Elgin County ( ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

composed of seven municipalities in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

with a 2021 population of 51,912. Its population centres are Aylmer, Port Stanley, Belmont, Dutton and West Lorne. The county seat is St. Thomas, which is separated from the county but within its geographic boundary.

Subdivisions

Elgin County is composed of seven incorporated municipalities (in order of population): *Municipality of

Central Elgin Central Elgin is a municipality located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada in Elgin County on Lake Erie. It is part of the London census metropolitan area. History Central Elgin was formed in 1998 through the amalgamation of the Township of Yarmo ...

*Township of

Malahide Malahide ( ; ) is an affluent coastal settlement in Fingal, County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, situated north of Dublin city. It has a village centre surrounded by suburban housing estates, with a population of 18,608 as per the 2022 ...

*Town of Aylmer *Municipality of Bayham *Municipality of West Elgin *Township of

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the North Sea, in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth, Suffolk, River Blyth in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths ...

*Municipality of Dutton/Dunwich The City of St. Thomas is geographically within the boundaries of Elgin County and part of the Elgin census division, but is separated from county administration.

Historical townships

Originally Elgin County was once part of Middlesex County, which was reorganized as the United Counties of Middlesex and Elgin in 1851. Elgin was named after Lord Elgin, who was

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...

at the time. The County was separated from Middlesex in September 1853.

Demographics

As a

census division Census divisions, in Canada and the United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-level census geographic uni ...

in the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

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 ...

, Elgin County 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.

Notable persons from Elgin County

* Horace Harvey - Chief Justice of Alberta *

John Kenneth Galbraith John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through the ...

- Canadian/American economist *

Mitchell Hepburn Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 – January 5, 1953) was the 11th premier of Ontario, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest premier in Ontario history, becoming premier at age 37. He was the only Ontario Liberal Party leader in the ...

- Premier of Ontario *

Rachel McAdams Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from York University in 2001 with a BFA in theatre, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film '' Perfect Pie'' (2002), ...

- Actress *

Joe Thornton Joseph Eric Thornton (born July 2, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre. He played for the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). H ...

- NHL - Professional Hockey Player *

Bo Horvat Bowie William Horvat (born April 5, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre and Captain (ice hockey)#Alternate captains, alternate captain for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was se ...

- NHL - Professional Hockey Player

Notes

References

External links

* {{Subdivisions of Ontario Counties in Ontario Populated places on Lake Erie in Canada Southwestern Ontario States and territories established in 1851 1851 establishments in Canada West