A town is a sub-type of municipalities in the Canadian province of Ontario. A town can have the municipal status of either a single-tier or lower-tier municipality.
Ontario has 88 towns [1] that had a cumulative population of 1,813,458 and an average population of 22,316 in the 2016 Census. [2] In the 2021 Census, Ontario's largest and smallest towns are Oakville and Latchford with populations of 213,759 [3] and 355 [4] respectively.
Under the former Municipal Act, 1990, a town was both an urban and a local municipality. [5] Under this former legislation, a locality with a population of 2,000 or more could have been incorporated as a town by Ontario's Municipal Board upon review of an application from 75 or more residents of the locality. [5] It also enabled the Municipal Board to change the status of a village or township to a town if it had a population of 2,000 upon review of an application from the village or township. [5]
In the transition to the Municipal Act, 2001, these requirements were abandoned and, as at December 31, 2002, every town that: [6]
The current legislation also provides lower and single-tier municipalities with the authority to name themselves as "towns", or other former municipal status types such as "cities", "villages" or "townships", or generically as "municipalities". [7]
Name [1] [2] | Municipal status [1] | Geographic area [1] | Population (2016) [2] | Population (2011) [8] | Change (%) [2] | Area (km2) [2] | Population density [2] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ajax | Lower-tier | Durham | 119,677 | 109,600 | 9.2 | 67.00 | 1,786.4 |
Amherstburg | Lower-tier | Essex | 21,936 | 21,556 | 1.8 | 185.61 | 118.2 |
Arnprior | Lower-tier | Renfrew | 8,795 | 8,114 | 8.4 | 13.07 | 672.7 |
Atikokan | Single-tier | Rainy River | 2,753 | 2,787 | −1.2 | 319.52 | 8.6 |
Aurora | Lower-tier | York | 55,445 | 53,203 | 4.2 | 49.85 | 1,112.3 |
Aylmer | Lower-tier | Elgin | 7,492 | 7,151 | 4.8 | 6.26 | 1,197.6 |
Bancroft | Lower-tier | Hastings | 3,881 | 3,880 | 0.00 | 229.51 | 16.9 |
Blind River | Single-tier | Algoma | 3,472 | 3,549 | −2.2 | 525.65 | 6.6 |
Bracebridge | Lower-tier | Muskoka | 16,010 | 15,414 | 3.9 | 628.22 | 25.5 |
Bradford West Gwillimbury | Lower-tier | Simcoe | 35,325 | 28,077 | 25.8 | 201.04 | 175.7 |
Bruce Mines | Single-tier | Algoma | 582 | 566 | 2.8 | 6.22 | 93.6 |
Caledon | Lower-tier | Peel | 66,502 | 59,460 | 11.8 | 688.16 | 96.6 |
Carleton Place | Lower-tier | Lanark | 10,644 | 9,809 | 8.5 | 9.05 | 1,176.2 |
Cobalt | Single-tier | Timiskaming | 1,128 | 1,133 | −0.4 | 2.08 | 541.8 |
Cobourg | Lower-tier | Northumberland | 19,440 | 18,519 | 5.0 | 22.36 | 869.3 |
Cochrane | Single-tier | Cochrane | 5,321 | 5,340 | −0.4 | 539.12 | 9.9 |
Collingwood | Lower-tier | Simcoe | 21,793 | 19,241 | 13.3 | 33.78 | 645.1 |
