Whitchurch–Stouffville (2006 population 24,390; 2010 estimate 36,500) is a municipality in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada, approximately 14 kilometres north of the City of Toronto. It is 206.74 square kilometers in size and located in the mid-eastern area of the Regional Municipality of York on the ecologically sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine. Its motto is “country close to the city”.
The town of Whitchurch–Stouffville consists of several distinct communities and the intermediary countryside. The largest urban area is Stouffville proper, while other communities in the larger town include Ballantrae, Bethesda, Bloomington, Cedar Valley, Gormley, Lemonville, Lincolnville, Musselman Lake, Pine Orchard, Pleasantville, Preston Lake, Ringwood, Vandorf, Vivian, and Wesley Corners. The town is bounded by Davis Drive (York Regional Road 31) in the north, York-Durham Line (York Regional Road 30) in the east, and Highway 404 in the west. The southern boundary conforms with a position approximately 200 meters north of 19th Avenue (York Regional Road 29), and is irregular due to the annexation of lands formerly part of Markham Township in 1971.
Whitchurch–Stouffville is one of the fastest-growing communities in Ontario. In June 2010, the official population estimate was 36,500, which represents a 50% increase since 2006. The town projects a total population of 42,343 in 2013; 53,321 in 2021 and 62,321 in 2026.
Future growth is governed provincially by the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act (2001), the Greenbelt Act (2005) and the Places to Grow Act (2005). The intent of these statutes is to prevent urban sprawl on environmentally sensitive land and to accommodate future growth in approved settlement areas only. Consequently Whitchurch–Stouffville’s future growth is planned as “sustainable development,” largely within the boundaries of urban Stouffville alone, which reflects the vision of “small town tradition between the country and the city.”
