Join York Region in celebrating our golden anniversary

Find out how you could win a $50 gift card!

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 2, 2021

Half a century ago, bell-bottom jeans and fringed vests were the styles of choice. Blockbuster movies like Jaws and Airport made us rethink our vacations, and Woodstock was still being talked about in present tense. The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Stanley Cup win was fresh in fans’ minds. Closer to home, The Regional Municipality of York was established.

Like many milestone events of the past year and a half, York Region’s 50th anniversary celebration was postponed, delayed, altered and, finally, moved online, enabling everyone to visit York.ca/YRturns50 to take an online tour of the Region’s photo archives through a decade-by-decade Flickr album.

Although York Region is now 50, the rich cultural heritage of this area goes back much further, when Indigenous peoples, including the ancestors of the modern-day Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, lived on these lands since time immemorial. York Region falls under Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Williams Treaties with several Mississauga and Chippewas First Nations. The archeological records indicate activity dating back 11,000 years ago, after the last ice age.

Since 1971, York Region has grown from 169,200 to more than 1.2 million residents. The Region’s first approved budget was $18.7 million, and now, 50 years later, the 2021 approved budget of $3.3 billion oversees 15 regional services, including those provided to our residents by Transportation Services, Environmental Services, Community and Health Services, Corporate Services, Legal and Court Services and Finance.

York Region is one of Canada’s most diverse and fastest growing communities. This is achieved by delivering innovative services and infrastructure like transit and water systems, forest trails and bike lanes, senior support and child care, plus public health and paramedic services. York Region is, and will continue to be, a destination of choice to live, work and play.

Enter to win a $50 gift card and be a part of York Region history! Visit York.ca/YRturns50 for contest details. Participate in the celebration by posting pictures of a treasured York Region memory over the last 50 years -- such as a fond childhood memory, or a family outing to a favourite York Region destination -- on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using the hashtag #YRturns50.