The southern portion of Durham Region, on Lake Ontario, is primarily suburban in nature, forming the eastern end of the "905 belt" of suburbs around Toronto, while the northern portion comprises rural areas and small towns. The city of Pickering, town of Ajax, and the township of Uxbridge are part of the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area, while the communities of Oshawa, Whitby, and Clarington comprise the Oshawa Census Metropolitan Area.
Administrative divisions
Durham Region consists of the following municipalities (in order of population):
The Region of Durham was established in 1974 as one of several new regional governments in the Province of Ontario, primarily in fast-growing urban and suburban areas. It encompasses areas that had been part of Ontario County and the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham, and was the culmination of a series of studies into municipal governance in the "Oshawa-Centred Region" that had begun in the late 1960s.
The boundaries of the region were different from what had been anticipated and announced in late 1972. For example, it was widely expected that Pickering would be annexed to Metropolitan Toronto, which residents had supported in a ballot question. In addition, the region was proposed to extend further east to include Hope Township and the town of Port Hope, and did not include the northern townships of Scott, Brock and Thorah.
As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Regional Municipality of Durham had a population of 696,992 living in 243,048 of its 250,559 total private dwellings, a change of 7.9% from its 2016 population of 645,862. With a land area of 2,521.11 km2 (973.41 sq mi), it had a population density of 276.5/km2 (716.0/sq mi) in 2021.[1]
With a current population of 700,000, the population is expected to exceed one million by 2041.[9] Of considerable potential impact to the future of the economy in Durham Region is the proposed federal airport in north Pickering. The federal government acquired 18,600 acres of land in Pickering under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1972 for the construction of a future airport. However, the project has remained in limbo since and much of the land has been leased for farming.[10] In January 2018, a report released by Urban Strategies, Inc. indicated that the Pickering airport lands provide the best opportunity to meet the growing demand for air travel and goods movement in the Greater Toronto Area, demand that Toronto Pearson airport will eventually be unable to accommodate.[11]
As of December 2016, Durham Region had over 250 energy, environment, and engineering related businesses that employed over 11,000 individuals, making Durham Region the top employer of energy sector professionals in the Greater Toronto and Hamiton Area (GTHA).[12] Durham Region's agricultural sector is one of the largest primary goods-producing sectors in the region.[13] The agriculture sector is supported by local organizations such as Durham Farm Fresh who assist in the marketing, promotion, and advocacy for local food. The film industry is active and growing in Durham Region, due to increasing demands for locations and talent across Ontario.[14] In June 2015, a major film studio development was announced in Pickering.[15] Canada’s largest film industry backlot opened in Pickering in late 2021.[16]
The innovative technology sector is emerging in Durham Region, supported by a Regional Innovation Centre in Oshawa and a technology accelerator in Whitby.[17][18] Whitby is the location of the headquarters of 360 Insights a significant employer in Durham Region.[19]
83 per cent of Durham residents over 18 have a certificate, diploma or degree.[20]
The unemployment rate is 5.4% as of March 2022.[21] Emerging employment sectors in Durham Region include sustainable energy, local food production, bio-sciences, next-generation automotive, logistics, advanced manufacturing, construction, and technology.[22]
Durham Region is a major centre of the automotive industry in Canada. Oshawa is the Canadian headquarters of General Motors and home of what was once GM's largest plant in North America. In addition, the Canadian headquarters of Volkswagen is located in the region, BMW was located in the region until moving to Richmond Hill in 2010. The worldwide recession and spike in oil prices resulted in large-scale layoffs at GM beginning in 2008, along with the closure of the Oshawa Truck plant in 2009. This dramatically reduced employment levels at GM, and also resulted in significant employment losses and closures in the auto parts industry. On November 26, 2018, General Motors announced that no future product would be allotted to Oshawa beyond 2019 and that manufacturing operations would cease in December 2019. In October 2019, General Motors announced the construction of a 55-acre autonomous vehicle test track in Oshawa to be named the Canadian Technical Centre (CTC) McLaughlin Advanced Technology Track.[24] GM Canada then reopened the plant in Oshawa and began manufacturing trucks in November 2021.[25]
Durham Region is the Clean Energy Capital of Canada. Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is the largest employer in the region. OPG is Canada's largest owner of nuclear power plants with responsibility for operating the Pickering A, B, and Darlington nuclear generating stations, all of which are located in Durham Region. In June 2019 OPG announced it would be building a new corporate campus in Durham Region, in the Municipality of Clarington, by 2024.[26] In 2023, Ontario Power Generation announced they were changing plans and had purchased the former General Motors Canada head office building and were updating it to be their new corporate headquarters.[27] Ontario Tech University offers the first accredited program of its kind in Canada with an undergraduate degree program in Nuclear Engineering. It is also a leader is Energy Systems and Nuclear Science programs. The Clean Energy Research Lab (CERL) is a facility focused on pioneering clean energy research.[28]
Tourism
Tourism is a significant economic sector in Durham Region. Durham Region currently hosts more than four million visitors each year, who spend over $300 million.[29] A casino resort is under development in Durham Region which will include a casino resort, convention centre, film studios, indoor waterpark, cinemas, restaurants, office tower and an amphitheatre.[30][31] The Pickering Casino Resort opened in July 2021, and the Hotel opened in January 2023 and construction of various associated amenities is ongoing.[32]
Shopping
Major shopping centres located in Durham Region include:
Highway 407, a privately owned toll freeway, enters the region south of Highway 7 and travels east to Durham Regional Road 1 (Brock Road) before transitioning to a provincially owned highway, Highway 407E. This route travels generally parallel to Highway 7 until the community of Brooklin in Whitby extending east to Highway 35 / 115 towards Lindsay and Peterborough.
