Manitoulin District

Manitoulin District is a district in Northeastern Ontario within the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1888 from part of the Algoma District. The district seat is in Gore Bay.

Manitoulin District
District
Gore Bay Northeast Manitoulin Wiikwem- koong Central Manitoulin M'Chigeeng Sheshegwaning
Location of Manitoulin District within Ontario
Coordinates: 45°46′N 82°12′W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Region	Northeastern Ontario
Created	1888
Government
• MP	Jim Belanger
• MPP	Bill Rosenberg
Area [1]
• Land	3,073.54 km2 (1,186.70 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Total	13,935
• Density	4.5/km2 (12/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal code span	P0P
Area code	705
Seat	Gore Bay

It comprises Manitoulin Island primarily, as well as a number of smaller islands surrounding it, such as Barrie, Cockburn, and Great La Cloche islands. Previously it included the municipality of Killarney on the mainland, until this was transferred to Sudbury District in the late 1990s. Subsequently, more mainland portions were added to Killarney and these, together with Unorganized Mainland Manitoulin District, were also transferred to Sudbury District in 2006, about 1,600 square kilometres (600 sq mi) in all.^[2]

Geography

The district has an area of 3,073.54 square kilometres (1,186.70 sq mi),^[1] making it the smallest district in Ontario. It is in the northern part of Lake Huron, separated from the mainland by the North Channel to the north and by the Georgian Bay to the east.

Islands included within the district are:^[3]

• Barrie Island
• Bedford Island
• Burnt Islands (Big and Northwest)
• Clapperton Island
• Club Island
• Cockburn Island
• Duck Islands (Great, Middle, Outer, and Western)
• East Rous Island
• Fitzwilliam Island
• Goat Island
• Great La Cloche Island
• Greene Island
• Henry Island
• Heywood Island
• Manitoulin Island
• Rabbit Island
• Strawberry Island
• Thibault Island
• Vidal Island
• Wall Island
• Yeo Island

Subdivisions

Gore Bay

Towns:

• Gore Bay
• Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands

Townships:

• Assiginack
• Billings
• Burpee and Mills
• Central Manitoulin
• Cockburn Island
• Gordon/Barrie Island
• Tehkummah

Unorganized areas:

• Manitoulin, Unorganized, Mainland (dissolved in 2006)
• Manitoulin, Unorganized, West Part, includes these two geographic townships (each served by its own, separate local services board):
  • Dawson
  • Robinson

First Nations

Reserves:

• M'Chigeeng (West Bay)
• Sheguiandah
• Sheshegwaning
• Aundeck Omni Kaning
• Whitefish River
• Wikwemikong
• Zhiibaahaasing (Cockburn Island)

Communities

• Advance
• Bass Creek
• Bidwell
• Big Lake
• Bowser's Corner
• Britainville
• Burnt Island
• Burpee
• Clover Valley
• Cold Springs
• Cook's Dock
• Dinner Point Depot
• Dryden's Corner
• Eads Bush
• Eagles Nest
• Elizabeth Bay
• Evansville
• Fernlee
• Foxey
• Gibraltar
• Green Bay
• Grimsthorpe
• Hilly Grove
• Honora
• Ice Lake
• Kagawong
• Little Current
• Long Bay
• Manitowaning
• Meldrum Bay
• Michael's Bay
• Mindemoya
• Monument Corner
• Old Spring Bay
• Perivale
• Pleasant Valley
• Poplar
• Providence Bay
• Rockville
• Sandfield
• Sheguiandah
• Silver Water
• The Slash
• Snowville
• South Baymouth
• Spring Bay
• Squirrel Town
• Tobacco Lake
• Tolsmaville
• Turner
• Vanzant's Point

Demographics

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Manitoulin District had a population of 13,935 living in 6,144 of its 9,302 total private dwellings, a change of 5.1% from its 2016 population of 13,255. With a land area of 3,073.54 km² (1,186.70 sq mi), it had a population density of 4.5/km² (11.7/sq mi) in 2021.^[1]

Canada census – Manitoulin District community profile

	2021	2016	2011
Population	13,935 (+5.1% from 2016)	13,255 (+1.6% from 2011)	13,048 (3.3% from 2006)
Land area	3,073.54 km2 (1,186.70 sq mi)	3,107.23 km2 (1,199.71 sq mi)	3,107.11 km2 (1,199.66 sq mi)
Population density	4.5/km2 (12/sq mi)	4.3/km2 (11/sq mi)	4.2/km2 (11/sq mi)
Median age	51.6 (M: 50.8, F: 52.0)	49.5 (M: 49.0, F: 49.9)	46.6 (M: 46.2, F: 47.1)
Private dwellings	9,302 (total)  6,144 (occupied)	9,537 (total)  5,748 (occupied)	9281 (total)
Median household income	$63,600	$50,227

Notes: 2006 population adjusted for 2011 boundaries is 12,632.
References: 2021^[4] 2016^[5] 2011^[6]

Historical census populations – Manitoulin District

Year Pop. ±% 1921 10,468 —     1931 10,734 +2.5% 1941 10,841 +1.0% 1951 11,214 +3.4% 1956 11,060 −1.4% 1961 11,176 +1.0%	Year Pop. ±% 1966 10,544 −5.7% 1971 10,931 +3.7% 1976 10,893 −0.3% 1981 11,001 +1.0% 1986 9,823 −10.7% 1991 11,192 +13.9%	Year Pop. ±% 1996 11,413 +2.0% 2001 12,679 +11.1% 2006 13,090 +3.2% 2011 13,048 −0.3% 2016 13,255 +1.6% 2021 13,935 +5.1%
Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes. Source: Statistics Canada[1][7]

Services

Like the other districts of Northern Ontario, the Manitoulin District does not have a county or regional municipality tier of government. All services in the district are provided either by the individual municipalities or directly by the provincial government. Services are provided jointly with the Sudbury District from its district seat in Espanola.

Transportation

King's Highways:

• #6

Secondary Highways:

• #540
• #540A
• #540B
• #542
• #542A
• #551

Media

The district is served by two weekly community newspapers, the Manitoulin Expositor in Little Current and the Manitoulin West Recorder in Gore Bay; the papers are sister publications both owned and operated by the McCutcheon family.

The district is served by the commercial radio stations CFRM-FM and CHAW-FM, the First Nations community radio station CHYF-FM, and the Elliot Lake-based commercial radio station CKNR-FM. It is otherwise primarily served by media from Sudbury, including the Sudbury Star and CTV Northern Ontario.

See also

• List of townships in Ontario
• Manitoulin Streams Improvement Association - A not-for-profit group that rehabilitates streams, rivers, and creeks on Manitoulin Island.
• List of secondary schools in Ontario § Manitoulin District