A police village was a form of municipal government that was used in the province of Ontario, Canada in the early 19th century if the finances or the population of an area did not permit the creation of a village.
Formation
In the early 19th century, the Parliament of Upper Canada established "boards of police" in municipalities that were not large enough to justify the creation of a municipal council.
[as in the case of Brockville: ]
The creation of "police villages" was authorized in 1850 upon the passage of the Baldwin Act by the Parliament of the Province of Canada,
The rules governing the formation of police villages were as follows:
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A county council, upon the petition of a sufficient number of property owners and tenants, could erect a locality into a police village, so long as it had a population of not less than 150, and an area of not more than .
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Where the locality straddled two or more counties, the council of the county that had the largest portion of the locality was the one that could establish the police village.
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If the area was less than , the council could later increase the size up to that limit.
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If the population later exceeded 500, upon the petition of two thirds of the owners and tenants, the area could be increased beyond that limit at the rate of per 100 in population.
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If an expansion of a police village involved an extension into another county, it could not occur without the consent of the other county council.
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After the Ontario Municipal Board was established, such erections and expansions could not occur without its approval, and it also had direct power to erect and expand police villages if a county council has failed to act on a petition and if the locality was within one of the provisional judicial districts.
Almost all of the communities that once held that status have since been erected into villages, towns, or cities or amalgamated into other municipalities. Russell still exists as such a body.
Police villages were dissolved with provincial acts creating new municipalities. In 1971, the creation of York Region resulted in the dissolution of Holland Landing, King City, Maple, Mount Albert, Nobleton, Queensville, Schomberg, Sharon, Thornhill, and Unionville as police villages.
Benefits of police village status
Police village status allowed a community to establish its own council to direct spending on local priorities, such as roadways, sidewalks, drainage, lighting, sanitation, fire protection, and policing.
Police villages
| + Former police villages by historical county in Ontario |
|
| Brant County |
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Burford
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St. George
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Scotland
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Tutela (1914)
[Since amalgamated with Brantford]
|
Carleton County |
-
City View (1954)
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Cumberland
-
Kenmore
-
Manotick (1903)
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Metcalfe (1898)
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Navan
-
North Gower (1905)
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Rockcliffe Park (1908)
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Osgoode (1910)
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Overbrook (1922)
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St-Joseph d'Orléans (1922)
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Champlain Park (1912)
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Sarsfield
-
Stittsville (1956)
-
Vars
|
| Elgin County |
-
Belmont
[Shared with Middlesex County until 1949]
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Port Burwell (1900)
|
Essex County |
-
Amherstburg
-
Comber
-
Cottam
-
Harrow
-
Seacliffe
-
Stoney Point
|
Haldimand County |
-
Canfield
-
Fisherville
-
Selkirk
|
| Halton County |
-
Bronte
[as acknowledged in ]
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Campbellville (1914)
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Eden Mills (1930)
[Shared with Wellington County until 1974][withdrawn from Halton under ]
|
| Hastings County |
-
Belleville (1834)
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Frankford (1854)
|
| Huron County |
-
Auburn
[, at s. 9]
-
Crediton
-
Centralia
-
Dashwood
[, at s. 7]
|
| Kent County | |
| Lambton County |
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Brigden (unknown)
-
Corunna (unknown)
-
Inwood (unknown)
-
Sombra
-
Courtright
|
| United Counties of Leeds & Grenville |
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Brockville (1832)
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Lyn
[, at s. 8]
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Prescott (1834)
-
Spencerville
[, at s. 7]
|
Lincoln County |
-
Campden
-
Jordan
-
Jordan Station
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Queenston
-
St. Davids
-
Smithville (1914)
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Vineland
|
| Middlesex County |
-
Kerwood
-
Lambeth (unknown)
|
Norfolk County | |
United Counties of Northumberland and Durham | |
Ontario County |
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Cannington (1870-1878)
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Claremont (1908-1968)
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Pickering (1900)
[Incorporated as a village in 1953, then amalgamated with the Town of Ajax in 1974]
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Sunderland (1900)
|
Oxford County |
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Beachville
-
Bright
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Burgessville
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Drumbo
-
Innerkip
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Otterville
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Plattsville
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Princeton
-
Thamesford
-
Tillsonburg
[noted in ]
|
Peel County |
|
| Perth County | |
| United Counties of Prescott and Russell |
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Embrun (1908)
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Russell (1898)
|
| Renfrew County | |
Simcoe County |
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Angus
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Everett
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Hawkestone
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Hillsdale
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Nottawa
-
Thornton
|
| United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry |
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Aultsville
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Avonmore
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Williamsburg
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Winchester Springs
|
| Victoria County |
|
Waterloo County |
-
Baden
-
Conestoga
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Linwood
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St. Clements
-
St. Jacobs
|
Welland County |
-
Crystal Beach (1898)
[as acknowledged in ]
-
Fenwick
|
| Wellington County |
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Belwood
-
Hillsburgh
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Moorefield
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Rockwood (1903)
|
Wentworth County |
-
Ancaster (1852)
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Freelton (unknown)
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Lynden (unknown)
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Mount Hope (unknown)
|
York County |
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Buttonville (unknown)
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Holland Landing (unknown)
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King City (1934
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Kingsdale
[, later repealed by ]
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Maple (1928)
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Mount Albert (unknown)
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Markham (Village) (1873)
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Mimico (1905)
[established as a village in January 1911; erected into a town in May 1917 (); amalgamated into the Etobicoke in January 1967 ()]
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Nobleton (unknown)
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Queensville (unknown)
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Schomberg (25 March 1899)
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Sharon (unknown)
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Thistletown (1933)
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Thornhill (1931)
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Unionville (1907)
|
Further reading
External links
