Georgina, Ontario

Georgina
Town (lower-tier)
Town of Georgina
Civic Centre Civic Centre
Logo
Location of Georgina within York Region Location of Georgina within York Region
Georgina Location of Georgina within York Region
Coordinates (Civic Centre):
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Regional Municipality	York Region
Named	late 1790s
Amalgamated	1971 (township)
Incorporated	1986 (town)
Named for	George III
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Mayor	Margaret (Jordan) Quirk
• Deputy Mayor	Danny Wheeler
• Councillor	Frank Sebo, David A. Harding, Naomi Davison, Dan Fellini, Dave Neeson
Area
• Total	287.72 km2 (111.09 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	43,517
• Density	151.2/km2 (392/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Postal code FSA	L0E, L0C, L4P
Area code(s)	905, 289 and 705
NTS Map	031D03
GNBC Code	FBHBU
Website	www.georgina.ca

Georgina (Canada 2011 Census population 43,517) is a town in south-central Ontario, and the northernmost municipality in the Regional Municipality of York and therefore the Greater Toronto Area. The town is bounded to the north by Lake Simcoe. Although incorporated as a town, it operates as a township, in which dispersed communities share a common administrative council. The largest communities are Keswick, Sutton and Jackson's Point; smaller communities include Pefferlaw, Port Bolster, Udora and Willow Beach. The town was formed by the merger of the Village of Sutton, the Township of Georgina and the Township of North Gwillimbury in 1971, and was incorporated in 1986. North Gwillimbury had previously been part of Georgina, but became its own township in 1826. It took its name from the family of Elizabeth Simcoe, née Gwillim.

Georgina was the proposed name for London, Ontario by John Graves Simcoe.

Municipal composition

The main centres in Georgina are the communities of Keswick, Belhaven, Sutton, Jackson's Point, Baldwin, Virginia, Pefferlaw, Port Bolster, Udora and Willow Beach. Other settlements include Brighton Beach.

Demographics

Historical population Year Pop. ±% 1991 29,746 —     2001 39,263 +32.0% 2006 42,346 +7.9% 2011 43,517 +2.8%

According to the Canada 2006 Census conducted by Statistics Canada:

• Population: 43,517
• % Change (2006–2011): 2.8%
• Dwellings: 17,824
• Area (km².): 287.72
• Density (persons per km².): 151.2

Racial profile

• 96.1% White
• 1.6% Aboriginal
• 0.5% Black
• 0.3% Chinese

Religions

• 45.7% Protestant
• 22.4% Roman Catholic
• 3.3% other Christian
• 0.3% Jewish
• 28.3% non-religious

Mother Tongue

• 90.3% English
• 1.2% French
• 1.0% German
• 1.0% Italian

Government

Georgina and other communities on Lake Simcoe, Ontario

The Town of Georgina operates under a ward system, and its municipal council consists of the mayor, regional councillor (known procedurally as deputy mayor) and a councillor for each of the five wards. The current council consists of:

• Mayor: Margaret Quirk
• Deputy mayor/regional councillor: Danny Wheeler
• Councillor Ward 1: Naomi Davison
• Councillor Ward 2: Dan Fellini
• Councillor Ward 3: Dave Neeson
• Councillor Ward 4: Frank Sebo
• Councillor Ward 5: Dave Harding

The mayor and deputy mayor represent Georgina at meetings of York Regional Council.

Georgina is part of the Federal riding of York—Simcoe, represented by Peter Van Loan of the Conservative Party of Canada, first elected in 2006.

Provincially, it was part of the riding of York North until 2007 and is now part of the provincial riding of York-Simcoe, represented by Julia Munro of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, who was first elected in 1995.

Notable residents

• Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame member Whipper Billy Watson was a lifelong resident, and he spearheaded the campaign to build the Georgina Cultural Centre in the 1980s, which also houses the Stephen Leacock Theatre.
• Keswick is the birthplace and childhood home of former NHL goaltender Curtis Joseph
• Captain William Johnson, former Royal Navy officer and founder of Pefferlaw, Ontario.
• Noted writer Stephen Leacock settled on a farm near Egypt, a hamlet within Georgina.
• Jim Carrey, a Canadian actor, comedian, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer. His family settled in Sutton, Ontario for his early life.

Attractions

• Canadian Ice Fishing Championship Annual event
• Captain William Johnson's Old Mill
• St. George's Anglican Church, built in 1877 by the pioneering Sibbald family and burial place of Stephen Leacock and Mazo de la Roche
• Roche's Point Anglican Church, built in 1862
• The ROC (Recreational Outdoor Campus), including the Georgina Pioneer Village Museum and Archives
• The Red Barn Theatre, Canada's oldest summer stock theatre. [Currently not operating due to a fire in 2010.]
• Stephen Leacock Theatre
• Duclos Point Nature Reserve
• Georgina Arts Centre and Gallery
• The Peter Gzowski Festival of Stories
• Georgina Public Libraries
• Georgina Skate Park
• Georgina Studio Tour
• York Regional Forests
• Sibbald Point Provincial Park
• Sutton Fair and Horse Show
• Walking Trails
• Madeira Park - Portuguese Ethnic Cultural Park - Roman Catholic (Summer Events)
• The Briars Resort and Golf Club, built and owned by the Sibbald family
• Ice Fishing, Georgina was proclaimed the Ice Fishing Capital of North America in the 1990s
• Willow Beach Conservation Area

Local clubs and associations

• Georgina Ice Junior C Hockey
• Georgina Girls Hockey Association
• Georgina Minor Baseball Association
• Georgina Minor Hockey Association
• Jericho Youth Services
• Lake Simcoe Minor Softball Association
• Lake Simcoe Soccer Club
• Sail Georgina
• Sutton Agricultural Society
• Georgina-Brock Garden Club
• Lake Simcoe Gardeners
• Georgina Trail Riders Snowmobile Club
• Georgina Military Museum
• Sutton & District Lions Club
• Kinsmen Club of Keswick
• Kinsmen Club of Sutton (Service Club)
• South Lake Simcoe Naturalists (Nature Group)
• Canadian Madeira Club - Madeira Park

See also

• List of townships in Ontario

External links

• Town of Georgina