Halton Region
Regional municipality (upper-tier)
Regional Municipality of Halton
Clockwise from top left:Georgetown,Hilton Falls, Bronte Harbour,Royal Botanical Gardens,Oakville,Brant Street Pier
Coat of arms Logo
Motto:  Absque labore nihil (Latin for: Nothing without effort)
Burlington Oakville Milton Halton Hills Georgetown Acton
Halton Region's location within Ontario
Coordinates:43°30′30″N79°53′16″W / 43.50833°N 79.88778°W /43.50833; -79.88778[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Established (county)	1854
Established (regional municipality)	1974
Seat	Oakville
Government
• Regional Chair	Gary Carr
Area [2]
• Land	965.71 km2 (372.86 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	596,637
• Density	617.8/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
Website	www.halton.ca

TheRegional Municipality of Halton, orHalton Region, is aregional municipality inOntario, Canada, located in theGolden Horseshoe ofSouthern Ontario. It comprises the city ofBurlington and the towns ofOakville,Milton, andHalton Hills. Policing in the Region is provided by theHalton Regional Police Service. The regional council's headquarters are located in Oakville. Burlington, Oakville, and Milton are largely urban and suburban, while Halton Hills is more rural.

Halton is part of theGreater Toronto Area (GTA), although it is the only regional municipality in the GTA that is not situated directly adjacent toToronto’s city proper. However, the region is split between thecensus metropolitan areas (CMAs) of Toronto andHamilton. Burlington is part of the Hamilton CMA, while the rest of the region is part of the Toronto CMA.

Halton experienced a growth rate of 17.1% between 2001 and 2006, and 14.2% between 2006 and 2011, giving it one of the highest growth rates in the country. Despite the unprecedented growth in residential development, agriculture and protected lands along theNiagara Escarpment are still the predominant land uses in the region. Halton has been ranked byMaclean's national crime ranking report as being the "safest place to live" in the GTA and one of the top five in Canada.^[3]

The Regional Municipality of Halton was established on 1 January 1974 as the successor to the formerHalton County by theRegional Municipality of Halton Act, 1973.^[4] From 1 January 2003, it has been governed by theMunicipal Act.^[5]

Until the 2000 municipal elections, the chairperson of the regional council had been appointed by the Ontario government. From that date, it has been an elective position.Joyce Savoline was the last appointed chairperson, and was elected and reelected until her retirement from the position in 2006. The current regional chairperson isGary Carr.

The council consists of the elected chairperson, the mayors of the local municipalities, and regional councillors elected by wards from the local municipalities (who also sit on their respective municipal councils).

The current membership of the council is as follows:^{[citation needed]}

Halton Region provides the following services to its communities:^[6]

• Economic development
• Emergency planning
• Regional planning and growth management
• Recycling and waste
• Regional roads
• Sewage (wastewater) collection systems and treatment plants
• Water purification plants and distribution systems
• Housing supports and services
• Children and parenting
• Employment and financial assistance
• Ontario Works (social services)
• Services for seniors
• Paramedic services
• Public health
• Immunizations and preventable diseases
• Food safety
• Halton Regional Police Service

In 2018, the Region had 27 emergency vehicles and 254 paramedics; the latter answered 53,094 paramedic calls. The Police service had 721 police officers; its 911 call centre received 121,971 reports of emergency.^[7]

While the urban areas of Burlington, Oakville and Milton are experiencing rapid growth, there is still a significant proportion of the Region that is still rural, most of which is protected as part of the provincialGreenbelt or as part of theNiagara Escarpment Plan.

Halton is somewhat unusual, in that it has three distinct climate zones within its relatively small area,^[8] which are as follows:

• Zone 5a - Halton Hills lying to the north of the Niagara Escarpment, together with the Town of Milton within the Grand River watershed
• Zone 5b - the remainder of Halton Hills, Milton north of Derry Road, and that part of Burlington lying north of the Niagara Escarpment
• Zone 6a - the southern remainder of the Region

As acensus division in the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, the Regional Municipality of Halton had a population of596,637 living in208,601 of its214,322 total private dwellings, a change of8.8% from its 2016 population of548,435. With a land area of 965.71 km² (372.86 sq mi), it had a population density of617.8/km² (1,600.2/sq mi) in 2021. The unemployment rate was 5.3% during the year. The average household income was very high, at $121,000.^[2]

Trend per Census of Agriculture

Type	2011						2006						2001
	Halton Hills	Milton	Burlington	Oakville	Total	% change	Halton Hills	Milton	Burlington	Oakville	Total[23]	% change	Total
Number of farms	169	209	70	21	469	15.6%	206	260	79	21	566	8.5%	619
Total area of farms (in hectares)	15,436	11,289	3,259	2,216	32,200	10.5%	16,747	12,592	4,306	2,331	35,976	10.0%	39,966
Area of land in crops	12,507	8,288	2,106	2,057	24,958	8.6%	13,353	8,741	3,084	2,133	27,311	10.4%	30,469
Gross farm receipts ($ millions)	39.99	57.36	23.24	3.35	123.94	6.1%	57.75	40.52	30.61	3.16	132.04	6.7%	141.47
Total cattle and calves	2,672	1,854	x	x	4,907	52.0%	3,571	2,725	3,919	0	10,215	11.8%	11,581
Total pigs	x	x	x	x	x	N/A	x	x	x	x	3,508	43.9%	6,254

x = suppressed for reasons of confidentiality

Halton's agricultural sector is supported by regional infrastructure such as thePort of Hamilton which is a growing agri-food hub for the import of agricultural inputs and the export of local crops.

The 2018 budget document contains additional specifics and updates as to the Region's finances. In that year, gross revenues were $1.2 billion while operating expenses totaled $821.5 million for a net revenue of $350.2 million, an increase of 1.2% over the previous year. The increase was mostly due to increases in grants and taxes. The Region included over 13,200 companies and employed over 229,000 persons. The credit rating of AAA was confirmed by S&P Global Ratings and Moody's Investors Service.^[24]

• List of municipalities in Ontario
• Halton Region Conservation Authority
• Halton District School Board
• Halton Catholic District School Board
• List of numbered roads in Halton Region
• List of secondary schools in Ontario § Regional Municipality of Halton
• Proposal for the Province of Toronto

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