Georgina, Ontario

Via: Wikipedia

Georgina (Canada 2011 Census population 43,517) is a town in south-central Ontario, and the northernmost municipality in the Regional Municipality of York. It forms part of the northern boundary of the Greater Toronto Areaand is situated on the southern shores of 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, Suttonand 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.

Municipal Composition

The main centres in Georgina are the communities of Keswick, Belhaven, Sutton, Jackson's Point,^[3] Baldwin, Virginia, Pefferlaw, Port Bolster, Udora and Willow Beach. Other settlements include Brighton Beach.^[4]

Georgina Demographics

According to the Canada 2006 Census conducted by Statistics Canada:^[2]

• 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^[5]

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

Mother Tongue^[6]

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

Georgina Government

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: Robert Grossi (since 1994)
• Deputy Mayor/Regional Councillor: Danny Wheeler
• Councillor Ward 1: Naomi Davison
• Councillor Ward 2: Phil Craig
• Councillor Ward 3: Dave Szollosy
• Councillor Ward 4: Ken Hackenbrook
• Councillor Ward 5: Brad Smockum

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, 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 of Georgina

• 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.

Georgina Attractions

• Canadian Ice Fishing Championship Annual event^[7]
• Captain William Johnson's Old Mill^[8]
• St. George's Anglican Church, built in 1877 by the pioneering Sibbald family and burial place of Stephen Leacock and Mazo de la Roche^[8]
• Roche's Point Anglican Church, built in 1862^[8]
• The ROC (Recreational Outdoor Campus), including the Georgina Pioneer Village Museum and Archives
• Red Barn Theatre, Canada's oldest summer stock theatre.^[8]
• Stephen Leacock Theatre
• Duclos Point Nature Reserve
• Georgina Arts Centre and Gallery
• The Peter Gzowski Festival of Stories ^[9]
• Georgina Public Libraries
• Georgina Skate Park
• Georgina Studio Tour
• York Regional Forests
• Sibbald Point Provincial Park
• Sutton Fair and Horse Show
• Walking Trails
• 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

Georgina Clubs and Associations

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