Bradford West Gwillimbury

Bradford West Gwillimbury
—  Town  —
Motto: A Growing Tradition
Bradford West Gwillimbury
Coordinates: 44°08′N 79°38′W / 44.133°N 79.633°W / 44.133; -79.633Coordinates: 44°08′N 79°38′W / 44.133°N 79.633°W / 44.133; -79.633
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
County	Simcoe
Incorporated	1991
Government
– Mayor	Doug White
– Governing Body
– MPs	Peter Van Loan
– MPPs	Julia Munro
Area
– Total	201.03 km2 (77.6 sq mi)
Population (2006)
– Total	24,039
– Density	119.6/km2 (309.8/sq mi)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Postal code span	L3Z
Area code(s)	289, 905, and 705
Website	www.town.bradford westgwillimbury.on.ca

Bradford West Gwillimbury, a town in south-central Ontario, in the County of Simcoe in the Greater Toronto Area on the Holland River. West Gwillimbury takes its name from the family of Elizabeth Simcoe, née Gwillim.

The former Town of Bradford was amalgamated with portions of the former Townships of West Gwillimbury and Tecumseth to become the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury on January 1, 1991.^[1]

The town lies within three telephone area codes: 905, 705 and 289 (only used by mobile phones). Telephone numbers begin with numerous prefixes, including: 456, 458, 551, 775, 778, 724, 729, and 939.

Holland Marsh, a region of #9 humus soil, is located partly in Bradford West-Gwillimbury. The town, along with the Township of King is the governing body responsible for the maintenance of the drainage system of this source of Canada's produce supply. In 2007 a Holland Marsh Drainage System Joint Municipal Board was created in response to a crisis of maintenance of the Holland Marsh Drainage System.^{[citation needed]}

The Holland River flows through the middle of the southernmost Holland Marsh polder and eventually flows out to Lake Simcoe. Geographically, the area is north of the Oak Ridges Moraine.

Communities

Bradford West Gwillimbury consists of the town of Bradford and the former Township of West Gwillimbury, and includes the communities of Bond Head, Coulson's Hill,^[2] Deerhurst, Dunkerron, Green Valley, Newton Robinson and Pinkerton.

Government

Town hall in Bradford

The current mayor of Bradford West Gwillimbury is Doug White, who defeated the previous mayor, Frank Jonkman, in the election of November, 2006. The municipality has a mayor, a deputy mayor, and seven councillors. The administration is led by a town manager and has the following departments: clerks, building, planning, human resources, recreation, finance, engineering, facilities and parks, fire and IT.

Bradford West Gwillimbury and the neighbouring town of Innisfil share the South Simcoe Police Service. The town also incorporates the YNOT Bradford West Gwillimbury Youth Council, an assembly of teens, into its town discussions. The non-governmental group works to create social opportunities, including recreation facilities; enhance environmentalism; and create a political voice for the town's youth.

Federally, the town is part of the riding of York—Simcoe, represented by Peter Van Loan of the Conservative Party, who was first elected in 2004 and was re-elected in 2006. Provincially, it is part of the riding of York Simcoe, represented by Tory MPP Julia Munro.

Fire & Emergency Services

Fire & Emergency Services has vastly evolved from the traditional functions of fire suppression and fire prevention. In addition to structural fire calls, the Fire Suppression division responds to calls such as residential and commercial fire alarms, motor vehicle collisions, vehicle fires, specialized rescues such as technical rope, confined space, and ice-water rescues, tiered medicals (ambulance assists) hazardous material responses (HAZMAT), mutual aid requests, as well as assistance during times of natural and/or man made disasters.

Bradford West Gwillimbury Fire & Emergency Services Headquarters is located at 75 Melbourne Drive, and currently has a fleet of 6 frontline apparatus, a fire prevention van, 2 Fire Chief vehicles, and a specialized response trailer.

Even though Bradford West Gwillimbury is part of Simcoe County, the station number and apparatus numbers are based on the York Region Fire Services numbering system, thus, Bradford is District 10, Station #1 (Station 10-1).

Transportation

The town is served by Highway 400 and Highway 9 at the southern border. It is also served by a number of Simcoe county roads, including 88 (Holland Street West), 4 (Bridge Street, Holland Street East, and Barrie Street), 27, 41 (Simcoe Road), and 8 (Canal Road).

The town is also located on a bus and commuter train route, served by GO Transit. Bradford GO Station is located in the community of Bradford and is on the Barrie line. The station had been the northern terminus of the line until its extension opened in December 2007.

Notable people

• William Osler - called the "most influential physician in history" was born on July 12, 1849 at Bond Head, Canada West (now Ontario).
• Newton Robinson was the birthplace of NHL Hall of Famer, Bob Pulford.

Demographics

Census	Population
1871	1,130
1911	946
1921	961
1931	972
1941	1,033
1951	1,483
1961	2,342
1971	6,903
1981	7,370
1991	17,702
2001	22,228
2006	24,039

According to the 2006 Statistics Canada Census:^[3]

• Population: 24,039
• % Change (2001–2006): 8.1
• Dwellings: 8,128 (12.1% higher than 2001)
• Area (km².): 201.03
• Density (persons per km².): 119.6
• Latitude: 44.1149
• Longitude: -79.563

References

1. ^ "Living Here". Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury. http://www.town.bradfordwestgwillimbury.on.ca/living-here/. Retrieved 2006-08-04. 
2. ^ Cottrell Lake - Courtland, GeoNames Index, Ontario Terminology
3. ^ 2006 Community Profiles

External links

• Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury
• Bradford West Gwillimbury Economic Development