Kawartha Lakes (

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

population: 79,247) is a single-tier municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Though structured as a single-tier municipality, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typical Ontario county and is mostly rural. It is the second largest single-tier municipality in Ontario by land area (after

Greater Sudbury Sudbury, officially the City of Greater Sudbury, is the largest city in Northern Ontario by population, with a population of 166,004 at the 2021 Canadian Census. By land area, it is the largest in Ontario and the List of the largest cities and t ...

). The main population centres are the communities of Lindsay (population: 22,367), Bobcaygeon (population: 3,576), Fenelon Falls (population: 2,490), Omemee (population: 1,060) and Woodville (population: 718).

History

The Kawartha Lakes area is situated on the traditional territory of the

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...

g, Huron-Wendat and more recently, the

Haudenosaunee The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

peoples. The city's name is from the

Kawartha Lakes Kawartha Lakes (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 79,247) is a List of municipalities in Ontario , single-tier municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Though structured as a single-tier municipality, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typica ...

. ''Kawartha'' is an

anglicization Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English languag ...

of ''Ka-wa-tha'' (from ''Ka-wa-tae-gum-maug'' or ''Gaa-waategamaag''), which was coined in 1895 by Martha Whetung of the Curve Lake

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

. It meant "land of reflections" in the

Anishinaabe language Ojibwe ( ), also known as Ojibwa ( ), Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algon ...

, according to Whetung. The word was later changed by tourism promoters to ''Kawartha'', meaning "bright waters and happy lands." Prior to its restructuring as a city, the area was known as Victoria County. The city was created in 2001, during the ruling provincial Progressive Conservative party's " Common Sense Revolution". Through provincial legislation, the former Victoria County and its constituent municipalities were amalgamated into one entity named the ''City of Kawartha Lakes''. This act was implemented by the Victoria County Restructuring Commission, led by commissioner Harry Kitchen. Despite a general opposition from residents of the area, the provincial government pushed forward with the amalgamation, which officially came into effect on January 1, 2001. By a narrow margin (51% for, 49% against), the citizens of Kawartha Lakes voted to de-amalgamate in a November 2003 local plebiscite, but the provincial and municipal governments have not taken any steps since the vote to initiate de-amalgamation.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Kawartha Lakes had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 census, the population of the Lindsay urban area was 20,713, up from 20,291 in 2011.

Ethnicity

''Ethnic Origins 2021'' ''Only ethnic groups that comprise greater than 1% of the population are included. Note that a person can report more than one group'' * English: 35.9% * Irish: 27.2% * Scottish: 25.5% *

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

: 20.6% * German: 8.8% * French n.o.s: 7.5% *

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

n.o.s: 5.8% * Dutch: 5.3% * Italian: 3.4% * Welsh: 3.0% * Polish: 2.5% *Caucasian (

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

), n.o.s.: 2.1% * Ukrainian: 2.1% * European, n.o.s.: 1.5% *

n.o.s: 1.4% *

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

: 1.1% *

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

: 1.0% In 2021, Kawartha Lakes was 93.7% white/European, 3.4% visible minorities, and 2.9% Indigenous. The largest visible minority groups were

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

(0.9%),

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

(0.8%) and Chinese (0.5%).

Religion

53.8% of Kawartha Lakes residents were

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

in 2021, down from 68.8% in 2011. 28.3% were

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, including 12.7% United Church, 7.0%

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, 3.3%

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

and 2.5%

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

. 15.6% were

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, 5.8% were Christian n.o.s, and 4.1% belonged to other Christian denominations or Christian-related traditions. Non-religious and secular residents were 44.5% of the population, up from 30.3% in 2011. 1.7% of the population belonged to other religions and spiritual traditions, up from 0.9% in 2011. The largest non-Christian religion was

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

(0.4%).

Government

Kawartha Lakes is governed by a City Council consisting of the Mayor and one councillor from each of the City's wards. From 2001 to the 2018 election, there were 16 wards and councillors, but this was changed to 8 wards for the 2018 election. The mayor and councillors are elected for four-year terms, as mandated by the Government of Ontario for all municipalities in the province. The mayor of Kawartha Lakes is Doug Elmslie and Deputy Mayor is Charlie McDonald. The Deputy Mayor is a special appointment for one of the 8 councillors and is elected each year by members of Council at a Regular Council meeting in December. For purposes of electing representatives provincially, the city is within the riding of Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock (provincial electoral district). Beginning with the 2025 federal election the city is in the riding of Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes. Its Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) is Laurie Scott of the Progressive Conservative Party, elected in 2018. Its federal Member of Parliament (MP) is Jamie Schmale of the Conservative Party, who was elected in 2015. Mayors of Kawartha Lakes include: * Art Truax (2001-2003) * Barb Kelly (2003-2006) * Ric McGee (2006-2014) * Andy Letham (2014-2022) * Doug Elmslie (2022-Present)

Communities

* Ancona Point *

Bethany Bethany (,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac language, Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā''), locally called in Palestinian Arabic, Arabic Al-Eizariya or al-Aizariya (, "Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba,

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

of Lazarus (name), L ...

