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For the people whose names are Vaughan, see List of people by name: Vao-Vaz#Vau-Vaz.

Vaughan (2006 population 245,000) is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada, having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is part of the Greater Toronto Area. Its slogan is "the city above Toronto".

History

The first European to pass through Vaughan was the French explorer Étienne Brûlé, who traversed the Humber Trail in 1615. However, it was not until the townships were created in 1792 that Vaughan began to see any settlements, as it was considered to be extremely remote and the lack of roads through the region made travel difficult.

Despite the hardships of pioneer life, settlers came to Vaughan in considerable numbers. The population grew from 19 men, 5 women, and 30 children in 1800 to 4300 in 1840. The first people to arrive were mainly Pennsylvania Germans, with a smaller number of families of English descent and a group of French Royalists being represented. This migration from the United States was by 1814 superseded by an influx of immigrants from Britain. While many of their predecessors had been agriculturalists, the newer immigrants proved to be highly skilled tradespeople, which would prove useful for a growing community.

Around the facilities established by this group arose a number of hamlets, the oldest of which was Thornhill, which witnessed the construction of a saw-mill in 1801, a grist mill in 1815, and boasted a population of 300 by 1836. Other such enclaves included Kleinburg, Coleraine, Maple, Richmond Hill, Teston, Claireville, Pine Grove, Carrville, Patterson, Burlington, Concord, Edgeley, Fisherville, Elder's Mills, Elgin Mills, Jefferson, Nashville, Purpleville, Richvale, Sherwood, Langstaff, Vellore and Burwick (Woodbridge).

Vaughan changed relatively little in its early history, from the 1840s when the number of inhabitants stood at 4300 to 1935 when it had 4873 residents. However, World War II sparked an influx of immigration, and by 1960 the population stood at 15,957. As well, the ethno-cultural composition of the area began to change with the arrival of different groups such as the Italians, Jews and Eastern Europeans.

Incorporated in 1850 as Vaughan Township, a municipal government was established. In 1971, the new regional government of York Region was established, acquiring policing and welfare services from the communities it served; simultaneously, the township merged with the Village of Woodbridge to form the Town of Vaughan. In 1991, it officially changed its legal status to City of Vaughan.

Law/Government

Following the death of Mayor Lorna Jackson in 2002, Michael Di Biase was appointed by Vaughan council as interim mayor by virtue of his position as one of two Regional Councillors representing Vaughan, Joyce Frustaglio was the other Regional Councillor. Gino Rosati, a Vaughan Local Councillor, was subsequently appointed by Vaughan Council to fill Di Biase’s position as Regional Councillor and a by-election was held to fill Rosati’s Local Councillor’s position which was won by Linda Jackson. Di Biase became involved in the city's politics when he was elected local councillor in 1985. In the 2003 Municipal Election, Di Biase won his first official term since the passing of Mayor Lorna Jackson. Following the elections, Vaughan faced fairly heavy media scrutiny, which revealed some questions in the leadership of Di Biase as mayor.

The City of Vaughan's Council is made up of nine members; a mayor, three regional councillors and five local councillors. The mayor, elected at large by electorate, is the head of Vaughan council and a representative on York Region Council. The three regional councillors are elected to represent Vaughan at both local and regional levels of government. Five local councillors are elected, one from each of Vaughan's five wards, to represent those wards on Vaughan Council. City councillors meet at the Civic Centre, located in the community of Maple. Construction recently began on a new, environmentally friendly city hall, to be called the Lorna D. Jackson Civic Centre in memory of the late Mayor. The new Civic Centre will be one of the first in Canada to conform to a LEED Gold Standard, the second highest environmental classification available. The Toronto Star newspaper has made unsubstantiated claims that the naming was part of a preliminary deal that would wrap up an outstanding lawsuit between the Jackson estate and the city.

Vaughan is the first municipality in Ontario (and the first major one in Canada) to have a Youth City Councillor. The youth city councillor is appointed as a non-voting member of Council every six months to represent the youth of Vaughan. Vaughan council originally rejected the proposal of a youth councillor but after the Vaughan Youth Cabinet amended their proposal to ensure that the Youth Councillor is a student, Council accepted the reccomendation..

The next municipal election will take place on November 13, 2006 to elect a Mayor, three Regional Councillors and five Local Councillors.

Geography

Vaughan is bounded by Caledon, Ontario and Brampton, Ontario to the west, King, Ontario and Richmond Hill, Ontario to the north, Markham, Ontario and Richmond Hill, Ontario to the east, and Toronto, Ontario to the south. It is located at 43°50′N 79°30′W / 43.833°N 79.500°W / 43.833; -79.500.

Communities within Vaughan

• Maple, Ontario
• Thornhill, Ontario
• Woodbridge, Ontario
• Kleinburg, Ontario
• Concord, Ontario

Demographics

Vaughan is a very multicultural city due to its proximity to Toronto. Large numbers of those from Southern and Eastern European, as well as those of British Isles origin make up the bulk of the city's population. Vaughan has the largest Hispanic population as a percentage of its population compared to any other city in the G.T.A. excluding Toronto.

• White: 81.0%
• South Asian: 5.8%
• Chinese: 3.7%
• Black: 1.9%

The Top 5 largest ethnic groups include: Italian: 43.9%, Jewish: 16.9%, British Isles: 8.4%, East Indian: 7.9%, and Chinese: 3.7%.

Attractions

• Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum
• McMichael Canadian Art Collection, located in Kleinburg.
• Paramount Canada's Wonderland, a large amusement park located in Maple.
• Vaughan Mills, the largest mall in the Greater Toronto Area, was recently constructed in Vaughan.

Education

York University in North York, Ontario lies on the Toronto side of the Toronto-Vaughan border. It is a major comprehensive university, with more than 43,000 students enrolled through ten different faculties. There are also a number of Elementary and High Schools in Vaughan which operate under the York Region District School Board and the York Catholic District School Board.

Sister cities or city twinnings

• Sora, Italy (1992)
• Delia, Italy (1998)
• Lanciano, Italy (2002)
• Ramla, Israel (1993)
• Sanjo, Japan (1993)
• Yangzhou, China (1995)
• Baguio, Philippines (1997)

Trivia

• The Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky started his illustrious hockey career as a junior playing for the now defunct Vaughan Nationals hockey team of the Ontario Hockey Association during the 1975-76 season.

• On December 15, 2003, the City of Vaughan received international attention within the hockey world when tragedy struck. Former Chicago Black Hawks captain Keith Magnuson and former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Rob Ramage was involved in a serious auto accident in Vaughan on their way back from former Montreal Canadians Keith McCreary’s funeral who died from cancer. Magunson was killed in the accident while Ramage made a full recovery.

External links

2. Part 2

• City of Vaughan official website
• Vaughan Watchdog website
• Ontario Plaques - J.E.H. MacDonald
• Ontario Plaques - Lord Beaverbrook
• Ontario Plaques - St. Andrew's Church
• Ontario Plaques - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church

References

1. Bulletin #4: Settlement, Education, Social and Political History. City of Vaughan Archives, Cultural Services Division. 1992.
2. Toronto Star article on Jackson estate lawsuit

1. Youth in Politics Article

v t e Places adjacent to Vaughan
King, Richmond Hill Caledon, Brampton Vaughan Markham, Richmond Hill Toronto

• Cities in Ontario
• York Region, Ontario