Brampton is located in
Southern OntarioSouthern Ontario is the portion of the Canadian province of Ontario lying south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14-15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of Canada.Southern...
and is the third-largest city in the
Greater Toronto AreaThe Greater Toronto Area is the most populous metropolitan area in Canada. The GTA is a provincial planning area in Southern Ontario with a population of 5,555,912 at the 2006 Canadian Census...
of
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the seat of Peel Region. As of the
2006 censusThe Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...
, Brampton's population stood at 433,806, making it the 11th largest city in Canada. It is also one of Canada's fastest growing municipalities with an average annual growth rate (2001–2006) of 6.6%. With a median age at 33.7 it is also the youngest community in the
GTAThe Greater Toronto Area is the most populous metropolitan area in Canada. The GTA is a provincial planning area in Southern Ontario with a population of 5,555,912 at the 2006 Canadian Census...
. Brampton celebrated its sesquicentennial anniversary in 2003, marking 150 years since its incorporation as a village in 1853, taking its name from the rural town of
BramptonBrampton is a small market town within the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England about 9 miles east of Carlisle and 2 Roman miles south of Hadrian's Wall. It is situated next to the A69 road...
,
CumbriaCumbria is a shire county in the North West of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Visible minorities combined now form a large portion of the population.
Brampton was once known as
The Flowertown of Canada, a title it earned due to the city's large
greenhouseA greenhouse is a building where plants are cultivated.A greenhouse is a structure with a glass or plastic roof and frequently glass or plastic walls; it heats up because incoming solar radiation from the sun warms plants, soil, and other things inside the building faster than heat can escape the...
industry, which included Dale's Flowers, a company that won many international
roseA rose is a perennial flower shrub or vine of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae, that contains over 100 species and comes in a variety of colours. The species form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles...
awards for nearly half a century. Today, its major economic sectors include Advanced Manufacturing, Retail Administration and
LogisticsLogistics is the management of the flow of goods, information and other resources, including energy and people, between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet the requirements of consumers...
,
ICTInformation and communication technologies is an umbrella term that covers all technical means for processing and communicating information. The term has gained popularity partially due to the convergence of information technology and telecom technology...
, Food and Beverage,
Life SciencesWe define Life Sciences to encompass companies in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, biomedical technologies, life systems technologies, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, food processing, environmental, biomedical devices, and organizations and institutions that devote the majority of...
and Business Services. National
headquartersHeadquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The corporate headquarters is the entity at the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
of companies such as
Loblaw CompaniesLoblaw Companies Limited is the largest food retailer in Canada, with over 1,400 supermarkets operating under a variety of regional banners, including the namesake Loblaws. LCL is headquartered in a new, 37,000 m
2 office tower located in Brampton, Ontario...
,
HBCHBC may refer to:*Helena Bonham Carter, an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-nominated English actress*Hudson's Bay Company, the oldest commercial corporation in North America...
/
ZellersZellers Inc. is Canada's second-largest chain of mass merchandise department stores, with 282 locations in communities across Canada. Zellers is headquartered in the Toronto suburb of Brampton, Ontario, and is a subsidiary of Hudson's Bay Company ....
,
BacardiBacardi is a family-controlled spirits company, best known as a producer of rums, including Bacardi Superior and Bacardi 151. The company sells in excess of 200 million bottles per year in nearly 100 countries...
,
BritaBrita is a German company that specializes in water filtration products. The company is the world's market leader in portable household water filtration. Brita products include water jugs, kettles and tap attachments, all of which use silver-impregnated activated carbon and ion-exchange resin...
and
CloroxThe Clorox Company is a manufacturer of various food and chemical products based in Oakland, California, which is best known for its bleach product, Clorox.- History :...
are located within the city.
The city is home to Canadian Forces Army Reserve unit
The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment)The Lorne Scots is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of Land Force Central Area's 32 Canadian Brigade Group.The sub-units of the Lorne Scots are situated in the following armouries:...
.
History
Prior to 1800s, the only building of consequence at the corner of Main and Queen streets, the recognized centre of Brampton, was William Buffy's tavern. In fact, at the time, the area was referred to as "Buffy's Corners". All real business in
Chinguacousy TownshipChinguacousy Township is a former municipality and geographic township in Peel County, Ontario. In 1973, when Peel County became the Regional Municipality of Peel, it was split in half, with the northern half becoming part of the town of Caledon, and the southern half, along with the township of...
took place 1 mile distant at Martin Salisbury's tavern. By 1834, John Elliott laid out the area in lots for sale, and applied the name "Brampton" to the area, which was soon adopted by others.
