Ajax, Ontario
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Ajax Ajax by the Lake |
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| Town (lower-tier) | |
| Town of Ajax | |
Aerial view of Ajax in November 2012
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| Motto: Town of Ajax by the Lake | |
 Location of Ajax in Durham Region |
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 Ajax
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| Coordinates: 43°51′30″N 79°02′11″W / 43.85833°N 79.03639°WCoordinates: 43°51′30″N 79°02′11″W / 43.85833°N 79.03639°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
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| Province |
 Ontario
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| Regional Municipality | Durham |
| Established | 1955 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Steve Parish |
| • Governing body | Ajax Town Council |
| • MP | Mark Holland (Ajax) |
| • MPPs | Joe Dickson (Ajax—Pickering) |
| Area | |
| • Land | 67.07 km2 (25.90 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 90 m (300 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 109,600 (Ranked 45th) |
| • Density | 1,634.2/km2 (4,233/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC−5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) |
| Postal Code FSA | L1S, L1T, L1Z |
| Area code(s) | 905, 289, 365 |
| Website | www |
Ajax (/ˈeɪdʒæks/; 2011 population 109,600) is a town in the Durham Region of Southern Ontario, Canada, located in the eastern part of the Greater Toronto Area.
The town is named for HMS Ajax, a Royal Navy cruiser that served in World War II. It is approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of Toronto on the shores of Lake Ontario and is bordered by the City of Pickering to the west and north, and the Town of Whitby to the east.
Before the Second World War, the territory in which Ajax is situated was a rural part of the township of Pickering. The town itself was first established in 1941 when a Defence Industries Limited (D.I.L.) shell plant was constructed and a townsite grew around the plant. By 1945 the plant had filled 40 million shells; employed over 9,000 people at peak production; boasted of its own water and sewage treatment plants; a school population of over 600; 50 km (31 mi) of railroad and 50 km (31 mi) of roads. The entire D.I.L. plant site included some 12 km2 (5 sq mi). People came from all over Canada to work at D.I.L.
The burgeoning community received its name in honour of the first significant British naval victory of the war. From December 13 to December 19, 1939, a flotilla of British warships — HMS Ajax, HMS Exeter and HMS Achilles — commanded by Commodore Henry Harwood — engaged and routed the powerful German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee at the Battle of the River Plate, near the Uruguayan port of Montevideo in South America. Ajax was chosen as the name of this war-born community.
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Wikipedia