Simcoe County is a county located in the central region of Ontario , Canada . The county is located north of the Greater Toronto Area , and forms the north western edge of the Golden Horseshoe . The largest city in the county is Barrie , while the county seat is located in Midhurst .
94-462: Simcoe County stretches from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. The land area of the county is 4,818.93 square kilometres (1,860.60 sq mi). The Niagara Escarpment runs through sections of the western part of the county, and the Minesing Wetlands , a Ramsar Convention "Wetland of International Importance" , is located in the centre of the county. Simcoe County
188-492: A proportional representative system, or another voting method . They may be selected by a direct election under universal suffrage , an indirect election , or another form of suffrage . The names for electoral districts vary across countries and, occasionally, for the office being elected. The term constituency is commonly used to refer to an electoral district, especially in British English , but it can also refer to
282-412: A Geographic Information System (computer mapping) and land use policy planning. The local, or "lower tier" municipalities are responsible for water and sewer services, local roads, public libraries, recreation services, fire and police services, land use development control and licensing and permitting services. The cities of Barrie and Orillia , although separate politically and administratively from
376-535: A candidate can often be elected with the support of only a minority of votes, leaving the majority of votes cast wasted, and thus a moderate winning vote of say just 34 percent repeated in several swing seats can be enough to create a landslide increase in seats won by a government. The district-by-district basis of ' First past the post voting ' elections means that parties will usually categorise and target various districts by whether they are likely to be held with ease, or winnable by extra campaigning, or written off as
470-669: A dramatic decline in some fish species, along with an increase in algae blooms and aquatic weed growth. Phosphorus emissions from both urban and rural sources have upset the lake's ecosystem and fostered excessive aquatic plant growth, raising water temperatures, and decreasing oxygen levels, thereby rendering limited breeding grounds inhospitable. Lake Simcoe has been victim to zebra mussel , purple loosestrife , black crappie , spiny water flea , round goby , rusty crayfish and Eurasian milfoil invasions. The zebra mussel, which arrived in North American waters in 1985, originated in
564-411: A foregone loss hardly worth fighting for. A safe seat is one that is regarded as very unlikely to be won by a rival politician based on the constituency 's past voting record or polling results. Conversely, a marginal seat or swing seat is one that could easily swing either way, and may even have changed hands frequently in recent decades - the party that currently holds it may have only won it by
658-590: A jail and court house. On January 11, 1843, the jail and court house having been duly erected, the Governor General proclaimed the County of Simcoe to be a separate and distinct District. The province of Canada also appointed James R. Gowan as the first judge of the District of Simcoe. The District was restructured in 1845, changing its composition to the following 24 townships: Effective January 1, 1850, Simcoe District
752-446: A low effective number of parties . Malta with only two major parties is a stark example of divergence from Duverger's rule. In a system where the intent is to avoid the waste of votes, a set proportion of votes, as a minimum, assures the election of a candidate. This is set as the inverse of the district magnitude plus one, plus one, the Droop quota . Droop is the mathematical threshold that
846-580: A method called binomial voting , which assigned 2 MPs to each district. In many cases, however, multi-member constituencies correspond to already existing jurisdictions (regions, districts, wards, cities, counties, states or provinces), which creates differences in district magnitude from district to district: The concept of district magnitude helps explains why Duverger's speculated correlation between proportional representation and party system fragmentation has many counter-examples, as PR methods combined with small-sized multi-member constituencies may produce
940-487: A particular group has a slight majority, for instance, gerrymandering politicians can obtain 2/3 of that district's seats. Similarly, by making four-member districts in regions where the same group has slightly less than a majority, gerrymandering politicians can still secure exactly half of the seats. However, any possible gerrymandering that theoretically could occur would be much less effective because minority groups can still elect at least one representative if they make up
1034-594: A place "where trees stand in the water". Lake Simcoe contains a large island, Georgina, which along with Snake Island and Fox Island forms the reserve of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation . The lake is dotted with several smaller islands, including Thorah Island (a cottage destination), Strawberry Island , Snake Island, Helmers Island and Fox Island. Pope John Paul II stayed on Strawberry Island for four days just before World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto. Before
