Vaughan, Ontario

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City of Vaughan

Motto: The City Above Toronto
Geography
Area - Total	275 km²
City Hall (Civic Centre)	Maple
ISO 3166-2	CA-ON
Telephone Area Codes	905,289
Regional Municipality	York Region
Coordinates	43°50′N 79°30′W
Demographics
Population: (2006 est.)	245,000
Population Rank: (2001 Census)	20th in Canada
Race[1] (as of 2001)	81.0% White 5.9% South Asian 3.5% Chinese 1.9% Black 6.2% Other.
Politics
City of Vaughan Council http://www.vaughan.ca/
City Council
Mayor	Linda Jackson
Regional Councillor	Joyce Frustaglio
Regional Councillor	Mario Ferri
Regional Councillor	Gino Rosati
Ward 1	Peter Meffe
Ward 2	Tony Carella
Ward 3	Bernie di Vona
Ward 4	Sandra Yeung Racco
Ward 5	Alan Shefman
City Manager	Michael DeAngelis
MPs	Susan Kadis (LPC) - Thornhill Maurizio Bevilacqua (LPC) - Vaughan
MPPs	Mario Racco (OLP) - Thornhill Greg Sorbara (OLP) - Vaughan
Communities
Thornhill, Concord, Kleinburg, Maple, Woodbridge

Vaughan (2006 population 245,000)^[2] is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada,^[3] having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is part of the Greater Toronto Area. Its slogan is "the city above Toronto".

[edit] History

The first European to pass through Vaughan was the French explorer Étienne Brûlé, who traversed the Humber Trail in 1615. However, it was not until the townships were created in 1792 that Vaughan began to see any settlements, as it was considered to be extremely remote and the lack of roads through the region made travel difficult.

Despite the hardships of pioneer life, settlers came to Vaughan in considerable numbers. The population grew from 19 men, 5 women, and 30 children in 1800 to 4300 in 1840. The first people to arrive were mainly Pennsylvania Germans, with a smaller number of families of English descent and a group of French Royalists being represented. This migration from the United States was by 1814 superseded by an influx of immigrants from Britain. While many of their predecessors had been agriculturalists, the newer immigrants proved to be highly skilled tradespeople, which would prove useful for a growing community.

Around the facilities established by this group arose a number of hamlets, the oldest of which was Thornhill, which witnessed the construction of a saw-mill in 1801, a grist mill in 1815, and boasted a population of 300 by 1836. Other such enclaves included Kleinburg, Coleraine, Maple, Richmond Hill, Teston, Claireville, Pine Grove, Carrville, Patterson, Burlington, Concord, Edgeley, Fisherville, Elder's Mills, Elgin Mills, Jefferson, Nashville, Purpleville, Richvale, Sherwood, Langstaff, Vellore and Burwick (Woodbridge).

Vaughan changed relatively little in its early history, from the 1840s when the number of inhabitants stood at 4300 to 1935 when it had 4873 residents. However, World War II sparked an influx of immigration, and by 1960 the population stood at 15,957. As well, the ethno-cultural composition of the area began to change with the arrival of different groups such as the Italians, Jews and Eastern Europeans.

Incorporated in 1850 as Vaughan Township, a municipal government was established. In 1971, the new regional government of York Region was established, acquiring policing and welfare services from the communities it served; simultaneously, the township merged with the Village of Woodbridge to form the Town of Vaughan. In 1991, it officially changed its legal status to City of Vaughan.^[4]

[edit] Law/Government

Following the death of Mayor Lorna Jackson in 2002, Michael Di Biase was appointed by Vaughan council as interim mayor by virtue of his position as one of two regional councillors representing Vaughan, Joyce Frustaglio was the other regional councillor. Gino Rosati, a Vaughan local councillor, was subsequently appointed by Vaughan Council to fill Di Biase’s position as regional councillor and a by-election was held to fill Rosati’s local councillor’s position which was won by Linda Jackson. Di Biase became involved in the city's politics when he was elected local councillor in 1985. In the 2003 Municipal Election, Di Biase won his first official term since Jackson's passing.

