Whitby is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

Durham Region The Regional Municipality of Durham (), informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Located east of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York, Durham forms the east-end of the Greater T ...

. Whitby is located in

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...

east of Ajax and west of

Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the ...

, on the north shore of

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. The Canada–United States border sp ...

and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region. It had a population of 138,501 at the 2021 census. It is approximately east of Scarborough, and it is known as a commuter

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...

in the eastern part of the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater ...

. While the southern portion of Whitby is predominantly urban and an economic hub, the northern part of the municipality is more rural and includes the communities of Ashburn, Brooklin, Myrtle, Myrtle Station, and Macedonian Village.

History

Lynde House Museum - Whitby, Ontario, Canada

Whitby Township (now the Town of Whitby) was named after the seaport town of Whitby, Yorkshire, England. When the township was originally surveyed in 1792, the surveyor, from the northern part of England, named the townships east of Toronto after towns in northeastern England:

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, Scarborough, Pickering,

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Cl ...

and

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underw ...

. The original name of "Whitby" is Danish, dating from about 867 AD when the Danes invaded Britain. It is a contraction of "Whitteby", meaning "White Village". The allusion may be to the white lighthouse on the pier at Whitby, Yorkshire, and also at Whitby, Ontario.' Although settlement dates back to 1800, it was not until 1836 that a downtown business centre was established by Whitby's founder Peter Perry. Whitby's chief asset was its fine natural harbour on Lake Ontario, from which grain from the farmland to the north was first shipped in 1833. In the 1840s, a road was built from Whitby Harbour to

Lake Simcoe Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called ''Ouentironk' ...

and

Georgian Bay Georgian Bay (french: Baie Georgienne) 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. T ...

, to bring trade and settlement through the harbour to and from the rich hinterland to the north. The Town of Whitby was chosen as the seat of government for the newly formed County of Ontario in 1852, and incorporated in 1855. The remainder of Whitby Township remained a separate municipality, although the eastern half surrounding Oshawa was incorporated as the new Township of East Whitby in 1857. In the 1870s, a railway, the "

Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway The Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway (PW&PP) was a railway running from Whitby to Port Perry, running north–south about 50 km east of Toronto. It was built to connect local grain and logging interests with the railway mainlines on the s ...

", was constructed from Whitby harbour to

Port Perry Port Perry is a community located in Scugog, Ontario, Canada. The town is located northeast of central Toronto and north of Oshawa and Whitby. Port Perry has a population of 9,453 as of 2016. Port Perry serves as the administrative and commerc ...

, and later extended to Lindsay as the "Whitby, Port Perry and Lindsay Railway". Whitby is also the site of

Trafalgar Castle School Trafalgar Castle School in Whitby, Ontario is an internationally known, independent day and boarding school for girls and young women in grades 4 through 12. Boarding at the school begins in grade 7. Founded in 1874 as "Ontario Ladies' College", ...

, a private girls' school founded in 1874. The building, constructed as an Elizabethan-style castle in 1859–62 as a private residence for the Sheriff of Ontario County, is a significant architectural landmark and Whitby's only provincial historic site marked with a plaque. The school celebrated its 125th anniversary in 1999. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Whitby was the location of

Camp X Camp X was the unofficial name of the secret Special Training School No. 103, a Second World War British paramilitary installation for training covert agents in the methods required for success in clandestine operations. It was located on the n ...

, a secret spy training facility established by

Sir William Stephenson Sir William Samuel Stephenson (23 January 1897 – 31 January 1989), born William Samuel Clouston Stanger, was a Canadian soldier, fighter pilot, businessman and spymaster who served as the senior representative of the British Security Coor ...

, the "Man Called Intrepid". Although the buildings have since been demolished, a monument was unveiled on the site of Camp X in 1984 by Ontario's

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

John Black Aird John Black Aird (May 5, 1923 – May 6, 1995) was a Canadian lawyer, corporate director and political figure. He served in the Senate of Canada from 1964 to 1974, and he was Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1980 to 1985. Life and caree ...