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#17328521675791128-497: A related translation: "it originated as the Mohawk phrase tkaronto, which means "where there are trees standing in the water". According to several Mohawk speakers and aboriginal language expert John Steckley. Mohawks used the phrase to describe The Narrows, where Hurons and other natives drove stakes into the water to create fish weirs. Since then, many subsequent mapmakers adopted this name for it, though cartographer Vincenzo Coronelli
1222-576: A separate member to the Assembly until the election of John Cawthra in 1828. It was withdrawn from the Home District in 1837, with its territory divided as follows: Between 1837 and 1841 several acts were passed by the Legislature of Upper Canada which set apart Simcoe District. These acts named the townships that the County would encompass and authorized the levying of taxes for the purpose of constructing
1316-428: A significant percentage of the population (e.g. 20–25%), compared to single-member districts where 40–49% of the voters can be essentially shut out from any representation. Sometimes, particularly under non-proportional or winner-takes-all voting systems, elections can be prone to landslide victories . As the result in each district is not related to votes cast elsewhere and may not reflect a party's national popularity,
1410-880: A significant presence in an area. Many assemblies allow free postage (through franking privilege or prepaid envelopes) from a representative to a constituent, and often free telecommunications. Caseworkers may be employed by representatives to assist constituents with problems. Members of the U.S. Congress (both Representatives and Senators) working in Washington, D.C., have a governmentally staffed district office to aid in constituent services. Many state legislatures have followed suit. Likewise, British MPs use their Parliamentary staffing allowance to appoint staff for constituency casework. Client politics and pork barrel politics are associated with constituency work. In some elected assemblies, some or all constituencies may group voters based on some criterion other than, or in addition to,
1504-517: A slender margin and a party that wants to win it may be able to take it away from its present holder with little effort. In United Kingdom general elections and United States presidential and congressional elections, the voting in a relatively small number of swing seats usually determines the outcome of the entire election. Parties aspire to hold as many safe seats as possible, and high-level politicians, such as prime ministers, prefer to stand in safe seats. In large multi-party systems like India ,
1598-522: A small shift in election results, sometimes caused by swing votes, can lead to no party taking a majority of seats, causing a hung assembly . This may arise from a significant number of seats going to smaller regional parties instead of the larger national parties which are the main competitors at the national or state level, as was the situation in the Lok Sabha (Lower house of the Parliament of India ) during
1692-459: A subsidiary paratransit service called LINX+. The LINX system connects population centres in the area such as Barrie, Orillia, Midland, Penetanguishene, Wasaga Beach, and Collingwood, and acts as an intermediate transit layer between local community bus services and higher-order regional transit, such as GO Transit and Ontario Northland . Planned future routes would connect Alliston with Bradford West Gwillimbury, and Midland with Orillia. Some of
1786-519: A term also used for administrative subdivisions of a municipality. However, in the Republic of Ireland , voting districts are called local electoral areas . District magnitude is a term invented by the American political scientist Douglas W. Rae in his 1967 dissertation The Political Consequences of Electoral Laws . It refers to the number of seats assigned to each district, and thus helping determine
1880-589: A third bay of Simcoe, known as the Bristol Channel; however, the narrows between the two bodies of water separate them enough to consider this to be another lake. The narrows, known as "where trees stand in the water", an interpretation of the word 'Toronto', was an important fishing point for the First Nations peoples who lived in the area, and the Mohawk term toran-ten eventually gave its name to Toronto by way of
1974-686: Is a diverse, multi-faceted industry and farmland in the region is among the best in all of Canada, including a section of the Holland Marsh in Bradford. Tourism is a vital industry in Simcoe County, providing a diversity of jobs and economic impact in a variety of sectors including accommodation, restaurants, destinations, events and retail. Simcoe County plays host to over eight million visitors annually that contributes more than 570 million dollars in spending to its economy. The road network in Simcoe County
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#17328521675792068-545: Is a remnant of a much bigger, prehistoric lake known as Lake Algonquin . This lake's basin also included Lake Huron , Lake Michigan , Lake Superior , Lake Nipigon , and Lake Nipissing . The melting of an ice dam at the close of the last ice age greatly reduced water levels in the region, leaving the lakes of today. The lake is located on Paleozoic limestone of the Ordovician period. However, due to deep deposits of glacial sediments, this bedrock only appears exposed along
