Whitestone, Ontario

Whitestone is a municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario, as well as the name of a community within the municipality.

Whitestone
Municipality (single-tier)
Municipality of Whitestone
Whitestone municipal office in Dunchurch
Whitestone
Coordinates: 45°41′N 79°59′W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
District	Parry Sound
Incorporated	2000
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Mayor	George Comrie
• Fed. riding	Parry Sound-Muskoka
• Prov. riding	Parry Sound—Muskoka
Area [1]
• Land	923.70 km2 (356.64 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Total	1,075
• Density	1.2/km2 (3/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal Code	P0A
Area codes	705, 249
Website	www.whitestone.ca

The municipality, located in the Parry Sound District, had a population of 1075 in the 2021 Canadian census.

History

In 2000, the Municipality of Whitestone was formed out of Unorganized Centre Parry Sound District and incorporated by the Parry Sound District Restructuring Commission. The new municipality includes the geographic townships of East Burpee, Burton, McKenzie, Ferrie, Hagerman, and part of Croft.^[2]

A popular attraction was once the Ardbeg fire tower, which was one of the last remaining staffed fire towers in Southern Ontario until the early 1970s when aerial forest fire detection took over. It stood on a small hill where the road meets the railway.

Geography

The municipality's vegetation is dominated by white pine trees, and the area is dotted with many lakes, including Wahwashkesh Lake, Shawanaga Lake, Whitestone Lake, Wilson Lake () and Lorimer Lake. The three major rivers are Magnetawan River, Shawanaga River, and Naiscoot River, all flowing west into Georgian Bay.

Communities

Dunchurch

The municipality comprises the communities of:

• Ardbeg
• Boakview
• Bolger
• Burton
• Dunchurch
• Fairholme
• Lorimer Lake
• Maple Island
• South Magnetawan
• Sunny Slope
• Wahwashkesh
• Whitestone

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Whitestone had a population of 1,075 living in 549 of its 1,427 total private dwellings, a change of 17.4% from its 2016 population of 916. With a land area of 923.7 km² (356.6 sq mi), it had a population density of 1.2/km² (3.0/sq mi) in 2021.^[1]

Historical census populations – Whitestone, Ontario

Year	Pop.	±%
1996	802	—
2001	853	+6.4%
2006	1,030	+20.8%
2011	918	−10.9%
2016	916	−0.2%
2021	1,075	+17.4%
Source: Statistics Canada[1][3][4]

Mother tongue (2021):^[1]

• English as first language: 92.1%
• French as first language: 1.9%
• English and French as first languages: 0.5%
• Other as first language: 5.1%

See also

• List of townships in Ontario