Halton Hills

Halton Hills
Town (lower-tier)
Town of Halton Hills
Main Street, Georgetown
Coat of arms Logo
Motto: Hereditas Integritas Veritas (Latin: Heritage, integrity, truth)
Location of Halton Hills in Halton Region
Halton Hills Location of Halton Hills in Ontario
Coordinates: 43°38′N 79°57′W / 43.63°N 79.95°W / 43.63; -79.95Coordinates: 43°38′N 79°57′W / 43.63°N 79.95°W / 43.63; -79.95
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Region	Halton
Incorporated	1974
Government
• Mayor	Rick Bonnette
• Federal riding	Wellington—Halton Hills
• Prov. riding	Wellington—Halton Hills
Area
• Land	276.26 km2 (106.66 sq mi)
• Urban	39.52 km2 (15.26 sq mi)
• Rural	236.74 km2 (91.41 sq mi)
Highest elevation[1]	411 m (1,348 ft)
Lowest elevation[2]	197 m (646 ft)
Population (2011)
• Town (lower-tier)	59,008
• Density	213.60/km2 (553.2/sq mi)
• Urban	49,854
• Urban density	1,300/km2 (3,300/sq mi)
• Rural	9,154
• Rural density	39/km2 (100/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s)	905, 289 and 365
NTS Map	030M12
GNBC Code	FBLIE
Website	www.haltonhills.ca

Halton Hills is a town in the Regional Municipality of Halton, located in the northwestern end of the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada.

The primary population centres are Georgetown and Acton. Additionally, there are a number of hamlets and rural clusters within the town, including Ashgrove, Ballinafad (straddling the boundary with Erin), Bannockburn, Crewsons Corners (straddling the boundary with Erin, Guelph-Eramosa and Milton), Glen Williams, Henderson's Corners, Hornby, Limehouse, Mansewood, Norval, Scotch Block, Silver Creek, Speyside, Stewarttown, Terra Cotta (straddling the boundary with Caledon), and Wildwood.

There are also natural features within these bounds, including the Niagara Escarpment, and the Bruce Trail. Many of these local features are protected by the Conservation Halton, Credit Valley Conservation & Grand River Conservation Authority.

Geography

Natural and environmental features in Halton Hills

The town is bisected by the Niagara Escarpment from southwest to northeast, and a significant portion of the rural area is located within the provincial Greenbelt. Above the Escarpment, a large proportion of the rural area is classified as environmentally sensitive wetlands, and there are several sites that are licensed for aggregate extraction, for which expansion requires detailed environmental assessment.^[3] Below the Escarpment, the rural area is mainly agricultural, with the exception of an industrial area currently being development between Highway 401 and Steeles Avenue.

The town also forms part of three watersheds:

• to the west of Acton, a small area flows toward the Grand River
• the northern half flows into the Credit River, including the Black Creek^[4] and Silver Creek^[5] tributaries
• the southern half flows into the Sixteen Mile Creek^[6]

The Water Survey of Canada operates two hydrometric monitoring stations in the town, on the Black Creek below Acton,^[7] and at Norval on the Credit River.^[8]

Vegetation

Halton Hills is located in the transition zone between the Huron-Ontario Forest Section of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence forest zone to the north and the Niagara Section of the Carolinian forest zone to the south. Both forest zones are part of the Mixedwood Plains Ecozone. The natural vegetation in the Huron-Ontario Section is dominated by mixed wood forests. It is a transitional type between the southern deciduous forests and the northern coniferous forests. The forest communities of the Niagara Section are dominated by broad-leaved trees. Overall, Halton Hills consists predominantly of agricultural lands with scattered woodlands and wetlands. The woodlands are mainly deciduous forest and the wetlands are either cedar swamp or cattail marsh.^[9]

Endangered and threatened species

American ginseng exists in the town, and is protected under the Endangered Species Act, 2007. Butternut trees are also threatened by the butternut canker. The hooded warbler and the Jefferson salamander are also designated as threatened species.

Brook trout had been eliminated from the Black Creek watershed for many years, following an environmental disaster south of Acton in March 1946. The trout have since returned, and anglers report that fishing is good.^[10]

Geology

The physiography^[11] and distribution of surface material^[12] in the Town of Halton Hills are the result of glacial activity which took place in the Late Wisconsinan Substage of the Pleistocene Epoch. This period of time, which lasted from approximately 23,000 to 10,000 years ago, was marked by the repeated advance and melting back of massive, continental ice sheets.

The Niagara Escarpment dominates the physiography of the town and greatly influenced the pattern of glaciation in the region. The Escarpment, formed by erosion over millions of years, is a high relief bedrock scarp which trends to the north through the central part of the town. To the west, on the upper surface of the Escarpment, hummocky morainic ridges deposited by glacial ice form part of the Horseshoe Moraines physiographic region. To the southeast below the Escarpment, is a smooth glacial till plain partially bevelled by lacustrine action, which forms part of the South Slope and Peel Plain physiographic regions.

The Town of Halton Hills is underlain by Ordovician shales of the Queenston Formation east of the Niagara Escarpment, and by Silurian dolostones of the Amabel Formation west of the Escarpment. The escarpment face exposes a complex succession of shales, sandstones, limestones and dolostones of the Clinton and Cataract Groups. Red shales of the Queenston Formation underlie the eastern half of the town and are generally covered by more than 15 m of glacial sediments, predominantly the Halton Till. There are several areas of thin drift cover south of Georgetown.

