Buying Real Estate in Whitchurch-Stouffville, ON

Whitchurch-Stouffville is a town in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada, approximately 50 km (31 mi) north of downtown Toronto, and 55 km (34 mi) north-east of Toronto Pearson International Airport. It is 206.22 km2 (79.62 sq mi) in area, and located in the mid-eastern area of the Regional Municipality of York on the ecologically-sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine. Its motto since 1993 is “country close to the city”.

The town is bounded by Davis Drive (York Regional Road 31) in the north, York-Durham Line (York Regional Road 30) in the east, and Highway 404 in the west. The southern boundary conforms with a position approximately 200 m (660 ft) north of 19th Avenue (York Regional Road 29), and is irregular due to the annexation of lands formerly part of Markham Township in 1971.

Between 2011 and 2016, the town grew 21.8%, making it the second fastest growing municipality in York Region. The number of private dwellings jumped from 7,642 in 2001 to 15,712 in 2016, with an average of 2.9 people per private dwelling. The town projects a total population of 55,800 by 2021, and 60,600 in 2031, with 97% of the growth within the urban boundaries of the Community of Stouffville.

Future growth is governed provincially by the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act (2001), the Greenbelt Protection Act (2005) and the Places to Grow Act (2005). The intent of these statutes is to prevent urban sprawl on environmentally sensitive land and to accommodate future growth in approved settlement areas only. Consequently, Whitchurch–Stouffville’s future growth is planned as “sustainable development”, largely within the boundaries of urban Stouffville alone, which reflects the vision of “small-town tradition between the country and the city”.