* Bobcaygeon * Bolsover * Burnt River * Cameron * Coboconk * Dalrymple *''

Dongola Dongola (), also known as Urdu or New Dongola, is the capital of Northern State in Sudan, on the banks of the Nile. It should not be confused with Old Dongola, a now deserted medieval city located 80 km upstream on the opposite bank. Et ...

'' * East Emily * Eldon * Fenelon Falls * Glenarm *'' Head Lake'' * Kinmount * Kirkfield * Lindsay * Little Britain * Lorneville * Manvers * Mariposa * Norland * Omemee *

Pontypool Pontypool ( ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in South Wales. , it has a population of 29,062. Locat ...

* Rokeby * Rosedale *'' St. Mary's'' * Sturgeon Point * Valentia * Victoria Road * View Lake * Woodville

Climate

The Kawartha Lakes area has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

with warm, sometimes humid summers and cold snowy winters. The snowier areas are typically the ones closer to large lakes, and snow usually ranges from 150 cm to 200 cm in a year in most areas.

Victoria County

Prior to 2001, Victoria County consisted of 13 separate townships and 6 incorporated communities, each with their own local governments:

Townships

Incorporated Township Name (Population centres): * Bexley (Victoria Road, Coboconk) * Carden (Dalrymple) * Dalton (Sebright, Uphill, Sadowa) * Eldon (Glenarm, Kirkfield, Woodville) * Emily (Omemee, Downeyville, Fowlers Corners) * Fenelon (Cameron, Cambray, Powles Corners) * Laxton, Digby and Longford (Uphill, Norland) *

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of ...

(largely uninhabited) * Manvers (Janetville, Bethany, Pontypool) * Mariposa (Oakwood, Little Britain, Manilla) * Ops (Reaboro) * Somerville (Coboconk, Kinmount) * Verulam (Dunsford, Bobcaygeon) The township of Laxton, Digby and Longford is an amalgamation of the once individual townships of Digby and Laxton, and half of the original Longford Township. The separate township of Longford is uninhabited, though dotted with abandoned logging towns. In 2000, just prior to amalgamation into the city of Kawartha Lakes, the township of Verulam and the village of Bobcaygeon were amalgamated into the Municipality of Bobcaygeon/Verulam, and the separate townships of Carden and Dalton amalgamated into the Township of Carden/Dalton.

Incorporated communities

*Town of Lindsay *Village of Bobcaygeon *Village of Fenelon Falls *Village of Omemee *Village of Sturgeon Point *Village of Woodville

Transportation

Air transportation

Kawartha Lakes Municipal Airport, a Transport Canada certified airport, has 24-hour radio operated lighting and provides access to key points throughout Ontario. Kawartha Lakes Municipal Airport is located one nautical mile west north west of Lindsay. It offers a card lock fuel system and can be used by both private and commercial airplanes.

Water transportation

Towns and villages in Kawartha Lakes are interconnected by rivers, lakes and streams that can be best navigated May to October. The Trent-Severn Waterway, which extends from Bay of Quinte on

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

Georgian Bay The Georgian Bay () is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is t ...

in the north, is part of the waterways in Kawartha Lakes. Five locks, Bobcaygeon 32, Lindsay 33, Fenelon Falls 34, Rosedale 35, and Kirkfield 36 are part of the Trent-Severn National Historic site and operated by

Parks Canada Parks Canada ()Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 37 National Parks, three National Marine Co ...

. Coboconk is noted as being Canada's fresh water summit with waters flowing two different directions. It is the highest navigable point in Canada from which it is possible to reach the world. There are no

water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a boat used to provide public transport, public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an Urban area, urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a simil ...

s operating in Kawartha Lakes. Boat and

houseboat A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily for regular dwelling. Most houseboats are not motorized, as they are usually moored or kept stationary, fixed at a Berth (moorings), berth, and often tethered to ...

rentals are available.

Land transportation

The following King's Highways pass through the city: * Highway 7, part of the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

* Highway 7A *

Highway 35 The following highways are numbered 35: The Karakoram Highway (Urdu language, Urdu: شاہراہ قراقرم, ''Śāhirāh-i Qarāquram''), also known as the KKH, National Highway 35 (Urdu language, Urdu: قومی شاہراہ ۳۵), N-35, and ...