The City of Vaughan's Council is made up of nine members; a mayor, three regional councillors and five local councillors. The mayor, elected at large by electorate, is the head of Vaughan council and a representative on York Region Council. The three regional councillors are elected to represent Vaughan at both local and regional levels of government. Five local councillors are elected, one from each of Vaughan's five wards, to represent those wards on Vaughan Council. City councillors meet at the Civic Centre, located in the community of Maple. Construction recently began on a new city hall, to be called the Lorna D. Jackson Civic Centre in memory of the late Mayor. The new Civic Centre will be one of the first in Canada to conform to a LEED Gold Standard, the second highest environmental classification available.[1] The Toronto Star newspaper has made claims that the naming was part of a preliminary deal that would wrap up an outstanding lawsuit between the Jackson estate and the city^[5].

Vaughan is the first municipality in Ontario to have a Youth City Councillor. The youth city councillor is appointed as a non-voting member of Council every six months to represent the youth of Vaughan. Vaughan council originally rejected the proposal of a youth councillor but after the Vaughan Youth Cabinet amended their proposal, Council accepted the recommendation.^[6].

In the municipal election on November 13, 2006, Di Biase was narrowly defeated by Linda D. Jackson, who was sworn in as mayor on December 4, 2006.

[edit] Geography

Vaughan is bounded by Caledon, Ontario and Brampton, Ontario to the west, King, Ontario and Richmond Hill, Ontario to the north, Markham, Ontario and Richmond Hill, Ontario to the east, and Toronto, Ontario to the south. It is located at 43°50′N 79°30′W.

[edit] Demographics

Vaughan is one of southern Ontario's fastest growing cities. According to Statistics Canada, the population grew 37.3[3] percent in a mere four year period (more than 9.3% annually), and also has a young age profile than the Canadian average as 22.3 percent is under the age of 14, while those over 65 constitute 8.15%, one of the lowest in Ontario resulting in an average age of 34.1.

Vaughan is reputably known as having some of the highest concentrations of southern Europeans (notably Italian-Canadians), Eastern Europeans (chiefly Russians and Poles) and Jewish people in Ontario, while those who are of British Isles origin form a smaller proportion than in many other southern Ontario cities. Around 19 percent of the population are members of visible minority (non-European/white). Vaughan has a large south Asian population, with indian and Pakistani canadians holding a large portion of the non-white population. Vaughan also has a small but growing Hispanic, Jamaican, Vietnameese and Chinese Populaion. Residents of Vaughan are very religious; the city has the lowest number of non-affliliates in Ontario. Some 67.42% of the population adheres to Christianity, mostly Roman Catholicism (55.80%). Those who practice non-Christian religions are also great in number, mostly Judaism (18.20%), Hindu (2.47%), and Islam (2.43%).

[edit] Attractions

• Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum
• McMichael Canadian Art Collection, located in Kleinburg.
• Paramount Canada's Wonderland, Canada's largest amusement park located in Maple.
• Vaughan Mills, the newest mall in the Greater Toronto Area, was recently constructed in Vaughan.

[edit] Education

York University in North York, Ontario lies on the Toronto side of the Toronto-Vaughan border. It is a major comprehensive university, with more than 43,000 students enrolled through ten different faculties. There are also a number of Elementary and High Schools in Vaughan which operate under the York Region District School Board and the York Catholic District School Board.

[edit] Sister cities or city twinnings

• Sora, Italy (1992)
• Ramla, Israel (1993)
• Sanjo, Japan (1993)
• Yangzhou, China (1995)
• Baguio, Philippines (1997)
• Delia, Italy (1998)
• Lanciano, Italy (2002)

[edit] Media

• Vaughan Citizen

[edit] Trivia

• The City of Vaughan is self styled as “The City Above Toronto”, however the media has recently put a unique twist to this slogan by referring to it on a number of occasions as “The City Above The Law” due to the perception of scandal. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
• The City of Vaughan is the largest city in Canada without a hospital within its city boundaries.
• Even though Vaughan is a city, it is not in the phone book. Instead, its constituent communities are still listed separately in the YellowPages directory and White Pages.

[edit] External links

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• City of Vaughan official website
• Vaughan Watchdog website

[edit] References

1. ^ 2001 Community Profiles, Statistics Canada
2. ^ Mayor's speech at the Cultural Heritage Night, February 21, 2006. City of Vaughan.
3. ^ Changes in population at the community level. A profile of the Canadian population: where we live. Statistics Canada (2003-01-20). Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
4. ^ (1992) Bulletin #4: Settlement, Education, Social and Political History. City of Vaughan Archives, Cultural Services Division.
5. ^ Toronto Star article on Jackson estate lawsuit
6. ^ Youth in Politics Article

		King, Richmond Hill
	Caledon, Brampton	Vaughan	Markham, Richmond Hill
		Toronto