A city is a subtype of municipalities in the Canadian province of Ontario. A city can have the municipal status of either a single-tier or lower-tier municipality. Prior to 2003, Ontario had minimum population thresholds of 15,000 and 25,000 for city status. Minimum population thresholds are no longer necessary for a municipality to brand itself as a city.
Ontario has 52 cities,[1] which together had in 2016 a cumulative population of 9,900,179 and average population of 190,388.[2] The most and least populous are Toronto and Dryden, with 2,794,356 and 7,749 residents, respectively.[2] Ontario's newest city is Richmond Hill, whose council voted to change from a town to a city on March 26, 2019.[3] Previous to that, Markham changed from a town to a city on July 1, 2012.[4]
Under the former Municipal Act, 1990, a city was both an urban and a local municipality.[5] Under that act, the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) could change the status of a village or town, upon its request, to a city if it had a population of 15,000 or more.[5] The OMB could also incorporate a township as a city under the same conditions with the exception that the population requirements was 25,000 or more.[5] In either event, if located within a county, authorization by the Minister of Municipal Affairs was also required.[5]
In the transition to the Municipal Act, 2001, conventional municipal statuses and their associated population threshold requirements were abandoned. On December 31, 2002, every city that:[6]
The current legislation also provides lower- and single-tier municipalities with the authority to name themselves as "cities", or other former conventional municipal status types such as "towns", "villages" or "townships", or generically as "municipalities".[7]
Rank (2021) | Municipality | Municipal status | Population (2021) | Population (2016) | Change | Land area (km2) | Population density (/km2) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
|
Toronto | City | 2,794,356 | 2,731,571 | +2.3% | 631.1 | 4,427.8 |
2
|
Ottawa | City | 1,017,449 | 934,243 | +8.9% | 2788.2 | 364.9 |
3
|
Mississauga | City | 717,961 | 721,599 | −0.5% | 292.74 | 2,452.6 |
4
|
Brampton | City | 656,480 | 593,638 | +10.6% | 265.89 | 2,469.0 |
5
|
Hamilton | City | 569,353 | 536,917 | +6.0% | 1118.31 | 509.1 |
6
|
London | City | 422,324 | 383,822 | +10.0% | 420.5 | 1,004.3 |
7
|
Markham | City | 338,503 | 328,966 | +2.9% | 210.93 | 1,604.8 |
8
|
Vaughan | City | 323,103 | 306,233 | +5.5% | 272.44 | 1,186.0 |
9
|
Kitchener | City | 256,885 | 233,222 | +10.1% | 136.81 | 1,877.7 |
10
|
Windsor | City | 229,660 | 217,188 | +5.7% | 146.02 | 1,572.8 |
11
|
Richmond Hill | City | 202,022 | 195,022 | +3.6% | 100.79 | 2,004.4 |
12
|
Burlington | City | 186,948 | 183,314 | +2.0% | 186.12 | 1,004.4 |
13
|
Oshawa | City | 175,383 | 159,458 | +10.0% | 145.72 | 1,203.6 |
14
|
Greater Sudbury | City | 166,004 | 161,531 | +2.8% | 3186.26 | 52.1 |
15
|
Barrie | City | 147,829 | 141,434 | +4.5% | 99.01 | 1,493.1 |