* Highway 115 * Highway 7B also exists entirely within the city, following the length of Kent Street through Lindsay, and cosigning with Highway 35 for 800 m. The following multi-use trails pass through the city: * Lindsay-Peterborough (east-west) rail line, part of the Trans Canada Trail * Bethany-Haliburton (north-south) rail line, known as the Victoria Rail Trail

Public transportation

Because of the largely rural composition of the City of Kawartha Lakes,

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...

is very limited. Kawartha Lakes has public bus transit in the town of Lindsay only (known as Lindsay Transit), running four lines of hourly service Monday to Saturday from 7am to 7pm, and Sunday from 9am to 4pm (except holidays). On June 21, 2015 a pilot project rural bus route serving part of City of Kawartha Lakes ended service. The rural bus stopped in Lindsay, Dunsford, Bobcaygeon, Fenelon Falls, and Cameron. Most school children are bussed to elementary and high school.

Bus companies

TOK Coachlines (formerly called CanAr Bus Lines) offers service between Toronto and Haliburton with several stops in City of Kawartha Lakes, however this service will be discontinued on January 31, 2024.

Train routes

The last

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

(CN) train to run through City of Kawartha Lakes was on the Lindsay - Uxbridge line which ceased operation in 1990. The last passenger train to run through the City of Kawartha Lakes was No. 189 with Budd Car VIA 6104 from Havelock to Toronto Union Station over

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

(CP) lines on January 14, 1990. CP freight trains continue to operate through the City of Kawartha Lakes on the Havelock Subdivision (MP 133.23 - MP 143.22) which passes through Pontypool (MP 139.1) High-level discussions organized by the Shining Waters Railway continue about returning passenger rail-service to the Midtown Toronto to Havelock line with a stop in Pontypool. The Trans Canada Trail which is situated on the old rail line from

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...

, continues to be a possibility for commuter service to Toronto and Pearson Airport, from the Highway 7 bridge via Uxbridge and the GO Transit Stouffville Line.

Taxi services

There are several private taxi services in Kawartha Lakes licensed by the local government.

Car/van pools

Several businesses and organizations offer car and van pooling through Car Pool World including Sir Sandford Fleming College.

Attractions

*Academy Theatre *Lindsay Little Theatre *The Lindsay Gallery *Maryboro Lodge: The Fenelon Museum *Devil's Elbow Ski Area,

of Lazarus (name), L ...

* Ganaraska Hiking Trail * Trans-Canada Trail, and Doube's Trestle Bridge * Lindsay Airport, Lindsay * Youngtown Rock and Roll Museum * Olde Gaol Museum *Victoria Recreation Corridor *Highland Cinema and Museum, Kinmount * Trent-Severn Waterway **Lock 32: Bobcaygeon **Lock 33: Lindsay **Lock 34: Fenelon Falls **Lock 35: Rosedale **Lock 36: Kirkfield lift lock

Protected areas

* Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park * Carden Alvar Provincial Park * Balsam Lake Provincial Park * Indian Point Provincial Park * Emily Provincial Park *Pigeon River Headwaters Conservation Area *Fleetwood Creek Conservation Area *Windy Ridge Conservation Area *Ken Reid Conservation Area * Gamiing Nature Centre

Media

* The Standard News (published weekly in print and online throughout Kawartha Lakes and Durham) * '' The Lindsay Advocate'' (online and print news magazine focused on social and economic issues.) * The Kawartha Promoter (online news magazine published out of Bobcaygeon) * 91.9 Bounce FM ( CKLY-FM) transmits from Lindsay * Global Peterborough, established as CHEX-TV transmits on Channel 12 from Peterborough * 100.3 LIFE FM, transmitting at 89.3 from Peterborough * '' The Lindsay Post'' (established in Beaverton as ''The Canadian Post'' in 1857, moved to Lindsay in 1861. Ceased publication in 2013.) * '' YourTV (Cogeco) Formerly CogecoTV, TV Cogeco, Cogeco Cable, Lindsay Com Cable(The Community Access Channel) Transmits from Peterborough

Surrounding counties

* Muskoka District Municipality *

Haliburton County Haliburton is a county of Ontario, Canada, known as a tourist and cottage area in Central Ontario for its scenery and for its resident artists. Minden Hills is the county seat. Haliburton County and the village of Haliburton are named after Th ...

* Northumberland County * Peterborough County * Regional Municipality of Durham *

Simcoe County Simcoe County is a county and census division located in the central region of Ontario, Canada. The county is located north of the Greater Toronto Area, and forms the north western edge of the Golden Horseshoe. The county seat is located in Mi ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control 2001 establishments in Ontario Cities in Ontario Populated places established in 2001 Single-tier municipalities in Ontario