Aurora, Ontario

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Town of Aurora
other_name =
native_name =
nickname =
motto = You're in Good Company


imagesize =
image_caption =


flag_size =
image_

seal_size =
image_shield =
shield_size =
image_blank_emblem =
blank_emblem_size =


mapsize = 150px
map_caption = This map shows the location of Aurora, in relation to York Region. The red shaded portion indicates Aurora's location.
subdivision_type =
subdivision_name =
subdivision_type1 =
subdivision_name1 =
subdivision_type2 =
subdivision_name2 =
subdivision_type3 =
subdivision_name3 =
subdivision_type4 =
subdivision_name4 =
government_type =
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Phyllis Morris
leader_title1 = Councilors
leader_name1 = Bob McRoberts
Evelina MacEachern
Wendy Gaertner
Stephen Granger
Grace Marsh
Alison Collins-Mrakas
Evelyn Buck
Al Wilson
leader_title2 =
leader_name2 =
leader_title3 =
leader_name3 =
established_title = Settled
established_date = 1854
established_title2 = Incorporated As A Town
established_date2 = 1888
established_title3 =
established_date3 =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 49.61
area_total_sq_mi =
area_land_km2 =
area_land_sq_mi =
area_water_km2 =
area_water_sq_mi =
area_water_percent =
area_urban_km2 =
area_urban_sq_mi =
area_metro_km2 =
area_metro_sq_mi =
population_as_of = 2006
population_note =
settlement_type = Town
population_total = 47629
population_density_km2 = 960
population_density_sq_mi =
population_metro =
population_density_metro_km2 =
population_density_metro_sq_mi =
population_urban =
population_density_urban_km2 =
population_density_urban_mi2 =
timezone = EST
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd = 43 | latm = 59 | lats = 51 | latNS = N
longd = 79 | longm = 28 | longs = 12 | longEW = W
elevation_m =
elevation_ft =
postal_code_type = List of L Postal Codes of Canada
postal_code = 4G
area_code = 905, 289
website = [http://www.town.aurora.on.ca/aurora/index_e.aspx?ArticleID=3 Town of Aurora's Official Site]
blank_name = GNBC CGNDB Key
blank_info = FDJFO [ cite web
url = http://gnss.nrcan.gc.ca/gnss-srt/api?cgndbKey=FDJFO&output=html
title = Aurora
work = Canadian Geographical Names Data Base
publisher = Natural Resources Canada
accessdate = 2008-05-15 ]
footnotes =

Aurora (2006 Population 47,629cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3519046&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=aurora&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=|title=Community highlights for Aurora|work=Canada 2006 Census|publisher=Statistics Canada|date=2007-03-13|accessdate=2007-03-13] ) is an affluentFact|date=June 2007 Canadian town in York Region, approximately 40 km north of Toronto. It is situated on the Oak Ridges Moraine in a part of the Golden Horseshoe.

Many Aurora residents commute to Toronto, and the town is part of the Greater Toronto Area.

In the Canada 2006 Census, the national rank of population of Aurora rose above 100th for the first time, reaching 97th in Canada's list of largest municipalities in terms of population, compared to 113th in the 2001 Census. [ [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=301&SR=189&S=1&O=A&RPP=100&SRCH=1 Aurora, ON Population Info and rankings compare to other Canadian Cities] ]

History

Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe gave the order for Yonge Street to be extended to Holland Landing in 1793, the way was paved for the establishment of a community where Aurora now stands.

In 1804, Richard Machell became the first merchant at the cross roads of Yonge and Wellington and the hamlet soon became known as Machell's Corners.

Charles Doan was another early businessman at Machell's Corners and became the first postmaster and later the first reeve. As postmaster, he was influential in renaming the village Aurora.With the coming of the railway in 1853, Aurora emerged as an important centre north of Toronto. The Fleury plow works was established soon after and Aurora was on its way to becoming a flourishing industrial town.

The population of Aurora in 1863 was 700 and when Aurora became a town in 1888, the town had grown to 2,107. With some ups and downs in growth over the years, Aurora is now a flourishing town with a strong commercial and industrial base.

Worthy of note is the fact that Aurora was the childhood home of Lester B. Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada from 1963-1968, when his father, Rev. Edwin Pearson, was the Methodist minister.
* [http://www.library.aurora.on.ca/static/community/history.htm Aurora Public Library Website]

Government

The Town of Aurora municipal government is composed of the Mayor and eight Councilors elected on an "at large" basis. The Mayor represents the Town at York Region Council. As of November of 2006, the current mayor is Phyllis Morris.

