Grey County

For other uses, see Grey County (disambiguation).

Grey County
County (upper-tier)
County of Grey
Seal Logo
Coordinates: 44°20′N80°40′W / 44.333°N 80.667°W / 44.333; -80.667
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Established	1852
County seat	Owen Sound
Subdivisions	List City of Owen Sound Town of The Blue Mountains Town of Hanover Municipality (Town) of Meaford Township of Chatsworth Township of Georgian Bluffs Municipality (township) of Grey Highlands Township of Southgate Township of West Grey
Government
• Type	Upper Tier Municipal Government
Area [1]
• Land	4,497.93 km2 (1,736.66 sq mi)
Population  (2021) [1]
• Total	100,905
• Density	22.4/km2 (58/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code	519 / 226 / 548
Website	www.grey.ca

Grey County is a county in the province of Ontario. The county is located in the Southwestern Ontario region, and is a part of the Georgian Triangle. At the time of the 2021 Canadian census the population of the county was 100,905. ^[1] Owen Sound is the county seat and the largest city in Grey County.

Administrative divisions

Grey County consists of the following municipalities (in order of population):

Municipality	2016 Population [2]	Population Centres [3]
City of Owen Sound	21,341	Owen Sound
Municipality of West Grey	12,518	Durham
Municipality of Meaford	10,991	Meaford
Township of Georgian Bluffs	10,479
Municipality of Grey Highlands	9,804	Markdale
Town of Hanover	7,688	Hanover
Township of Southgate	7,354	Dundalk
Town of The Blue Mountains	7,025	Thornbury
Township of Chatsworth	6,630	Chatsworth

History

Origin and evolution

The first European settlement was in the vicinity of Collingwood or Meaford. Exploring parties arrived from York in 1825 by travelling from Holland Landing and down the Holland River into Lake Simcoe and Shanty Bay. From there they travelled by land to the Nottawasaga River into Georgian Bay and along the thickly wooded shore.

In 1837 the village of Sydenham was surveyed by Charles Rankin. In 1856 it was incorporated as the Town of Owen Sound with an estimated population of 2,000.

In 1840, the area became part of the new District of Wellington, and its territory formed the County of Waterloo for electoral purposes. ^{[4] [5]} In 1849, Wellington District was abolished, and Waterloo County remained for municipal and judicial purposes. ^[6] The territory of the Bruce Peninsula became part of Waterloo in 1849, ^[7] but was later withdrawn and transferred to Bruce County in 1851. ^[8]

In January 1852, Waterloo County became the United Counties of Wellington, Waterloo and Grey. ^[9] Grey County was named in honour of the British Colonial Secretary's father, Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1830-1834. ^[10] Its territory was declared to consist of the following townships, together with part of the Indian Reserves on the Bruce Peninsula: ^[11]

• Artemesia
• Bentinck
• Collingwood
• Derby
• Egremont
• Euphrasia
• Glenelg
• Holland
• Melancthon
• Normanby
• Osprey
• Proton
• Saint Vincent
• Sullivan
• Sydenham

Canada West in 1857. Grey County is marked in dark pink.

The Indian lands were later surveyed and became the townships of Keppel ^[12] and Sarawak. ^[13] A Provisional Municipal Council was organized for the County in April 1852, with the Town of Sydenham named as the county town. ^[14]

Waterloo was withdrawn from the United Counties in January 1853, and the remainder was renamed the United Counties of Wellington and Grey. ^[15] In January 1854, the United Counties was dissolved, and Wellington and Grey were separate counties for all purposes. ^[16]

In 1861-1862 the first gravel roads were constructed into Owen Sound at a cost of $300,000. The four colonization roads were:

• the Garafraxa Road running from Fergus to Owen Sound (now Highway 6);
• the Durham Road leading east and west from the village of Durham (formerly part of Highway 4, and now County Road 4);
• the Lake Shore Road from Collingwood to Owen Sound (now Highway 26); and
• the Toronto-Sydenham Road leading from Shelburne to Owen Sound (now Highway 10).

Prior to the road building it often took two days to walk up to Owen Sound. ^[17]

In 1881, the township of Melancthon and the village of Shelburne were withdrawn from Grey and transferred to the new Dufferin County. ^{[18] [19]}

On January 1, 2001, Grey County underwent a major restructuring, resulting in the reduction in number of the local municipalities: ^[20]

New Municipality	Constituted from
City of Owen Sound
Town of Hanover
Town of The Blue Mountains	Thornbury and Collingwood Township
Township of Chatsworth	Chatsworth, Sullivan and Holland
Township of Georgian Bluffs	Shallow Lake, Keppel, Derby and Sarawak
Municipality of Grey Highlands	Flesherton, Markdale, Artemesia, Euphrasia and Osprey
Municipality of Meaford	Meaford, St. Vincent and Sydenham
Township of Southgate	Dundalk, Egremont and Proton
Municipality of West Grey	Durham, Neustadt, Glenelg, Normanby and Bentinck

