Aurora, Ontario

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Town of Aurora
Motto: You're in Good Company
This map shows the location of Aurora, in relation to York Region. The red shaded portion indicates Aurora's location.
This map shows the location of Aurora, in relation to York Region. The red shaded portion indicates Aurora's location.
Coordinates: 43°59′51″N 79°28′12″W / 43.9975, -79.47
Settled 1854
Incorporated As A Town 1888
Government
 - Mayor Phyllis Morris
 - Councilors Bob McRoberts
Evelina MacEachern
Wendy Gaertner
Stephen Granger
Grace Marsh
Alison Collins-Mrakas
Evelyn Buck
Al Wilson
Area
 - Total 49.61 km² (19.2 sq mi)
Population (2006)
 - Total 47,629
 - Density 960/km² (2,486.4/sq mi)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
List of L Postal Codes of Canada 4G
Area code(s) 905, 289
GNBC CGNDB Key FDJFO[1]
Website: Town of Aurora's Official Site

Aurora (2006 Population 47,629[2]) is an affluent[citation needed] Canadian town in York Region, approximately 40 km north of Toronto. It is situated on the Oak Ridges Moraine in a part of the Golden Horseshoe. Nearly 7% of Aurora's residents are visible minorities.[2]

Many Aurora residents commute to Toronto, and the town is part of the Greater Toronto Area.

In the Canada 2006 Census, the national rank of population of Aurora rose above 100th for the first time, reaching 97th in Canada's list of largest municipalities in terms of population, compared to 113th in the 2001 Census. [3]

Contents

[edit] History

Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe gave the order for Yonge Street to be extended to Holland Landing in 1793, the way was paved for the establishment of a community where Aurora now stands.

In 1804, Richard Machell became the first merchant at the cross roads of Yonge and Wellington and the hamlet soon became known as Machell's Corners.

Charles Doan was another early businessman at Machell's Corners and became the first postmaster and later the first reeve. As postmaster, he was influential in renaming the village Aurora. With the coming of the railway in 1853, Aurora emerged as an important centre north of Toronto. The Fleury plow works was established soon after and Aurora was on its way to becoming a flourishing industrial town.

The population of Aurora in 1863 was 700 and when Aurora became a town in 1888, the town had grown to 2,107. With some ups and downs in growth over the years, Aurora is now a flourishing town with a strong commercial and industrial base.

Worthy of note is the fact that Aurora was the childhood home of Lester B. Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada from 1963-1968, when his father, Rev. Edwin Pearson, was the Methodist minister.

[edit] Government

The Town of Aurora municipal government is composed of the Mayor and eight Councilors elected on an "at large" basis. The Mayor represents the Town at York Region Council. As of November of 2006, the current mayor is Phyllis Morris.

The town is part of the federal riding of Newmarket—Aurora. The riding is presently represented in the Canadian House of Commons by Belinda Stronach, a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. She had been elected as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada, but on May 17, 2005 she switched parties, citing discomfort with the social policies of the Conservatives as one of the reasons for the switch. She was re-elected as a Liberal in the election on January 23, 2006. In April, 2007, she announced that she will leave politics and return to her father's business, Magna International.[4]

[edit] Emergency services

Local police services are provided by the York Regional Police, who serve all of the municipalities of the region. Fire protection services are provided by Central York Fire Services, a shared arrangement with the town of Newmarket.

Public health services are managed by York Region. There is no hospital within Aurora's boundaries; the nearest one is Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket.

[edit] Education

Public school education is governed by the York Region District School Board, which has two high schools in Aurora:

as well as several elementary schools.

The York Catholic District School Board also runs several elementary schools as well as Cardinal Carter Catholic High School.

Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud, which administers French-language Catholic schools runs an elementary school, École St. Jean, and a high school, École secondaire catholique Renaissance (formerly ÉSC Cardinal-Carter).

Also, St. Andrew's College, an independent school for boys, is located in Aurora.

[edit] Urban planning

Currently, an undeveloped portion of Aurora is subject to the Ontario Government's Greenbelt legislation.

[edit] Community associations and services

Aurora is home to:

[edit] Recreation and sports

[edit] Media

[edit] Notable residents

[edit] References

  1. ^ Aurora. Canadian Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
  2. ^ a b Community highlights for Aurora. Canada 2006 Census. Statistics Canada (2007-03-13). Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
  3. ^ Aurora, ON Population Info and rankings compare to other Canadian Cities
  4. ^ reportonbusiness.com: Purchase this article

[edit] External links

York Region, Ontario Portal
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Municipalities of York Region, Ontario