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Brampton is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within the Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 census, making it the ninth most populous municipality in Canada and the third most populous city in the Greater Golden Horseshoe urban area, behind Toronto and Mississauga. The City of Brampton is bordered by Vaughan to the east, Halton Hills to the west, Caledon to the north, Mississauga to the south, and Etobicoke (Toronto) to the southeast.
Named after the town of Brampton in Cumberland, England, Brampton was incorporated as a village in 1853 and as a town in 1873, and became a city in 1974. The modern City of Brampton was formed following an amalgamation of several surrounding townships and communities.
The city was once known as "The Flower Town of Canada", a title referring to its abundance of greenhouses and strong floriculture industry in the 1860s. It maintains the term "Flower City" as its slogan.
In recent times, the city has experienced large population growth. Despite being built as a Car dependency city, Brampton has a significant Brampton Transit system, with a ridership of 49,200,800, or about 226,500 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
Prior to the 1830s, most business in Chinguacousy Township took place at Martin Salisbury's tavern. One mile from the corner of Hurontario Street and the 5th Sideroad (now Main and Queen Streets in the centre of Brampton), William Buffy's tavern was the only significant building. At the time, the intersection was referred to as "Buffy's Corners". By 1834, John Elliott laid out the area in lots for sale, calling it "Brampton", which was soon adopted by others."Brampton's Beginning" in Bramptons's 100th Anniversary as an Incorporated Town: 1873–1973, Brampton: The Corporation of the Town of Brampton and the Brampton Centennial Committee, 1973, originally published in Ross Cumming, ed., Historical Atlas of Peel County, n.p.: Walker and Miles, 1877.
In 1853, a small agricultural fair was set up by the newly initiated County Agricultural Society of the County of Peel and was held at the corner of Main and Queen streets. Grains, produce, roots, and dairy products were up for sale. Horses and cattle, along with other lesser livestock, were also sold at the market. This agricultural fair eventually became the modern Brampton Fall Fair.
In that same year, Brampton was incorporated as a village. In 1866, the town became the county seat and the location of the Peel County Courthouse which was built in 1865–66; a three-storey County jail was added at the rear in 1867.
Edward Dale, an immigrant from Dorking, England, established a flower nursery in Brampton shortly after his arrival in 1863. Dale's Nursery became the town's largest and most prominent employer, developed a flower grading system, and established a global export market for its products. The company chimney was a town landmark, until Brampton Town Council allowed it to be torn down in 1977. At its height, the company had 140 greenhouses, and was the largest Floriculture business in North America, producing 20 million blooms and introducing numerous rose and orchid cultivar to the market. It also spurred the development of other nurseries in the town. Forty-eight hothouse flower nurseries once did business in the town.
In January 1867, Peel County separated from the County of York, a union which had existed since 1851. By 1869, Brampton had a population of 1,800.The province of Ontario gazetteer and directory. H. McEvoy Editor and Compiler, Toronto : Robertson & Cook, Publishers, 1869 It was incorporated as a town in 1873.
The town of Brampton had problems with inadequate water supply in its early years, as the town relied on shallow wells for not just residential water, but commercial use and fire-fighting. In 1878, government-appointed water commissioners identified Snell's Lake (the present-day Heart Lake, named after the property owner at the time) nearly north of town as a good source for the city's water supply, and worked with property owners to build a pipeline from Heart Lake to town, supplying Brampton with water. A Brampton Water Works filtration plant was built south of the lake, located where present-day White Spruce Park is. Today the city uses water from other sources, and Heart Lake is now the centerpiece of Heart Lake Conservation Area.
A federal grant had enabled the village to found its first public library in 1887, which included 360 volumes from the Mechanic's Institute (established in 1858). In 1907, the library received a grant from the Carnegie Foundation, set up by United States steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, to build a new, expanded library; it serves several purposes, featuring the Brampton Library. The Carnegie libraries were built on the basis of communities coming up with matching funds and guaranteeing maintenance.
