Caledon, Ontario


Caledon is a town in the Regional Municipality of Peel in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. The name comes from a shortened form of Caledonia, the Roman name for what is now Scotland. Caledon is primarily rural with a number of hamlets and small villages, but also contains the larger community of Bolton in its southeastern quadrant, adjacent to York Region. Some spillover urbanization also occurs in the south bordering the City of Brampton.
Caledon is the northernmost of three municipalities of Peel Region. The town is northwest of Brampton. According to Statistics Canada the land area is and, according to the city the area is, which makes Caledon the largest municipality by area in the Greater Toronto Area.

History

By 1869, Belfountain was a village with a population of 100 in the Township of Caledon, Peel County. It was established on the Credit River. There were stagecoaches to Erin and Georgetown. The average price of land was $20. The township was likely named by settlers like Edward Ellis, who came from the area around Caledon, County Tyrone, now in Northern Ireland, or by public voting.
In 1974, Caledon's land area roughly tripled in size when Caledon Township was restructured into the present town by amalgamating with the part of Chinguacousy Township north of Mayfield Road , with the southern half becoming part of Brampton; as well as the villages of Bolton and Caledon East and Albion Township. As part of this restructuring, Peel County became Peel Region.

Communities

The primary administrative and commercial centre of Caledon is the community of Bolton, which the federal government estimated as having a population of 26,795 in 2021.
Aside from Bolton, other smaller communities in Caledon include the following:
The municipality is otherwise sparsely populated, mostly with farms.

Former localities

Former hamlets include:
  • Kennedy's Corners
  • Fox's Corners
  • Greenlaw
  • Caldwell
  • Caldwell Junction
  • “Old” Glasgow
  • Glencoe's Corners
  • Mayfield. Area at Brampton boundary now undergoing urbanization.
  • McBride's Corners
  • Ballycroy

    Demographics

In the 2021 Canadian census, conducted by Statistics Canada, Caledon 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, the median age was 40.8 years old, slightly lower than the provincial median of 41.6 years old. Caledon's population is made of 49.8% women and 50.2% men. There were 24,795 private dwellings. According to the 2011 National Household Survey, the median value of a dwelling in Caledon is $474,087, significantly higher than the national average of $280,552. The median household income in Caledon is $83,454, much higher than the national average of $54,089. The average individual's income was $53,870.

Ethnicity

According to the 2021 Census, the largest five ethnic origins of the residents of Caledon are Italian, English, Indian, Scottish, and Canadian.
66.3% of Caledon residents were white/European, 32.8% were visible minorities, and 0.8% were Indigenous. The largest visible minority groups were South Asian, Black, Latin American, Chinese and Filipino

Language

is the mother tongue of 65.4% of the residents of Caledon. Native speakers of Punjabi make up 11.1% of the town's population, Italian 5.4%, Portuguese 1.4%, Spanish 1.3%, and Polish 1.0%.

Religion

As of 2021, 58.5% of Caledon's population was Christian, down from 77.5% in 2011. 38.2% of residents were Catholic, 10.5% were Protestant, 6.0% were Christian without precision, 1.8% were Christian Orthodox, and 2.0% belonged to other Christian denominations or Christian-related traditions; 19.3% of the population was non-religious or secular, up from 18.6% in 2011. All other religions and spiritual traditions accounted for 22.2% of the population, up from 3.9% in 2011. They included Sikhism, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism.

Government

The town is run by a mayor, six town councillors and two regional councillors. The mayor and the two regional councillors represent Caledon at the Region of Peel:
  • Mayor Annette Groves
  • Councillor Ward 1 Lynn Kiernan
  • Councillor Ward 2 Dave Sheen
  • Councillor Ward 3 Doug Maskell
  • Councillor Ward 4 Nick deBoer
  • Councillor Ward 5 Tony Rosa
  • Councillor Ward 6 Cosimo Napoli
  • Regional Councillor Wards 1, 2, 3 Christina Early
  • Regional Councillor Wards 4, 5, 6 Mario Russo
Per capita, Caledon has by far the largest representation on Peel Regional Council of the three municipalities, however Caledon's land mass exceeds that of Mississauga and Brampton combined.

Climate

Education

The Peel District School Board operates 14 public schools and two secondary schools in Caledon. The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board operates several Catholic elementary/middle and two secondary schools. The Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir operates one Catholic francophone elementary school. There also several private and Montessori schools.

School (location in community)

provides firefighting, and medical emergency services. It has nine stations.
Ambulance service is run by the regional government's Peel Regional Paramedic Services, with three stations.
Despite being part of Peel Region, Caledon has its policing conducted from Ontario Provincial Police Caledon Detachment, rather than Peel Regional Police. The OPP also patrols the provincial highways in Caledon.

Transportation

Highways/roads

Highways in the municipality:
Former highways :
  • Charleston Sideroad or Peel Road 24
  • Peel Road 50
  • Peel Road 136
Though never a provincial highway, Airport Road, is a major north-south route to and from the Georgian Triangle for travellers from southern Peel.

Public transit

GO Transit

operates two bus routes in Caledon:
Due to its largely rural nature, Caledon does not have its own transit system; however, Brampton Transit provides a rush hour-only bus line, 41 Bolton in Bolton and travels south down Highway 50 in to Queen Street/Highway 7 to make connections with other Brampton Transit routes and York Region Transit. Brampton Transit also operates three other routes short distances into suburban areas bordering Brampton within the town: Route 81 Mayfield West serves Kennedy Road in Mayfield West, and Routes 18 Dixie and 30 Airport Road provide limited service into industrial areas.
Paratransit services for the elderly, disabled, and infirm are provided by Caledon Community Services Transportation and Transhelp. Both are run by the Region of Peel Accessible Transportation Services.

History

There were two earlier privately-operated transit services running solely within Bolton with no connections to other services: In 1999 a company named Caledon Transit Incorporated ran a trial bus service in the community. In 2006, the growing population of Bolton prompted local resident Darren Parberry to start a second bus service with two routes using leased school buses, called Métis Transit. One route ran briefly in 2006. Both services ceased operations due to low ridership. Between 2019 and 2024, there was a third service, operated by a private contractor, Voyago, which provided minibus service in Bolton and traveled south down Highway 50 to Queen Street/Highway 7 to connect with Brampton Transit and YRT until it was replaced by the current Brampton Transit Route 41 on May 1, 2024. Adult cash fares were $4.00 and there were no free transfers with these systems.

Culture

The Alton Mill Arts Centre is located in the community of Alton. Art galleries include Headwaters Arts and Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives.