YORK REGION

ork Region has a                 of new communities springing up.
population of over 870,000
people and covers an area       The York Region is host to over
of over 1,750 square kilometres.      25,000 businesses which provide
Sitting between Peel Region in        400,000 jobs - a number that is
the West and Durham region in the     growing by approximately 20,000
east, York Region consists of the     per year at current rates. With
Cities of Markham and Vaughan,        close proximity to the Pearson
with the townships of Aurora,         International airport and a
East Gwillimbury, King,               young, well educated workforce,
Newmarket, Richmond Hill and          York Region is one of the fastest
Whitchurch-Stouffville.               growing regions of the GTA and is
                                      very popular with Immigrants. The
The two main population centers       York Region Transit system
are the Cities of Markham and         connects most communities within
Vaughan. Both Cities have average     the Region to each other and the
populations with Markham being        Toronto GO Transit system to give
the largest in the Region with        a very effective public transport
over 220,000. Markham is renowned     network.
for being the Hi Tech capital of
Canada with several high profile      The Region administers the
corporate head offices making the     Healthcare and Education
city their home. The city is          following the Provincial
modern with excellent healthcare      guidelines. The York Region
and schooling. Vaughan has one        District School Board and the
particular claim to fame in being     York Region Catholic District
directly north of Toronto, making     School Board are responsible for
them “above” the main city. This      the day to day operations of the
too is a rapidly expanding city       Region's schools - all of which
with great facilities and plenty      can be contacted via these sites.

                                      Town website.

The Town Of Aurora - With a           The town itself is a historical
population of over 43,000, the        place with plenty of old
Town of Aurora is another rapidly     buildings with lots of character.
expanding town. The population is     With close proximity to both the
young and has a high average          big city of Toronto and the rural
income (compared to most Canadian     areas, Aurora provides excellent
towns) of around $110,000 per         recreational opportunities to its
household. The housing is fairly      residents. This ranges from
expensive though with an average      parks, playgrounds and pedestrian
price of a single family detached     trails to championship golf
home being over $370,000 two          courses, fine dining and theatre.
years ago!                            A full recreational program is
                                      offered in the Town which will
There is a large variety of           soon be augmented by a new state
employers in the town and it is       of the art Recreation Centre.
also commutable to the Toronto
downtown core. This gives a low       The Town Of East Gwillimbury is a
unemployment level of 4% in 2001      semi rural area located only half
with the majority of employment       an hours drive from Toronto.
in management/business, finance       Another historic area with
and sciences/technology.              settlement dating back to the
Manufacturing and retail are the      1700's, the population is now
other big areas of employment. To     over 20,000 and growing.
research all the businesses
currently operating in the town       Again, East Gwillimbury has an
go to the chamber of commerce         excellent array of recreational
site via the towns Economic           facilities including arena's,
Development Division page on the      trails, play parks and over 135

acres of parkland. There are ice      around and the communities have
rinks, outdoor sports pitches,        good facilities. Some of the more
the usual golf courses and for        prominent communities are
the less active a 16 screen movie     Keswick, Sutton, Udora, Jacksons
theatre.                              Point and Port Bolster.

There are a wide variety of           Most employment seems to be in
employers in the town providing       the local services and tourism
ample employment and the new GO       sector though full research can
Transit station gives good access     be carried out through the
to the city. The population also      chamber of commerce website.
enjoys an above average household
income.                               The Township Of King is home to
                                      around 20,000 people and is a
The Town Of Georgina is the most      fairly rural area. Famous for the
northerly area of the York Region     Holland Marsh - a fertile area
and is made up of several smaller     that produces most of the
communities. Situated on the          Provinces fresh vegetables - most
South eastern shores of Lake          industry is based upon the
Simcoe, the communities of            support of agriculture. There are
Georgina have plenty of beaches       a lot of Horse breeders in the
and open space - especially with      area along with livestock and
the area being known as "Getaway      dairy farms. There is some light
Country".                             industry and the Seneca College
                                      campus is located on the former
The lake offers up year round         Easton estate.
recreation including swimming,
boating, canoeing, fishing and        As with most Canadian towns, King
ice fishing to name a few. On top     has good sporting and leisure
of this the great outdoors is all     facilities including golf

courses, trails, parks and 3          would expect for a big town,
arena's. Most facilities are pay      Newmarket is home to the York
as you use - more details can be      Region Administrative
found on the township website.        Headquarters, the Provincial
The Township has a rich history       Court and the District 1 Police
dating back to the aboriginal         HQ.
peoples and then the western
settlers in the late 1600's. A        The Southlake regional health
museum is now dedicated to the        centre is a fully equipped modern
area's history and will be well       hospital with plans for
worth a visit.                        expansion. These combine to make
                                     local government the highest
There are excellent transport         employer in the area. On top of
links to Toronto and it's only        this, the local business
around 40 minutes to drive to         community is growing at over 3.5%
Pearson International airport         each year with retail stores and
(south). A prosperous town, the       manufacturing companies having a
average income back in 1996 was       large presence. Use the links on
over 97,000 with an unemployment      the town site to go to the
rate of 5%. In the 8 years since      Chamber of Commerce site for the
I can only see that the average       full listing of businesses.
income would rise to over
$100,000 per household.               For recreation purposes there is
                                      a full program of sports and
The Town Of Newmarket is another      activities with the new Ray
large town with a population of       Twinney Rec. centre having two
over 73,000 that is growing           arena's and an indoor pool. There
fairly quickly. Over 70% of the       are several other arena's, pools
population are under 45 years         and rinks in the town as well as
old. With all the amenities you       a youth centre with a fully

equipped skatepark. All the usual     municipalities in Canada and has
outdoor activities are available      a population of over 158,000.
in the area including hiking,         Situated directly North of
cross country skiing and golf.        Toronto, (between Markham and
For the less energetic, the Upper     Vaughan), Richmond Hill is
Canada Mall is an impressive 1        ideally located for commuting and
million square feet of shops          access to the city for recreation
which should pacify even the most     or onward travel. As with the
hardy shopper!                        other municipalities, Richmond
                                     Hill has the York Transit,
House prices are reasonable for       Toronto Transit Commission and
Ontario with the average in 2001      the GTA GO Transit networks
being $242,000 for a single           providing great options for
family detached home. Being           transport.
located close to Toronto brings
obvious benefits with great           Richmond Hill is renowned for its
transport links including the GTA     world class high tech
GO Transit system. The York           manufacturing and research
Region Transit system also            companies with the lowest R&D
operates in the town. Highway 404     taxes in the G7 group of
will direct you to the downtown       countries. Major international IT
area of Toronto in around 30          companies like Lexmark and Compaq
minutes and Pearson International     are headquartered here along with
airport is only an hour away.         MGI software and Shaw
Buttonville airport in nearby         Communications. The young
Markham is useful for lighter         population provide a well
regional aircraft.                    educated workforce and with the
                                      average cost of housing lower
The Town Of Richmond Hill is one      than most other areas of the GTA
of the fastest growing large          is a popular place to settle.

                                      links with the York Region
Recreational opportunities are        Transit and the GTA GO Transit
plentiful with Lake Wilcox            networks. Only 30 minutes from
providing aqautic fun along with      Pearson and 15 to Buttonville
the Lois Hancy Wave Pool and over     airports means you can soon be on
a hundred parks for jogging,          your travels.
cycling and hiking. Golfers are
well catered for and there are        The major employers are in the
movie theatres, the enormous          Business and personal services
central Library and the David         sector with the area experiencing
Dunlop Observatory for the less       a healthy 8.5% growth rate. Only
active.                               3% of the population remains
                                      unemployed.
The Town Of
Whitchurch-Stouffville is a           A modern Hospital opened in 1990
collection of smaller communities     and with good schools, a library
and rural areas and was               and Museum there are plenty of
established in 1792. Located some     facilities. The York-Durham
24 Km North of Toronto it is on       heritage railway runs through the
the Eastern/Central side of York      area with several stops and there
Region. There is a population of      are plenty of golf courses and
around 24,000 who enjoy pleasant      recreational programs.
countryside with farms and
equestrian facilities along with      For more detailed information and
the small urban centres.              great links please go to
                                      http://www.onestopimmigration-can
The area has good transportation      ada.com/york_region.html

About the Author:

dave Lympany emigrated to Canada with his family in 2003 and has developed a free onestop information resource for Canada and Canadian Immigration - http://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com