Gordon/Barrie Island

The Municipality of Gordon/Barrie Island is a township in Manitoulin District in north central Ontario, Canada. It was formed on January 1, 2009, upon the amalgamation of the townships of Gordon (incorporated 1875^[2]) and Barrie Island.^[3]

Gordon/Barrie Island
Municipality (single-tier)
Municipality of Gordon/Barrie Island
Highway 540 through Gordon
Gordon/Barrie Island Show map of Manitoulin District Gordon/Barrie Island Show map of Ontario
Coordinates: 45°54′N 82°38′W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
District	Manitoulin
Formed	January 1, 2009
Government
• Type	Township
• Reeve	Lee Hayden
• Federal riding	Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt
• Prov. riding	Algoma—Manitoulin
Area [1]
• Land	263.44 km2 (101.71 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Total	613
• Density	2.3/km2 (6/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal Code	P0P
Area code	705
Website	www.gordonbarrieisland.ca

The township consists of the communities of Advance, Foxey, Ice Lake, Tobacco Lake, and Barrie Island. Gordon/Barrie Island also contains three lakes: Nameless Lake, Tobacco Lake, and Ice Lake.

Barrie Island

Barrie Island Welcome Sign

Barrie Island (45°55′N 82°40′W) is about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) wide, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) long,^[4] and had a surface area of 78.9 square kilometres (30.5 sq mi) in the 2006 census.^[5] It is connected to Manitoulin by Highway 540A, which crosses the water via a causeway at the narrowest part of the strait.

The island, named after Robert Barrie, has a significant summer recreational population.^[2]

John Gordon Lane was born on Barrie Island, the Member of Provincial Parliament for Algoma—Manitoulin from 1971 to 1987.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Gordon/Barrie Island had a population of 613 living in 294 of its 621 total private dwellings, a change of 25.1% from its 2016 population of 490. With a land area of 263.44 km² (101.71 sq mi), it had a population density of 2.3/km² (6.0/sq mi) in 2021.^[1]

Canada census – Gordon/Barrie Island community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	613 (+25.1% from 2016)	490 (-6.8% from 2011)	526 (+14.6% from 2006)
Land area	263.44 km2 (101.71 sq mi)	267.77 km2 (103.39 sq mi)	268.14 km2 (103.53 sq mi)
Population density	2.3/km2 (6.0/sq mi)	1.8/km2 (4.7/sq mi)	2.0/km2 (5.2/sq mi)
Median age	61.6 (M: 62.8, F: 60.0)	51.4 (M: 52.4, F: 50.4)
Private dwellings	621 (total)  294 (occupied)	523 (total)	599 (total)
Median household income	$68,500	$56,960

References: 2021^[6] 2016^[7] 2011^[8]

Historical census populations – Gordon Township (1875–2008)

Year Pop. ±% 1881 565 —     1891 455 −19.5% 1901 440 −3.3% 1911 429 −2.5% 1921 363 −15.4% 1931 387 +6.6% 1941 375 −3.1%	Year Pop. ±% 1951 557 +48.5% 1956 507 −9.0% 1961 490 −3.4% 1966 462 −5.7% 1971 352 −23.8% 1976 336 −4.5% 1981 367 +9.2%	Year Pop. ±% 1986 384 +4.6% 1991 435 +13.3% 1996 473 +8.7% 2001 473 +0.0% 2006 412 −12.9%
Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes. Source: Statistics Canada[9][10]

Historical census populations – Barrie Island Township

Year Pop. ±% 1881 143 —     1891 209 +46.2% 1901 268 +28.2% 1911 206 −23.1% 1921 196 −4.9% 1931 164 −16.3% 1941 164 +0.0%	Year Pop. ±% 1951 159 −3.0% 1956 149 −6.3% 1961 146 −2.0% 1966 118 −19.2% 1971 109 −7.6% 1976 108 −0.9% 1981 92 −14.8%	Year Pop. ±% 1986 84 −8.7% 1991 75 −10.7% 1996 60 −20.0% 2001 50 −16.7% 2006 47 −6.0%
Source: Statistics Canada[9][10]

See also

• List of townships in Ontario