2162-673: Is allowed to affect apportionment, with rural areas with sparse populations allocated more seats per elector: for example in Iceland, the Falkland Islands, Scottish islands, and (partly) in US Senate elections. Gerrymandering is the manipulation of electoral district boundaries for political gain. By creating a few "forfeit" districts where opposing candidates win overwhelmingly, gerrymandering politicians can manufacture more, but narrower, wins for themselves and their party. Gerrymandering relies on
2256-521: Is also well known for its scuba diving. The ship J. C. Morrison sank in 1857 and is a great dive site off Centennial Beach. There are also a number of other popular scuba diving entrance points popular among fresh water divers. Kempenfelt Bay is the most popular for scuba divers as it is the deepest. Visibility ranges from over 30 feet to almost zero. Ontario Provincial Police , South Simcoe Police Service , York Regional Police , Durham Regional Police , and Barrie Police have marine units that patrol on
2350-1059: Is based on a grid pattern, with most roads running north–south or east–west. The topography of the land has permitted roads to be set in predominantly straight lines. Simcoe County is traversed by many Provincial Highways; Ontario Highway 400 being the most significant. Other provincial highways in Simcoe County include: Highway 11 , Highway 12 , Highway 26 , Highway 89 and Highway 93 . Simcoe County also maintains an extensive series of County Roads, see List of numbered roads in Simcoe County . GO Transit operates daily commuter rail services to and from downtown Toronto along its Barrie line with three stops in Simcoe County: one stop in Bradford West Gwillimbury ( Bradford ) and two stops in Barrie ( Barrie South and Allandale Waterfront ). Via Rail 's Canadian Toronto- Vancouver transcontinental passenger train makes request stops at
2444-503: Is generally less industrial than South Simcoe, and generally has a closer socio-economic association with the Muskoka area, located immediately north. However, North Simcoe hosts two GO Transit train stations that provide daily commuter rail service to Toronto . North Simcoe includes the Township of Clearview , the Township of Oro-Medonte , the Township of Ramara , the Township of Severn ,
2538-523: Is home to a relatively high proportion of people commuting to the GTA. South Simcoe is home to five municipalities, including: the Town of Innisfil , the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio , the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury , the Township of Essa and the Town of New Tecumseth (which includes: Alliston , Beeton and Tottenham ). North Simcoe is less connected to the GTA due to its more removed geographic location,
2632-461: Is informally split into two subregions, “South Simcoe” and “North Simcoe”. The dividing line between these two areas is Simcoe County Road 90 (Mill St.). South Simcoe municipalities are situated at the northern boundary of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and therefore generally have a closer socio-economic association with the GTA. South Simcoe is also within the Toronto commuter belt as it
2726-573: Is larger than 1 where multiple members are elected - plural districts ), and under plurality block voting (where voter may cast as many votes as the number of seats to be filled), proportional representation or single transferable vote elections (where the voter casts just one vote). In STV elections DM normally range from 2 to 10 members in a district. But 21 are elected in a single contest conducted through STV in New South Wales (Australia). In list PR systems DM may exceed 100. District magnitude
2820-508: Is maximized where: DM is moderate where districts break up the electorate or where relatively few members overall are elected, even if the election is held at-large. District magnitude may be set at an equal number of seats in each district. Examples include: all districts of the Northern Ireland Assembly elected 6 members (5 members since 2017); all those of the Parliament of Malta send 5 MPs; Chile, between 1989 and 2013, used
2914-404: Is not synonymous with proportional representation. The use of "general ticket voting" prevents the multiple-member representation of the district from being mixed and balanced. Where list PR is used in the district, a closed list PR method gives the party machine, not the voters, the power to arrange the candidates on the party list. In this case, a large district magnitude helps minorities only if
Simcoe County - Misplaced Pages Continue
3008-489: Is one of the county's largest single employers. In addition to the automotive industry, other industries include plastics, glass manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and aggregate resources. The county is also home to other institutions including Casino Rama , Georgian College , Canadian Forces Base Borden , a campus of Lakehead University and the Ontario Provincial Police Headquarters. Agri-business
3102-531: Is responsible for delivering public health programs and services, enforcing public health regulations, and advising local officials and local governments on health issues. Simcoe County has five hospitals: Southern parts of the County are also served by the Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ontario ( York Region ). The County operates ambulance and paramedic services (EMS) for
