Simcoe County is a county and census division located in the central region of Ontario, Canada. The county is located north of the Greater Toronto Area, and forms the northwestern edge of the Golden Horseshoe. The county seat is located in Midhurst. The cities of Barrie and Orillia are geographically within Simcoe County, but are both politically independent single-tier municipalities.
Geography Simcoe County stretches from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. The land area of the county is . The Niagara Escarpment runs through sections of the western part of the county, and the Minesing Wetlands, a Ramsar Convention "Wetland of International Importance", is located in the centre of the county.
Simcoe County is informally split into two subregions, "South Simcoe" and "North Simcoe". The dividing line between these two areas is Simcoe County Road 90 (Mill St.).
South Simcoe municipalities are situated at the northern boundary of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and therefore generally have a closer socio-economic association with the GTA. South Simcoe is also within the Toronto commuter belt, as it is home to a relatively high proportion of people commuting to the GTA. South Simcoe is home to five municipalities, including: the Town of Innisfil, the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio, the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, the Township of Essa and the Town of New Tecumseth (which includes: Alliston, Beeton and Tottenham).
North Simcoe is less connected to the GTA due to its more remote geographic location, is generally less industrial than South Simcoe, and generally has a closer socio-economic association with the Muskoka area, located immediately north. However, North Simcoe hosts two GO Transit train stations that provide daily commuter rail service to Toronto. North Simcoe includes the Township of Clearview, the Township of Oro-Medonte, the Township of Ramara, the Township of Severn, the Township of Springwater, the Township of Tay and the Township of Tiny, the Town of Collingwood, the Town of Midland, the Town of Penetanguishene and the Town of Wasaga Beach. The cities of Barrie and Orillia are geographically within North Simcoe, but both are politically independent single-tier municipalities.
History Simcoe County, in particular the former Wendake area near Nottawasaga Bay, was the site of the earliest French exploration and settlement of Ontario; they were the first Europeans in the area. Several historic sites, including Carhagouha and Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, mark the earliest known contacts between the area's traditional Huron population and French missionaries. The Huron capital, Ossossané, was at one time the largest aboriginal settlement in all of North America outside Mexico.
The County, named by Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe in honour of his father Captain John Simcoe, was established as part of the Home District in 1798 by the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada., as amended by Its initial territory was described as follows:
At its beginning, the County existed only for military enlistment. In 1823, it became a separate constituency for elections to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada, but, as eligibility to vote was dependent upon having title to property, and Simcoe's first registrar of deeds was not appointed until 1826, it did not send a separate member to the Assembly until the election of John Cawthra in 1828. It was withdrawn from the Home District in 1837, with its territory divided as follows:
+Townships of Simcoe County in 1837 (before reorganization)DistrictCountyTownshipsSimcoeSimcoe Adjala Essa Flos West Gwillimbury Innisfil Matchedash Medonte Nottawasaga Orillia (North Division) Orillia (South Division) Oro Sunnidale Tay Tecumseth Tiny Tosorontio VespraWellingtonWaterloo Amaranth Luther Melancthon ProtonHomeFourth Riding of York Thorah Mara Rama
Between 1837 and 1841, several acts were passed by the Legislature of Upper Canada that set apart the Simcoe District. These acts named the townships that the County would encompass and authorized the levying of taxes for the purpose of constructing a jail and courthouse. On January 11, 1843, the jail and courthouse having been duly erected, the Governor General proclaimed the County of Simcoe to be a separate and distinct District. The province of Canada also appointed James R. Gowan as the first judge of the District of Simcoe.
The District was restructured in 1845, changing its composition to the following 24 townships:
Adjala Artemesia Collingwood Essa Flos West Gwillimbury Innisfil Medonte Matchedash Mulmur Mono Nottawasaga Osprey Oro North Orillia South Orillia Saint Vincent Sunnidale Tay Tecumseth Tosorontio Tiny Uphrasia (sic) Vespra
Effective January 1, 1850, the Simcoe District was abolished, and Simcoe County was organized for municipal purposes.
Between 1845 and 1851, there had been a campaign to have the part of West Gwillimbury south of the Holland River annexed to York County. The County Council finally agreed to this action in 1851, subject to arbitration as to the division of liabilities. It was implemented by an Act of the Parliament of the Province of Canada later that year.
On January 1, 1852, after transferring its five western townships to Grey County, the County was defined as including the following townships:
Adjala Essa Flos Gwillimbury West Innisfil Matchedash Medonte Mono Mulmur Nottawasaga Orilliauniting the townships of North and South Orillia Oro Sunnidale Tay Tecumseth Tiny Tossorontio (sic) Vespra
Together with the unorganized territory bounded to the north by the French River, to the south by the Severn River and Rama Township, to the west by Lake Huron and to the east by the former boundary between the Home District and the Newcastle District as extended to the French River.
