The Township of Wellington North is a relatively young municipality, having been formed on January 1, 1999 with the amalgamation of the former Township of Arthur, Village of Arthur, Town of Mount Forest, Township of West Luther, and outlying portions of the Township or West Garafraxa and Township of Peel.
In the mid-1990s, the provincial government of the day – the Mike Harris led Progressive Conservatives, engaged in a major restructuring of municipal government in Ontario. The result of that restructuring was amalgamation.
A total of 850 municipalities across the province would shrink to 440 by January 1, 1999. One of those 440 newly created municipalities was the Township of Wellington North.
The creation of a new municipality was not as simple as telling the smaller municipalities to pick teams like one would in a pickup game of baseball; rather, some were told who they would be joining with, and a transition board for each new municipality would be formed to guide the process of bringing multiple municipalities into one.
The Town of Mount Forest, Village of Arthur, parts of the Townships of Arthur and West Luther, as well some of the outlying areas in the Townships of Peel and West Garafraxa make up the municipality we now know as the Township of Wellington North.
The transition board – aptly named the Transition Board for Mount Forest, Arthur Village, Arthur Township, and West Luther Township – included representatives from all the former municipalities. Board members were Bruce Barton (Mayor of Mount Forest), Greg Boggs (Councillor of Arthur Village), Richard Gilder (Councillor of West Luther Township), Dorothy Jackson (Deputy-Reeve of Arthur Township), Murray Langdon (Reeve of West Luther Township), Harry Quartel (Reeve of Mount Forest), vice-chairman Don Ross (Reeve of Arthur Township), and chairman Clive Williams (Reeve of Arthur Village).
During 1998, the Transition Board met 21 times, discussing all matters to do with bringing four area municipalities into one.
In early 1998, a new name had not yet been chosen for the new municipality. The Transition Board decided that a referendum would be held to name the municipality. Some of the initial names suggested for the new municipality were Riverview, North Saugeen, Maple Heights, Kenilworth (one resident suggested the municipality be named after its most central area) and Wellington Heights.
Coincidentally, Wellington Heights ended up being the name selected for the new high school in Mount Forest, which opened in 2004 following the amalgamation of the Mount Forest and Arthur high schools.
On May 26, 1998, during a public meeting in Mount Forest that was attended by nearly 100 residents, the name “North Wellington” or “Wellington North” was identified as the favourite for the new municipality. Shortly after, it was recommended by the Transition Board that the new municipality be named the Township of Wellington North.
On January 25, 1999, Council officially approved the name Township as Wellington North as the new municipality’s name.
Another hurdle that the Transition Board had to overcome was the site selection for the new municipality’s offices. During the same May 26, 1998, public meeting, those in attendance believed Kenilworth to be the ideal site for the municipal office, as it was the most central point of the new township.
Other items the Transition Board dealt with were the hiring of staff for the new township, and the 1998 municipal election, including the voting method to elect Wellington North’s inaugural council. Telephone voting was identified as the voting method midway through 1998. It was also identified that one Mayor and four councillors (one for each of the four wards) would make up Wellington North Council.
Voting for the 1998 municipal election was held from November 5-9. Elected Wellington North’s first Mayor was Don Ross, the final Reeve of Arthur Township, with 1,501 votes. Mount Forest Deputy-Reeve Marion Reeves-Yake finished runner up, with 1,033 votes. Mount Forest Reeve Harry Quartel received 982 votes, and Douglas Teddiman received 183 votes.
Dan Yake (678 votes) was elected Ward 1 councillor, defeating Merv Weber (356 votes). In Ward 2, Mike Broomhead (756 votes) was elected councillor, defeating Bob Mason (376 votes). Gilbert Reid (352 votes) won the race for Ward 3 councillor over Don McWilliam (85 votes). And in Ward 4, Evelyne Near (567 votes) defeated Pat Kelly (491 votes).
Also elected during the 1998 municipal election was the Wellington County Ward 3 Councillor. Bob Hill defeated Mount Forest Mayor Bruce Barton by 203 votes to win the council seat.
The telephone method proved to be popular with voters, with the Township of Wellington North having one of the highest voter turnouts in Wellington County, at 42 per cent.
Following renovations at the former Arthur Township municipal office in Kenilworth, the new Township of Wellington North municipal office in Kenilworth officially opened on August 19, 2000. During the opening ceremonies, Mayor Don Ross noted the office remained open during renovations, which saw additions to the front and rear of the building.
Fast forward 25 years, the Township of Wellington North continues to grow.
In 1999, the population of Wellington North was approximately 11,000. Today, the Township is now home to over 12,500 people across 526 square kilometres of land.
The Township is expected to continue growing, with growth estimates expecting Wellington North to have a population of 20,500 by 2051 (an increase of more than 64%).
Wellington North is a well-diversified and evolving Township with a strong industrial and manufacturing employment base, as well as a strong agricultural and agri-food business sector.
The community is also home to many walking and cycling trails, unique stores, and gift shops as well as many cultural and historical amenities and exciting events. This includes the Mount Forest Fireworks Festival, one of the top 100 festivals in Ontario.