York Region | ||
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Regional municipality (upper-tier) | ||
Regional Municipality of York | ||
The York Region Administrative Centre in Newmarket
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Motto: Ontario's Rising Star | ||
Map showing York Region's location in Ontario |
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Coordinates: 44°3′5″N 79°28′49″W / 44.05139°N 79.48028°WCoordinates: 44°3′5″N 79°28′49″W / 44.05139°N 79.48028°W | ||
Country | Canada | |
Province | Ontario | |
Established | 1792 (County) | |
Established | 1971 (Regional Municipality) | |
Seat | Newmarket | |
Government | ||
• Chair | Wayne Emmerson | |
• Governing Body | York Regional Council | |
Area | ||
• Total | 1,762.17 km2 (680.38 sq mi) | |
Population (2011) | ||
• Total | 1,032,524 | |
• Density | 585.9/km2 (1,517/sq mi) | |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) | |
• Summer (DST) | Eastern (EDT) (UTC-4) | |
Website | www.york.ca |
The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. It replaced the former York County in 1971, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area and the inner ring of the Golden Horseshoe. The regional government is headquartered in Newmarket.
The 2011 census population was 1,032,524, surpassing the population mark of one million. At the Canada 2011 Census, 53,989 residents inhabited rural areas in the municipality, 67,551 resided in small urban areas, and 910,984 resided in large urban areas. Its growth rate of 15.7% from 2006 to 2011 was the sixth highest amongst all census divisions in Canada, and the Government of Ontario expects its population to surpass 1.5 million residents by 2031.
At a meeting in Richmond Hill on 6 May 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, 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 in 1970, 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: