Caledon, Ontario


Caledon is a town in the Regional Municipality of Peel in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. From a shortened form of Caledonia, the Roman name for North Britain; Caledon is a developing urban area although it remains primarily rural. It consists of an amalgamation of a number of urban areas, villages, and hamlets; its major urban centre is Bolton on its eastern side adjacent to York Region.
Caledon is one of three municipalities of Peel Region. The town is at the northwest border of the city of Brampton. At over 688 km², Caledon is the largest city or town by area in the Greater Toronto Area.

History

By 1869, Belfountain was a Village with a population of 100 in the Township of Caledon County Peel. It was established on the Credit River. There were stagecoaches to Erin and Georgetown. The average price of land was $20.
In 1973 Caledon acquired more territory when Chinguacousy dissolved with most sections north of Mayfield Road transferred to the township.
Caledon inherited the name from Caledon Township of then Peel County, Ontario in 1974, which was likely named by settlers, like Edward Ellis or by public voting.

Demographics

According to the 2016 Canadian Census the population of Caledon is 66,503, an 11.8% increase from 2011. The population density is 96.6 people per square km. The median age is 41 years old, basically on par with the national median at 41.2 years old. The top three ethnic origins are Italian, English and Canadian. There are 21,255 private dwellings. According to the 2011 National Household Survey, the median value of a dwelling in Caledon is $474,087 which is significantly higher than the national average at $280,552. The median household income in Caledon is $83,454, much higher than the national average at $54,089. The average individual's income is $53,870.
In 2011, Caledon's largest religious groups were: 77.5% Christian, 18.6% no religious affiliation and 2% Sikh. There were also smaller numbers of Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist residents.

Languages

According to the 2011 Census, 76.8% of the town's population spoke English as their mother tongue. Other common mother tongues included Italian, followed by Punjabi, Portuguese, German, Polish and Spanish.
Mother tonguePopulationPercentage
English45,49076.83%
Italian4,8158.13%
Punjabi9751.65%
Portuguese8401.42%
German7651.29%
Polish7401.25%
Spanish7251.22%
French5800.98%
Croatian3100.52%
Greek2300.39%

Government

Caledon is divided into five wards represented on town council by:
and on regional council by:
Per capita, Caledon has by far the largest representation on Peel Regional Council among the three municipalities.

Climate

Education

The Peel District School Board operates secular Anglophone schools. The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board operates Catholic Anglophone separate schools. The Conseil scolaire Viamonde operates secular Francophone schools serving the area. The Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud operates Catholic Francophone schools serving the area.
School
Unlike Brampton and Mississauga, Caledon does not have any municipally-owned heritage attractions; its stories are told and its records are stored by the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives in downtown Brampton.

Media

Established in 1888 as the Cardwell Observer, The Caledon Enterprise is published weekly from Bolton by Metroland Media. Also based out of Bolton is The Caledon Citizen, established in 1982. A MELINIUM paper, it is published by Caledon Publishing Ltd. A third newspaper was launched by Rick and Shelly Sargent in 2010: The Regional, published monthly in Bolton. In November 2012, this paper was acquired by Caledon Publishing and ceased publication. The Sargents began working with the Caledon Citizen.
In January 2015 an online publication, specific to Caledon, called JustSayinCaledon.com, was started by former Bolton Ward 5 Regional Councillor Patti Foley. JustSayinCaledon.com publishes stories about local residents and businesses as well as Caledon event listings, Town Council highlights, opinion pieces, and a food section about local markets and restaurants.
A short-lived student-run newspaper, The Caledon Underground, was published in 2010.
There was a television station in Caledon called Caledon Local 21 during about 1997-1999 which is within the broadcast area of stations in Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton, a famous creepypasta.
Key Porter Books and parent H.B. Fenn are headquartered in Bolton. Broadcast radio stations CJFB-FM and CFGM-FM.

History and trails

Junior hockey teams include the Caledon Golden Hawks and Caledon Canadians, the latter defunct.
Minor hockey teams include the Caledon Hawks and Caledon Coyotes
Lacrosse in the Town of Caledon is represented by the Caledon Vaughan Minor Lacrosse Association which operates Minor Field and both Minor and Junior C. Box Teams
Mike Fox, the winner of the 2007 Queen's Plate, was foaled in Caledon, while Peaks and Valleys currently stands there.
Caledon Equestrian Park in Palgrave hosted the equestrian events of the 2015 Pan American Games.
Caledon Centre for Recreation and Wellness, located in Bolton, Ontario.

Communities

The primary administrative and commercial centre of Caledon is the community of Bolton, which the municipal government estimated as having a population of 26,478 in 2006.
Smaller communities in the town include Albion, Alloa, Alton, Belfountain, Boston Mills, Brimstone, Caledon, Caledon East, Caledon Village, Campbell's Cross, Castlederg, Cataract, Cedar Meadows, Cedar Mills, Cheltenham, Claude, Coulterville, Ferndale, Forks of the Credit, The Grange, Humber, Humber Grove, Inglewood, Kilmanagh, Lockton, Mayfield West, Macville, Melville, McLeodville, Mono Mills, Mono Road, New Glasgow, Palgrave, Queensgate, Rockside, Rosehill, Sandhill, Silver Creek, Sleswick, Sligo, Star, Stonehart, Taylorwoods, Terra Cotta, Tormore, Valleywood and Victoria. The region is otherwise very sparsely populated with farms being the only residential centres.
A number of villages or hamlets have disappeared from the current town:

Emergency services

The town runs its own fire services through the composite Career and volunteer firefighters of the Town of Caledon Fire & Emergency Services, which has nine stations.
Ambulance services are run by the regional government's Peel Regional Paramedic Services, with three stations.
Despite being part of Peel Region, policing in Caledon is conducted from Ontario Provincial Police Caledon Detachment rather than Peel Regional Police. OPP also patrols on provincial highways within Caledon.

Transportation

operates two bus routes in Caledon;
It additionally has storage and service facilities in the town.
Selected trips by Brampton Transit's Route 30 Airport Road buses extends into the Tullamore Industrial Area of the Town of Caledon, with a total of six trips per day.
The town has no government-supported local public transit system. However, growing population prompted former local resident Darren Parberry to start a trial bus service with two routes, called Métis Transit, which ran briefly in 2006. Caledon also ran a commercial bus operations in 1999 under the name Caledon Transit Incorporated, but it ceased operations due to low ridership.
Transit services for the elderly, disabled, and infirm are provided by Caledon Community Services Transportation and Transhelp.
Taxi service is also available in the Bolton, Ontario area.
The highways in the municipality are: