Milton

MILTON

Milton, Ontario, incorporated as a town in 1857, population 110,128 (2016 census), 84,362 (2011 census). One of four municipalities in Halton Region, Milton’s odd shape means it shares a border with six communities. Milton’s modern borders were created in 1974, from Nassagaweya Township, the Town of Milton, Trafalgar, and Nelson townships.

Milton was considered Canada’s fastest growing municipality between 2001 and 2011. The town saw its population rise from 31,471 in 2001 to 110,128 in 2016. Milton’s population is ethnically diverse. According to the 2016 census, prominent ethnic groups included South Asian (21 per cent of the population), Black (4.9 per cent), Filipino (3.9 per cent), and Arab people (3.5 per cent). Nearly half of all immigrants in Milton cite their country of birth as Pakistan, India, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, or Poland. Indigenous people make up 1 per cent of Milton’s population.

The Town of Milton provides services including development planning, upkeep of most roads, fire, transit, parks, recreation, and libraries. As an “upper-tier” municipality, Halton Region oversees services including the public health unit, recycling and waste, housing, and public works for Milton and the other three communities within the region. In 2016, Gord Krantz became the longest serving mayor of any major Canadian municipality. He served as a Milton town councillor from 1966 to 1980, and as mayor since 1981.

The Niagara Escarpment is accessible via six conservation areas. Crawford Lake features reconstructions of two longhouses, as well as a museum structure designed to look like a third longhouse. Birds of prey unable to live in the wild are cared for at the Mountsberg Raptor Centre.

A town-run arts centre includes a theatre and art gallery. The long-distance streetcars that once connected communities like Milton to Toronto are maintained at the Halton County Radial Railway Museum. Cycling Canada’s national training program is in the town’s velodrome, the Mattamy National Cycling Centre. The indoor facility was built for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games.