Demographics

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Grey County had a population of 100,905 living in 42,309 of its 50,183 total private dwellings, a change of 7.5% from its 2016 population of 93,830. With a land area of 4,497.93 km² (1,736.66 sq mi), it had a population density of 22.4/km² (58.1/sq mi) in 2021. ^[1]

Canada census – Grey community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	100,905 (+7.5% from 2016)	93,830 (+1.4% from 2011)	92,568 (+0.2% from 2006)
Land area	4,497.93 km2 (1,736.66 sq mi)	4,513.50 km2 (1,742.67 sq mi)	4,513.21 km2 (1,742.56 sq mi)
Population density	22.4/km2 (58/sq mi)	20.8/km2 (54/sq mi)	20.5/km2 (53/sq mi)
Median age	49.6 (M: 48.0, F: 50.8)	49.3 (M: 48.1, F: 50.4)
Private dwellings	50,183 (total)  42,309 (occupied)	47,560 (total)	46,481 (total)
Median household income	$78,000	$62,935

References: 2021 ^[21] 2016 ^[22] 2011 ^[23] earlier ^{[24] [25]}

Historical census populations – Grey County

Year Pop. ±% 1921 59,051 —     1931 57,699 −2.3% 1941 57,160 −0.9% 1951 58,960 +3.1% 1956 60,971 +3.4% 1961 62,005 +1.7%	Year Pop. ±% 1966 62,592 +0.9% 1971 66,403 +6.1% 1976 72,176 +8.7% 1981 73,824 +2.3% 1986 74,759 +1.3% 1991 84,071 +12.5%	Year Pop. ±% 1996 87,632 +4.2% 2001 89,073 +1.6% 2006 92,411 +3.7% 2011 92,568 +0.2% 2016 93,830 +1.4% 2021 100,905 +7.5%
Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes. Source: Statistics Canada [1] [26]

See also

• List of municipalities in Ontario
• Census divisions of Ontario
• List of townships in Ontario
• Saugeen Kame Terraces
• List of secondary schools in Grey County, Ontario

References

1. "Grey, County (CTY) Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
2. Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2016 Census: Ontario: Census subdivisions (municipalities)
3. Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2016 Census: Ontario: Population centres
4. An Act erecting certain parts of the Counties of Halton and Simcoe into a new District, by the name of the District of Wellington , S.U.C. 1837 (1st Session), c. 116 , implemented by Proclamation of June 18, 1840
5. Armstrong, Frederick H. (1985). Handbook of Upper Canadian Chronology. Toronto: Dundurn Press. p. 195. ISBN   0-919670-92-X. Archived from the original on 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
6. An Act for abolishing the Territorial Division of Upper-Canada into Districts, and for providing for temporary Unions of Counties for Judicial and other purposes, and for the future dissolutions of such Unions, as the increase of wealth and population may require , S.C. 12 Vic., c. 78, Sch. C
7. An Act to divide the District of Huron, in the Province of Canada, and for other purposes therein mentioned , S.Prov.C. 1849, c. 96
8. An Act to make certain alterations in the Territorial Divisions of Upper Canada , S.Prov.C. 1851, c. 5, Sch. A, par. 29
9. An Act to make certain alterations in the Territorial Divisions of Upper Canada , S.Prov.C. 1851, c. 5, Sch. A and B
10. Marsh, Edith L. (1931). A History of the County of Grey. Owen Sound: Fleming. p. 217.
11. S.Prov.C. 1851, c. 5, Sch. A, par. 28
12. Marsh, Edith Louise (1931). "XXII: The Township of Keppel, its villages and Griffiths Island". A History of the County of Grey. Owen Sound: Fleming.
13. Marsh, Edith Louise (1931). "XXIII: The Township of Sarawak and its villages". A History of the County of Grey. Owen Sound: Fleming.
14. "Proclamation". Canada Gazette (Extra): 2–3. 1 March 1852.
15. "Proclamation". Canada Gazette . 12 (3): 75. 22 January 1853.
16. "Proclamation". Canada Gazette . 13 (1): 2–3. 7 January 1854.
17. The Orangeville Banner, March 8, 1951.
18. An Act to separate the Town of Orangeville and certain Townships in the Counties of Wellington, Grey and Simcoe, from the said Counties, and to erect the same into the County of Dufferin , S.O. 1874 (2nd Sess.), c. 31
19. An Act to confirm certain preliminary proceedings, and make further provision for the formation of the County of Dufferin , S.O. 1880, c. 37
20. County of Grey - Municipal Amalgamations
21. "2021 Community Profiles". 2021 Canadian census . Statistics Canada. February 4, 2022. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
22. "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian census . Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
23. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian census . Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
24. "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian census . Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
25. "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian census . Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.
26. "1971 Census of Canada - Population Census Subdivisions (Historical)". Catalogue 92-702 Vol I, part 1 (Bulletin 1.1-2). Statistics Canada: 76, 139. July 1973.

External links

• Official website