In 1902, Sir William J. Gage (owner of Gage Publishing, a publishing house specializing in school textbooks) purchased a portion of the gardens and lawns of the Alder Lea estate (now called Alderlea) that had been built on Main Street by Kenneth Chisolm in 1867 to 1870. (Chisholm, a merchant and founding father of Brampton, had been the Town reeve, then warden of Peel County, then MPP for Brampton and eventually, Registrar of Peel County.) Gage donated of the property to the town, with a specific condition that it be made into a park. Citizens donated $1,054 and the town used the funds to purchase extra land to ensure a larger park.
A group of regional farmers in Brampton had trouble getting insurance from city-based companies. After several meetings in Clairville Hall, they decided to found the County of Peel Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company. In 1955, when the company moved to its third and current location, 103 Queen Street West, it took the new name of Peel Mutual Insurance Company. It reigns as the longest-running company in modern Brampton. Harmsworth Decorating Centre was established in 1890, as Harmsworth and Son, operated out of the family's house on Queen Street West. The current location was purchased on September 1, 1904, after a fire destroyed their original store. Purchased for $1,400, the 24 Main Street South location is the longest-operating retail business in what is now Brampton.
In 1974, the two townships of Chinguacousy and Toronto Gore were incorporated into Brampton. The small pine added to the centre of the shield on the Brampton city flag represents Chinguacousy, honouring the Chippewa chief Shinguacose, "The Small Pine." After this merger, outlying communities such as Bramalea, Heart Lake and Professor's Lake, Snelgrove, Tullamore, and Marysfield, were incorporated into the City, and in some instances further developed.
In 1963, the town established The Flower Festival of Brampton, based on the Rose Festival of Portland, Oregon, in the United States. It began to market itself as the Flower Town of Canada.
In a revival of this theme, on June 24, 2002, the City Council established the "Flower City Strategy", to promote a connection to its flower-growing heritage. The intention was to inspire design projects and community landscaping to beautify the city, adopt a sustainable environmental approach, and to protect its natural and cultural heritage. The Rose Theatre was named in keeping with this vision and is to serve as a cultural institution in the city. In addition, the city participates in the national Communities in Bloom competition as part of that strategy.
The Old Shoe Factory, located at 57 Mill Street North, once housed the Hewetson Shoe Company. It was listed as a historical property under the Ontario Heritage Act in 2008. Today it is occupied by various small businesses. The lobby and hallways retain details from 1907. Walls are decorated with pictures and artifacts of local Brampton history and old shoemaking equipment.Hewetson Shoe Factory. City of Brampton.
A self-guided historical walking tour of downtown Brampton called "A Walk Through Time" "A Walk Through Time" , City of Brampton, c.2010 is available at Brampton City Hall and online at no cost.
The community was developed according to its detailed master plan, which included provisions for a parkland trail system and a "downtown" to include essential services and a shopping centre. The downtown's centrepiece was the Civic Centre, built in 1972 to include the city hall and library. Directly across Team Canada Drive, a shopping centre, Bramalea City Centre was built. These developments were connected by a long tunnel, planned to provide protection from winter weather. The tunnel has long since been closed due to safety issues.
The province converted Peel County into the Regional Municipality of Peel. Brampton retained its role as the administrative centre of Peel Region, which it already had as county seat. The regional council chamber, the Peel Regional Police force, the public health department, and the region's only major museum, the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives, are all located in Brampton.
This change had its critics among those with a strong sense of local identities. Bramptonians feared urban sprawl would dissolve their town's personality. Bramalea residents took pride in the built-from-scratch and organised structure that had come with their new satellite city and did not want to give it up. Others in Bramalea accept they are part of Brampton, and they make up a "tri-city" area: the original Brampton, Heart Lake, Bramalea.
In 1972, Chinguacousy built a new civic centre in Bramalea. Two years later, when Brampton and Chinguacousy merged, the new city's council was moved from its modest downtown Brampton locale to the Bramalea building. The library systems of Brampton and Chinguacousy were merged, resulting in a system of four locations.