3196-399: Is still an attraction; however, there are also a number of poker runs, jet-skiing, and other boating events. The lake is surrounded with summer cottages leading to heavy recreational and boating use in summer. There are a number of beaches which attract visitors from the greater Toronto area, as Lake Simcoe has a reputation for cleaner and warmer water than nearby Lake Ontario beaches. Many of
3290-425: Is the mathematical minimum whereby no more will be elected than there are seats to be filled. It ensures election in contests where all votes are used to elect someone. (Probabilistic threshold should include the likely number of votes wasted to minor lists). For instance, a 10%-polling party will not win a seat in a 5-member district (Droop quota of 1/6=16.67%) but will do so in a 10-member district as its 10 percent of
3384-486: Is thought to have introduced the more commonly used spelling of Toronto in a map he created in 1695. The name 'Toronto' found its way to the current city through its use in the name for the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail (or Toronto Passage), a portage running between Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay , that passed through Lake Toronto, which in turn was used as the name for an early French fort located at
3478-596: Is used for provincial districts and riding for federal districts. In colloquial Canadian French , they are called comtés ("counties"), while circonscriptions comtés is the legal term. In Australia and New Zealand , Electoral districts are called electorates , however elsewhere the term electorate generally refers specifically to the body of voters. In India , electoral districts are referred to as " Nirvācan Kṣetra " ( Hindi : निर्वाचन क्षेत्र ) in Hindi , which can be translated to English as "electoral area" though
3572-660: Is used such as general ticket voting. The concept of magnitude explains Duverger's observation that single-winner contests tend to produce two-party systems , and proportional representation (PR) methods tend to produce multi-party systems . District magnitude is minimal (exactly 1) in plurality voting in single-member districts ( First-past-the-post voting used in most cases). As well, where multi-member districts are used, threshold de facto stays high if seats are filled by general ticket or other pro-landslide party block system (rarely used nationwide nowadays). In such situations each voter has one vote. District magnitude
3666-609: Is within Durham Region , where as Strawberry Island and Helmers Island are privately owned but within the boundaries of Ramara in Simcoe County . Grape is within Orillia and Goffatt is within Ramara with both owned privately by residents. The lake is about 30 kilometres (19 mi) long, 25 kilometres (16 mi) wide and 722 square kilometres (279 sq mi) in area. Lake Simcoe
3760-511: The Black Sea and Caspian Sea area and is thought to have been brought to North America in the ballast of foreign freighters. Zebra mussels are particularly harmful to Lake Simcoe because they increase the clarity of the water allowing sunlight to penetrate to the bottom of the lake, where more algae and aquatic weeds can grow, accelerating the eutrophication process. The Rainbow Smelt are another introduced species and they were first observed in
3854-648: The Cantonal Council of Zürich are reapportioned in every election based on the number of votes cast in each district , which is only made possible by use of multi-member districts, and the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina , by contrast, is apportioned without regard to population; the three major ethnic groups – Bosniaks , Serbs , and Croats – each get exactly five members. Malapportionment occurs when voters are under- or over-represented due to variation in district population. In some places, geographical area
Simcoe County - Misplaced Pages Continue
3948-659: The Kawartha lakes system and Lake Ontario. From its connection to Lake Couchiching, the Severn River is the only drainage from the lake to Georgian Bay, part of Lake Huron (Simcoe itself is not one of the Great Lakes ). The canal locks of the Trent-Severn Waterway make this connection navigable . A number of creeks and rivers flow into the lake: The lake has little commercial activity, but sees many recreational uses. In
4042-555: The Royal Navy , dying of pneumonia aboard his ship, HMS Pembroke , on 15 May 1759. Historically, at the time of the first European contact in the 17th century, the lake was called Ouentironk ("Beautiful Water") by the Wyandot (Huron) natives; The Wyandot name for the lake was rendered as Wentaron in European sources up until the 20th century. A 1675 map by Pierre Raffeix referred to
4136-552: The Washago railway station in Severn . There are three main rail freight operators in Simcoe County; Canadian National Railway (CN), Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and Barrie Collingwood Railway . Lake Simcoe Regional Airport is a registered airport located almost midway between Barrie and Orillia, in the township of Oro-Medonte. The airport is owned jointly by the City of Barrie (10%), and
4230-439: The wasted-vote effect , effectively concentrating wasted votes among opponents while minimizing wasted votes among supporters. Consequently, gerrymandering is typically done under voting systems using single-member districts, which have more wasted votes. While much more difficult, gerrymandering can also be done under proportional-voting systems when districts elect very few seats. By making three-member districts in regions where
