City of Kawartha Lakes up for Most Interesting City

City of Kawartha Lakes logo

When I was growing up outside Port Hope, there was no City of Kawartha Lakes.  There was Lindsay (Uncle Jim lived there), Bobcaygeon (friends had a cottage there) and Omemee (home town of Neil Young).  Bethany wasn’t on my radar until I met Jeff, although I had driven through it several times.  I think we used to stop at Cavan for ice cream, which is pretty close.  Cavan isn’t part of the City of Kawartha Lakes, but is worth mentioning because of the ice cream.

But now those little towns and communities, all of Victoria County actually, are all part of the City of Kawartha Lakes.

Why am posting about the City of Kawartha Lakes you ask?  Sure, Bethany’s part of it, but based on size alone, not a big part.  I found a news article about how a Lindsay lawyer has entered Kawartha Lakes in the Reader’s Digest contest for Most Interesting City.  And I thought that was – well, interesting.

So here’s a little bit on the City of Kawartha Lakes.

Communities Within City of Kawartha Lakes

•  Bethany
• Burnt River
• Bobcaygeon
• Cameron
• Coboconk
• Fenelon Falls
• Janetville
• Kinmount
• Kirkfield
• Lindsay
• Litle Britain
• Norland
• Oakwood
• Omemee
• Pontypool
• Rosedale
• Sebright
• Woodville
• Cambray
• Dalrymple

City of Kawartha Lakes came about because of the Progressive Conservative’s ‘Common Sense Revolution’ back in 2000.  The provincial government were big into amalgamating back then, for Victoria County as well as the rest of Ontario.  Quite a few towns and village were  grouped together in the City of Kawartha Lakes, but most are rural little communities. Are they happy about being grouped together?  Well, you’d have to ask them.  Like anything the government does, there are advantages – possibly tax benefits and streamlining bureaucracy, if that is at all possible – and disadvantages – losing your community identity?  I’m not getting into that here, because as one of the posts on my other blog pointed out, I don’t like conflict and I don’t know enough to make an educated opinion on the matter.

I will, though give a little bit more about the City. The City of Kawartha Lakes is a municipality in Central Ontario, the size of a typical Ontario county.  It’s mostly rural with some urban areas, including the largest city, Lindsay.  Kawartha is a First Nations word meaning ‘bright waters and happy lands’ and with over 200 lakes in the area, it’s obvious why it was named City of Kawartha Lakes.   The Trent Severn Waterway runs through the centre of the City and a network of rivers and locks links the Pigeon, Sturgeon, Cameron, Balsam, Mitchell, Scugog and Canal Lakes together.

Liftlocks in City of Kawartha Lakes

The City is on the northeast border of the Greater Toronto Area and close to several major highways, including 401, 407, 7, 35 and 115, giving the area easy access to larger cities, but still within its pretty rural region. Population: 75,565 (Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census)

LIFESTYLE

• 35 Recreational Parks
• 3 Provincial Parks
• 3 Conservation Areas
• 200 + Lakes
• 386km of Trent Severn Waterway
• 23 Beaches and Resorts

EDUCATION

• 1 Post Secondary School
• 30 Elementary & High Schools
• 10 Daycare Facilities

HEALTHCARE

• 1 Hospital
• 6 Medical Centres

Most Interesting Town in Canada Contest

Like I said, the reason for this week’s post is because The City of Kawartha Lakes has the opportunity to be named “Most Interesting City in Canada”.  Jason Ward, founder of Haunt Your Home has entered the city in Reader’s Digest ‘Canada’s Most Interesting Towns’ contest for most community spirit.   The Lindsay native certainly shows his community spirit with his Haunt Your Home website and wanted to show the rest of the country just how much spirit the town has!   To have Lindsay, part of the City of Kawartha Lakes, named Town with the Most Community Spirit would be a great boon for the area, benefiting local businesses, economy and tourism.

Life in a small town is quite different than in a larger urban area.  I live in Toronto and the most spirit this city shows as a whole is when one of the sport teams steps up and shows the rest of the world what they’re made of.   Which, unfortunately, isn’t very often.   The only way I could  see the entire city coming together as a whole would be if the Leafs made it to the Stanley Cup.  Which would entail them to be at least starting the season, so you know it’s not going to happen this year. But in a small town, it’s easy for the community to come together.  Santa Claus parades will often see a good chunk of the population come to watch. Festivals, fairs, tournaments, events at the schools – small towns come together.

To be able to showcase a small town’s community spirit would be a great thing.  To have Lindsay – part of City of Kawartha Lakes, in which my little Bethany is part of – show Canada it’s spirit would be amazing and would give a snapshot of what life is like in a small town.   The City of Kawartha Lakes is great place to live and visit and it’s about time the area got a little well-deserved recognition!

Cast your vote for City of Kawartha Lakes to be one of the Most Interesting Towns in Canada! http://www.readersdigest.ca/cmit

Fall in City of Kawartha Lakes