Some have questioned the future of Peel Region as encompassing all of Brampton, Mississauga, and Caledon. The Mississauga council, led by Mayor Hazel McCallion, voted to become a single-tier municipality and asked the provincial government to be separated from Peel Region. They argued the city has outgrown the need for a regional layer of government, and that Mississauga is being held back by supporting Brampton and Caledon with its municipal taxes.
Carabram was founded in 1982, the result of volunteers from different ethnic communities wanting to organize a festival celebrating diversity and cross-cultural friendship. The name was loosely related to Toronto's Caravan Festival of Cultures. Carabram's first event featured Italy, Scottish people, Ukraine, and West Indian pavilions. By 2003, the fair had 18 pavilions attracting 45,000 visitors.
Brampton has grown to become one of the most diverse cities in Canada. In 1996, the city was 13% South Asian and 8.2% black. By 2016, the South Asian community grew significantly to represent 44.3% of the city's population, while the black population grew to 14%.Census Profile, 2016 Census Brampton, Ontario, and Peel, Regional Municipality, Ontario Responding to a growing multi-cultural population, the Peel Board of Education introduced evening English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at high schools. Originally taught by volunteers, the classes eventually were scheduled as daytime courses taught by paid instructors. In the 1980s, the public and Catholic board expanded its language programs, offering night classes in 23 languages. These were introduced due to requests by parents, who wanted their children to learn their ancestral languages and heritage.
In the late 1980s, Mayor Ken Whillans gained approval and funding for the construction of a new city hall in Brampton's downtown. The facility was designed by local architects and built on the site of a former bus terminal. Whillians did not get to see the opening of the new hall in June 1991 because of his death in August 1990. Its completion brought the municipal government back to downtown Brampton. The facility expanded in 2014 with the addition of a nine-storey tower at 41 George Street and is connected to the original building by a glass walkway called Heritage Way.
In 1991, development of another new town, Springdale, began. In 1999, development started to appear as far north as the city's border with Caledon along Mayfield Road. The Region designated this border as the line of demarcation for urban development until 2021, although development already began spilling north of Mayfield in the late 2010s. Part of the boundary between Brampton and Vaughan is also nearly completely urbanized.
Changes continue to reflect the growth of the city. In 1992 the City purchased the Brampton Fairgrounds, to be used for other development. The Agricultural Society relocated in 1997 outside the boundaries of the city to Heart Lake and Old School roads.
Brampton's 2003 Sesquicentennial celebrations boosted community spirit, reviving the tradition of a summer parade (with 100 floats), and creating other initiatives. To commemorate the town's history, the city under Mayor Fennell reintroduced floral projects to the community. These have included more plantings around town, the revival in 2005 of the city Parade, and participation in the Canada Communities in Bloom project.
Data from Toronto Pearson International Airport, located east.
Data is from Georgetown, located south-southwest.