The unorganized territory, some of which had been surveyed into townships, together with parts of Victoria County and Nipissing District, was withdrawn in 1868–1869 to form the new District of Muskoka and District of Parry Sound. and However, any municipalities established in them still formed part of the original counties for municipal purposes,1868 Act (s. 14), 1869 Act (s.19), , , and they were still responsible for the administration of justice, which proved to be problematic. The portions of the districts that were not part of Simcoe County were transferred to it in 1877. This lasted until 1888, when the territory contained within the districts was separated from Simcoe County.
Mono and Mulmur Townships were withdrawn from Simcoe County in 1881 and transferred to the newly formed Dufferin County.
Mara and Rama Townships were transferred to Simcoe County following the dissolution of Ontario County in 1974.
Restructuring (1994)
In 1994, the County was restructured into 16 local municipalities:
Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury Town of Collingwood Town of Innisfil Town of Midland Town of New Tecumseth Town of Penetanguishene Town of Wasaga Beach Township of Adjala–Tosorontio Township of Clearview Township of Essa Township of Oro-Medonte Township of Ramara Township of Severn Township of Springwater Township of Tay Township of Tiny
The cities of Barrie and Orillia are separated from the County, as are three Indian reserves:
Christian Island 30 Christian Island 30A Mnjikaning First Nation 32
Demographics As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Simcoe County 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.
+ Panethnic groups in Simcoe County (2001−2021)Panethnicgroup20212016201120062001 European 435,295 415,205 400,355 387,295 351,440 Indigenous 24,545 21,960 17,540 13,035 9,520 South Asian 16,270 7,245 3,625 3,290 1,835 African 12,725 7,150 4,465 3,660 2,850 Southeast Asian 8,895 5,375 3,270 2,615 1,800 East Asian 7,930 5,635 4,070 3,190 2,710 Latin American 7,820 3,990 2,135 1,755 915 Middle Eastern 6,485 2,035 780 915 470 Other 5,110 2,540 2,050 1,235 790 Total responses 525,080 471,130 438,285 417,000 372,330 Total population 533,169 479,650 446,063 422,204 377,050
Government The Corporation of the County of Simcoe comprises 16 local municipalities. As an "upper tier" municipality, the County of Simcoe is responsible for municipal services which include social housing, land ambulance and emergency planning, environmental services (solid waste management), a County road system, Ontario Works, children's services, homes for the aged, a library co-operative, museum, archives, County forest management, tourism, a Geographic Information System (computer mapping) and land use policy planning.
The local, or "lower tier" municipalities are responsible for water and sewer services, local roads, public libraries, recreation services, fire and police services, land use development control, and licensing and permitting services.
The cities of Barrie and Orillia, although separate politically and administratively from the County, are geographically and economically part of the County and send elected representatives to serve on County committees which provide services to the residents of the cities, including paramedic services, long term care facilities, social services, social housing, archives and Museum. They are counted within the census division.
The County Council is composed of the mayors and deputy mayors of each of the sixteen towns and townships that comprise the County of Simcoe. The head of the County Council is called the Warden and is elected for a one-year term by the council members at the Inaugural Meeting, held each December.
Though once a consideration according to the Wasaga Sun,County looking to restructure its council Simcoe County has elected not to restructure itself as a regional municipality.County Council Chooses Not to Study Its Structure
Federal and provincial representation Simcoe County encompasses all or part of the federal electoral districts of Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, Barrie—Innisfil, York—Simcoe, Simcoe—Grey and Simcoe North.
The current Members of Parliament representing Simcoe County are: Bruce Stanton (Conservative), Simcoe North Terry Dowdall (Conservative), Simcoe—Grey Doug Shipley (Conservative), Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte John Brassard (Conservative), Barrie—Innisfil Scot Davidson (Conservative), York—Simcoe
Simcoe County encompasses all or part of the provincial electoral districts of Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, Barrie—Innisfil, York—Simcoe, Simcoe—Grey and Simcoe North.
The current Members of Provincial Parliament representing Simcoe County are: Jill Dunlop (Progressive Conservative), Simcoe North Brian Saunderson (Progressive Conservative), Simcoe—Grey Doug Downey (Progressive Conservative), Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte Andrea Khanjin (Progressive Conservative), Barrie—Innisfil Caroline Mulroney (Progressive Conservative), York—Simcoe
Local services Law enforcement and policing Five police services provide law enforcement and local policing in Simcoe County: Barrie Police Service in Barrie South Simcoe Police Service in Innisfil and Bradford West Gwillimbury Rama Police Service in Rama, Ontario and for the Chippewas of Rama First Nation Anishinabek Police Service on Christian Island and for the Beausoleil First Nation Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) for the rest of the county, including Orillia, and enforcement on provincial highways, especially Ontario Highway 400 and Ontario Highway 11.
The Midland Police Service, which served the Town of Midland, was disbanded in February 2018. The OPP assumed policing responsibilities in Midland afterwards.
Canadian Forces Military Police provides policing and security for CFB Borden (25 km southwest of Barrie).
Public health