Deep River | Lower-tier | Renfrew | 4,109 | 4,193 | −2.0 | 50.13 | 82.0 |
Deseronto | Lower-tier | Hastings | 1,774 | 1,835 | −3.3 | 2.51 | 705.7 |
East Gwillimbury | Lower-tier | York | 23,991 | 22,473 | 6.8 | 245.04 | 97.9 |
Englehart | Single-tier | Timiskaming | 1,479 | 1,519 | −2.6 | 3.02 | 489.7 |
Erin | Lower-tier | Wellington | 11,439 | 10,770 | 6.2 | 297.76 | 38.4 |
Espanola | Single-tier | Sudbury | 4,996 | 5,364 | −6.9 | 82.82 | 60.3 |
Essex | Lower-tier | Essex | 20,427 | 19,600 | 4.2 | 277.97 | 73.5 |
Fort Erie | Lower-tier | Niagara | 30,710 | 29,960 | 2.5 | 166.27 | 184.7 |
Fort Frances | Single-tier | Rainy River | 7,739 | 7,952 | −2.7 | 25.51 | 303.4 |
Gananoque | Single-tier | Leeds and Grenville | 5,159 | 5,194 | −0.7 | 7.03 | 733.6 |
Georgina | Lower-tier | York | 45,418 | 43,517 | 4.4 | 287.75 | 157.8 |
Goderich | Lower-tier | Huron | 7,628 | 7,526 | 1.4 | 8.64 | 882.8 |
Gore Bay | Single-tier | Manitoulin | 867 | 850 | 2.0 | 5.23 | 165.7 |
Grand Valley | Lower-tier | Dufferin | 2,956 | 2,726 | 8.4 | 158.23 | 18.7 |
Gravenhurst | Lower-tier | Muskoka | 12,311 | 12,055 | 2.1 | 518.06 | 23.8 |
Greater Napanee | Lower-tier | Lennox and Addington | 15,892 | 15,511 | 2.5 | 461.17 | 34.5 |
Grimsby | Lower-tier | Niagara | 27,314 | 25,325 | 7.9 | 68.93 | 396.3 |
Halton Hills | Lower-tier | Halton | 61,161 | 59,013 | 3.6 | 276.27 | 221.4 |
Hanover | Lower-tier | Grey | 7,688 | 7,490 | 2.6 | 9.80 | 784.9 |
Hawkesbury | Lower-tier | Prescott and Russell | 10,263 | 10,551 | −2.7 | 9.62 | 1,067.3 |
Hearst | Single-tier | Cochrane | 5,070 | 5,090 | −0.4 | 98.52 | 51.5 |
Huntsville | Lower-tier | Muskoka | 19,816 | 19,056 | 4.0 | 710.01 | 27.9 |
Ingersoll | Lower-tier | Oxford | 12,757 | 12,146 | 5.0 | 12.75 | 1,000.7 |
Innisfil | Lower-tier | Simcoe | 36,566 | 32,727 | 11.7 | 262.71 | 139.2 |
Iroquois Falls | Single-tier | Cochrane | 4,537 | 4,595 | −1.3 | 600.01 | 7.6 |
Kapuskasing | Single-tier | Cochrane | 8,292 | 8,196 | 1.2 | 84.37 | 98.3 |
Kearney | Single-tier | Parry Sound | 882 | 841 | 4.9 | 532.00 | 1.7 |
Kingsville | Lower-tier | Essex | 21,552 | 21,362 | 0.9 | 246.83 | 87.3 |
Kirkland Lake | Single-tier | Timiskaming | 7,981 | 8,493 | −6.7 | 262.13 | 30.4 |
Lakeshore | Lower-tier | Essex | 36,611 | 34,546 | 6.0 | 530.33 | 69.0 |
LaSalle | Lower-tier | Essex | 30,180 | 28,643 | 5.4 | 65.35 | 461.8 |
Latchford | Single-tier | Timiskaming | 313 | 387 | −19.1 | 153.53 | 2.0 |
Laurentian Hills | Lower-tier | Renfrew | 2,961 | 2,811 | 5.3 | 642.03 | 4.6 |
Lincoln | Lower-tier | Niagara | 23,787 | 22,487 | 5.8 | 162.81 | 146.1 |
Marathon | Single-tier | Thunder Bay | 3,273 | 3,353 | −2.4 | 170.54 | 19.2 |
Mattawa | Single-tier | Nipissing | 1,993 | 2,023 | −1.5 | 3.66 | 544.8 |
Midland | Lower-tier | Simcoe | 16,864 | 16,572 | 1.8 | 35.34 | 477.3 |
Milton | Lower-tier | Halton | 110,128 | 84,362 | 30.5 | 363.22 | 303.2 |
