, 1970, officials representing the municipalities of
York County approved plans for the creation of a regional government entity to replace York County.
The plan had been presented in 1969 by
Darcy McKeough
William Darcy McKeough (January 31, 1933 – November 29, 2023) was a Canadian politician in Ontario. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1963 to 1978 who represented the ridings of Kent West ...
, the Ontario
Minister of Municipal Affairs, taking about a year to determine municipal boundaries within the new regional government.
The Regional Municipality of York was created by Act of the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...
in 1970 (Bill 102 An Act to Establish The Regional Municipality of York), which took effect on January 1, 1971. The creation of the regional municipality resulted in the consolidation of the fourteen former municipalities of York County into nine new municipalities:
The township of Whitchurch merged with the town of
Stouffville
Stouffville () is the primary urban area within the town of Whitchurch-Stouffville in York Region, Ontario, Canada. It is situated within the Greater Toronto Area and the inner ring of the Golden Horseshoe. The urban area is centred at the inte ...
to create the town of
Whitchurch–Stouffville
Whitchurch-Stouffville ( 2021 population 49,864) is a town in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada, approximately north of downtown Toronto, and north-east of Toronto Pearson International Airport. It is in area, and located in the ...
, ceding land to
Aurora
An aurora ( aurorae or auroras),
also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
,
Newmarket, and Richmond Hill to the west of the proposed
Highway 404 and annexing a northern strip of land from the township of
Markham Markham may refer to:
Biology
* Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia
* Markham's grass mouse (''Abrothrix olivaceus markhami''), a rodent subspecies found on Wellington Island and the ne ...
.
The western boundary of the new town of Markham was defined to be at
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, ...
, where its northern boundary was formed with Richmond Hill (to which it ceded land
) and its western boundary with the new town
Vaughan
Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...
.
The new town of Vaughan would consist of all communities in the area bounded by Markham and Richmond Hill in the east, Metro Toronto in the south, the periphery of the regional municipality in the west, and the new township of
King
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
in the north.
The townships of Georgina, North Gwillimbury, and Sutton were merged into the township of
Georgina, and the
East Gwillimbury
East Gwillimbury is a town (lower-tier municipality) on the East Holland River in the upper-tier municipality the Regional Municipality of York. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area of southern Ontario, in Canada. It was formed by the amalgama ...
neighbourhood of East Gwillimbury Heights was merged into Newmarket.
King formed the northwestern part of the new region, but the eastern lot from
Bathurst Street to Yonge Street was ceded to Newmarket, Aurora, and
Oak Ridges, the last of which became a part of Richmond Hill.
The boundary between Aurora and Newmarket was defined to be St. John's Sideroad, and Newmarket's northern boundary was defined to be Green Lane.
The towns of Aurora, Newmarket, and Richmond Hill were defined to be the growth centres for the regional municipality, which was to become a
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 ...
between the denser urban areas of Toronto to the south and
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 ...
to the north.
The growth centres were each restricted to grow to a maximum population of 25,000 by 2000,
and the regional municipality to 300,000.
The municipal realignment merged 40% of East Gwillimbury's population into Newmarket.
The council of East Gwillimbury voted to amalgamate with Newmarket, but Newmarket council opposed the amalgamation.
In the plan presented by McKeough, the councils of the towns of Newmarket and Aurora were given ten years to decide whether or not to amalgamate.
The internal municipal realignments resulted in some politicians residing in a new municipality from that which they represented at the time of realignment.
The reeve of Whitchurch Township resided in the western portion of the town that was annexed by Aurora, three East Gwillimbury councillors resided in land annexed by Newmarket, including its future mayor
Ray Twinney
Ray Twinney (November 1935 - 24 December 1994) was the mayor of Newmarket, Ontario, Canada from 1979 to 1994. Ray Twinney was married to Thelma and fathered two sons. The Newmarket Recreation Complex, officially opened on November 3, 1985, was rena ...
, and King councillor Gordon Rowe was a resident of Oak Ridges, which became part of Richmond Hill.
Hydro Commissions
Because of the mix of urban and rural areas in the Region, the provision of electricity was governed in a different manner from the rest of the regional services:
:* the hydro-electric commissions and public utilities commissions that existed at the end of 1970 continued to provide electricity within their respective areas;
:* the councillors of the former Township of Vaughan and the trustees of the former Police Village of King City became members of new Hydro-Electric Commissions for their respective areas;
:*
Ontario Hydro
Ontario Hydro, established in 1906 as the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, was a publicly owned electricity utility in the Province of Ontario. It was formed to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity ge ...
continued to have responsibility for providing electricity to those portions of the Region that were not served by any of the above commissions.
Electric distribution was partially rationalized in 1978, when:
:* hydro-electric commissions were established for all area municipalities except East Gwillimbury (but it could establish a commission later on, subject to Ontario Hydro's consent);
:* effective January 1, 1979, all assets of the former commissions in the Region were transferred to the new commissions;
[1978 Act, s.4]
:* Ontario Hydro withdrew its provision of services from all areas except those in East Gwillimbury, Georgina, King and Whitchurch-Stouffville;
:* Georgina, King and Whitchurch-Stouffville could take over responsibility for such areas at a later date, subject to Ontario Hydro's consent
Police
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 ...
was also created at this time, amalgamating the fourteen town, township, and village police services.
Policing on the
Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation
frame, Map of York Region showing Fox, Snake, and Georgina islands.
Georgina Island, Lake Simcoe, Ontario
The Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation () are an Ojibwa (or Anishinaabeg) people located on Georgina Island in Lake Simcoe, Onta ...
is provided by the Georgina Island Police.
Geography
York Region covers 1,762 square kilometres from Lake Simcoe in the north to the city of
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 ...
in the south. Its eastern border is shared with
Durham Region
The Regional Municipality of Durham (), informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Located east of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York, it forms the east end of the Greater Toronto A ...
, to the west is
Peel Region, and
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 ...
is to the northwest. A detailed map of the region showing its major roads, communities and points of interest is available.

Towns and cities in York Region include:
*Town of
Aurora
An aurora ( aurorae or auroras),
also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
*Town of
East Gwillimbury
East Gwillimbury is a town (lower-tier municipality) on the East Holland River in the upper-tier municipality the Regional Municipality of York. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area of southern Ontario, in Canada. It was formed by the amalgama ...
*Town of
Georgina
*Township of
King
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
*City of
Markham Markham may refer to:
Biology
* Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia
* Markham's grass mouse (''Abrothrix olivaceus markhami''), a rodent subspecies found on Wellington Island and the ne ...
*Town of
Newmarket
*City of
Richmond Hill
*City of
Vaughan
Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...
*Town of
Whitchurch–Stouffville
Whitchurch-Stouffville ( 2021 population 49,864) is a town in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada, approximately north of downtown Toronto, and north-east of Toronto Pearson International Airport. It is in area, and located in the ...
There is also one
First Nation with an
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." ...
, where the
Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation
frame, Map of York Region showing Fox, Snake, and Georgina islands.
Georgina Island, Lake Simcoe, Ontario
The Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation () are an Ojibwa (or Anishinaabeg) people located on Georgina Island in Lake Simcoe, Onta ...
reside on
Georgina Island
Georgina Island () is the largest of the lake islands of Lake Simcoe, located in southern Ontario, Canada. The island is a Native reserve populated by the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation, a band of Ojibwa people. It is also within th ...
,
Fox Island and
Snake Island.
York Region's landscape includes farmlands, wetlands and
kettle lakes
A kettle (also known as a kettle hole, kettlehole, or pothole) is a depression or hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating g ...
, 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 ...
and over 2,070 hectares of regional forest, in addition to the built-up areas of its municipalities. The highest point in the region is within the rolling hills of the moraine near Dufferin St. & Aurora Side Road at 360m ASL (1,243 feet)
Climate
York Region is situated in the
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) zone with warm summers and cold winters, ample snowfall, more in the northern part of York region much of it derived from the wind driven
snowbelt
The Snowbelt, Snow Belt, Frostbelt, or Frost Belt is the region near the Great Lakes in North America where heavy snowfall in the form of lake-effect snow is particularly common. Snowbelts are typically found downwind of the lakes, principally off ...
streamer activity.
