Newmarket, Ontario

Newmarket is a town located approximately 45 km north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Newmarket is served by three interchanges along Ontario provincial highway 404. It is the seat of York Region. Southlake Regional Health Centre (hospital) is located in Newmarket.

Map showing Newmarket's location in York Region

Newmarket's Old Town Hall – The belltower is the result of restoration work in the 1980s

Geography

Newmarket's geographical coördinates are 44.05°N, 79.46°W, and its elevation above sea level is 239 m. It has an area of 38.07 km² and is part of the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe in an area known as the "905 Region" (a reference to the GTA's telephone area code outside Toronto proper).

The town is bounded on the north by the Town of East Gwillimbury, on the east by the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, on the south by the Town of Aurora, and on the west by King Township, themselves all likewise part of York Region.

Newmarket lies north of the Oak Ridges Moraine. Hence, all drainage in the town flows northwards into Lake Simcoe. The main river in Newmarket is the East Holland River (known locally simply as the Holland River), and all other streams in the town are tributary thereto. These include Bogart Creek, a brook that wends its way into town from the moraine by way of Bogarttown emptying into the Holland in north-central Newmarket, Western Creek, another brook rising just west of town and reaching the Holland in the town's north end, Tannery Creek, a stream that joins the Holland in south Newmarket after flowing through Aurora, and a number of other small watercourses. North of Davis Drive, about 200 m downstream from the forks where Bogart Creek ends, the East Holland River does not follow a natural course. The river was straightened somewhat to prepare it for use as a commercial waterway. A series of locks was even built for this purpose, but the plan eventually came to naught in the early years of the twentieth century. The foreseen canal never opened, and Newmarket never became an inland port.

There are two man-made lakes in Newmarket. Fairy Lake (which is managed by the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority), is a favourite recreational spot in the centre of town is a former millpond on the East Holland River. Bogart Pond, also a former millpond, is fed and drained by Bogart Creek in Bogarttown. The latter is much smaller than the former, but is actually wider. Furthermore, the water level in the reach of the East Holland north of Davis Drive is controlled from an unfinished Newmarket Canal lock, now used as a weir.

Newmarket also lies south of and above the Algonquin Shoreline where elevations suddenly drop off from the gently rolling hills that characterize much of Newmarket to the much flatter, lower land down below in the Holland Marsh.

The land itself is characterized mainly by glacial deposits from the last ice age. The town is underlain mainly by sand and gravel, ground by the icesheets that covered the area until about 10,000 years ago. No outcrops are to be found anywhere in Newmarket, so deep are the glacial deposits.

Population

According to the 2001 Census, the town's population was 65,788. The Region of York Planning department currently (31 March 2006) puts the total at 77,518. According to the same source, the population projection for 2011 is 87,000. The town is currently one of the fastest growing and most densely populated in York Region.

Given the town's area, its latest population figure puts Newmarket's population density at just over 2036 inhabitants per square kilometre.

The town offers data about the cultural composition of its residents.

Arms

Newmarket's armorial bearing is actually taken from the town's corporate seal. The town flag is a navy blue field with this same design in the middle. The beehive and bees are said to represent industry. The current form of the seal was introduced in 1938 with the arms somewhat altered from – but very similar in concept to – one that was earlier used. The arms' origin is something of a mystery, however. It is unknown what artist created the current version – or indeed the earlier version – and the town has no official record as to the purchase or redesign of the arms.

Newmarket's coat of arms

Education

Newmarket has 15 elementary schools and 4 secondary schools under The York Region District School Board, 6 elementary schools and 1 secondary school under The York Catholic District School Board, and Pickering College, a private school.

The four secondary schools under the York Region District School Board are (in order that they were originally built):

Newmarket High School
Huron Heights Secondary School
Dr. John M. Denison Secondary School
Sir William Mulock Secondary School
There is currently just one secondary school under the leadership of the York Catholic District School Board:

Sacred Heart Catholic High School
There are also several private coeducational day schools in Newmarket:

Pickering College
Newmarket and District Christian Academy
Newmarket Montessori

Government

Tom Taylor has been the mayor of Newmarket since 1997. He announced that he would retire after the election on November 13, 2006, which was won by Tony van Bynen.

Prior to Mr.Taylor, the mayors of Newmarket have been:

1994 to 1997: John Cole
1979 to 1994: Ray Twinney
Bob Forhan

The town is part of the federal riding of Newmarket—Aurora. As of 2005, the riding is represented in the Canadian House of Commons by Belinda Stronach, a member of the Liberal Party of Canada and graduate of Newmarket High School. Ms. Stronach was elected as a member of the Conservatives and subsequently crossed the floor to the Liberals, but was re-elected as a Liberal on January 23, 2006.

The town is part of the provincial riding of York North in the Ontario Provincial Legislature. The riding includes Newmarket, East Gwillimbury, and Georgina. As of 2005, Conservative MPP Julia Munro represents York North.

Government offices in Newmarket:

Municipal Offices (Town Hall)
York Region Council
York Regional Police
Ontario Provincial Courthouse

Urban Planning

Based within the limits placed on low-density urban forms, a small portion of Newmarket is subject to the Ontario Government's Greenbelt (Golden Horseshoe) legislation.

Sports and Recreation

Hockey

Newmarket is represented in the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League by the Newmarket Hurricanes, whose home rink is Ray Twinney Complex. The 'Canes have an ongoing rivalry with the nearby Aurora Tigers.

Newmarket was previously home to the following teams:

Newmarket Saints from 1986 to 1991, a farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs who moved up from St.Catharines. The franchise was subsequently moved to St.John's, Newfoundland and became the St. John's Maple Leafs.

Newmarket Royals from 1992 to 1994. This was a franchise of the Ontario Hockey League who were previously the Cornwall Royals and in 1994 moved again to become the Sarnia Sting.

Golf

Two golf courses exist within Newmarket's town limits:

St. Andrew's Valley (public)
Glenway Country Club (private)
There are also several courses in the surrounding communities and countryside.

The above article in gray is licensed under the