16
|
Guelph | City | 143,740 | 131,794 | +9.1% | 87.43 | 1,644.1 |
17
|
Cambridge | City | 138,479 | 129,920 | +6.6% | 112.99 | 1,225.6 |
18
|
St. Catharines | City | 136,803 | 133,113 | +2.8% | 96.20 | 1,422.1 |
19
|
Waterloo | City | 121,436 | 104,986 | +15.7% | 64.06 | 1,895.7 |
20
|
Thunder Bay | City | 108,843 | 107,909 | +0.9% | 327.77 | 332.1 |
21
|
Brantford | City | 104,688 | 98,563 | +6.2% | 98.65 | 1,061.2 |
22
|
Pickering | City | 99,186 | 91,771 | +8.1% | 231.10 | 429.2 |
23
|
Niagara Falls | City | 94,415 | 88,071 | +7.2% | 210.25 | 449.1 |
24
|
Peterborough | City | 83,651 | 81,032 | +3.2% | 64.76 | 1,291.7 |
25
|
Sault Ste. Marie | City | 72,051 | 73,368 | −1.8% | 221.99 | 324.6 |
26
|
Sarnia | City | 72,047 | 71,594 | +0.6% | 163.90 | 439.6 |
27
|
Norfolk County | City | 67,490 | 64,044 | +5.4% | 1597.68 | 42.2 |
28
|
Welland | City | 55,750 | 52,293 | +6.6% | 81.16 | 686.9 |
29
|
Belleville | City | 55,071 | 50,716 | +8.6% | 247.15 | 222.8 |
30
|
North Bay | City | 52,662 | 51,553 | +2.2% | 315.53 | 166.9 |
Name[1][8] | Municipal status[1] |
Census division[1][9] | Population (2016)[2] |
Population (2011)[8] |
Change (%)[8] |
Area (km2)[8] |
Population density[8] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barrie[note 1] | Single-tier | Simcoe | 141,434 | 136,063 | 3.9 | 99.04 | 1,428.0 |
Belleville | Single-tier | Hastings | 50,716 | 49,454 | 2.6 | 247.25 | 205.1 |
Brampton | Lower-tier | Peel | 593,638 | 523,911 | 13.3 | 266.36 | 2,228.7 |
Brant | Single-tier | Brant | 36,707 | 35,638 | 3.0 | 843.25 | 43.5 |
Brantford[note 2] | Single-tier | Brant | 97,496 | 93,650 | 4.1 | 72.44 | 1,345.9 |
Brockville | Single-tier | Leeds and Grenville | 21,346 | 21,870 | −2.4 | 20.85 | 1,023.6 |
Burlington | Lower-tier | Halton | 183,314 | 175,779 | 4.3 | 185.66 | 987.3 |
Cambridge[note 3] | Lower-tier | Waterloo | 129,920 | 126,748 | 2.5 | 113.01 | 1,149.6 |
Clarence-Rockland | Lower-tier | Prescott and Russell | 24,512 | 23,185 | 5.7 | 297.71 | 82.3 |
Cornwall | Single-tier | Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry | 46,589 | 46,340 | 0.5 | 61.56 | 756.8 |
Chatham | Single-tier | Chatham | 43,550 | 44,676 | 2.3 | 2,451.9 | 756.8 |
Dryden[note 4] | Single-tier | Kenora | 7,749 | 7,617 | 1.7 | 66.19 | 117.1 |
Elliot Lake | Single-tier | Algoma | 10,741 | 11,348 | −5.3 | 714.65 | 15.0 |
Greater Sudbury[note 5] | Single-tier | Sudbury | 161,531 | 160,274 | 0.8 | 3,228.35 | 50.0 |
Guelph | Single-tier | Wellington | 131,794 | 121,688 | 8.3 | 87.22 | 1,511.1 |
Haldimand County | Single-tier | Haldimand | 45,608 | 44,876 | 1.6 | 1,251.54 | 36.4 |
Hamilton[note 6] | Single-tier | Hamilton | 536,917 | 519,949 | 3.3 | 1,117.29 | 480.6 |
Kawartha Lakes | Single-tier | Kawartha Lakes | 75,423 | 73,214 | 3.0 | 3,084.38 | 24.5 |
Kenora | Single-tier | Kenora | 15,096 | 15,348 | −1.6 | 211.59 | 71.3 |
Kingston | Single-tier | Frontenac | 123,798 | 123,363 | 0.4 | 451.19 | 274.4 |
Kitchener[note 7] | Lower-tier | Waterloo | 233,222 | 219,153 | 6.4 | 136.77 | 1,705.2 |