4324-404: The 1990s. Elected representatives may spend much of the time serving the needs or demands of individual constituents , meaning either voters or residents of their district. This is more common in assemblies with many single-member or small districts than those with fewer, larger districts. In a looser sense, corporations and other such organizations can be referred to as constituents, if they have
4418-636: The County (90%). The airport is equipped to accommodate propeller and jet aircraft, and is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency . The County is also served by the Orillia Ramara Regional Airport in Ramara , 12 km northeast of Orillia. The closest major airport, however, is Toronto Pearson International Airport . The County has operated an intercommunity regional bus service, LINX , since 2018. It also operates
4512-423: The County of Simcoe comprises 16 local municipalities. As an "upper tier" municipality, the County of Simcoe is responsible for municipal services which include social housing, land ambulance and emergency planning, environmental services (solid waste management), a County road system, Ontario Works, children's services, homes for the aged, a library co-operative, museum, archives, County forest management, tourism,
4606-781: The County was defined as including the following townships: Together with the unorganized territory bounded to the north by the French River , to the south by the Severn River and Rama Township, to the west by Lake Huron and to the east by the former boundary between the Home District and the Newcastle District as extended to the French River. The unorganized territory, some of which had been surveyed into townships, together with parts of Victoria County and Nipissing District ,
4700-402: The County's larger urban centres have local public transit operations, which consist of bus services. These include Barrie Transit , BWG Transit (Bradford West Gwillimbury), Colltrans (Collingwood), Orillia Transit , Midland Penetanguishene Transit , and Wasaga Beach Transit . Lake Simcoe Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario , Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in
4794-413: The County, are geographically and economically part of the County and send elected representatives to serve on County committees which provide services to the residents of the cities, including paramedic services, long term care facilities, social services, social housing, archives and Museum. They are counted within the census division. County Council is composed of the mayors and deputy mayors of each of
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#17328521675794888-456: The County, as are three Indian reserves : As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Simcoe County had a population of 533,169 living in 202,824 of its 225,087 total private dwellings, a change of 11.2% from its 2016 population of 479,635 . With a land area of 4,818.93 km (1,860.60 sq mi), it had a population density of 110.6/km (286.6/sq mi) in 2021. The Corporation of
4982-685: The Holland River in Cook's Bay. This plant's purpose is to support intensification of development in the Lake Simcoe watershed. A number of southern Ontario rivers flow, generally north, into the lake, draining 2,581 km (997 sq mi) of land. From the east, the Talbot River , part of the Trent–Severn Waterway , is the most important river draining into Lake Simcoe, connecting the lake with
5076-467: The Lake , are using the $ 250,000 they raised from the sale of a nude picture calendar to rally government, business, the school system, and the local citizenry to rescue the lake. Several towns and communities on the lakeshore depend on Lake Simcoe for their drinking water. The Region of York is currently finalizing plans for a sewage treatment plant to be constructed on the shores of Lake Simcoe to be located on
5170-799: The Royal Navy. In Anishinaabemowin , the historical language of the First Nations living around this lake, namely Anishinaabek of Rama and Georgina Island First Nations, the lake is called Zhooniyaang-zaaga'igan , meaning "Silver Lake". Lake Simcoe's name was given by John Graves Simcoe in 1793 in memory of his father, Captain John Simcoe. Captain Simcoe was born on 28 November 1710, in Staindrop , in County Durham , northeast England, and served as an officer in
5264-599: The Town of Midland , was disbanded in February 2018. The OPP assumed policing responsibilities in Midland afterwards. Canadian Forces Military Police provides policing and security for CFB Borden (25 km southwest of Barrie). The local public agency for the county, the cities of Barrie and Orillia , and the neighbouring District Municipality of Muskoka is the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit. It
5358-472: The Township of Springwater , the Township of Tay and the Township of Tiny , the Town of Collingwood , the Town of Midland , the Town of Penetanguishene and the Town of Wasaga Beach . The cities of Barrie and Orillia are geographically within North Simcoe, but both are politically independent single-tier municipalities. Simcoe County, in particular the former Wendake area near Nottawasaga Bay ,
5452-537: The basin. Isostatic rebound from the retreat of the last glaciers results in a steady rise of Lake Simcoe, particularly at its south end, and is further responsible for the deep organic sediments that have accumulated in its one-time shallow southern arm, known as the Holland Marsh. Here, organic deposits created by vegetation have largely kept pace with the steady rise in water level, and today supports extensive market gardening. All rivers, and most streams, flowing into
