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Overview of Durham Region
Our Community
The Region of Durham is situated in the highly developed and populated economic centre of Ontario, known as the Golden Horseshoe, that stretches from Oshawa to Niagara Falls. Durham Region lies immediately to the east of the City of Toronto within the Greater Toronto Area and encompasses an area of approximately 2,590 square kilometres (1,000 square miles). The area is characterized by a variety of landscapes and communities. A series of major lakeshore urban communities contrast with a variety of small towns, villages, hamlets and farms which lie immediately inland. The relatively flat lakeshore area marked by the bluffs, wooded creeks and ancient shoreline, features contrasts with the hummocky topography of the Oak Ridges Moraine running parallel to the shoreline only 15 miles to the north. This diverse landscape of woods, headwaters, ridges and hollows gives way to rolling farmlands and lakes to the north. Here the Municipality spreads into the prime recreational lakelands of Simcoe, Scugog and the Kawarthas.
The Region lies along a continuous urbanized lakeshore and shares prime access to the Great Lakes and northeastern markets of the continent, encompassing some 120 million persons. The area is well known for the strength of its manufacturing sector which is continually undergoing rapid diversification. Durham is endowed with a young, skilled labour force. It has all the utilities, transportation and social infrastructure associated with modern metropolitan communities. The single most significant economic factor for the Region has been the dramatic increase in residential development.
Population
A recent report by the Planning Department estimates that the population of the Region of Durham was 531,000 in May 2001. A target of 760,000 people has been estimated for the number of people living in the Region by the year 2011, and a target of 970,000 people by the year 2021 – more than double the 1991 population.
The Community Vision
Durham will be a united group of vibrant and diverse communities recognized for their leadership, community spirit, and exceptional quality of life.
Durham Region’s Corporate Mission
To meet the needs of our citizens through leadership, cooperation and service excellence.
Durham Region’s Corporate Values and Operating Principles
- Leadership
- Respect, Professionalism, Trust & Integrity
- Teamwork, Cooperation & Partnerships
- Accountability
- Sound Fiscal Management
- Responsive to Changing Needs
- Public Awareness & Accessibility
- Quality
- Continuous Improvement
History of the Organization
The Regional Municipality of Durham was created January 1, 1974 as a Regional Government in the Province of Ontario under The Regional Municipality of Durham Act, 1973 of the Ontario Legislature.
The Act provided for the formation of the eight Area Municipalities (The Cities of Oshawa and Pickering, the Towns of Ajax, and Whitby; the Municipality of Clarington and the Townships of Brock, Scugog and Uxbridge), by the annexation and amalgamation of twenty-one former local municipalities in the Counties of Ontario, Northumberland and Durham, excluding a small portion of the former Township of Pickering, which was annexed by Metropolitan Toronto.