Ontario has 11 villages[1] that had a cumulative population of 13,695 and an average population of 1,245 in the 2016 Census.[2] Ontario's largest and smallest villages are Casselman and Thornloe with populations of 3,548 and 112 respectively.[2]
History
Under the former Municipal Act, 1990, a village was both an urban and a local municipality.[3] Under this former legislation, a locality with a population of 500 or more could have been incorporated as a village by Ontario's Municipal Board upon review of an application from 75 or more residents of the locality.[3]
In the transition to the Municipal Act, 2001, the above designations and requirements were abandoned and, as at December 31, 2002, every village that:[4]
"existed and formed part of a county, a regional or district municipality or the County of Oxford for municipal purposes" became a lower-tier municipality yet retained its name as a village; and
"existed and did not form part of a county, a regional or district municipality or the County of Oxford for municipal purposes" became a single-tier municipality yet retained its name as a village.
The current legislation also provides lower and single-tier municipalities with the authority to name themselves as "villages", or other former municipal status types such as "cities", "towns" or "townships", or generically as "municipalities".[5]