. Following the War, Soviet dissenter Igor Gouzenko was taken to the facility with his wife to live in secretive protective custody after fleeing Ottawa, Ontario.

Amalgamation

In 1968, the Town of Whitby and Township of Whitby amalgamated to form the current municipality. Planning for the construction of a town hall intended to centralize municipal staff working in satellite offices began in 1970 under mayor Des Newman. Construction began on the Raymond Moriyama designed building in 1975; it was opened by Mayor Jim Gartshore on January 8, 1977. Municipal boundaries were not changed during the 1974 formation of

, and remain to this day. Today, Whitby is the seat of government in Durham Region. It is commonly considered part of the

, although statistically it belongs to the greater

Metropolitan Area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

. They are both in the eastern part of the

Golden Horseshoe The Golden Horseshoe is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. The ...

region.

Geography

Whitby borders Ajax to the west, Pickering to the northwest, the Township of Scugog to the north, and Oshawa to the east. Since at least the mid-1990s, the development of subdivisions to accommodate population growth has proceeded in a mostly northward direction, including development in Brooklin.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), 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 cultu ...

, Whitby 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 2021, 19.1% of the population was under 15 years of age, and 14.8% was 65 years and over. The median age in Whitby was 40 years. The median total income of households in 2020 for Whitby was $123,000. As per the 2021 census, the most common ethnic or cultural origins in Whitby are English (19.9%), Irish (17.1%), Scottish (16.7%), Canadian (13.7%), Italian (6.4%), German (6.2%), Indian (6.0%), French (5.4%), British Isles (4.8%), Chinese (4.3%), Jamaican (3.5%), Dutch (3.4%), and Polish (3.0%). Indigenous people made up 1.5% of the population, mostly First Nations (0.8%) and

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United State ...

(0.7%). Ethnocultural backgrounds in the town included European (63.1%),

South Asian South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

(12.0%),

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

(9.1%), Chinese (3.6%), Filipino (2.6%),

West Asian Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes An ...

(1.6%),

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-e ...

(1.2%),

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

(1.0%), and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

n (0.5%). In 2021, 54.3% of the population identified as

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

, with

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

(25.7%) making up the largest denomination, followed by

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

(4.9%), United Church (4.2%), Orthodox (2.7%), and other denominations. 31.6% of the population reported no religious affiliation. Others identified as

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

(6.7%),

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

(5.4%), and with other religions. The 2021 census found

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

to be the

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tong ...

of 75.5% of the population. This was followed by

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

(1.6%), Mandarin (1.5%),

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

(1.3%), Spanish (1.1%), Italian (1.0%),

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Taga ...

(0.9%),

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...

(0.8%),

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

(0.7%),

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

(0.7%),

Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī ...

(0.7%), and Portuguese (0.6%). Of the official languages, 98.7% of the population reported knowing English and 8.4% French.

Local government

The Town's Council includes the Mayor, four Regional Councillors and four Town Councillors elected on the basis of one per ward. They sit on both the Town and

al Councils, as does the mayor. The members elected as of the 2022 municipal election are: Mayor: Elizabeth Roy Regional Councillors: * Rhonda Mulcahy * Chris Leahy * Steve Yamada * Maleeha Shahid Town Councillors: * North Ward 1: Steve Lee * West Ward 2: Matt Cardwell * Centre Ward 3: Niki Lundquist * East Ward 4: Victoria Bozinovski Regional Chair: John Henry Whitby is also home to the headquarters buildings of

and the Durham District School Board.

Emergency services

Whitby is policed by the Durham Regional Police's Central West Division. There is also a detachment of the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorp ...

located in Town, mainly to patrol area provincial highways within Durham Region. Whitby Fire & Emergency Services provides firefighting services from five fire stations and ambulance/emergency medical services are provided by Durham Region EMS at the Whitby Paramedic Station (also as EMS Headquarters).