5546-485: The beaches are used for kite surfing as well. Willow Beach in Georgina on the south shore is one of the largest and most popular public beaches on Lake Simcoe. There are seven yacht clubs (sailing) around the lake, which host a number of regattas, and an active sailing community exists on the lake. The lake also forms part of the Trent–Severn Waterway system that links Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay/Lake Huron. Lake Simcoe
5640-467: The body of eligible voters or all the residents of the represented area or only those who voted for a certain candidate. The terms (election) precinct and election district are more common in American English . In Canadian English , the term is used, especially officially, but is also colloquially and more commonly known as a riding or constituency . In some parts of Canada, constituency
5734-602: The completion of the Trent Severn Waterway , the water level on Lake Simcoe was quite low enabling residents to cross in wagons or walk in ankle deep water to the mainland. However, when it was completed, the water table increased by several feet. Grape Island on the north end the lake is located off of Orillia. To the east of Grape Island is Goffatt Island , a small and private island located within Ramara . Georgina, Snake and Fox Islands are within York Region , Thorah
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#17328521675795828-437: The county and the independent cities of Barrie and Orillia . The Beausoleil First Nation (Christian Island) and the Chippewas of Rama First Nation (Rama) operate their own EMS services for their territories. The economy of Simcoe County is diverse and includes a full range of businesses from agricultural, industrial and high-tech sectors. Honda of Canada Manufacturing has been established in Simcoe County since 1986 and
5922-681: The early 1960s. They were believed to compete with native Lake Whitefish and be somewhat responsible for a decline in their populations. Several initiatives, such as the Lake Simcoe Environmental Management Strategy (LSEMS), the Lake Simcoe Conservation Foundation, and the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority , are making efforts to rectify some of the lake's environmental woes. A local activist group, The Ladies of
6016-404: The entire south shore of Lake Simcoe and consists of smaller residential towns and communities, including Keswick on Cook's Bay , Sutton , Jackson's Point , Pefferlaw , and Udora . The town of Innisfil occupies the western shore south of Barrie and north of Bradford. Eastside Simcoe includes the towns of Beaverton, Brechin and Lagoon City. Lake Couchiching was at one time thought of as
6110-679: The federal electoral districts of Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte , Barrie—Innisfil , York—Simcoe , Simcoe—Grey and Simcoe North . The current Members of Parliament representing Simcoe County are: Simcoe County encompasses all or part of the provincial electoral districts of Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte , Barrie—Innisfil , York—Simcoe , Simcoe—Grey and Simcoe North . The current Members of Provincial Parliament representing Simcoe County are: Five police services provide law enforcement and local policing in Simcoe County: The Midland Police Service, which served
6204-537: The foot of the Toronto Passage, on Lake Ontario. The Severn River , its outlet stream, was once called 'Rivière de Toronto' which flows into Georgian Bay's Severn Sound, then called the 'Baie de Toronto'. Later French traders referred to it as Lac aux Claies , meaning "Lake of Grids (or Trellises)" in reference to the Huron fishing weirs in the lake. It was known by this name until the beginnings of Upper Canada, when it
6298-537: The lake have wide, deep, navigable mouths as a consequence of the rising waters drowning the river channels. 2017 data for the year prior from the NOAA shows the lake has a yearly average surface temperature of 2.5 degrees Celsius . When a lake is healthy, cold-water fish such as lake trout, herring, and whitefish are abundant and active. It is sometimes known as Canada's ice fishing capital. Lake Simcoe has been victim to significant eutrophication . Lake Simcoe has seen
6392-507: The lake with the French term Lac Taronto and a 1687 map by Lahontan called it Lake Taronto , while the name Tarontos Lac appeared on a 1678 map of New France by cartographer Jean-Baptiste-Louis Franquelin . The term Taranto refers to an Iroquoian expression meaning gateway or pass. Taronto had originally referred to The Narrows, a channel of water through which Lake Simcoe discharges into Lake Couchiching . (Natural Resources Canada gives
6486-549: The lake. This is unlike its one-time smaller sister-lake of 'Lake Minesing' to the west, being a remnant of Lake Algonquin, and, later the Nipissing stage of Lake Huron. This lake's outlet was founded on sediments located near Edenvale, which have largely been cut through, draining most of the lake. Today 'Lake Minesing' exists as the Minesing Swamp, but it re-establishes itself for a short period each spring when spring run-off floods
6580-424: The lakeshore on Georgina Island. This rock, however, also appears along the shore of Lake Couchiching, where sediments are thinner. The outlet of the lake at the north end of Lake Couchiching is controlled by Precambrian bedrock which first makes its appearance about mid-way along this lake. As a result, the lake has persisted to the present, with the outlet-flow unable to cut down through the rock, and thereby draining
