List_of_cities_in_Ontario
List of cities in Ontario
Cities in the Canadian province of Ontario
A city is a subtype of municipalities in the Canadian province of Ontario. A city can have the municipal status of either a single-tier or lower-tier municipality. Prior to 2003, Ontario had minimum population thresholds of 15,000 and 25,000 for city status. Minimum population thresholds are no longer necessary for a municipality to brand itself as a city.
Ontario has 52 cities,[1] which together had in 2016 a cumulative population of 9,900,179 and average population of 190,388.[2] The most and least populous are Toronto and Dryden, with 2,794,356 and 7,749 residents, respectively.[2] Ontario's newest city is Richmond Hill, whose council voted to change from a town to a city on March 26, 2019.[3] Previous to that, Markham changed from a town to a city on July 1, 2012.[4]
Under the former Municipal Act, 1990, a city was both an urban and a local municipality.[5] Under that act, the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) could change the status of a village or town, upon its request, to a city if it had a population of 15,000 or more.[5] The OMB could also incorporate a township as a city under the same conditions with the exception that the population requirements was 25,000 or more.[5] In either event, if located within a county, authorization by the Minister of Municipal Affairs was also required.[5]
In the transition to the Municipal Act, 2001, conventional municipal statuses and their associated population threshold requirements were abandoned. On December 31, 2002, every city that:[6]
- "existed and formed part of a county, a regional or district municipality or the County of Oxford for municipal purposes" became a lower-tier municipality yet retained its name as a city; and
- "existed and did not form part of a county, a regional or district municipality or the County of Oxford for municipal purposes" became a single-tier municipality yet retained its name as a city.
The current legislation also provides lower- and single-tier municipalities with the authority to name themselves as "cities", or other former conventional municipal status types such as "towns", "villages" or "townships", or generically as "municipalities".[7]
Rank (2021) | Municipality | Municipal status | Population (2021) | Population (2016) | Change | Land area (km2) | Population density (/km2) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Toronto | City | 2,794,356 | 2,731,571 | +2.3% | 631.1 | 4,427.8 |
2 |
Ottawa | City | 1,017,449 | 934,243 | +8.9% | 2788.2 | 364.9 |
3 |
Mississauga | City | 717,961 | 721,599 | −0.5% | 292.74 | 2,452.6 |
4 |
Brampton | City | 656,480 | 593,638 | +10.6% | 265.89 | 2,469.0 |
5 |
Hamilton | City | 569,353 | 536,917 | +6.0% | 1118.31 | 509.1 |
6 |
London | City | 422,324 | 383,822 | +10.0% | 420.5 | 1,004.3 |
7 |
Markham | City | 338,503 | 328,966 | +2.9% | 210.93 | 1,604.8 |
8 |
Vaughan | City | 323,103 | 306,233 | +5.5% | 272.44 | 1,186.0 |
9 |
Kitchener | City | 256,885 | 233,222 | +10.1% | 136.81 | 1,877.7 |
10 |
Windsor | City | 229,660 | 217,188 | +5.7% | 146.02 | 1,572.8 |
11 |
Richmond Hill | City | 202,022 | 195,022 | +3.6% | 100.79 | 2,004.4 |
12 |
Burlington | City | 186,948 | 183,314 | +2.0% | 186.12 | 1,004.4 |
13 |
Oshawa | City | 175,383 | 159,458 | +10.0% | 145.72 | 1,203.6 |
14 |
Greater Sudbury | City | 166,004 | 161,531 | +2.8% | 3186.26 | 52.1 |
15 |
Barrie | City | 147,829 | 141,434 | +4.5% | 99.01 | 1,493.1 |
16 |
Guelph | City | 143,740 | 131,794 | +9.1% | 87.43 | 1,644.1 |
17 |
Cambridge | City | 138,479 | 129,920 | +6.6% | 112.99 | 1,225.6 |
18 |
St. Catharines | City | 136,803 | 133,113 | +2.8% | 96.20 | 1,422.1 |
19 |
Waterloo | City | 121,436 | 104,986 | +15.7% | 64.06 | 1,895.7 |
20 |
Thunder Bay | City | 108,843 | 107,909 | +0.9% | 327.77 | 332.1 |
21 |
Brantford | City | 104,688 | 98,563 | +6.2% | 98.65 | 1,061.2 |
22 |
Pickering | City | 99,186 | 91,771 | +8.1% | 231.10 | 429.2 |
23 |
Niagara Falls | City | 94,415 | 88,071 | +7.2% | 210.25 | 449.1 |