Economy

Many residents commute to work in other Greater Toronto Area communities. Whitby itself is home to a steel mill operated by Gerdau Ameristeel, a retail support centre operated by

Sobeys Sobeys Inc. is the second largest supermarket chain in Canada, with over 1,500 stores operating across Canada under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales of ...

, and a major

Liquor Control Board of Ontario The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is a Crown corporation that retails and distributes alcoholic beverages throughout the Canadian province of Ontario. It is accountable to the Legislative Assembly through the minister of finance. It wa ...

warehouse. Other companies present in Whitby include pharmaceutical manufacturer

Patheon Patheon is a service brand within Thermo Fisher Scientific’s brand portfolio. Contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) services offered under the Patheon brand include small molecule API, biologics, viral vectors, cGMP plasmids ...

, Lear Corporation, Automodular Assemblies,

McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ryerson Press was a Canadian book publishing company, active from 1919 to 1970.Janet B. Friskney"The Birth of The Ryerson Press Imprint" Historical Perspectives on Canadian Publishing. First established by the Methodist Book Room, a division of t ...

, and several others.

Education

Public education in Whitby is provided via the Durham District School Board, which also has its headquarters in Whitby. There are twenty-four elementary schools and five secondary schools:

Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute (Anderson CVI, Anderson Collegiate, Anderson, or ACVI) is located in Whitby, Ontario within the Durham District School Board. Established in 1960, the school has students in grades 9–12 and offers a wid ...

, Brooklin High School,

Donald A Wilson Secondary School Donald A. Wilson Secondary School is a high school located in Whitby, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 2004, the school hosts students in grades 9-12 and offers a wide range of academic and extra-curricular activities. The school mascot is an alligator ...

Henry Street High School Henry Street High School is located in Whitby, Ontario, within the Durham District School Board. The school offers programs for students in grades 9–12 and a wide range of academic and extracurricular activities. The school was originally kn ...

and

Sinclair Secondary School Sinclair Secondary School is located in Whitby, Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been consi ...

. The

Durham Catholic District School Board The Durham Catholic District School Board (DCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 45 prior to 1999) is a Catholic school board located in Durham Region, east of Toronto, Ontario. It currently runs 39 elementary sc ...

oversees public Catholic education in Durham Region. There are twelve Catholic elementary schools and two secondary schools-

Father Leo J. Austin Catholic Secondary School Father Leo J. Austin Catholic Secondary School (also known as Father Leo, Leo J. Austin, FLJA, or Austin for short) is a coeducational, Catholic, secondary school located in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, and it is managed by the Durham Catholic Dist ...

and

All Saints Catholic Secondary School All Saints Catholic Secondary School is a secondary school located in Whitby, Ontario, Canada open for students in grades 7–12. It offers a broad range of academic programs including Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP), Cooperative ...

. Full French-language education is provided by the Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir. There is one elementary school in Whitby, École élémentaire catholique Jean-Paul II (JK-grade 6), as well as a high school, École secondaire catholique St-Charles Garnier (grades 7-12) which services all of

. As noted above, Whitby is home to

, an independent school for women that offers grades 5 through 12 in a university preparatory programme. Built in 1859 by the flamboyant Sheriff of Ontario County, Nelson Gilbert "Iron" Reynolds, Trafalgar Castle remains a unique Canadian treasure. The school had opened its doors in 1874 and was called "Ontario Ladies' College" until the late 70s, after which it changed its name to "Trafalgar Castle". There are also a number of

Montessori The Montessori method of education involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills. It emphasizes indepen ...

schools offering programmes for early elementary grades. Whitby is also the site of the Skills Training Centre of

Durham College Durham College of Applied Arts and Technology is located in the Durham Region of Ontario, Canada, with a campus co-located with Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, a second campus in Whitby, and community employment services in Uxbridge, Port ...

. The main campus of the college is located in Oshawa, as is Ontario Tech University. Canada Christian College is located in Whitby as well.