6674-430: The larger state's legislature . That body, or the state's constitution or a body established for that purpose, determines each district's boundaries and whether each will be represented by a single member or multiple members. Generally, only voters ( constituents ) who reside within the district are permitted to vote in an election held there. District representatives may be elected by a first-past-the-post system,
6768-521: The location they live. Examples include: Not all democratic political systems use separate districts or other electoral subdivisions to conduct elections. Israel , for instance, conducts parliamentary elections as a single district. The 26 electoral districts in Italy and the 20 in the Netherlands have a role in the actual election, but no role whatsoever in the division of the seats. Ukraine elected half of
6862-447: The make-up of the district map, made easier by a multitude of micro-small districts. A higher magnitude means less wasted votes, and less room for such maneuvers. As well, a fair voting system in the district contests also means that gerrymandering is ineffective because each party gets their fair share of seats however districts are drawn, at least theoretically. Multiple-member contests sometimes use plurality block voting , which allows
6956-541: The number of representatives allotted to each. Israel and the Netherlands are among the few countries that avoid the need for apportionment entirely by electing legislators at-large . Apportionment is generally done on the basis of population . Seats in the United States House of Representatives , for instance, are reapportioned to individual states every 10 years following a census, with some states that have grown in population gaining seats. By contrast, seats in
7050-406: The number of seats to be filled in any election. Staggered terms are sometimes used to reduce the number of seats up for election at any one time, when district magnitude is more than one. The number of seats up for election varies the ease or difficulty to be elected, as the threshold de facto decreases in proportion as the number of seats being filled increases, unless a pro-landslide voting system
7144-575: The official English translation for the term is "constituency". The term "Nirvācan Kṣetra" is used while referring to an electoral district in general irrespective of the legislature. When referring to a particular legislative constituency, it is simply referred to as "Kṣetra" along with the name of the legislature, in Hindi (e.g. 'Lok Sabha Kshetra' for a Lok Sabha constituency). Electoral districts for buli municipal or other local bodies are called "wards". Local electoral districts are sometimes called wards ,
7238-546: The outlet of Burlington Bay ) till it intersects the northern limits of the Province... At its beginning, the County existed only for purposes of military enlistment. In 1823, it became a separate constituency for elections to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada , but, as eligibility to vote was dependent upon having title to property, and Simcoe's first registrar of deeds was not appointed until 1826, it did not send
7332-504: The party machine of any party chooses to include them. In a multi-member district where general ticket voting is not used, there is a natural impetus for a party to open itself to minority voters, if they have enough numbers to be significant, due to the competitive environment produced by the electoral system. Apportionment is the process of allocating a number of representatives to different regions, such as states or provinces. Apportionment changes are often accompanied by redistricting ,
7426-559: The portage route running south from that point, the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail. Radiocarbon dating of surviving stakes reveals that the weirs at The Narrows were in use more than 4,000 years ago. The meaning of "where trees stand in the water", is likely to have originated from Huron practice of driving stakes into the channel sediments to corral fish. Fresh-cut saplings placed in the water and sediments would have sprouted branches and leaves, persisting for some time, leading to
7520-412: The province, after Lake Nipigon , Lac Seul , and Lake Nipissing . At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century, the lake was called Ouentironk ("Beautiful Water") by the native Wendat/Ouendat (Huron) people. It was also known as Lake Taronto until it was renamed by John Graves Simcoe , the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada , in memory of his father, Captain John Simcoe of
7614-461: The redrawing of electoral district boundaries to accommodate the new number of representatives. This redrawing is necessary under single-member district systems, as each new representative requires their own district. Multi-member systems, however, vary depending on other rules. Ireland, for example, redraws its electoral districts after every census while Belgium uses its existing administrative boundaries for electoral districts and instead modifies
7708-442: The representation of minorities. John Stuart Mill had endorsed proportional representation (PR) and STV in the mid-19th century precisely to respond to this shortcoming. With lower district magnitudes, the only way to include demographic minorities scattered across the country is to force parties to include them: Large district magnitudes increase the chance for diverse walks of life and minority groups to be elected. However, it