24 |
Peterborough | City | 83,651 | 81,032 | +3.2% | 64.76 | 1,291.7 |
25 |
Sault Ste. Marie | City | 72,051 | 73,368 | −1.8% | 221.99 | 324.6 |
26 |
Sarnia | City | 72,047 | 71,594 | +0.6% | 163.90 | 439.6 |
27 |
Norfolk County | City | 67,490 | 64,044 | +5.4% | 1597.68 | 42.2 |
28 |
Welland | City | 55,750 | 52,293 | +6.6% | 81.16 | 686.9 |
29 |
Belleville | City | 55,071 | 50,716 | +8.6% | 247.15 | 222.8 |
30 |
North Bay | City | 52,662 | 51,553 | +2.2% | 315.53 | 166.9 |
- Toronto is Ontario's capital and Canada's largest city
- Ottawa is Canada's capital and Ontario's second largest city
- Downtown Brampton
- Skyline of downtown Hamilton
- Skyline of downtown London
- Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts in Richmond Hill, Ontario's newest city
- Vaughan as viewed from Canada's Wonderland
- Downtown Kitchener
- Downtown Windsor
- Downtown Mississauga
Notes
- The Barrie census metropolitan area (CMA) is formed around the City of Barrie.
- The Brantford CMA includes the City of Brantford as well as the County of Brant, which is a single-tier city.
- The City of Cambridge, as well as the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, form parts of the Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo CMA.
- Dryden is Ontario's smallest city by population.
- Greater Sudbury is Ontario's largest city by area. The Greater Sudbury CMA is formed around the City of Greater Sudbury.
- Hamilton is Canada's tenth-largest city. The Hamilton CMA includes the cities of Burlington and Hamilton.
- The City of Kitchener, as well as the cities of Cambridge and Waterloo, form parts of the Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo CMA.
- The London CMA includes the cities of London and St. Thomas.
- Mississauga is Ontario's largest lower-tier city.
- The City of Niagara Falls, as well as the cities of Port Colborne, St. Catharines, Thorold and Welland, form parts of the St. Catharines–Niagara CMA.
- The Oshawa CMA is formed around the City of Oshawa.
- Pembroke is Ontario's smallest city by area.
- The Peterborough CMA is formed around the City of Peterborough.
- Richmond Hill is Ontario's newest city, adopting the name on March 26, 2019.
- The City of St. Catharines, as well as the cities of Niagara Falls, Port Colborne, Thorold and Welland, form parts of the St. Catharines–Niagara CMA.
- The Thunder Bay CMA is formed around the City of Thunder Bay.
- Toronto is Ontario's capital and Canada's and Ontario's largest city by population. The Toronto CMA includes the cities of Brampton, Markham, Mississauga, Pickering, Richmond Hill, Toronto and Vaughan.
- The City of Waterloo, as well as the cities of Cambridge and Kitchener, form parts of the Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo CMA.
- The Windsor CMA is formed around the City of Windsor.
References
- "List of Ontario Municipalities". Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing. September 21, 2012. Archived from the original on February 28, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
- "subdivisions (municipalities) and designated places, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data". Statistics Canada. 8 February 2017.
- "Richmond Hill Becomes a City". RichmondHill.ca. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- "Markham to change from town to city". CBC News. May 30, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
- "Municipal Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter M.45". Service Ontario. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- "Municipal Act, S.O. 2001, Chapter 25". Service Ontario. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- "The Municipal Councillor's Guide". Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2011 and 2006 censuses (Ontario)". Statistics Canada. May 28, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
- "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census divisions, 2011 and 2006 censuses (Ontario)". Statistics Canada. January 30, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.