Whitchurch-Stouffville | |
---|---|
Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville | |
Motto: Country close to the city. | |
Coordinates: 44°00′31″N 79°19′03″W / 44.00861°N 79.31750°W[1] | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
Regional municipality | York |
Incorporated | Township of Whitchurch 1792 |
Incorporated | Village of Stouffville 1877 |
Amalgamation | January 1, 1971 |
Government | |
• Type | Municipality |
• Mayor | Iain Lovatt[2] |
• Councillors | List |
• MPP | Paul Calandra |
• MP | Helena Jaczek |
Area | |
• Total | 206.42 km2 (79.70 sq mi) |
Elevation | 239 m (784 ft) |
Population | |
• Total | 49,864 |
• Density | 241.6/km2 (626/sq mi) |
• Growth | +8.8% (2,016–2,021) |
Time zone | UTC−05:00 (EST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
Forward sortation area | |
Area code(s) | 905, 289, and 365 |
Highways | Highway 48 Highway 404 |
Website | www.townofws.ca |
Whitchurch-Stouffville /ˈwɪtʃərtʃˈstoʊvɪl/ (2021 population 49,864[3]) is a town in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada, approximately 50 km (31 mi) north of downtown Toronto, and 55 km (34 mi) north-east of Toronto Pearson International Airport. It is 206.22 km2 (79.62 sq mi) in area, and located in the mid-eastern area of the Regional Municipality of York on the ecologically-sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine. Its motto since 1993 is "country close to the city".[5]
The town is bounded by Davis Drive (York Regional Road 31) in the north, York-Durham Line (York Regional Road 30) in the east, and Highway 404 in the west. The southern boundary conforms with a position approximately 200 m (660 ft) north of 19th Avenue (York Regional Road 29), and is irregular due to the annexation of lands formerly part of Markham Township in 1971.[6]
Between 2011 and 2021, the town grew 32.8%.[7] The number of private dwellings jumped from 7,642 in 2001 to 16,705 in 2021, with an average of 3.0 people per private dwelling.[8] The town projects a total population of 72,109 by 2031, and 91,654 in 2041, with most of the growth within the urban boundaries of the Community of Stouffville plus lands adjacent to Highway 48 and south of Stouffville Road.[9] Future growth is governed provincially by the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act (2001), the Greenbelt Protection Act (2005) and the Places to Grow Act (2005).[10] The intent of these statutes is to prevent urban sprawl on environmentally sensitive land and to protect the ecological integrity of the moraine and its hydrological features.