Healthcare

Although Whitby is one of the 100 largest cities/towns in Canada, it lacks a full-service hospital. The town was served by the Whitby General Hospital until 1998, when Durham hospitals were amalgamated by the

Lakeridge Health Corporation Lakeridge Health is a health system and hospital network serving Durham Region, Ontario in the eastern part of the Greater Toronto Area. It operates four acute hospitals with emergency departments (Lakeridge Health Bowmanville, Lakeridge Health Os ...

, Under the amalgamated system, the hospital became Lakeridge Health Whitby and is a specialized health centre, with the closest full-service hospitals being

Lakeridge Health Oshawa Lakeridge Health Oshawa, formerly Oshawa General Hospital, is a hospital located in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in August 1910 in a two-story building, and major additions were made in the 1920s (surgical and maternity wings). "G" Wing ...

, Markham Stouffville Hospital in Markham and the

Rouge Valley Health System Rouge Valley Health System (RVHS) was a hospital network in the province of Ontario, Canada. It was created in 1998 through the merger of Centenary Health Centre in Toronto and the Ajax and Pickering General Hospital in Ajax, serving the commu ...

, Ajax and Pickering campus in Ajax. The Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences is located on the lakefront. It was originally called the

Whitby Psychiatric Hospital Whitby Psychiatric Hospital, also known as Whitby Psych, Ontario Hospital for the Insane, Ontario Hospital, Whitby, or OHW, is a mental health facility located in Whitby, Ontario. A modern hospital replaced the cottage campus in 1996. The hospital ...

, then Whitby Mental Health Centre.

Transportation

Ontario Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provi ...

runs through the south end of Whitby, with interchanges at Brock Street and Thickson Road.

Ontario Highway 407 King's Highway 407, commonly referred to as Highway 407 and colloquially as the "four-oh-seven", is a tolled 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Comprising a privately leased segment as well as a publicly owned segment, the ...

was opened in Whitby in 2016. The toll highway passes between Brooklin and the urban portion of the town. Ontario Highway 412, connecting the 401 with the 407, also opened to traffic in the same year. The highway is a north–south route located just east of the Whitby-Ajax boundary and became toll-free on April 22, 2022. The southern terminus of Highway 12 is also located in Whitby. It originally extended from Highway 401 northward as part of Brock Street, but this portion was downloaded to Durham Region in 1997. The southern terminus is now located just south of Brooklin at Highway 407. Finally, Highway 7 runs east–west between Brooklin and the City of Pickering. At Brooklin, the road changes to a north–south alignment and is

multiplex Multiplex may refer to: * Multiplex (automobile), a former American car make * Multiplex (comics), a DC comic book supervillain * Multiplex (company), a global contracting and development company * Multiplex (assay), a biological assay which measu ...

ed with Highway 12 to the northern boundary of the Town. Four railways pass through Whitby. The Toronto-Montreal corridor main lines of the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

and

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , 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 Canad ...

both pass east–west through the south end of town. A second CP line running from Toronto to Havelock also passes through the northern part of Whitby.

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

trains travel through Whitby, but the nearest station is in Oshawa. Finally,

GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven mil ...

provides frequent service via its Lakeshore East line, which (in Whitby) runs parallel to the CN tracks. A GO Station is located in Town. Local transit services are provided by the region-wide Durham Region Transit. Prior to the Regional service, the Town provided its own service. GO Transit buses also connect Whitby with Durham Region (including

and Beaverton to the north) and areas further afield. Whitby Harbour, an important factor in the development of the Town, is now home to a 420-berth recreational marina. The closest international airport is

Toronto Pearson International Airport Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surr ...

, located to the west in

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popu ...

Media

Whitby is served by the ''Whitby This Week'' newspaper, part of the

Metroland Media Group Metroland Media Group (also known as Community Brands) is a Canadian mass media publisher and distributor which primarily operates in Southern Ontario. A division of the publishing conglomerate Torstar Corporation, Metroland publishes more than 7 ...

