Burlington Waterfront

Quick Facts

The City of Burlington is located in southern Ontario on the north shore of Lake Ontario between Hamilton and Toronto.

It is a growing municipailty with a population of approximately 151,000 located at the western end of the Greater Toronto Area.

Geographical Features

Burlington has a total land area of 187 sq. km (73 sq. miles or 46,300 acres). The urban area is mainly located south of Dundas Street. The land north of Dundas Street is used primarily for agricultural, rural residential, and conservation purposes.

The Niagara Escarpment, Lake Ontario and the sloping plain between the escarpment and the lake make up the land area. Burlington is no longer a port. Sailing vessels in the area are used for recreational purposes and moor at a small marina in LaSalle Park. A prominent land mark feature is the 2.2 km long Skyway Bridge which joins Burlington to the City of Hamilton.

Climate

Burlington's climate is generally continental with warm humid summers and cold, dry winters. This is moderated by the proximity of Lake Ontario, which tends to reduce temperature extremes. Monthly mean temperatures range from 22 degrees centigrade ( 71 degrees F) in July to -5 degrees centigrade (23 degrees F) in January. The annual precipitation consists of about 28 inches of rain and 51 inches of snow. Easterly winds off the open waters of Lake Ontario may add substantially to local snowfall however the prevailing winds are from the southwest. The average date for a late frost is May 3rd, and the first autumn frost occurs about the 15th day of October.

Brief History

Burlington (the name is apparently a corruption of Bridlington, a town in Yorkshire, England) was laid out on lands awarded in 1798 to Joseph Brant, the great Mohawk Chief, as a reward for his services to the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War although an early pioneer (George Chisholm) had settled in the vicinity in 1791.

In 1873, the adjacent hamlets of Wellington Square and Port Nelson became the village of Burlington. In 1914,Burlington became a town and in 1974, Burlington was incorporated as a city.

Animal husbandry and fruit growing were prominent activities in the early days of Burlington and contributed towards its rapid growth. Because of its strategic location, transportation corridors, and milder climate, Burlington attracted, and continues to attract industry, commerce, and residential development.

Government

The City of Burlington, is the largest of four municipalities in the Regional Municipality of Halton. There are 6 wards in Burlington served by a Mayor and 6 Councillors (one for each ward), all of whom sit on both the municipal council and Council for the Region of Halton.

There are 3 Federal government ridings- Burlington, Wentworth-Burlington and Halton.
The 3 Provincial Government seats are also Burlington, Wentworth-Burlington and Halton.

Economy

Burlington is located in Canada's largest consumer and industrial market in an area known as the "Golden Horseshoe".

Burlington's economy is not dominated by any single employer or sector. The leading industrial sectors, in terms of employment, are food processing, packaging, electronics, motor vehicle/transportation, business services, chemical/pharmaceutical and environmental.

The largest private sector employers in Burlington are Maple Leaf Meats, ABB Automation, AIC Limited and the Royal Bank of Canada.

The largest public sector employers in Burlington are the City of Burlington, the Halton Board of Education, the Halton Roman Catholic School Board and Joseph Brant Hospital.

Life style

Burlington maintains 1,148 hectares (2,836.7 acres) of park land and has a quality of life second to none. It offers 4 indoor and 2 outdoor pools, 3 splash pads, 7 ice pads, 6 community centres, and 8 golf courses.

Some of the best hiking in the world can be done in the local sections of the Bruce Trail and the Niagara Escarpment, which is a UNESCO-designated World Biosphere Reserve, as well as along the Waterfront Trail that skirts the northern shore of Lake Ontario.
You can relax and take in the Sound of Music Festival in June that features the world famous Burlington Teen Tour Band who have performed in Europe, Japan, and throughout Canada and the United States.

Through its Mundialization Committee, Burlington promotes itself as a global community by fostering United Nations support at the local level and by maintaining a twin city relationship with Itabashi, Japan. This effort is realized by numerous community based projects that strengthen ties with Itabashi. Burlington also has "resolutions of friendship" with Burlington, Vermont, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Longueuil, Quebec.

There is no daily newspaper published in Burlington. Papers delivered to Burlington include: The Hamilton Spectator/Burlington News, The Burlington Post (prints 3 times per week) the Toronto Star, the Globe & Mail, the Toronto Sun, and the National Post.

Attractions

Burlington is home to the Royal Botanical Gardens (which has the world's largest lilac collection). The Burlington Art Centre, with its unique national role in collecting contemporary Canadian ceramics, will soon be expanded to house many works by renown Canadian artist Robert Bateman. The Joseph Brant Museum (named after the Mohawk Chief) and Ireland House at Oakridge Farm, a history museum depicting family life from the 1850s to the 1920s are also popular attractions.

Burlington has the distinction of having one of the only 2 naturally occurring magnetic hills in Canada. The magnetic hill is located on King Road, north of Bayview Park.

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