Minto | Lower-tier | Wellington | 8,671 | 8,334 | 4.0 | 300.69 | 28.8 |
Mississippi Mills | Lower-tier | Lanark | 13,163 | 12,385 | 6.3 | 519.58 | 25.3 |
Mono | Lower-tier | Dufferin | 8,609 | 7,546 | 14.1 | 277.83 | 31.0 |
Moosonee | Single-tier | Cochrane | 1,481 | 1,725 | −14.1 | 546.72 | 2.7 |
New Tecumseth | Lower-tier | Simcoe | 34,242 | 30,234 | 13.3 | 274.21 | 124.9 |
Newmarket | Lower-tier | York | 84,224 | 79,978 | 5.3 | 38.45 | 2,190.5 |
Niagara-on-the-Lake | Lower-tier | Niagara | 17,511 | 15,400 | 13.7 | 132.80 | 131.8 |
Oakville | Lower-tier | Halton | 193,832 | 182,520 | 6.2 | 138.89 | 1,395.6 |
Orangeville | Lower-tier | Dufferin | 28,900 | 27,975 | 3.3 | 15.61 | 1,851.9 |
Parry Sound | Single-tier | Parry Sound | 6,408 | 6,191 | 3.5 | 13.40 | 478.2 |
Pelham | Lower-tier | Niagara | 17,110 | 16,598 | 3.1 | 126.43 | 135.3 |
Penetanguishene | Lower-tier | Simcoe | 8,962 | 9,111 | −1.6 | 25.58 | 350.3 |
Perth | Lower-tier | Lanark | 5,930 | 5,840 | 1.5 | 12.25 | 484.1 |
Petawawa | Lower-tier | Renfrew | 17,187 | 15,988 | 7.5 | 166.69 | 103.1 |
Petrolia | Lower-tier | Lambton | 5,742 | 5,528 | 3.9 | 12.68 | 452.8 |
Plympton-Wyoming | Lower-tier | Lambton | 7,795 | 7,576 | 2.9 | 318.78 | 24.5 |
Prescott | Single-tier | Leeds and Grenville | 4,222 | 4,284 | −1.4 | 4.93 | 856.2 |
Rainy River | Single-tier | Rainy River | 807 | 842 | −4.2 | 3.11 | 259.9 |
Renfrew | Lower-tier | Renfrew | 8,223 | 8,218 | 0.1 | 12.78 | 643.4 |
Saugeen Shores | Lower-tier | Bruce | 13,715 | 12,661 | 8.3 | 171.05 | 80.2 |
Shelburne | Lower-tier | Dufferin | 8,126 | 5,846 | 39.0 | 6.56 | 1,238.1 |
Smiths Falls | Single-tier | Lanark | 8,780 | 8,978 | −2.2 | 9.66 | 909.1 |
Smooth Rock Falls | Single-tier | Cochrane | 1,330 | 1,376 | −3.3 | 200.10 | 6.6 |
South Bruce Peninsula | Lower-tier | Bruce | 8,416 | 8,413 | 0.0 | 532.29 | 15.8 |
Spanish | Single-tier | Algoma | 712 | 696 | 2.3 | 108.67 | 6.6 |
St. Marys | Single-tier | Perth | 7,265 | 6,655 | 9.2 | 12.45 | 583.5 |
Tecumseh | Lower-tier | Essex | 23,229 | 23,610 | −1.6 | 94.64 | 245.4 |
The Blue Mountains | Lower-tier | Grey | 7,025 | 6,453 | 8.9 | 287.24 | 24.5 |
Thessalon | Single-tier | Algoma | 1,286 | 1,279 | 0.5 | 4.52 | 284.6 |
Tillsonburg | Lower-tier | Oxford | 15,872 | 15,301 | 3.7 | 22.33 | 710.8 |
Wasaga Beach | Lower-tier | Simcoe | 20,675 | 17,537 | 17.9 | 58.64 | 352.6 |
Whitby | Lower-tier | Durham | 128,377 | 122,022 | 5.2 | 146.66 | 875.4 |
Whitchurch-Stouffville | Lower-tier | York | 45,837 | 37,628 | 21.8 | 206.22 | 222.3 |
Total towns | 1,810,744 | 1,683,241 | 7.6 | 16,226.84 | 111.59 | ||
Total lower-tier towns | 1,712,616 | 1,583,983 | 8.1 | 11,902.32 | 143.89 | ||
Total single-tier towns | 98,128 | 99,258 | -1.1 | 4,324.52 | 22.69 | ||
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