| + Panethnicity groups in the City of Brampton (1996−2021) ! rowspan="2" | Panethnicity group ! colspan="2" | 2021 ! colspan="2" | 2016 ! colspan="2" | 2011 ! colspan="2" | 2006 ! colspan="2" | 2001 ! colspan="2" | 1996 | |||||||
| South Asian | 340,815 | 261,705 | 200,220 | 136,750 | 63,205 | 34,720 | ||||||||
| European | 123,060 | 153,390 | 171,655 | 182,760 | 192,395 | 186,270 | ||||||||
| African-Canadian | 85,310 | 82,175 | 70,290 | 53,340 | 32,070 | 21,810 | ||||||||
| 30,155 | 28,525 | 26,535 | 18,110 | 9,970 | 6,990 | |||||||||
| Middle Eastern | 13,715 | 11,320 | 7,610 | 5,475 | 2,935 | 1,995 | ||||||||
| Latin American | 13,490 | 14,045 | 11,405 | 8,545 | 5,225 | 2,595 | ||||||||
| East Asian | 8,000 | 9,915 | 9,235 | 8,930 | 6,595 | 6,100 | ||||||||
| Indigenous | 3,255 | 4,330 | 3,430 | 2,665 | 1,720 | 950 | ||||||||
| Other/Multiracial | 32,370 | 25,535 | 20,940 | 14,995 | 10,290 | 5,740 | ||||||||
| English language | 279,415 | 42.9 |
| Punjabi language | 141,005 | 21.7 |
| Gujarati | 22,000 | 3.4 |
| Urdu | 21,945 | 3.4 |
| Hindi | 19,645 | 3 |
| Tamil language | 14,030 | 2.2 |
| Spanish language | 10,185 | 1.6 |
| Tagalog language | 9,905 | 1.5 |
| Portuguese | 8,640 | 1.3 |
| Italian language | 5,430 | 0.8 |
| Vietnamese | 4,230 | 0.6 |
| Arabic language | 4,100 | 0.6 |
| Malayalam | 3,930 | 0.6 |
| French language | 3,810 | 0.6 |
| Polish language | 3,430 | 0.5 |
| Bengali language | 3,060 | 0.5 |
| Telugu language | 2,920 | 0.4 |
| Cantonese | 2,775 | 0.4 |
| Akan language | 2,530 | 0.4 |
| Dari | 2,305 | 0.4 |
| Mandarin Chinese | 2,195 | 0.3 |
| Nepali language | 1,945 | 0.3 |
| Suret language | 1,940 | 0.3 |
| Sinhala language | 1,555 | 0.2 |
| Serbo-Croatian | 1,385 | 0.2 |
| English language | 618,060 | 95.1 |
| Punjabi language | 189,235 | 29.1 |
| Hindi | 113,515 | 17.5 |
| Urdu | 38,725 | 6 |
| Gujarati | 30,310 | 4.7 |
| French language | 30,010 | 4.6 |
| Tamil language | 21,475 | 3.3 |
| Spanish language | 15,395 | 2.4 |
| Tagalog language | 14,925 | 2.3 |
| Portuguese | 11,765 | 1.8 |
| Italian language | 8,905 | 1.4 |
| Arabic | 8,475 | 1.3 |
| Malayalam | 6,090 | 0.9 |
| Vietnamese | 6,030 | 0.9 |
| Telugu language | 5,540 | 0.9 |
| Bengali language | 5,080 | 0.8 |
| Akan language | 4,555 | 0.7 |
| Polish language | 4,150 | 0.6 |
| Cantonese | 3,680 | 0.6 |
| Mandarin Chinese | 3,660 | 0.6 |
| Dari | 3,350 | 0.5 |
| Marathi language | 3,185 | 0.5 |
| Yoruba language | 3,050 | 0.5 |
| Sinhala language | 2,540 | 0.4 |
| Suret language | 2,440 | 0.4 |
Other major companies operating in Brampton include, Boston Scientific, DSV, Air Canada Global Operations, Rogers Communications, Magna International, CN Rail Brampton Intermodal Terminal, Best Buy, Amazon which has four production facilities in the city, Nestlé, Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), Frito-Lay, Coca-Cola, and Canadian Tire which has two distribution facilities in the city.
William Osler Health System employs approximately 5,000 at its Brampton Civic and Peel Memorial campuses.
Lululemon, and Pet Valu have their main GTA distribution centres in the city. Wolseley Plumbing built a distribution Center and showroom in Brampton in 2024.
Alstom has an assembly plant in Brampton to fulfil their contract with Metrolinx to build Alstom Citadis Spirit LRV cars for the TTC Finch West (ordered in 2017 with delivery beginning 2021 to be completed by 2023), Hurontario LRT and Eglinton LRT lines. The Hurontario LRT maintenance facility is currently being built in Brampton.
It is also the location of the Canadian Forces Army Reserve unit The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment).
