Ajax
Town (lower-tier)
Town of Ajax
Aerial view of Ajax
Logo
Motto:  Town of Ajax by the Lake
Interactive map of Ajax neighbourhoods
Coordinates: 43°51′30″N 79°02′11″W / 43.85833°N 79.03639°W / 43.85833; -79.03639[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Regional Municipality	Durham
Established	1955 (1955)
Government
• Mayor	Shaun Collier
• Governing body	Ajax Town Council
• MP	Mark Holland (Ajax)
• MPPs	Patrice Barnes (Ajax)
Area [2]
• Land	66.64 km2 (25.73 sq mi)
Elevation	90 m (300 ft)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	126,666 (Ranked 44th)
• Density	1,634.2/km2 (4,233/sq mi)
Demonym	Ajacian
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal Code FSA	L1S, L1T, L1Z
Area codes	905, 289, 365, and 742
Website	www.ajax.ca

Ajax (/ˈeɪdʒæks/; 2021 population: 126,666) is a waterfront town in Durham Region in Southern Ontario, Canada, located in the eastern part of the Greater Toronto Area.^[1]

The town is named for HMS Ajax, a Royal Navy cruiser that served in the Second World War. It is approximately 11 kilometres (7 mi) east of Toronto on the shores of Lake Ontario and is bordered by the City of Pickering to the west and north, and the Town of Whitby to the east.

History

The indigenous peoples were active in the watersheds of the Duffins Creek and the Carruthers Creek since the Archaic period (7000-1000 BCE), although they did not build any major settlements in the area, presumably because of the poor navigability of these streams.^[3][4][5] In 1760, French Sulpician missionaries from Ganatsekwyagon reached the Duffins Creek area, but did not settle there.^[6]

After the British conquest of New France in 1760, the area became part of the Pickering Township. Mike Duffin, an Irish fur trader, is the earliest known European to have settled in the area, in the 1770s.^[7] The conversion of the main local trail into the Kingston Road in 1799 contributed to increased settlement in what is now Ajax.^[8] In the first half of the 19th century, the Pickering Village, now a neighbourhood in Ajax, evolved as the major population centre of the Township, supported by a timber and agricultural boom. In 1807, Timothy Rogers led Quaker families to settle in the area, and built saw and grist mills on the banks of the Duffins Creek.^[9] The War of 1812 increased military traffic on the Kingston Road, resulting in a better-maintained road, and leading to further development of the area.^[10]

In the mid-19th century, Audley, a smaller community, emerged as a stopover on the route to the port of Whitby.^[11] By the 20th century, much of the area of present-day Ajax had been converted into farmland. In 1926, James Tuckett of Toronto bought lakeshore farmland, and started the development of the Pickering Beach cottage community, which later became a permanent settlement.^[12]

After the start of the World War II in 1939, the Government of Canada expropriated most of the farmland in what is now southern part of Ajax, to establish the Defence Industries Limited Pickering Works munitions plant.^[13][14] Operated by Defence Industries Limited (DIL), the government-owned plant employed workers from different parts of Canada.^[15][16] The plant site, along with the residences and the facilities established for the workers, evolved into a self-contained community, whose residents called it a "village". As part of a contest, the DIL employee Frank Holroyd suggested the name "Ajax" for the community, in honour of the British warship HMS Ajax which had fought against the powerful Nazi battleship Admiral Graf Spee at the Battle of the River Plate in 1939.^[17][18]

After the plant shut down in 1945, the site was used as a war surplus warehouse and sales outlet,^[19] a University of Toronto campus (1946-1949),^[20] and a holding camp for war refugees from Europe (1949-1953).^[21] The government mandated the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to develop the site and its surrounding area into a modern industrial town. George Finley, the CMHC manager of the area, planned new housing subdivisions, commercial centres, and industrial areas.^[22]

In 1950, Ajax was incorporated as an Improvement District, a form of local administration managed by the Lieutenant Governor's appointees.^[23] The Improvement District Board created the community's first by-laws and hired employees for the local administration. In August 1954, as a result of a campaign by the Ajax Citizens Association, the Ontario Municipal Board declared Ajax a town, granting it full municipal status.^[24] The first town council members were elected on 11 December 1954, and assumed office on 1 January 1955. The first mayor of the town was Benjamin de Forest Bayly, better known as Pat Bayly.^[25]

