Dufferin County is a county and census division located in Central Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Orangeville, and the current Warden is Darren White. The current chief administrative officer is Sonya Pritchard. Dufferin covers an area of 1486.77 km2, and its population was 66,257 at the time of the 2021 Census.

History

It was originally organized as the "Provisional County of Dufferin", with preparatory work authorized by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1875 and the actual formation taking effect in 1881, being created from parts of the counties of Grey and Simcoe, on the north and east, and from the County of Wellington on the south and west. The Village of Grand Valley was erected from East Luther in 1897, and the two municipalities amalgamated in 1995 to form the Township of East Luther Grand Valley, which was erected into the Town of Grand Valley in 2012. The county gets its name from Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, who was Governor General of Canada between 1872-1878. Originally an agriculturally based economy, Dufferin's economy has diversified to include commercial and retail businesses, industries related to residential and commercial construction (building, supplies, aggregates, real estate) and manufacturing. A portion of Dufferin’s economy still depends on agriculture but tourism is becoming more important as the county takes a more positive role in attracting visitors.

Geography

Dufferin County is the highest plateau immediately south of Georgian Bay, and as such forms the watershed divide between the four lakes: Huron, Erie, Ontario and Simcoe. Four rivers — Saugeen, Grand, Credit and Nottawasaga — take their rise in Dufferin or in adjacent townships and drain through the county. The county is a lofty table-land that is about 1700 ft above sea-level and about 1400 ft above the level of downtown Toronto. A continuation of the Caledon Mountains skirts the eastern side of the county. The highest peaks, however, are no match for the Blue Mountains north of Dufferin or the Caledon Mountains on the south. The County of Dufferin, sits on the fringe of the Greater Toronto Area, about 100 km northwest of Toronto. It is largely a rural county with three urban settlement areas, namely Grand Valley, Orangeville and Shelburne. The Town of Orangeville, the county seat, is situated on the southern border of the county and is the largest urban centre, with just over half the population. Although Orangeville dominates in terms of population, in area it is very small and geographically compact.

Climate

Demographics

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Dufferin County had a population of 66,257 living in 23,310 of its 24,388 total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of 61,735. With a land area of 1486.77 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

Education

Upper Grand District School Board operates secular Anglophone public schools. The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board operates Anglophone Catholic public schools. The Conseil scolaire Viamonde operates secular Francophone schools serving the area. The Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud (CSDCCS) operates Catholic Francophone schools serving the area.

Travel region

Dufferin County is part of two Ontario travel regions. Headwaters Tourism Association represents the county and the adjacent municipalities of Caledon and Erin. Central Counties of Ontario combines the Headwaters area and a larger adjacent region.