Regional Municipality of Durham

The Regional Municipality of Durham is an administrative division in southern Ontario that brings together eight municipalities between Lake Ontario and the northern farmland. The territory runs from urban shoreline places to forested hills inland.

The regional government was created in 1974 by merging territories from Ontario County and the united counties of Northumberland and Durham. This reorganization brought smaller communities under a shared regional structure.

The territorial name honors Lord Durham, whose 1839 report influenced Canadian political development. Today residents use the waterfront communities and inland rural areas in different ways.

Public transport links the municipalities through a bus network and rail lines toward Toronto, while roads pass through farmland and wooded areas in the north. Access to the shoreline zones follows continuous waterfront roads with connections inland.

Automotive plants and post-secondary institutions shape the economic landscape between shoreline and farmland. Visitors often notice the shift from suburbs to open fields within a few kilometers.

Location: Ontario

Inception: 1792

Elevation above the sea: 91.3 m

Shares border with: Toronto, Kawartha Lakes, Simcoe County, Northumberland County, Regional Municipality of York

Website: http://durham.ca

GPS coordinates: 43.91667,-78.93333

Latest update: December 13, 2025 19:39