Rayside-Balfour | |
|---|---|
Community | |
 | |
 Location of Rayside-Balfour within Greater Sudbury | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| City | Greater Sudbury |
| Ward | 3, 4 |
| Incorporated | January 1, 1973 |
| Dissolved | December 31, 2000 |
| Government | |
| • City Councillor | Gerry Montpellier, Geoff McCausland |
| • Governing Body | Greater Sudbury City Council |
| • MPs | Marc Serré (Liberal) |
| • MPPs | France Gélinas (NDP) |
| Population (2011)Statistics Canada | |
| • Total | 14,557 |
| Population computed by combining Census Tracts 5800160.00, 5800161.01, 5800161.02 and 5800162.00 | |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| Postal Code FSA | P0M |
| Area code | 705 |
| Website | Rayside-Balfour Community Action Network |
Rayside-Balfour (1996 census population 16,050) was a town in Ontario, Canada, which existed from 1973 to 2000. It is now part of the city of Greater Sudbury.
The town was created as part of the Regional Municipality of Sudbury and took its name from the townships of Rayside and Balfour, which fell within the boundaries of the new town; prior to the town's creation in 1973, Rayside and Balfour were separately incorporated as township municipalities.[1]
Although the Regional Municipality of Sudbury was a very important centre of Franco-Ontarian population and culture, Rayside-Balfour was the only town in the regional municipality which had a majority francophone population. It remains as such still today.
On January 1, 2001, the town and the Regional Municipality were dissolved and amalgamated into the city of Greater Sudbury. The Rayside-Balfour area is now divided between Wards 3 and 4 on Greater Sudbury City Council, and is represented by councillors Gerry Montpellier and Geoff McCausland.
In 2006, there was interest in the deamalgamation of the former town of Rayside-Balfour from the City of Greater Sudbury. However, as any referendum on the matter would require the consent of the provincial government, any such move is not likely to take place.
In the Canada 2011 Census, the entire main populated core of Rayside-Balfour was counted as part of the population centre (or urban area) of Sudbury, with no separate population statistics published for the Rayside-Balfour area alone.[2] However, the four census tracts corresponding to the former Rayside-Balfour had a total population of 14,557. For the Canada 2016 Census, Chelmsford and Azilda were removed from the Sudbury population centre and each aggregated as their own new population centres, with Azilda having a population of 4,663 and Chelmsford having a population of 6,215. The latest population trend is increasing in Azilda, but relatively stable in Chelmsford.