Government

The region is governed by
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 ...
, which consists of 20 elected representatives from each of the constituent towns and cities in the region. These include each of the nine mayors, and 11 regional councillors who are elected from the constituent municipalities as follows:
*1 from Georgina
*1 from Newmarket
*2 from Richmond Hill
*3 from Vaughan
*4 from Markham
The regional councilors are elected at-large for each lower-tier municipality which has them. They are also voting members of their respective city/town council.
The leader of Council is referred to as "
Regional Chair and
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
". Wayne Emmerson, a former mayor of Whitchurch-Stouffville, was elected to this office in December 2014
and served until retiring in 2024.
Eric Jolliffe was appointed as the new Chair shortly afterwards and will take office on January 1, 2025.
In October 2008, York Regional Municipality was named one of
Greater Toronto's Top Employers
Canada's Top 100 Employers is an annual editorial competition that recognizes the best places in Canada to work. First held in 1999, the project aims to single out the employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional working condition ...
by Mediacorp Canada Inc.
Federal and provincial representation
Starting with the
2015 federal election, York Region encompasses all or part of the federal
electoral districts
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...
of
Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill could refer to:
*Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill (federal electoral district)
*Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill (provincial electoral district)
Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill is a provincial elect ...
,
King—Vaughan,
Markham—Stouffville Markham—Stouffville could refer to:
* Markham—Stouffville (federal electoral district)
*Markham—Stouffville (provincial electoral district)
Markham—Stouffville is a provincial electoral district in Ontario. It encompasses a portion of Ont ...
,
Markham—Thornhill Markham—Thornhill may refer to:
*Markham—Thornhill (federal electoral district)
*Markham—Thornhill (provincial electoral district)
Markham—Thornhill is a provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It el ...
,
Markham—Unionville Markham—Unionville could refer to:
*Markham—Unionville (federal electoral district)
Markham—Unionville is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Common ...
,
Newmarket—Aurora,
Richmond Hill,
Thornhill,
Vaughan—Woodbridge Vaughan—Woodbridge could refer to:
* Vaughan—Woodbridge (federal electoral district)
*Vaughan—Woodbridge (provincial electoral district)
Vaughan—Woodbridge is a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It elects one member to the ...
, and
York—Simcoe.
Provincially, York Region is represented in the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...
by Members of Provincial Parliament. As of 2018, the provincial electoral districts are the same as the federal districts in most of Ontario.
Proposed reformations
In May 2023, Premier
Doug Ford
Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party since 2018. He represents the Toronto rid ...
announced that he would look to dissolve and restructure existing regional municipalities where deemed prudent. In response, Markham mayor
Frank Scarpitti
Frank Scarpitti (born 1960) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 7th and current mayor of Markham since 2006.
Early life
Scarpitti was born in Ontario in 1960. He is the son of Italian immigrants, Lucia and Antonio. He is married to ...
publicly proposed amalgamating York Region into a single-tier municipality, claiming it would save millions of dollars. The idea was met with immediate disapproval from all other York Region mayors, excluding Vaughan Mayor
Steven Del Duca
Steven Alfonso Del Duca (born July 7, 1973) is a Canadian politician who has been serving as the Mayors of Vaughan, mayor of Vaughan since 2022. Del Duca previously served as the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2020 to 2022 and was an ...
, who had not publicly expressed an opinion at the time. Scarpitti was criticized for not consulting with the other mayors about his proposal before publicly announcing it, which the others mayors saw as dramatic. Ford later announced that he had no interest in Scarpitti's proposal to amalgamate, and that any future proposals which were to be seriously considered must be deliberated among all of the other mayors in a region before being made public.
Later, Vaughan mayor Steven Del Duca proposed dissolving York Region and making all of its lower-tier municipalities independent, claiming that Vaughan contributed more tax dollars than it received in regional funding.
No other politicians endorsed Del Duca's proposal. The mayors and councilors of York Region have generally agreed with looking into potential reforms to streamline government operations.
However, the mayors of the smaller towns, such as Newmarket and Whitchurch-Stouffville, strongly urged for dialogue and diplomacy, stressing that no municipality should be left behind as a result of a restructuring.