. Several other papers have been published in the town over the years, including the Whitby Free Press, which ran from 1971 to 1996. Other GTA media outlets also serve the area. In North Whitby, the '' Brooklin Town Crier'' serves approximately 8,000 residents every two weeks. The ''Brooklin Town Crier'' was established in 2000 by Rhonda Mulcahy, who has since been elected Regional Councillor for Whitby. The paper consists primarily of resident contributions, with occasion updates on local and regional politics from Mulcahy.

Arts

* Durham Council for the Arts * Whitby Brass Band * Whitby Courthouse Theatre * Station Gallery

Notable places

* Whitby Public Library *Lynde House Museum * Cullen Gardens and Miniature Village

Sports

Whitby's most famous sporting team is the

Whitby Dunlops The Whitby Dunlops are a Canadian senior ice hockey team in the team in the Allan Cup Hockey league. The team began play in 2004, and is on a leave of absence as of the 2020-21 season. Two previous teams have also played as the Whitby Dunlops. ...

, a celebrated

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

squad that captured the world championship in 1958 at

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. This team featured long-time president of the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...

Harry Sinden Harry James Sinden (born September 14, 1932) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He served as a coach, general manager, and team president for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), and was the coach of ...

and former mayor of Whitby,

Bob Attersley Robert Alan Attersley (August 13, 1933 – March 12, 2010)
...

. The Dunlops were revived in 2004 as part of the

Eastern Ontario Senior Hockey League The Eastern Ontario Senior Hockey League, or EOSHL, is a top Senior ice hockey league in Eastern Ontario that operated from 2003 to 2008, merged into the Major Hockey League in 2008 and resumed its operations from 2019 onwards. The EOSHL is gov ...

. The Whitby Yacht Club, which offers racing, cruising, social, and sail training programs on Whitby Harbour overlooking the

, was founded in 1966.

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

is also a prominent sport in Whitby. The Brooklin Redmen Senior A lacrosse club is one of the most successful in Canadian sporting history, while the Junior A Whitby Warriors have been awarded the Minto Cup four times since 1984. Whitby is also home to the ''Iroquois Park Sports Centre'', one of the largest minor sports centres in North America. The facility includes six icepads, a swimming pool named for local Olympian Anne Ottenbrite, six tennis courts, five ball diamonds, three batting cages, a

skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairse ...

, a soccer pitch, ''The Sports Garden Cafe'' restaurant and the Whitby Sports Hall of Fame. Whitby also developed the McKinney Sports complex which boasts three ice pads, two tennis courts and a

, and Luther Vipond Arena in Brooklin, with one ice pad. These 3 sport complexes hold many sporting events. In 2008, the

OJHL The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league was listed as the 7th best ...

relocated a team to Whitby to play out of the Iroquois Complex, known as the

Whitby Fury The Haliburton County Huskies are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Haliburton, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. History This franchise was founded in 1965 as the Oshawa Crushmen, and were initially a member ...

Notable people

David Ayres David Ayres (; born August 12, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and current Head Coach of the Port Perry Lumberjacks of the Provincial Junior Hockey League. He achieved fame as the first emergency backup goaltender ...

, NHL hockey goalie and Zamboni driver *

John Wilson Bengough John Wilson Bengough (; 7 April 1851 – 2 October 1923) was one of Canada's earliest cartoonists, as well as an editor, publisher, writer, poet, entertainer, and politician. Bengough is best remembered for his political cartoons in '' ...

, political cartoonist * Kat Burns and Kyle Donnelly of the band Forest City Lovers *

Drake Caggiula Drake Caggiula (; born June 20, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left wing currently playing for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National H ...

, hockey player for the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Divisio ...

* Lorne Edgar Campbell, outlaw biker *

Caroline Nichols Churchill Caroline Nichols Churchill (December 23, 1833 – 1926) was a Canadian-born writer and newspaper editor in the United States, best known as the editor of the '' Queen Bee'', a feminist publication prominent during the Colorado Suffrage movement ...