The quarrying of limestone has been undertaken since the 19th century, and the lime industry was once quite prevalent. In 1886, the Toronto Lime Company had operations in Limehouse and Acton, employing a total of four draw kilns and eleven set kilns, producing common lime and water lime.^[13] At Limehouse, rock from the Clinton formation yielded green and brown shales and blue marl, which were used in the manufacture of mineral paints.^[13]

Small oil and gas deposits have been discovered northwest and south of Acton, and around Hornby. While exploration had occurred as early as 1908,^[14] with oil being discovered in 1912,^[15] significant strikes did not occur until 1954.^[16]

The town is located in an area that is considered to be of low seismic potential, and the largest recent earthquake to take place within its limits was of magnitude 3 on 29 June 1955.^[17] There is a POLARIS seismic monitoring station located just west of Acton.^[18][19]

Climate

Halton Hills has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb).

The Town has two distinct climate zones:^[20]

• Zone 5a - north of the Niagara Escarpment
• Zone 5b - south of the Escarpment

Environment Canada operates one climate monitoring station at Georgetown.

History

Halton Hills was established in 1974 through the amalgamation of the former Towns of Georgetown and Acton, together with much of the former Township of Esquesing, and a small portion of the Town of Oakville lying north of Ontario Highway 401.

On August 1, 2013, Toronto Premium Outlets, the first Premium Outlets Centre in Canada, opened for business.^[22]

Demographics

According to the Canada 2011 Census,^[23] the population of Halton Hills is 59,008, a 6.7% increase from 2006. The population density is 213.6 people per square km. The median age is 39.9 years old, almost on par with the national median at 40.6 years old. There are 20,548 private dwellings with an occupancy rate of 98.6%. According to the 2011 National Household Survey, the median value of a dwelling in Halton Hills is $400,491 which is significantly higher than the national average at $280,552. The median household income (after-taxes) in Halton Hills is $80,266, a lot higher than the national average at $54,089.

Halton Hills is mostly made up of European descents. The racial make up of Halton Hills is:

• 93.5% White
• 1.6% South Asian; 0.9% Indian, 0.7% Pakistani, 0.1% Sri Lankan
• 1.4% Aboriginal; 0.8% First Nations, 0.4% Metis
• 1.0% Black
• 0.9% East Asian; 0.6% Chinese, 0.1% Korean, 0.2% Japanese
• 0.6% Southeast Asian; 0.4% Filipino
• 0.6% Latin American
• 0.1% West Asian
• 0.0% Arab
• 0.3% Multiracial; 0.7% including Metis
• 0.2% Other

Religiously, most people in Halton Hills identify or affiliate either with Christianity (72.1%), or with no religion (26.3%). The remaining 1.6% affiliate with another religion.

(Other languages, 2011: Polish 1.4%, Portuguese 1.3%, Italian 1.1%, German 1.0%)

Local government

The town is divided into four wards, each of which elects two local councillors. Two regional councillors are also elected - one from Wards 1 and 2 (i.e., the area that was in the former Town of Acton and the former Township of Esquesing), and one from Wards 3 and 4 (i.e., the area in the former Town of Georgetown). The mayor is elected at large. The mayor and the regional councilors represent the town at the council meetings of the Regional Municipality of Halton.

The current membership of the town council is as follows:^[27]

The libraries in the Town are managed by the Halton Hills Public Library Board.

Symbols

In 1975, the Lord Lyon King of Arms awarded arms to the town, followed by the grant of a badge in 1984. Both were subsequently registered with the Canadian Heraldic Authority in 2005. They are specifically described as follows:^[28]

• Arms: Per pale, dexter Or two bendlets wavy Sable, sinister Azure two escarpes wavy Argent, a chief per fess dancetty Azure and Argent, overall a white pine tree (Pinus strobus) proper;
• Motto: Hereditas Integritas Veritas (Latin: Heritage, integrity, truth)
• Badge: On an oval Azure a white pine tree Argent within a wreath of five oak leaves alternating with five papyrus leaves Or.

Transportation

The town has four main roads:

East-west

•  Highway 7 connecting Acton and Georgetown
• Regional Road 8 (Steeles Avenue) between Milton and Brampton

North-south

• Regional Road 25 between Acton and Milton
• Regional Road 3 (Trafalgar Road) between Ballinafad and Oakville

Georgetown railway station

Bus service is provided by GO Transit along Highway 7 on its Georgetown line corridor. Via Rail and GO Train service are provided at Georgetown GO Station.

The Grand Trunk Railway brought train service to the area in 1856, with stations at Acton and Georgetown. Passenger service to Acton ceased in the 1990s, but GO Train service is planned to be revived there in 2013.^[29]

Rail freight service is also provided by Canadian National on its Halton Subdivision from Georgetown southwest through Milton to Burlington.^[30] CN's Guelph Subdivision between Georgetown and London is currently managed by Goderich–Exeter Railway.

From 1917 to 1931, Norval, Georgetown and Acton were also served by the Toronto Suburban Railway.^[31]

Schools

Media

Halton Hills is covered by the following local newspapers and online media:

• Georgetown Independent
• Acton Free Press
• The Acton New Tanner
• The Halton Compass
• Halton Herald
• In Georgetown Community Website

In addition, the transmitter for clear channel radio station CFZM is located in Hornby. This facility had long been used by CBC Radio One flagship CBL.

See also

• List of townships in Ontario

References

External links

• Media related to Halton Hills at Wikimedia Commons

	Erin	Caledon
	Guelph/Eramosa		Brampton
		Halton Hills
		Milton	Mississauga

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