As of January 2025, the Ontario government has not made any indication as to whether York Region will be restructured or remain as-is.
Demographics
As a
census division
Census divisions, in Canada and the United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-level census geographic uni ...
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 ...
, the Regional Municipality of York 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.
York is the third-largest census division in Ontario, following Toronto and
Peel Region, and seventh-largest in Canada.
Language
In the
2021 Canadian census
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, 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%, whic ...
, English is the mother tongue of 45.5% of the residents of York Region. Cantonese is the mother tongue for 9.7% of the population, followed by Mandarin (8.7%), Italian (4.0%), Farsi (4.4%) and Russian (3.1%).
Ethnicity
As of 2021, the most common ethnic groups are
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 ...
(22.6%),
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
(12.5%) and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
(7.4%).
Religion
According to the 2021 census, the most reported religion among the population was
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
(45.3%), with
Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
(25.2%) making up the largest denomination. This was followed by
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
(7.8%),
Judaism
Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
(5.2%),
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
(5.0%),
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
(2.6%) and
Sikhism
Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...
(1.0%). 32.5% of the population did not identify with a particular religion.
[
]
Economy
The economy of York Region is diverse. In general, the economy includes a full range of businesses from industrial to high-tech to rural/agricultural. New developments continually consume space year after year, and tend to be focused along the Yonge Street corridor from Vaughan/Richmond Hill in the south to Newmarket/Aurora in the north. There are ongoing conflicts between conservationists and developers over land use. Most contentious is the conflict use of 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 ...
.
Attractions
York Region has an assortment of points of interest, ranging from nature reserves to pioneer-era museums, to a modern amusement park.
Vaughan's major attractions include the McMichael Canadian Art Collection
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection (MCAC) is an art museum in Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located on a property in Kleinburg, an unincorporated village in Vaughan. The property includes the museum's main building, a sculpture gar ...
, in the community of Kleinburg, that features works by Canadian artists including Inuit
Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
and First Nations
First nations are indigenous settlers or bands.
First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to:
Indigenous groups
*List of Indigenous peoples
*First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
artists. Canada's Wonderland
Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting, Taft Broadcasting Company and the Gr ...
, which features roller coasters and other rides, concerts and fireworks shows, is also in Vaughan.
Heritage sites and historical museums in the Region include:
* Hillary House National Historic Site (Aurora)
*Historic Main Street Newmarket ( Newmarket)
*Georgina Military Museum (Georgina)
*Georgina Village Museum (Georgina)
* King Township Museum (King)
*Markham Museum
Markham Museum (originally founded as The Markham District Historical Museum) is a open-air museum located in Markham, Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, ...
(Markham)
*RHLS Narrow Gauge Railway (Whitchurch–Stouffville)
*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 ...
National Historic Site (East Gwillimbury)
*Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum (Whitchurch–Stouffville)
* York-Durham Heritage Railway (Whitchurch–Stouffville)
Following is a sample of other attractions in the area:
*Applewood Farm Winery (Whitchurch–Stouffville)
*Canadian Heritage Humber River
* Fred Varley Art Gallery (Markham)
*Canada's Wonderland
Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting, Taft Broadcasting Company and the Gr ...
(Vaughan)
* Oak Ridges Trail
*Puck's Farm (King)
* Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts
*Sutton-Zephyr Trail
*Willow Springs Winery (Whitchurch–Stouffville)
* Words Alive Literary Festival (East Gwillimbury)
*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 ...
(East Gwillimbury)
*York Demonstration Forest (Whitchurch–Stouffville)
Health care
There are currently four hospitals within the Municipality of York including:
* Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital
Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital (; originally proposed name; Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital) is a hospital in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Construction of the hospital was completed in September 2020. It opened on 7 February 2021 to alleviate hospital capa ...
* Markham Stouffville Hospital
Markham Stouffville Hospital is an acute care community hospital with two sites: the Markham site, with diagnostic and emergency services, and clinical programs in childbirth, children's health, surgery, medicine, cancer care and mental health; a ...
* Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital
Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital (formerly York Central Hospital) is a hospital in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada and one of four in Regional Municipality of York, York Regional Municipality. Mackenzie Health in Richmond Hi ...
* Southlake Regional Health Centre
Southlake Regional Health Centre, formerly known as York County Hospital, is a hospital located in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Through various expansions during its history, it has grown into a university-affiliated teaching and research facilit ...
All four hospitals are part of the Local Health Integration Network
Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) were the Health regions of Canada, health authorities responsible for regional administration of public healthcare services in the Canadian province of Ontario. Legacy LHIN functions were transferred to th ...
(LHIN) Hospital Partnerships.
Boomerang Health, in Vaughan
Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...
, is a centre that provides multidisciplinary rehabilitation and medical services geared specifically for children and adolescents, in collaboration with The Hospital for Sick Children
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
.
Counselling Services for York Region, is a center located in Vaughan
Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...
that provides mental health services to individuals who are in need of psychological treatment and assessment. Counselling Services for York Region helped lobby for the Ontario Structured Psychotherapy Program which was successfully implemented by Ontario Health. The program was advocated through Advocacy York Region.
Transportation
The arterial road network in York Region is a grid, with most roads running north–south or east–west. This was done under the leadership of British surveyor Augustus Jones during the 1790s. York Region assigned approximately 50 roads as York Regional Roads, meaning that maintenance of these roads is done by York Region. They are signposted with numbers.
The major highways in the Region are:
*Highway 7
The following highways are numbered 7. For roads numbered A7, see list of A7 roads.
Route 7, or Highway 7, may refer to:
International
* AH7, Asian Highway 7
* European route E07
* European route E007
Afghanistan
*Kunduz-Khomri Highway (A7)
...
(east-west)
* Highway 9 (east-west)
* Highway 48 (north-south)
* Highway 400 (north-south)
* Highway 404 (north-south)
*Highway 407
King's Highway 407, commonly referred to as Highway 407 and colloquially as the "four-oh-seven", is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Comprising a tolled privately leased segment and a publicly owned segment, the route s ...
(east-west)
* Highway 427 (north-south)
Former highways include:
*Highway 11
Route 11, or Highway 11 can refer to routes in the following countries:
International
* AH11, Asian Highway 11
* European route E11
* European route E011
Argentina
* Provincial Route 11 (Buenos Aires), Buenos Aires Provincial Route 11
Austr ...
(north-south)
* Highway 27 (north-south)
* Highway 47 (east-west)
* Highway 49 (east-west)
* Highway 50 (north-south)
**Note: Highway 27 and Highway 50 are still referred to as such on municipal road signs, but are no longer provincial highways.
Air transportation
Most air travel is served by Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surrounding region known as the Golden Horseshoe. Pearson is the ...
, which is outside of York Region and is Canada's largest airport. Markham Airport
Markham Airport or Toronto/Markham Airport is a private aerodrome operating north of Markham, Ontario, Canada near Toronto.
The airport was founded in 1965 by two former Polish air force pilots and is operated by Markham Airport Inc. The airp ...
is a private aerodrome in Markham. There are also a few small airports with unpaved runways serving the region: Hare Field in Holland Landing (East Gwillimbury), Belhaven Airport in Georgina, and Stouffville Aerodrome
Stouffville Aerodrome is located northwest of Stouffville Ontario, Canada.
The private airfield is home to Ultralight aviation
Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat f ...
north of Stouffville.
Buttonville Municipal Airport
Buttonville Municipal Airport or Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport was a medium-sized airport in the neighbourhood of Buttonville in Markham, Ontario, Canada, north of Downtown Toronto, which closed in November 2023. It was operated by ...
was a larger regional airport in Markham that was used for general aviation and business aircraft. It closed in November 2023.
Public transportation
York Region is served 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 ...
(YRT), which includes the Viva
Viva may refer to:
Companies and organisations
* Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator
* Viva Energy, an Australian petroleum company
* Viva Entertainment, a Philippine media company
* Viva Films, a Philippine film company ...
bus rapid transit network
*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 ...
, which offers bus and train service
*Toronto Transit Commission
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...
