Dufferin County

Dufferin County is a county and census division located in Central Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Orangeville, and the current Warden is Janet Horner. The current chief administrative officer is Sonya Pritchard. Dufferin covers an area of , and its population was 66,257 at the time of the 2021 Census.

History

It was originally organized as the "Provisional County of Dufferin", with preparatory work authorized by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1875 and the actual formation taking effect in 1881, being created from parts of the counties of Grey and Simcoe, on the north and east, and from the County of Wellington on the south and west.

Initial municipalities of Dufferin County

From	Formation (1881)	Extension (1883)
Grey County	Township of Melancthon Village of Shelburne
Simcoe County	Township of Mono Township of Mulmur
Wellington County	Township of Amaranth Township of East Garafraxa Town of Orangeville	Township of East Luther

The Village of Grand Valley was erected from East Luther in 1897, and the two municipalities amalgamated in 1995 to form the Township of East Luther Grand Valley, which was erected into the Town of Grand Valley in 2012.

The county gets its name from Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, who was Governor General of Canada between 1872-1878. Originally an agriculturally based economy, Dufferin's economy has diversified to include commercial and retail businesses, industries related to residential and commercial construction (building, supplies, aggregates, real estate) and manufacturing. A portion of Dufferin’s economy still depends on agriculture but tourism is becoming more important as the county takes a more positive role in attracting visitors.

Historical townships

Township	Area	Origin
Amaranth		Opened in 1821 and named from a common weed-plant (Amaranth) with green or purplish flowers, or it might be named after the "un-fading flower" of the classic poets. Settled mainly between 1840 and 1873. Communities were Orangeville, Laurel, Shelburne, Waldemar, Bowling Green
East Garafraxa		Opened in 1821. Settled mostly between 1833 and 1850. (community centre, Marsville)
East Luther		Settled mainly between 1860 and 1875. Community centres: Grand Valley, Monticello and Colbeck.
Melancthon		Opened in 1821 and named after one of the leaders of the German Reformation (Philipp Melanchthon). A swampy township like East Luther so it was slow to be settled. Not generally settled until after 1850. Community centres: Melancthon, Corbetton, Riverview, Hornings Mills.
Mono
Mulmur		Opened in 1822. Origin of the name is forgotten, possibly a corruption of an Indigenous word or name. Settled mainly after 1867. Community centres: Mansfield, Honeywood, Terra Nova, Primrose.

Geography

File:Airport Road in Dufferin County.jpg

Airport Road passing through the hilly terrain of the Niagara Escarpment

Dufferin County is the highest plateau immediately south of Georgian Bay, and as such forms the watershed divide between the four lakes: Huron, Erie, Ontario and Simcoe. Four rivers — Saugeen, Grand, Credit and Nottawasaga — take their rise in Dufferin or in adjacent areas nearby and drain through the county.

The county is a lofty table-land that is about above sea-level and about above the level of downtown Toronto, as a result of being mostly situated in the Niagara Escarpment, although the highest peaks are still lower than the Blue Mountains north of Dufferin. The County of Dufferin, sits on the fringe of the Greater Toronto Area, about northwest of Toronto. It is largely a rural county that contains three urban-centre towns; Grand Valley, Shelburne, and Orangeville. Orangeville, the county seat, is situated on the southern border of the county and is the largest urban centre, with just over half the population.

Demographics

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Dufferin 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 Template:Pop density in 2021.

Panethnic groups in Dufferin County (2001−2021)

Panethnic group	2021		2016		2011		2006		2001
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
EuropeanTemplate:Efn	53,700		54,750		52,590		51,330		48,305
African	3,590		1,595		750		660		645
South Asian	3,125		1,245		465		580		290
Indigenous	1,395		1,170		695		525		445
Southeast AsianTemplate:Efn	890		625		385		165		120
Latin American	815		405		285		160		110
East AsianTemplate:Efn	575		375		390		310		305
Middle EasternTemplate:Efn	470		160		45		85		50
OtherTemplate:Efn	925		520		465		105		90
Total responses	65,485		60,845		56,085		53,925		50,360
Total population	66,257		61,735		56,881		54,436		51,013
Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses

Education

Template:See Upper Grand District School Board operates secular Anglophone public schools. The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board operates Anglophone Catholic public schools. The Conseil scolaire Viamonde operates secular Francophone schools serving the area. The Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud (CSDCCS) Template:Webarchive operates Catholic Francophone schools serving the area.

Travel region

File:Town hall Orangeville, Ontario.jpg

Built c.1871, the Orangeville Town Hall contains an opera hall, used by the Theatre Orangeville company

Dufferin County is part of two Ontario travel regions. Headwaters Tourism Association represents the county and the adjacent municipalities of Caledon and Erin. Central Counties of Ontario combines the Headwaters area and a larger adjacent region.

See also

• List of municipalities in Ontario
• List of Ontario Census Divisions
• List of townships in Ontario
• Southern Ontario

External links

• Template:Official