The town is part of the federal riding of Newmarket—Aurora. The riding is presently represented in the Canadian House of Commons by Belinda Stronach, a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. She had been elected as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada, but on May 17, 2005 she switched parties, citing discomfort with the social policies of the Conservatives as one of the reasons for the switch. She was re-elected as a Liberal in the election on January 23, 2006. In April, 2007, she announced that she will leave politics and return to her father's business, Magna International. [ [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070411.wmagna0411/BNStory/Business/home reportonbusiness.com: Purchase this article ] ]

Emergency services

Local police services are provided by the York Regional Police, who serve all of the municipalities of the region. Fire protection services are provided by Central York Fire Services, a shared arrangement with the town of Newmarket.

Public health services are managed by York Region. There is no hospital within Aurora's boundaries; the nearest one is Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket.

Education

Both publicly-funded School Board Head Offices for York Region are located in Aurora: The York Region District School Board is located on 60 Wellington St. W. just west of the historical downtown area, and The York Catholic District School Board is located at 320 Bloomington Rd. W. along the southern border, next to Cardinal Carter Catholic High School.

Public school education is governed by the York Region District School Board, which has two high schools in Aurora:
*Dr. G.W. Williams Secondary School
*Aurora High Schoolas well as several elementary schools.

The York Catholic District School Board also runs several elementary schools as well as Cardinal Carter Catholic High School.

Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud, which administers French-language Catholic schools runs an elementary school, École St. Jean, and a high school, École secondaire catholique Renaissance (formerly ÉSC Cardinal-Carter).

Also, St. Andrew's College, an independent school for boys, is located in Aurora.

Urban planning

Currently, an undeveloped portion of Aurora is subject to the Ontario Government's Greenbelt legislation which enforces limits on growth in designated Green Belt locations. In Aurora, this affects mostly the south-eastern areas of the town.

Growth is occurring in the north-eastern locations, particularly in the form of low-density residential homes and townhouses along Bayview Ave. and north of Wellington St. E. (also known as "Aurora Rd.") and commerce along Wellington St. E. on Aurora's eastern border between Leslie St. and Hwy. 404.

Community associations and services

Aurora is home to:
*Aurora Public Library
* Queen's York Rangers Reserve Regiment
* 2799 Queen's York Rangers Army Cadet Corps
* [http://www.auroraaircadets.ca/ 140 Aurora Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron]
* World's Longest Annual Street Sale (from Yonge St. & Wellington St. to Yonge St. & Allaura Blvd. approx. 1.5 km)

Recreation and sports

*Aurora Tigers Junior A Hockey Club
* [http://www.masterducks.ca/ Aurora Master Ducks Swim Team]
* [http://www.auroraminorball.ca/ Aurora Minor Baseball Association]
* [http://www.aysc.ca/ Aurora Youth Soccer Club]
* [http://www.aurorapanthers.ca/ Aurora Senior A Women's Hockey]
* [http://www.stormvolleyball.ca/ Aurora Storm Volleyball Club]

Media

* [http://www.yorkregion.com/news/Aurora The Era-Banner]
* [http://www.auroran.com The Auroran]

Notable residents

* Wendel Clark, retired Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club
* Greg De Vries, hockey player for the Atlanta Thrashers, played for the Aurora Tigers Jr. A teamFact|date=February 2007
* Tie Domi, retired hockey player
* Mike Johnson, hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens, played for the Aurora Tigers Jr. A team
* Karl Stewart, NHL player, Tampa Bay Lightning
* Belinda Stronach, businesswoman and politician
* Mike Kitchen, Former Toronto Maple Leafs Assistant Coach and St Louis Blues Head Coach
* Kiefer Sutherland Actor, went to school at St Andrews College Boarding School in Aurora
* Brian Stemmle Champion Olympic Alpine Skier
* Cal Bouchard Canadian National Women's Basketball Team, attended Aurora High School
* Mike Hough retired hockey player
* Kris King retired hockey player

References

External links

* [http://www.town.aurora.on.ca/ Town of Aurora official website]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=43.994482,-79.464884&spn=0.026162,0.054957&t=k&hl=en Aerial Photo of Aurora]
* [http://ontarioplaques.com/Plaques_VWXYZ/Plaque_York01.html Ontario Plaques Aurora Public School]
* [http://ontarioplaques.com/Plaques_VWXYZ/Plaque_York02.html Ontario Plaques First Steam Train]

Canadian City Geographic Location
North = Newmarket
West = King
Center = Aurora
East = Whitchurch-Stouffville
South = Richmond Hill