(TTC), which has several bus routes which cross York's southern border, and which provide service along many north–south arterial streets in Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Markham. Since December 17, 2017, Central Vaughan has been served by the university portion of the Line 1 Yonge-University of Toronto's subway system
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separated rapid transit line below ground surface through a tu ...
, and a future extension of the Yonge Street portion of the line will eventually serve the boundary areas of Vaughan, Richmond Hill, and Markham.
Until 2001, the towns of York Region operated separate public transit services, which did not connect very well with each other. YRT was created by the Regional Government to combine five of these services:
* Vaughan 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 bu ...
* Markham 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 bu ...
* Richmond Hill 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 bu ...
* Aurora Transit - merged in 1999 with Newmarket Transit
York Region Transit (YRT) is the public transit operator in York Regional Municipality, Ontario, York Region, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Richmond Hill, at 50 High Tech Road.
YRT operates 65 full-time rush ho ...
* Newmarket Transit
York Region Transit (YRT) is the public transit operator in York Regional Municipality, Ontario, York Region, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Richmond Hill, at 50 High Tech Road.
YRT operates 65 full-time rush ho ...
Since 2001, bus routes have been extensively enhanced in the five communities which had pre-existing services, but YRT's services to East Gwillimbury is limited to two routes, and service to King, Georgina and Whitchurch-Stouffville are even more limited due to the relatively small populations in each of those towns.
Water
Water in southern York is provided by Toronto Water
Toronto Water is the municipal division of the City of Toronto under Infrastructure and Development Services responsible for the water supply network, and stormwater and wastewater management in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as well as parts of Peel ...
and Peel Region by way of 3 pumping stations and reservoirs (Bayview, Dufferin and Milliken (tank and underground reservoir)) using water 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 ...
. Keswick and Sutton obtain water from 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 ...
by way of water treatment plants. The remainder of York obtains water from a combination of water 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 ...
and underground wells. Some wells are maintained by the Region and the rest privately.
* Georgina -water from Lake Simcoe and private wells
* East Gwillimbury - region and private wells
* Newmarket - region wells and water from Lake Ontario
* Whitchurch-Stouffville - Region wells, water from Lake Ontario, private wells
* Markham - water from Lake Ontario and private wells
* Richmond Hill - water from Lake Ontario and private wells
* Aurora - water from Lake Ontario and private wells
* Vaughan - water from Lake Ontario and private wells
* King - water from Lake Ontario, Region and private wells
Water is distributed from 14 water pumping stations and stored at 37 elevated tanks and reservoirs:
List of water tanks
* Reesor Park water tank - built 1971, now out of service and dismantled
* Newmarket - 211 Harry Walker Parkway South
* Richmond Hill - 81 Coons Road
* Schomberg - 186 Church Street, built 1997
* King - 60 Fisher Street, built 1982
* Stouffville - 12519 Tenth Line, built 1984
* Stouffville - Bethesda Rd, built 2005
* Aurora - 126 Allenvale Drive, 240 Orchard Heights Boulevard, built 1984
* Aurora - 180 Bloomington Road, built 2008
* Markham - 4355 14th Avenue
Treatment Plants
* Sutton Water Treatment Plant - closed
* Georgina Water Treatment Plant - replaces Sutton plant
* Keswick Water Treatment Plant
* Schomberg Water Treatment Plant
Education
Four public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
school board
A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution.
The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...
s operate primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Work ...
and secondary institutions in York Region, Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir
Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (also referred to as Csc MonAvenir) is a French-language Catholic school board that manages elementary and secondary French schools in South-Central Ontario. The school board operates 47 elementary schools, 12 ...
(CSCM), Conseil scolaire Viamonde
The Conseil scolaire Viamonde (CSV) is a public-secular French first language school board, and manages elementary and secondary schools in the Ontario Peninsula and the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The school board operates 41 elementary school ...
(CSV), 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 ...
(YCDSB), and 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 ...
(YRDSB). CSV and YRDSB operate as secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...
public school boards, the former operating French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
first language
A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period hypothesis, critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' ...
institution, whereas the latter operated English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
first language institutions. The other two school boards, MonAvenir and YCDSB, operate as public separate school
In Canada, a separate school is a type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces (Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan) and statutory status in the three territories (Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut). In these Canadian ...
boards, the former operating French first language separate schools, the latter operating English first language separate schools.
