| Municipality of Clarington | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Municipality — | |||
| Downtown Bowmanville, Clarington's largest community | |||
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| Motto: "Wisdom Knowledge and Trust" | |||
| Map showing Clarington's location in Durham Region | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Canada | ||
| Province | Ontario | ||
| Region | Durham Region | ||
| Established | 1974 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Adrian Foster | ||
| • Governing body | Clarington Council | ||
| • MP | Bev Oda (Durham) | ||
| • MPP | John O'Toole (Durham) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 611.1 km2 (235.9 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 106 m (348 ft) | ||
| Population (2006)[1] | |||
| • Total | 77,820 | ||
| • Density | 127.3/km2 (329.7/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (EDT) (UTC-4) | ||
| Website | www.clarington.net | ||
Clarington is a municipality in Ontario, Canada in the Regional Municipality of Durham. It took its present name in 1994 after having been known as the Town of Newcastle from 1974-93. The name change was made to alleviate long-standing confusion between the municipality as a whole and the included village of the same name. Bowmanville is the largest community in the municipality and is the home of the municipal offices. The name "Clarington" is a portmanteau of the names of the two historical townships, Clarke and Darlington, that made up the geographic area.
It is part of the census metropolitan area of Oshawa and forms the eastern end of the Greater Toronto Area. Major employers in Clarington include the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, General Motors in Oshawa, and several medium-to-large sized manufacturing businesses; however, most residents travel to points west in Durham Region or to Toronto for employment.Clarington was a candidate in the race to host ITER in 2001,[2] but the Canadian bid to host the project was withdrawn two years later.
In 2010 Clarington made news when land owners were charged with breaching zoning bylaw after hosting the Institute for Liberal Studies Liberty Summer Seminar.[3] The charges were dropped in 2011, after the Canadian Constitution Foundation successfully persuaded the municipality's lawyers that the event was protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms' guarantee to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly.[4]
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Clarington is governed by an elected municipal council consisting of a mayor, and local councillors representing each of the municipality's four wards. In addition, two regional councillors each represent a pair of wards. The mayor and the regional councillors sit on both Clarington Council and Durham Region Council.
The current council was elected on October 25, 2010 for a four-year term. The members of the council are:
Mayor: Adrian Foster
Members of Council:
Public School Board Trustee: Steven Cooke & Cathy Abraham
The municipality consists of several urban communities, including:
Rural communities include:
A major attraction in the municipality is the Mosport International Raceway (formerly Mosport Park), a multi-track facility located north of Bowmanville that features a 2.459-mile (4.0 km), 10-turn road course; a half-mile paved oval; a 2.4 km advanced driver and race driver training facility and a 1.4 km kart track (Mosport International Karting).
Mosport Park was also the location of three major music festivals held between 1970 and 1980. The Strawberry Fields Festival held August 7-9, 1970 featured Alice Cooper, Jethro Tull, Grand Funk Railroad, Procul Harum, Ten Years After, Lighthouse, Crowbar and Sly and the Family Stone. John Lennon was to be the headline act, bidding to gain exposure for his peace campaign, but after months of planning he backed out due to differences with the show's promoter. However, the event still used the title of The Beatles' 1967 single of the same name. Led Zeppelin were booked to play but also backed out.
Canada Jam was held August 26, 1978 and the Heatwave Festival was held August 23, 1980.
| Scugog, Kawartha Lakes | Cavan-Monaghan | |||
| Oshawa | Port Hope | |||
| Clarington | ||||
| Lake Ontario |
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