In the early 1970s, the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (MTRCA) acquired much of the land along the lakeshore. In the Pickering Beach area, several homes, a church, and a school were demolished to make way for a parkland.^[26]

On 1 January 1974, Ajax became a part of the newly formed Regional Municipality of Durham, which manages functions common to multiple municipalities in the region. The boundaries of the town of Ajax were expanded to include several areas of the former Pickering Township, including Pickering Village, Pickering Beach, and Audley.^[27]

Geography

Ajax is bordered to the west and north by the City of Pickering, to the east by the Town of Whitby and to the south by Lake Ontario.

Neighbourhoods

The town is made up of the following neighbourhoods:^[28]

Downtown Ajax

Ajax Council and a private developer entered into an agreement in 2012 for the purchase and sale of 9 acres (3.6 ha) of vacant town-owned land at the corner of Bayly Street and Harwood Avenue. Called "Pat Bayly Square", it will provide residential, retail and office space, as well as a civic square and civic facility.^[29] Pat Bayly Square opened in September 2018.

Local government

Ajax is governed by an elected town Council consisting of a Mayor, and local Councillors representing each of the town's three wards. In addition, three Regional Councillors each represent a ward each. The Mayor and the Regional Councillors sit on both Ajax Town Council and Durham Region Council.

The members of the council elected in the 2022 municipal election are:^[30]

Mayor: Shaun Collier

Regional Councillors:

• Ward 1: Marilyn Crawford
• Ward 2: Sterling Lee
• Ward 3: Joanne Dies

Councillors:

• Ward 1: Rob Tyler-Morin
• Ward 2: Nancy Henry
• Ward 3: Lisa Bower

In the past, Council has sat for a three-year term, but the Ontario Legislature increased the length of municipal council terms in Ontario to four years, in 2006.^[31] In 2018, Ajax Council shifted from two regional councillors and four local councillors to three regional councillors and three local councillors.^[32]

Demographics

Historical populations

Year	Pop.	±%
1956	5,683	—
1961	7,755	+36.5%
1971	12,515	+61.4%
1981	25,474	+103.5%
1986	36,550	+43.5%
1991	57,350	+56.9%
1996	64,430	+12.3%
2001	73,753	+14.5%
2006	90,167	+22.3%
2011	109,600	+21.6%
2016	119,677	+9.2%
2021	126,666	+5.8%
[33][34]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Ajax had a population of 126,666 living in 39,488 of its 40,275 total private dwellings, a change of 5.8% from its 2016 population of 119,677. With a land area of 66.64 km² (25.73 sq mi), it had a population density of 1,900.8/km² (4,922.9/sq mi) in 2021.^[35]

According to the 2021 Census, the median age is 38.4 years, around 3 years less than the national average of 41.6 years; 18.8% of the population is under 15 years of age while 13.1% are 65 and over.^[36]

According to the 2016 Census, among those 25 to 64 years old, the highest levels of education are as follows: 66.6% of people have a post-secondary certificate, diploma, or degree, 25.3% have a high school diploma or equivalency certificate, and 8.2% have no certificate, diploma, or degree.^[37]

As of 2021, the median value of dwellings in Ajax is $850,000 compared to the provincial median value of $700,496, and the national figure of $472,000.^[36]

As of 2021, 92% of Ajax's residents are Canadian citizens, with 42% being immigrants. 8% of the population immigrated between 2011 and 2021. The main places of birth of the immigrant population are India (13%), Sri Lanka (11%), Jamaica (10%), Philippines (8%), Pakistan (8%), Guyana (6%), United Kingdom (5%), Trinidad and Tobago (4%), Afghanistan (4%), and China (3%). Among the 5010 recent immigrants, who immigrated between 2016 and 2021, 34% were from India.^[36]