London[note 8] | Single-tier | Middlesex | 383,822 | 366,151 | 4.8 | 420.35 | 913.1 |
Leamington | Single-tier | Essex | 27,595 | 28,403 | 0.58 | 261.24 | 105.3 |
Markham | Lower-tier | York | 328,966 | 301,709 | 9.0 | 212.35 | 1,549.2 |
Mississauga[note 9] | Lower-tier | Peel | 721,599 | 713,443 | 1.1 | 292.43 | 2,467.6 |
Niagara Falls[note 10] | Lower-tier | Niagara | 88,071 | 82,997 | 6.1 | 209.73 | 419.9 |
Norfolk County | Single-tier | Norfolk | 64,044 | 63,175 | 1.4 | 1,607.55 | 39.8 |
North Bay | Single-tier | Nipissing | 51,553 | 53,651 | −3.9 | 319.11 | 161.6 |
Orillia | Single-tier | Simcoe | 31,166 | 30,586 | 1.9 | 28.58 | 1,090.3 |
Oshawa[note 11] | Lower-tier | Durham | 159,458 | 149,607 | 6.6 | 145.64 | 1,094.9 |
Ottawa[note 12] | Single-tier | Ottawa | 934,243 | 883,391 | 5.8 | 2,790.30 | 334.8 |
Owen Sound | Lower-tier | Grey | 21,341 | 21,688 | −1.6 | 24.27 | 879.2 |
Pembroke[note 13] | Single-tier | Renfrew | 13,882 | 14,360 | −3.3 | 14.56 | 953.3 |
Peterborough[note 14] | Single-tier | Peterborough | 81,032 | 78,698 | 2.9 | 64.25 | 1,261.2 |
Pickering | Lower-tier | Durham | 91,771 | 88,721 | 3.4 | 231.55 | 396.3 |
Port Colborne | Lower-tier | Niagara | 18,306 | 18,424 | −0.6 | 121.96 | 150.1 |
Prince Edward County | Single-tier | Prince Edward | 24,735 | 25,258 | −2.1 | 1,050.49 | 23.5 |
Quinte West | Single-tier | Hastings | 43,577 | 43,086 | 1.1 | 494.02 | 88.2 |
Richmond Hill[note 15] | Lower-tier | York | 195,022 | 185,541 | 5.1 | 101.11 | 1,928.8 |
Sarnia | Lower-tier | Lambton | 71,594 | 72,366 | −1.1 | 164.85 | 434.3 |
Sault Ste. Marie | Single-tier | Algoma | 73,368 | 75,141 | −2.4 | 223.24 | 328.6 |
St. Catharines[note 16] | Lower-tier | Niagara | 133,113 | 131,400 | 1.3 | 96.13 | 1,384.8 |
St. Thomas | Single-tier | Elgin | 38,909 | 37,905 | 2.6 | 35.63 | 1,092.1 |
Stratford | Single-tier | Perth | 31,465 | 30,886 | 1.8 | 28.28 | 1,112.5 |
Temiskaming Shores | Single-tier | Timiskaming | 9,920 | 10,400 | −4.6 | 178.11 | 55.7 |
Thorold | Lower-tier | Niagara | 18,801 | 17,931 | 4.9 | 82.99 | 226.5 |
Thunder Bay[note 17] | Single-tier | Thunder Bay | 107,909 | 108,359 | −0.4 | 328.36 | 328.6 |
Timmins | Single-tier | Cochrane | 41,788 | 43,165 | −3.2 | 2,978.83 | 14.0 |
Toronto[note 18] | Single-tier | Toronto | 2,731,571 | 2,615,060 | 4.5 | 630.20 | 4,334.4 |
Vaughan | Lower-tier | York | 306,233 | 288,301 | 6.2 | 273.56 | 1,119.4 |
Waterloo[note 19] | Lower-tier | Waterloo | 104,986 | 98,780 | 6.3 | 64.02 | 1,639.8 |
Welland | Lower-tier | Niagara | 52,293 | 50,631 | 3.3 | 81.04 | 645.3 |
Windsor[note 20] | Single-tier | Essex | 217,188 | 210,891 | 3.0 | 146.38 | 1,483.8 |
Woodstock | Lower-tier | Oxford | 40,902 | 37,754 | 8.3 | 48.97 | 835.3 |
Total cities | — | — | 9,971,324 | 9,552,003 | 4.39 | 28,758.28 | 346.73 |
Total lower-tier cities | — | — | 3,517,062 | 3,328,069 | 5.68 | 3,150.11 | 1,116.49 |
Total single-tier cities | — | — | 6,454,262 | 6,223,934 | 3.7 | 25,608.17 | 252.04 |