Highway 412, part of the Highway 407E project, connects south to Highway 401 parallel and east of Durham Regional Road 23 (Lakeridge Road).
Highway 418, opened on December 9, 2019,[36] runs between Durham Regional Road 34 (Courtice Road) and Road 57 (Waverley Road) from Highway 401, southwest of Bowmanville, north to near Hampton (north of Durham Regional Road 4 (Taunton Road)), connecting with the extension of Highway 407.
This is the only region of the Greater Toronto Area where the Trans-Canada Highway passes through. The TC's Central Ontario Route enters from the northeast at Manilla along Highway 7, makes an abrupt turn near Sunderland onto Highway 12 heading north towards Beaverton and the northern regional boundary.
Public transportation
Public transit in the Region is operated by Durham Region Transit, which was formed in January 2006 when the five preexisting municipal public transit systems in the region were merged under the Region's administration.
A DRT bus awaits passengers at the Ajax GO station
In addition, GO Transit provides the following services within the Region:
Durham Region also has a small maritime industry centered on the Port of Oshawa. The port received around 50 lake freighters per year between 2007 and 2017 and acts as an export terminal for agricultural products from Durham and nearby regions.
The Durham District School Board operates all English-language secular public schools within Durham Region, except for those schools within Clarington, which are part of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. This is a holdover from the pre-1974 structure in which the area now forming Clarington was part of Durham County, while the other municipalities were part of Ontario County.
Neither school board is an operating division of the regional government. Instead, as is true of all school boards in Ontario, they are separate entities with distinct but overlapped service areas. Elected public trustees responsible for their operation.
Durham College has two campuses in Durham Region, the Oshawa Campus (left), located in North Oshawa, and the Whitby Campus (right), located in south Whitby.
Ontario Tech University is a science, technology engineering and math (STEM)-focused, research driven institution. Ontario Tech is home to the [ACE Climatic Wind Tunnel, a research, development and testing facility available for rent to manufacturers of all descriptions, startup companies and researchers in Canada and around the globe. Ontario Tech University is rated number 1 in cross-sector research among Canadian undergraduate universities. Within 15 years of its founding, Ontario Tech quickly earned a reputation for computer science, ranking among the top 10 programs in Canada and 4th in Ontario.[37]
Durham College has campuses in Oshawa and Whitby, and has nine academic schools across a wide range of disciplines.[38]
Trent University Durham offers full and part-time undergraduate programs, as well as post-graduate certificates. Other key programs at Trent University Durham include Bachelors of Business Administration, Computing Systems, and Communications & Critical Thinking as well as a Master of Management, which is a 16 month professional master program. Trent University Durham announced in 2019 plans to expand their campus in Oshawa to include 200 on-campus residences, "creative learning spaces"[clarification needed], and academic space.[39]
^Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.
^Statistic includes total responses of "Filipino" and "Southeast Asian" under visible minority section on census.
^Statistic includes total responses of "Chinese", "Korean", and "Japanese" under visible minority section on census.
^Statistic includes total responses of "West Asian" and "Arab" under visible minority section on census.
^Statistic includes total responses of "Visible minority, n.i.e." and "Multiple visible minorities" under visible minority section on census.
^Ontario County, and portions of the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham were amalgamated in 1974 to form the regional municipality. The Durham portion of the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham was initially established as Durham County in 1792, before it was amalgamated with Northumberland County in 1850 to form the United Counties. Ontario County was formed from York County in 1852. The two counties operated until 1974 when they were dissolved, and Ontario County and the Durham portion of the United Counties were amalgamated to form the regional municipality.
^"Trails of Uxbridge". DiscoverUxbridge.ca. Township of Uxbridge. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
^"About Durham Region". Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
^"Extension of Ontario Hwy. 407, new Hwy. 418 open east of Toronto". On-Site. 9 December 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019. An eastern extension of Ontario Hwy. 407 and a new toll road to connect the lengthened highway to nearby Hwy. 401 opened Dec. 9 on the outskirts of Toronto.
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