7802-437: The rules permit voters not to rank all the candidates or prevent them from ranking all the candidates, some votes are declared exhausted. Thus it is common for one or two members in a district to be elected without attaining Droop. Larger district magnitudes means larger districts, so annihilate the need and practice of gerrymandering , Gerrymandering is the practice of partisan redistricting by means of creating imbalances in
7896-463: The single largest group to take all the district seats. Each voter having just one vote in a multi-member district, Single voting, a component of most party-list proportional representation methods as well as single non-transferable vote and single transferable vote , prevents such a landslide. High district magnitude is a major factor in the inclusion of minorities . Plurality (and other elections with lower district magnitudes) are known to limit
7990-568: The sixteen towns and townships which comprise the County of Simcoe. The head of County Council is called the Warden and is elected for a one-year term by the council members at the Inaugural Meeting, held each December. Though once a consideration according to the Wasaga Sun , Simcoe County has elected not to restructure itself as a regional municipality . Simcoe County encompasses all or part of
8084-445: The territory contained within the districts was separated from Simcoe County. Mono and Mulmur Townships were withdrawn from Simcoe County in 1881 and transferred to the newly formed Dufferin County . Mara and Rama Townships were transferred to Simcoe County following the dissolution of Ontario County in 1974. In 1994, the County was restructured into 16 local municipalities: The cities of Barrie and Orillia are separated from
8178-513: The vote exceeds the Droop quota in such a district (1/11=9%). In systems where a noticeable number of votes are wasted, such as Single non-transferable voting or Instant-runoff voting where transferable votes are used but voters are prohibited from ranking all candidates, you will see candidates win with less than Droop. STV is intended to avoid waste of votes by the use of transferable votes but even in STV, if
8272-560: The waters of the lake. Georgina Island Police patrol on Georgina, Fox and Snake Islands with some capability to respond to marine needs off these islands. As part of Orillia, Grape Island is policed by the OPP. Constituency An electoral ( congressional , legislative , etc.) district , sometimes called a constituency , riding , or ward , is a subdivision of a larger state (a country , administrative region , or other polity ) created to provide its population with representation in
8366-452: The winter, it freezes over completely and hosts a number of ice fishing competitions, making it one of the most intensely fished lakes in Ontario. However, claims that it is one of the world's largest lakes that freeze over completely in winter are pure speculation, and, in fact, spurious; Canada alone has a large number of lakes of the same size or larger that do the same. In the summer, fishing
8460-562: Was abolished, and Simcoe County was organized for municipal purposes. Between 1845 and 1851, there had been a campaign to have the part of West Gwillimbury south of the Holland River annexed to York County . The County Council finally agreed to this action in 1851, subject to arbitration as to the division of liabilities. It was implemented by an Act of the Parliament of the Province of Canada later that year. On January 1, 1852, after transferring its five western townships to Grey County ,
8554-475: Was established as part of the Home District in 1798 by the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada . Its initial territory was described as follows: ... Matchedash , Gloucester, or Penetanguishene , together with Prince William Henry's Island , and all the land lying between the Midland District and a line produced due north from a certain fixed boundary (at the distance of about fifty miles north-west from
8648-421: Was renamed to Lake Simcoe. The lake is bordered by Simcoe County , Durham Region , and York Region . The city of Barrie is located on Kempenfelt Bay , and Orillia is located at the entrance to Lake Couchiching . The watershed draining into the lake contains a population of roughly half a million people, including the northern portion of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The town of Georgina lies along
8742-615: Was the site of the earliest French exploration and settlement of Ontario ; they were the first Europeans in the area. Several historic sites, including Carhagouha and Sainte-Marie among the Hurons , mark the earliest known contacts between the area's traditional Huron population and French missionaries . The Huron capital, Ossossané , was at one time the largest aboriginal settlement in all of North America outside Mexico . The County, named by Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe in honour of his father Captain John Simcoe,
8836-436: Was withdrawn in 1868-1869 to form the new District of Muskoka and District of Parry Sound . However, any municipalities established in them still formed part of the original counties for municipal purposes, and they were still responsible for the administration of justice, which proved to be problematic. The portions of the districts that were not part of Simcoe County were transferred to it in 1877. This lasted until 1888, when
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