, American feminist, author, and editor *

Chuck Coles Chuck Coles (also known as Chuut Coles) (born 20 March 1980 in Oshawa, Ontario) is a Canadian musician. He was the guitarist for heavy metal band Brown Brigade and the lead singer, guitarist, and "band leader" for the band The Organ Thieves. ...

, singer/songwriter for the Organ Thieves, southern and soul-influenced experimental hard rock band *

A. J. Cook Andrea Joy Cook (born July 22, 1978) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau on the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–2020, 2022). Cook has also appeared in ''The Virgin ...

, actress * Neil Crone, actor and writer for local newspaper, stars on kid's television show Really Me *

Dave Devall David Devall (born 1931) is a Canadian retired broadcaster and meteorologist. He served as the chief forecaster at CFTO-TV in Toronto for more than 48 years beginning in 1961, and was recognized as having had the "longest career as a weather for ...

, weather reporter for CFTO-TV * Jim Flaherty, late member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Commo ...

and

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

Adam Foote Adam Foote (born July 10, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman, the current Assistant Coach of the Vancouver Canucks of National Hockey League, and the former head coach of the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League ...

, NHL player for Colorado Avalanche, Stanley Cup winner, Olympic Gold Medallist and former member of ''Team Canada'' * Hamar Greenwood, Chief Secretary for Ireland 1920–1922 *

Zack Greer Zack Greer (born February 12, 1986 in Whitby, Ontario) is a Canadian professional lacrosse player who plays for the Las Vegas Desert Dogs of the National Lacrosse League. Greer attended high school at All Saints Catholic Secondary School in Whit ...

, plays for the Denver Outlaws in the MLL and the

Colorado Mammoth The Colorado Mammoth are a box lacrosse team playing in the National Lacrosse League. The Mammoth have played at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, since the 2003 season. They are owned by Stan Kroenke, who is also the owner of the Colorado Avalan ...

of the NLL. * Jay Harrison, hockey player, currently an unrestricted free agent * Hello Beautiful, band *

May Irwin May Irwin (born Georgina May Campbell; June 27, 1862 – October 22, 1938) was an actress, singer and star of vaudeville. Originally from Canada, she and her sister Flo Irwin found theater work after their father died. She was known for her per ...

, businesswoman, pioneer film actress, singer and star of

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

, participant in first screen kiss in cinematic history in

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...

's 1896 film '' The Kiss'' *

K-os Kevin Brereton (born February 20, 1972), better known by his stage name k-os (; "chaos"), is a Canadian alternative rapper, singer, songwriter and producer. His given name may also be cited as Kheaven, a spelling he later adopted. The alias "k ...

, rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer *

John LaFontaine John LaFontaine (born May 15, 1990) is a lacrosse player for the New England Black Wolves The New England Black Wolves were a professional box lacrosse team based in Uncasville, Connecticut. They were members of the East Division of the Natio ...

, member of the Saskatchewan Rush of the NLL * James Logan, hockey player for the

Berlin Dutchmen The Berlin Dutchmen were an early professional ice hockey team operating out of Berlin, Ontario, (renamed Kitchener in 1916) from 1907 in the Ontario Professional Hockey League (OPHL). The Berlin team is notable for challenging for the Stanley C ...

Priscilla Lopes-Schliep Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (born 26 August 1982) is a Canadian retired hurdler in track and field athletic competition. She was born in Scarborough, Ontario, and currently lives in Whitby. Personal Born in Scarborough, Ontario, Lopes-Schliep's ...

, bronze medallist in the hurdles at the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

* Andrew Martin (1975-2009), WWE wrestler, best known by his ring name, "Test" * Leslie McFarlane, writer of the

Hardy Boys The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in several mystery series for children and teens. The series revolves around teenagers who are amateur sleuths, solving cases that stumped their adult counterp ...

novels *

Lori Melien Lori Anne Melien (born May 11, 1972) is a former competition swimmer from Canada. Melien won a bronze medal in the women's 4x100-metre medley relay at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, together with Andrea Nugent, Allison Higson ...