YRDSB is the largest public school board in the region, operating 175 elementary schools, and 33 secondary schools. YCDSB operates 83 elementary schools, and 15 secondary schools, while MonAvenir operates five elementary schools, and two secondary schools. CSV is the smallest public school board in the York Region, operating three elementary schools, and one secondary school in the region.
Along with public schools, the region also holds a number of religious and private schools including:
* As-Sadiq Islamic School (Vaughan)
* Academy for Gifted Children (Richmond Hill)
* Country Day School (King)
* Holy Trinity School (Richmond Hill)
* Leo Baeck Day School (Vaughan)
* Ner Israel Yeshiva College (Vaughan)
* Netivot HaTorah Day School
Netivot HaTorah Day School () is a private, Mixed-sex education, coeducational Orthodox Jewish elementary school in Thornhill, Ontario, Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. As of 2008, it enrolls 600 students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8. The school ...
(Vaughan)
* Pickering College
Pickering College is an independent, co-educational school for children in grades from Junior Kindergarten through grade 12. It is located in Newmarket, Ontario, Newmarket, Ontario in Canada on a 17-hectare (42 acre) property on Bayview Avenue. The ...
(Newmarket)
* St. Andrew's College (Aurora)
* St. Thomas of Villanova College
Villanova College is a high school and middle school in King City, Ontario, Canada. Established by lay educators Paul Paradiso and Grant Purdy with the blessing of the Archdiocese Toronto and in cooperation with the Order of Saint Augustine's fr ...
(King)
* Town Centre Montessori Private School (Markham)
* Toronto Waldorf School
Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical ski ...
(Vaughan)
In addition to primary and secondary levels of education, the region is also home to post-secondary
Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education.
The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...
institutions such as Seneca Polytechnic
Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, branded as Seneca Polytechnic since 2023, is a multi-campus public college in the Greater Toronto Area and Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. It offers full-time and part-time programs at the baccala ...
. The college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...
operates two campuses spread throughout York Region, in King and Markham, as well as additional campuses in Toronto. The region presently does not host a university
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
, but a Markham campus of York University
York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...
is under construction as of August 2022.
News media
*York Region Media Group
* CKVR - CTV Two
CTV 2 is a Canadian English-language television system owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The system consists of four terrestrial owned-and-operated television stations (O&Os) in Ontario, one in British Columbia and two regional ca ...
(based in 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 ...
)
* CFU758 - 90.7 RAV FM (Vaughan
Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...
)
* CKDX 88.5FM - ''Foxy 88-5'' ( Newmarket)
* CFMS-FM - 105.9 The Region (Markham Markham may refer to:
Biology
* Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia
* Markham's grass mouse (''Abrothrix olivaceus markhami''), a rodent subspecies found on Wellington Island and the ne ...
)
* CIWS-FM - WhiStle Community Radio Whitchurch–Stouffville
Whitchurch-Stouffville ( 2021 population 49,864) is a town in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada, approximately north of downtown Toronto, and north-east of Toronto Pearson International Airport. It is in area, and located in the ...
York's news media is also served by the outlets
Outlet may refer to:
* Outlet, a river that runs out of a lake
* Electrical outlet
* Outlet store or outlet mall
* Pelvic outlet
* News outlet, news media
Other
* ''Outlet'' (Antigua newspaper)
* "Outlet" (song), by the American rapper Designer ...
based in Toronto.
Sister city
* Omsk
Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...
(Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
)
The Region of York signed a " Twinning Agreement" with the city of Omsk
Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...
, Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, on August 28, 1997, after it signed a "Friendship Agreement" one year previous.
See also
*List of municipalities in Ontario
Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Canada with 14,223,942 residents as of Canada 2021 Census, 2021 and is List of Canadian provinces and territories by area#Land area, third-largest in lan ...
*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 ...
* Province of Toronto
* List of secondary schools in Ontario#Regional Municipality of York
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regional Municipality Of York
1971 establishments in Ontario
Populated places established in 1971
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...