Limerick, Ontario

Limerick is a small township in Hastings County, Ontario, Canada, near Limerick Lake. It is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Belleville between Madoc and Bancroft and served by Ontario Highway 62 and Township Road 620.^[2] The Township is bordered by the Town of Bancroft, Township of Wollaston and the United Townships of Tudor and Cashel. The township is heavily forested, as is the shoreline of the Limerick Lake, the main industry in the township being forestry and logging. The population of Limerick Township is approx. 400 full-year residents, and another 1000 seasonal residents.

Limerick
Township (lower-tier)
Township of Limerick
Community centre
Limerick
Coordinates: 44°54′N 77°40′W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
County	Hastings
Incorporated	1887
Government
• Type	Township
• Mayor	Kim Carson
• Fed. riding	Hastings—Lennox and Addington
• Prov. riding	Hastings—Lennox and Addington
Area [1]
• Land	201.04 km2 (77.62 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Total	436
• Density	2.2/km2 (6/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal Code	K0L
Area codes	613 and 343
Website	www.township.limerick.on.ca

It was named in 1887 after the city of Limerick in Ireland.^[3]

Communities

The township of Limerick comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including the following communities:

• Brinklow
• Martins Landing
• Ormsby (44.881°N 77.749°W / 44.881; -77.749)
• Ormsby Junction
• St. Ola
• Steenburg Lake

• 
  Old school house in Ormsby
• 
  Country store in Ormsby

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Limerick had a population of 436 living in 206 of its 533 total private dwellings, a change of 26% from its 2016 population of 346. With a land area of 201.04 km² (77.62 sq mi), it had a population density of 2.2/km² (5.6/sq mi) in 2021.^[1]

Canada census – Limerick community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	436 (+26.0% from 2016)	346 (-1.7% from 2011)	352 (-3.3% from 2006)
Land area	201.04 km2 (77.62 sq mi)	205.37 km2 (79.29 sq mi)	205.68 km2 (79.41 sq mi)
Population density	2.2/km2 (5.7/sq mi)	1.7/km2 (4.4/sq mi)	1.7/km2 (4.4/sq mi)
Median age	60.0 (M: 61.2, F: 58.4)	55.1 (M: 55.7, F: 53.8)	52.7 (M: 54.8, F: 51.7)
Private dwellings	533 (total)  206 (occupied)	541 (total)	427 (total)
Median household income	$54,400	$42,880	$35,348

References: 2021^[4] 2016^[5] 2011^[6]

Historical census populations – Limerick, Ontario

Year Pop. ±% 1881 563 —     1891 508 −9.8% 1901 597 +17.5% 1911 448 −25.0% 1921 271 −39.5% 1931 316 +16.6% 1941 345 +9.2% 1951 292 −15.4%	Year Pop. ±% 1956 336 +15.1% 1961 336 +0.0% 1966 224 −33.3% 1971 233 +4.0% 1976 282 +21.0% 1981 310 +9.9% 1986 310 +0.0% 1991 347 +11.9%	Year Pop. ±% 1996 396 +14.1% 2001 362 −8.6% 2006 364 +0.6% 2011 352 −3.3% 2016 346 −1.7% 2021 436 +26.0%
Source: Statistics Canada[1][7][6][8][9][10]

Mother tongue (2021):^[1]

• English as first language: 94.3%
• French as first language: 1.1%
• English and French as first language: 0%
• Other as first language: 3.4%

Mining

Main article: McBride Project

Pancontinental Resources Corporation's (Pancon) plans to build a nickel, copper, and cobalt mine in Limerick was met with resistance from the local community in 2018.^[11][12] 5.1 million tons of nickel, cobalt, and copper exist near the surface of a 880 hectare area known as the McBride Project, located near Canadian National Railway, mining rights to the area are owned by Derek McBride's private company Hastings Highlands Resources Limited, which had an option agreement with Pancon.^[12] Pancon ceased collaborating on the project in March 2019, while McBridge spoke on Moose FM about his aspirations to find a new business partner.^[13]

See also

• List of communities in Ontario
• List of townships in Ontario