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

Bronze Medallist swimmer *

Aaron Milton Aaron Milton (born May 26, 1992) is a Canadian football running back. He was drafted by the Edmonton Eskimos in the second round of the 2014 CFL Draft. He played CIS football at the University of Toronto and attended Sinclair Secondary School i ...

(born 1992), Canadian football player *

Andrea Muizelaar Cycle one of ''Canada's Next Top Model'', the Canadian adaptation of Tyra Banks' ''America's Next Top Model'', aired on Citytv from May to July 2006. The show was hosted by Canadian model and actress Tricia Helfer, who also served the role of hea ...

, winner of '' Canada's Next Top Model'' * James Neal, NHL hockey player for the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

* Joe Nieuwendyk, NHL hockey player, Stanley Cup winner, Olympic Gold Medallist and former member of ''Team Canada'', Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee (2011) * Anne Ottenbrite, Olympic Gold Medallist swimmer *

J. F. Paxton John Franklin Paxton (October 14, 1857May 12, 1936) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator. He served as president of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and also acted as president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association during World Wa ...

(1857–1936), Canadian ice hockey administrator *

Thomas Paxton Thomas Charles Paxton (November 27, 1820July 3, 1887) was a Canadian politician, businessman and sheriff. As a partner in industrial business ventures, he was one of the founding fathers of Port Perry. He helped establish the first steam-power ...

, Ontario politician, businessman, sheriff * Keith Primeau, former NHL player *

Wayne Primeau Wayne Michael Primeau (born June 4, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the younger brother of Keith Primeau. Playing career Primeau was a first round draft pick of the ...

, former NHL player * Protest The Hero, progressive metal band * Gavin Prout, National Lacrosse League player with

Paul Ranger Paul D. Ranger (born September 12, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently an assistant coach with the UOIT Ridgebacks. He has spent the majority of his professional career with the Tampa Bay Lightning of t ...

, NHL player for Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs * Liam Reddox, hockey player * Gary Roberts, former NHL player *

Sid Ryan Patrick Cyril "Sid" Ryan (born 1952) is a Canadian labour union leader and politician. Ryan is the former president of the Ontario Federation of Labour. Biography Born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, and third eldest of ten children, Ryan emigrat ...

, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour * O. J. Santiago, NFL football player * Tyler Seguin, ice hockey player for the Dallas Stars *

Kailen Sheridan Kailen Mary Iacovoni Sheridan (born July 16, 1995) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for National Women's Soccer League club San Diego Wave and the Canada national team. College career Sheridan played her colle ...

, pro soccer player, Olympian, alternate goalkeeper of the Rio 2016 team *

J. Torres Joseph Torres, better known as J. Torres, is a Philippines, Filipino-born Canadian comic book writer. He is perhaps best known for his run on DC Comics' ''Teen Titans Go! (2004 comic series), Teen Titans Go!''. He has also done some writing for a ...

, comic book writer * Kristina Vaculik, member of the

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

Olympic artistic gymnastics team, who helped Canada place fifth in the team finals * Kelita Zupancic, Judoka and Olympian, member of the

Canadian Olympic Judo team also World Ranked No. 1 in 2013 *

Cole Perfetti Cole Perfetti (born January 1, 2002) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected tenth overall by the Jets in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Growing up in Whitby, Ontari ...

10th overall draft pick in the 2020 NHL entry draft

Sister cities

Feldkirch, Vorarlberg Feldkirch () is a medieval town in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, bordering on Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is the administrative centre of the Feldkirch district. After Dornbirn, it is the second most populous town in Vorar ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly ac ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, UK

References

*Ed McPherson 'The Whitby Yacht Club: 25 years in the making' Whitby, Ont. : Whitby Yacht Club, c1992.

External links

* {{Authority control Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Populated places on Lake Ontario in Canada Towns in Ontario