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'Aurora' (2006 Population 47,629 Community highlights for Aurora ) is an affluent Canadian town in York Region, approximately 40 km north of Toronto. It is situated on the Oak Ridges Moraine in a part of the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. Nearly 7% of Aurora's residents are visible minorities.
Many Aurora residents commute to Toronto, and the town is part of the Greater Toronto Area.
In the Canada 2006 Census, the national rank of population of Aurora rose above 100th for the first time, reaching 97th in Canada's list of largest municipalities in terms of population, compared to 113th in the 2001 Census. ^[1]

Contents

History

Government

Emergency services

Education

Urban planning

Community associations and services

Recreation and sports

Notable residents

References

External links

History

The town was first settled in 1854 when the junction of Yonge Street and a new railway proved to be an ideal settlement. Aurora was incorporated as a town in 1888.

Government

The Town of Aurora municipal government is composed of the Mayor and eight Councilors elected on an "at large" basis. The Mayor represents the Town at York Region Council. As of November of 2006, the current mayor is Phyllis Morris.
The town is part of the federal riding of Newmarket—Aurora. The riding is presently represented in the Canadian House of Commons by Belinda Stronach, a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. She had been elected as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada, but on May 17, 2005 she switched parties, citing discomfort with the social policies of the Conservatives as one of the reasons for the switch. She was re-elected as a Liberal in the election on January 23, 2006. In April, 2007, she announced that she will
leave politics and return to her father's business, Magna International.^[2]

Emergency services

Local police services are provided by the York Regional Police, who serve all of the municipalities of the region. Fire protection services are provided by Central York Fire Services, a shared arrangement with the town of Newmarket.
Public health services are managed by York Region. There is no hospital within Aurora's boundaries; the nearest one is Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket.

Education

Public school education is governed by the York Region District School Board, which has two high schools in Aurora:

★ Dr. G.W. Williams Secondary School

★ Aurora High School
as well as several elementary schools.
The York Catholic District School Board also runs several elementary schools as well as Cardinal Carter Catholic High School.
Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud, which administers French-language Catholic schools runs an elementary school, École St. Jean, and a high school, École secondaire catholique Renaissance (formerly ÉSC Cardinal-Carter).
Also, St. Andrew's College, an independent school for boys, is located in Aurora.

Urban planning

Currently, an undeveloped portion of Aurora is subject to the Ontario Government's Greenbelt (Golden Horseshoe) legislation.

Community associations and services

Aurora is home to:

★ Aurora Public Library

★ Queen's York Rangers Reserve Regiment

★ 2799 Queen's York Rangers Army Cadet Corps

★ 140 Aurora Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron

★ World's Longest Annual Street Sale (from Yonge St. & Wellington St. to Yonge St. & Allaura Blvd. approx. 1.5 km)

Recreation and sports

★ Aurora Tigers Jr. A Hockey Club

★ Aurora Master Ducks swimming club

★ Aurora Minor Baseball Association

★ Aurora Youth Soccer Club

Notable residents

★ Wendel Clark, retired Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club

★ Greg De Vries, hockey player for the Atlanta Thrashers, played for the Aurora Tigers Jr. A team

★ Tie Domi, retired hockey player

★ Mike Johnson, hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens, played for the Aurora Tigers Jr. A team

★ Karl Stewart, NHL player, Tampa Bay Lightning

★ Belinda Stronach, businesswoman and politician

★ Mike Kitchen, Former Toronto Maple Leafs Assistant Coach and St Louis Blues Head Coach

★ Keifer Sutherland Actor, went to school at St Andrews College Boarding School in Aurora

★ Brian Stemmle Champion Olympic Alpine Skier

References

1. Aurora, ON Population Info and rankings compare to other Canadian Cities
2. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070411.wmagna0411/BNStory/Business/home

External links

★ Town of Aurora official website

★ Aerial Photo of Aurora

★ Ontario Plaques Aurora Public School

★ Ontario Plaques First Steam Train