Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth
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Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth | |
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Dissolved regional municipality | |
Glanbrook |
The Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth was an upper-tier regional municipality in Ontario, Canada, that existed between January 1, 1974, and January 1, 2001. It was composed of six municipalities, centered on and including the City of Hamilton, and existed to coordinate certain shared services, such as policing and public transit, for those municipalities. It was created through the restructuring of Wentworth County, and was one of the last such governments to be created in Ontario.
The regional municipality was dissolved in 2001, and its constituent municipalities were amalgamated to form the current single-tier City of Hamilton, with a 2021 total population of 569,353.
Overview
Regional Municipalities were an experiment in two-tiered municipalities created between the late 1960s to mid-1970s. They existed mainly in the
The Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth was established as an Upper-Tier Municipality and comprised the bulk of the former
The Region provided policing, social services, and public transit (by taking over Hamilton Street Railway), while the lower-tier provided Fire Services and Recreation Services; although, both tiers shared the responsibility for maintaining Roads and Water. It was governed by a Regional Chair who presided over a Regional Council with representatives from each of Hamilton's wards and two each from other constituent municipalities. Near the end of its existence, the Regional Chair was chosen by Direct Election.
History
The Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth was created by Act of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1973, which took effect on January 1, 1974. The creation of the Regional Municipality resulted in the consolidation of the former municipalities of Wentworth County into six new municipalities:
Area municipality | Created from | Police villages dissolved |
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Township of Flamborough | Township of East Flamborough, Village of Waterdown, annexing portions of the Townships of Beverly, and West Flamborough | Freelton, Lynden |
Township of Glanbrook
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Townships of Binbrook and Glanford | |
Town of Dundas | Town of Dundas, annexing portions of the Townships of Ancaster and West Flamborough | |
Town of Ancaster | Township of Ancaster, annexing portions of the Town of Dundas | Ancaster |
Town of Stoney Creek | Town of Stoney Creek, Township of Saltfleet | |
City of Hamilton | City of Hamilton |
Merger
A different Progressive Conservative government amalgamated all of the constituent municipalities in Hamilton–Wentworth into the larger single-tier City of Hamilton in 2001, against great opposition from its suburban and rural parts. This was part of a broader series of municipal reorganizations in urban and rural Ontario, and was also the fate of Metropolitan Toronto, the Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton, Chatham-Kent, Prince Edward County, and many others.
References
- ^ "Act to Establish the Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth". York University Digital Commons. Retrieved 21 August 2022.