Milton (2021 population: 132,979) is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Regional Municipality of Halton in the Greater Toronto Area. Between 2001 and 2011, Milton was the fastest growing municipality in Canada, with a 71.4% increase in population from 2001 to 2006 and another 56.5% increase from 2006 to 2011. In 2016, Milton's census population was 110,128 with an estimated growth to 228,000 by 2031. It remained the fastest growing community in Ontario, but was deemed to be the 6th-fastest growing in Canada at that time.
Milton is located west of Downtown Toronto on Highway 401, and is the western terminus for the Milton line commuter train and bus corridor operated by GO Transit. Milton is situated on the Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO world biosphere reserve and the Bruce Trail.
History The Mississaugas of the Credit held 648,000 acres of land north of the Head of the Lake Purchase lands and extending to the unceded territory of the Chippewa of Lakes Huron and Simcoe. In mid-October 1818, the Chippewa ceded their land to the Crown in the Lake Simcoe-Nottawasaga Treaty and, by the end of October, the Crown sought to purchase the adjacent lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit. The Deputy Superintendent of the Indian Department, William Claus, met with the Mississaugas from October 27–29, 1818, and proposed that the Mississaugas sell their 648,000 acres of land in exchange for an annual amount of goods. The continuous inflow of settlers into their lands and fisheries had weakened the Mississaugas' traditional economy and had left them in a state of impoverishment and a rapidly declining population. In their enfeebled state, Chief Ajetance (d. 1829), on behalf of the assembled people, readily agreed to the sale of their lands for £522.10 of goods paid annually. Significant municipalities found within the lands of the Ajetance Purchase of 1818 include Brampton and Milton.
The town took root out of a settlement by Jasper Martin along the Sixteen Mile Creek; Martin immigrated from Newcastle upon Tyne, England with his wife Sarah Coates and two sons on May 17, 1818. Martin was granted of land, from the Crown in 1820, designated Lot 14, Concession 2, Township of Trafalgar. Martin built a grist mill along the creek and created a pond, known as Mill Pond, to power his mill. The mill became the centre of settlement for others as they settled in the region. In 1837 the area had a population of approximately 100 people and was named after the English poet John Milton. The town, as it is today, soon after became known as Milton. The two principal property owners of the young town were the Martins and the Fosters, whose names are still reflected in numerous buildings and streets in Milton.
Milton was incorporated into a town in 1857. Hugh Foster, of the aforementioned Foster family, donated of land to the county to construct the Milton Town Hall which stands on Mary Street.
By 1869, Milton had a population of 1,000. Records from 1874 indicate that Milton had county buildings, a telegraph office, a foundry, a tannery, a woolen factory, a grist mill and a saw mill, a weekly newspaper and a number of stores.
In 1891, Milton used electricity to light its streets for the first time and in 1905 the Town purchased the Milton Electric Light Company and built its own power station.
In the early 1900s, Milton was well known for the P.L. Robertson Manufacturing Company — the first manufacturer to make socket-head screws. Although founded in Hamilton in 1907, the business relocated to Milton in 1908. P.L. Robertson was the inventor of the square-socket drive for screws.
In 1974, the town of Milton added parts of the former township of Esquesing (most of this township comprises Halton Hills), all of Nassagaweya Township including the village of Campbellville, and the northern sections of Trafalgar and Nelson from (a 1962 annexation of the former townships) Oakville and Burlington respectively.
With the addition of the Niagara Escarpment lands, tourism, recreation, and heritage conservation have increased in importance. The Halton Region Museum, which has a large number of historic agricultural buildings, and the Halton County Radial Railway museum are located in Milton, as is Country Heritage Park (formerly the Ontario Agricultural Museum). Five large parks operated by Conservation Halton reside in the town, and Mohawk Raceway is located near Campbellville. It is also home to Maplehurst Correctional Complex, the Vanier Centre for Women and one of two criminal courthouses serving Halton Region.
On January 1, 2010, the City of Mississauga bought land along the eastern side of Milton's border, reducing Milton's area by , and affecting 25 residents.
Climate Milton is classified as a humid continental climate (Dfb) in the Koppen climate classification system. The town has 4 distinct seasons and year round precipitation with warm, rainy summers with cool nights and long, cold, and snowy winters.
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Milton had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
An October 2019 report stated that the average household income was $111,875, that the unemployment rate was 5.7%, and that the crime rate per 100,000 residents was low, at 2,133.
Ethnicity + Panethnic groups in the Town of Milton (2001−2021)Panethnicgroup20212016201120062001 European 57,950 61,280 58,045 43,865 29,800 South Asian 37,100 22,895 11,685 3,105 210 Middle Eastern 9,170 4,820 1,810 625 45 African 7,655 5,280 2,740 1,695 310 Southeast Asian 6,585 5,095 3,335 1,345 95 East Asian 4,775 3,425 2,120 1,040 235 Latin American 3,405 2,575 1,665 700 55 Indigenous 945 1,040 545 425 170 Other 3,850 2,520 1,625 610 100 Total responses 131,430 108,935 83,580 53,405 31,005 Total population 132,979 110,128 84,362 53,939 31,471 Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses.
Language The 2021 census found that English was the mother tongue of 55.6% of the population. The next most common mother tongues were Urdu (9.7%), Arabic (4.1%), Spanish (2.3%), Punjabi (1.8%), Tagalog (Filipino) (1.5%), Polish (1.3%), Portuguese (1.3%), Mandarin (1.1%), French (1.1%), and Hindi (1.1%).
Religion According to the 2021 census, the religion with the most adherents in Milton is Christianity (48.2%). Other religions include Islam (23.1%), Hinduism (6.1%), Sikhism (2.4%), and Buddhism (0.6%), and 18.9% reported no religious affiliation.
Neighbourhoods Milton's Planning Department divides the town into communities. These divisions have little to do with politics and are based on traditional neighbourhoods.