An automobile manufacturing facility was opened by American Motors (AMC) in 1960 as the Brampton Assembly Plant. In 1986, AMC developed a new, state-of-the-art operation at Bramalea. After AMC was acquired by Chrysler in 1987, AMC's Canadian division and its plants were absorbed; the older facility in Brampton closed in 1992. The newest factory was renamed Brampton Assembly; it is one of the city's largest employers, with almost 4,000 workers when running at capacity.
Along with that, Sheridan College's Davis Campus is another major public higher education institution serving Brampton which also has campuses in Oakville and Mississauga. In 2017, Davis added the Skilled Trades Centre, for training in skilled trades and apprenticeship programs, previously offered in Oakville.
A plan by Ryerson University, in partnership with Sheridan College was to establish a new campus in Brampton with a goal of opening in 2022 with $90 million in funding offered by the provincial government in April 2018. On 23 October 2018 however, the new Provincial government (elected in June) withdrew the funding for plans such as this, effectively cancelling the project. In 2022, the university, now renamed as Toronto Metropolitan, announced plans to open a medical school in Brampton. Brampton City Council gifted the university the Bramalea Civic Centre and most of the land it resides for this purpose.
Brampton also has many private post-secondary institutions offering vocational training including Springfield College Brampton, CDI College, TriOS College, Academy of Learning, Evergreen College, Medix College, CIMT College, Torbram College, Bitts International Career College, Canadian College of Business, Science & Technology, Hanson College, Queenswood College B, H & T, Flair College of Management and Technology, Sunview College, and College Of Health Studies.
Two main school boards operate in Brampton: the Peel District School Board, which operates secular English language public schools, and Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, which operates Catholic anglophone public schools. Under the Peel District School Board, the secondary schools are Bramalea, Brampton Centennial, Central Peel, Chinguacousy, Fletcher's Meadow, Harold M. Brathwaite, Heart Lake, Louise Arbour, Mayfield, North Park, Judith Nyman, Sandalwood Heights, Turner Fenton, David Suzuki, Castlebrooke Secondary School, and Jean Augustine, one of the newest. A total of 85 elementary and middle schools feed these high schools in the city.
Under the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, the secondary schools are Cardinal Leger, Holy Name of Mary, Notre Dame, St. Augustine, St. Edmund Campion, St. Roch, St. Marguerite d'Youville, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Cardinal Ambrozic. A total of 44 Catholic elementary and middle schools feed these high schools in the city.
The Conseil scolaire Viamonde operates secular Francophone schools serving the area. The Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir operates Catholic Francophone schools serving the area.
The Rose Theatre (originally the Brampton Performing Arts Centre), opened in September 2006. The city had expected the facility to generate $2.7 million in economic activity the first year, growing to $19.8 million by the fifth year. The Rose Theatre far surpassed projections, attracting more than 137,000 patrons in its inaugural year, which exceeded its five-year goal. The arrival of so many new patrons downtown has stimulated the development of numerous new businesses nearby. A new Fountain Stage was unveiled in June 2008 at the nearby Garden Square.
Brampton has eight library branches to serve its population.
Festivals in the city include the annual Festival of Literary Diversity, a literary festival devoted to writers from underrepresented groups such as people of colour and LGBTQ writers.Deborah Dundas, "Brampton's book fest The FOLD offers authors but also workshops and dancing". Toronto Star, April 30, 2019.
The Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives (PAMA) in Brampton includes a museum, art gallery, and archives. Since opening in 1968, the art gallery section (previously known as the Art Gallery of Peel) has exhibited local, national, and international artists, both contemporary and historical from their permanent collection.
The City of Brampton's long-standing heritage conservation program was recognised with the 2011 Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Award for Community Leadership. In 2010, the city received an 'honourable mention' under the same provincial awards program.
Major shopping areas include Bramalea City Centre, Shoppers World, and "big box centre" Trinity Commons. The downtown area has some retail; the Centennial Mall and the Brampton Mall are also of note.