Ethnicity

According to the 2021 Census, the main self-reported ethnic and cultural origins included English (12%), Indian (10%), Canadian (9%), Irish (9%), Scottish (9%), Jamaican (6%), Filipino (5%), Pakistani (5%), Sri Lankan (4%), Chinese (4%), and Tamil (4%). 65% of the town's population comprises visible minority, with the biggest of these groups being South Asian (26.2%), Black (16.8%), Filipino (5.3%), Chinese (3%), West Asian (3%), Arab (2%), and Latin American (1.3%). 3% of the people identify as belonging to multiple visible minority groups. Those with only indigenous ancestry make up 0.23% of the population, while those with mixed indigenous and non-indigenous ancestry make up 1.03% of the population.^[36] Ajax has the highest Black population percentage of any major Canadian municipality (population above 100,000).^{[citation needed]}

Panethnic groups in the Town of Ajax (2001−2021)

Panethnic group	2021[38]		2016[39]		2011[40]		2006[41]		2001[42]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
European[a]	43,415	34.39%	50,450	42.33%	58,145	53.24%	57,125	63.59%	55,280	75.19%
South Asian	33,055	26.18%	24,895	20.89%	15,025	13.76%	9,735	10.84%	4,035	5.49%
African	21,210	16.8%	19,860	16.66%	17,510	16.03%	11,680	13%	7,090	9.64%
Southeast Asian[b]	7,495	5.94%	6,350	5.33%	5,465	5%	3,115	3.47%	1,525	2.07%
Middle Eastern[c]	6,250	4.95%	4,880	4.09%	2,935	2.69%	1,855	2.06%	1,200	1.63%
East Asian[d]	4,240	3.36%	3,790	3.18%	3,065	2.81%	2,430	2.7%	1,570	2.14%
Latin American	1,695	1.34%	1,670	1.4%	1,065	0.98%	705	0.78%	415	0.56%
Indigenous	1,270	1.01%	1,190	1%	1,080	0.99%	705	0.78%	370	0.5%
Other[e]	7,615	6.03%	6,095	5.11%	4,925	4.51%	2,485	2.77%	2,040	2.77%
Total responses	126,245	99.67%	119,180	99.58%	109,220	99.65%	89,835	99.63%	73,520	99.68%
Total population	126,666	100%	119,677	100%	109,600	100%	90,167	100%	73,753	100%

• Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses.

Religion

According to the 2021 Census, the largest religion in Ajax is Christianity (50.83%), with Catholics making up the largest group (22.25%). The next most reported religions are Islam (14.08%) and Hinduism (11.62%). 20.77% of the population reported no religious affiliation.^[36]

Language

According to the 2021 census, English is the most commonly understood language in the town, with 97.97% of the people knowing it. It is also the most common mother tongue: 64.79% of the people consider English as their only mother tongue, plus 5.75% consider English and another language as their mother tongues. Other common languages include the following:^[36]

Mother tongue (2021 Census)^[36]

Language	Population	%
English (including multiple responses)	89180	70.55%
Tamil	6355	5.03%
Urdu	4620	3.65%
Tagalog (Filipino)	2840	2.25%
French (including multiple responses)	2340	1.85%
Dari	1910	1.51%
Arabic	1540	1.22%
Gujarati	1515	1.20%
Spanish	1300	1.03%
Mandarin	1280	1.01%
Punjabi	1220	0.97%
Bengali	1150	0.91%
Hindi	1020	0.81%
Yue (Cantonese)	1005	0.80%
Italian	690	0.55%

Knowledge of language (2021 Census)^[36]

Language	Population	%
English	123690	97.97%
French	9500	7.52%
Tamil	9145	7.24%
Urdu	8040	6.37%
Hindi	5725	4.53%
Tagalog (Filipino)	4350	3.45%
Punjabi	2860	2.27%
Dari	2665	2.11%
Arabic	2635	2.09%
Spanish	2315	1.83%
Gujarati	2130	1.69%
Mandarin	2030	1.61%
Bengali	1780	1.41%
Yue (Cantonese)	1295	1.03%
Italian	1070	0.85%

Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Ajax,_Ontario
Text je dostupný za podmienok Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0 Unported; prípadne za ďalších podmienok. Podrobnejšie informácie nájdete na stránke Podmienky použitia.

---