The Brampton Guardian is the community's only newspaper, starting as the Bramalea Guardian in 1964. The city's first newspaper, The Daily Times, ceased publication in the early 1980s. For a little over a year, The Brampton Bulletin attempted to challenge the Guardian, but it was dismantled after a series of editor changes.
Brampton is the official city of license for two radio stations, CHLO and CFNY-FM. Both stations address their programming toward the entire Greater Toronto Area rather than exclusively to Brampton. CFNY was located upstairs at 83 Kennedy Road until moving to Toronto in 1996.
| +Sports teams of Brampton |
The numerous sporting venues and activities includes the outdoor ice path for ice skating through Gage Park. Chinguacousy Park includes a ski lift, a curling club, and Tennis Centre for multi-season activities. In the summer, amateur softball leagues abound. Crowds line the beaches at Professor's Lake for the annual outdoor "shagging" display.
Since 1967, the Brampton Canadettes have hosted the annual Brampton Canadettes Easter Tournament in hockey.
Brampton was also the host for the following major sports events:
There is GO Bus service to York University and subway stations at Yorkdale Mall and York Mills in Toronto. There are three GO Train stations in Brampton along the Kitchener line: Bramalea, Brampton and Mount Pleasant.
President of the Treasury Board Tony Clement spent time as a Brampton MPP. John McDermid held various cabinet positions under Brian Mulroney, Bal Gosal Minister of State-Sport, and former Mayor Linda Jeffrey held cabinet positions at the provincial level. Incumbent mayor Patrick Brown served as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and as leader of the official opposition from 2015 until 2018 prior to serving as mayor. He was also a federal MP and provincial MPP, but not for Brampton.
Ruby Dhalla represented the riding of Brampton—Springdale in the Canadian House of Commons from 2004 to 2011 as a member of the Liberal Party. Dhalla and British Columbia Conservative MP Nina Grewal were the first Sikh women to serve in the Canadian House of Commons. Parm Gill was elected as the member of parliament from the Conservative Party of Canada for the riding of Brampton-Springdale in 2011, who was also appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veteran Affairs in 2013.
Jagmeet Singh began his political career in Brampton running in two elections in 2011, defeated in the federal election in May but elected Member of Provincial Parliament for Bramalea—Gore—Malton in October. In 2015 he became deputy leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party. In 2017 he became party leader of the federal NDP, the first member of a visible minority to become permanent leader of a major federal party in Canada.
Visual arts notables from Brampton include etcher Caroline Helena Armington, Ronald Bloore, Member of the Order of Canada; Organiser and member of the "Regina Five",(1960) watercolourist Jack Reid, and William Ronald, who was raised in town. Norman Mills Price. Animators David Feiss and Jay Stephens grew up here.
Music acts from Brampton include Punk band The Flatliners, Indie Rock band Moneen, R&B singer Keshia Chanté, country singer Johnny Reid, "Metal Queen" Lee Aaron and pop singer Alyssa Reid. Country singer and "World Champion Yodeller" Donn Reynolds lived here from 1969 to 1997. Barry Stock, guitarist from Three Days Grace was raised in Brampton, and currently resides in Caledon. Singer Alessia Cara, hip-hop artist Roy Woods, and hip-hop artist Tory Lanez were also born in Brampton. Hip-hop record producer WondaGurl was also born in Brampton.
Comedic actor Michael Cera was born and raised in Brampton. The twin actors Shawn Ashmore and Aaron Ashmore ( Smallville) are Brampton-raised. The sibling actors Tyler Labine ( Mad Love) and Kyle Labine were born in Brampton.
Other Brampton-born or affiliated actors include Paulo Costanzo, Jordan Gavaris, Gemini Award winner Kris Lemche, Lara Jean Chorostecki, Sabrina Grdevich, Nicole Lyn, actor and producer David J. Phillips, reality TV star and art dealer Billy Jamieson, performer George R. Robertson, and performer Sidhu Moose Wala.
Others include voice actor Brenna O'Brien, and on-air media personalities Cassie Campbell, Chris Connor, Chris Cuthbert and Scott McGillivray.
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