In 1853, a small agricultural fair was set up by the then-new County Agricultural Society of the County of Peel, and was held at the corner of Main and Queen streets. Grains, produce, roots, and dairy products were up for sale, a precursor of today's Brampton Farmers' Market. Horses and cattle, along with other lesser livestock was sold at market. This agricultural fair eventually became the modern
Brampton Fall FairThe Brampton Fall Fair is an annual agricultural and entertainment event in Brampton, Ontario, since 1853. It features rides, games, a demolition derby, and various kiosks peddling knitted goods.-History of the fair:...
. In that same year Brampton was incorporated as a village.
A federal grant allowed the village to create its first public library in 1887, which included 360 volumes from the pre-existing Mechanic's Institute (est 1858). In 1907, the library successfully received a grant from steel magnate
Andrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie was a Scottish industrialist, businessman, entrepreneur, and a major philanthropist....
to build a new multi-person building, featuring what is now the
Brampton LibraryFunded by the City, the Brampton Library is a system of public libraries in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.In the 2003 Ontario Public Library Week , the library was rebranded with a new logo, and a change in name. The system changed from the Brampton Public Library to the simpler and more direct...
.
A group of regional farmers in Brampton had trouble getting insurance from city-based companies. After several meetings in Clairville Hall, it was decided that they should found the County of Peel Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company. In 1955, the company moved to its third and current location, 103 Queen Street West, and renamed itself Peel Mutual Insurance Company. It reigns as the longest running company in modern Brampton. Harmsworth Decorating Centre was established in 1890, as Harmsworth and Son, operated out of the family's house on Queen Street West. The store purchased its current location on September 1, 1904, after a fire destroyed their original store. Purchased for $1400, the 24 Main Street South location is the longest operating retail business in what is now Brampton.
Neighbouring Bramalea created
Created as an innovative "
new townA new town, planned community or planned city is a city, town, or community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion.Navi Mumbai, a planned city near Indian city...
", Bramalea was developed as a separate community, approximately 40 kilometres northwest of Toronto.
Located in the former
Chinguacousy TownshipChinguacousy Township is a former municipality and geographic township in Peel County, Ontario. In 1973, when Peel County became the Regional Municipality of Peel, it was split in half, with the northern half becoming part of the town of Caledon, and the southern half, along with the township of...
, it was Canada's first satellite community developed by one of the country's largest real estate developers,
Bramalea Limited, formerly known as
Brampton Leasing. The name "Bramalea" was created by the farmer William Sheard, who integrated the BRAM from Brampton, MAL from Malton (a neighbouring region), and the LEA, an old British word meaning meadow or grassland. He sold the land to Brampton Leasing developers and built one of Bramalea's first houses on Dixie Road across from the former headquarters of Nortel. The community had an extensive Master Plan, which included provisions for a parkland trail system and a "downtown", which would include essential services and a shopping centre. The downtown area's centrepiece was the Civic Centre, which included the city hall and library. Directly across Team Canada Drive from the Civic Centre, Bramalea Limited built a shopping centre named
Bramalea City CentreThe Bramalea City Centre is an indoor shopping mall located in the city of Brampton, Ontario, Canada. With over a million square feet of retail space and more than 280 outlets, it is one of Canada's largest shopping malls...
. The two centrepieces were connected by a long underground tunnel, which has long since been closed due to safety issues. Other features included a police station, fire hall, bus terminal, and a collection of seniors' retirement homes.
Each phase of the new city was built with progressing first letters of
street nameA street name or odonym is an identifying name given to a street. The street name usually forms part of the address...
s. Development started with the "A" section, with street names like Argyle, Avondale, and Aloma. Developer then created a "B" section, "C" section, and so forth. Children on the boundaries of these divisions would regularly compete in street hockey games, pitting, for example, the "D" section versus the "E" section.
The community was also initially developed with a large number of recreational facilities, including tennis courts, playgrounds, hockey/lacrosse rinks and swimming pools. An extensive parkland trail and sidewalk system that connects the entire city, amplifying what Brampton already had in a smaller scale.
Region of Peel
In 1974, the Ontario government decided to update
Peel CountyPeel County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1851 from a portion of York County. In 1973, Peel County became the Regional Municipality of Peel, as a result of the Ontario provincial government's regionalization of the rapidly developing counties...
's structure. Along with amalgamating a series of villages into the City of Mississauga, the new City of Brampton was created out of the greater portion of the Townships of Chinguacousy and
Toronto GoreToronto Gore was a township in York County and then Peel County, Ontario, Canada from 1831 to 1973.Toronto Gore came into existence as a township in 1831 when it was separated from Chinguacousy Township. In 1867 it became part of Peel County when that county was split from York County...
, including Bramalea and the other communities in those townships. The province converted Peel County into the Regional Municipality of Peel. Brampton retained its role as the administrative centre of Peel Region, which it already had as
county seatA county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there...
. The regional council chamber, the
Peel Regional PoliceThe Peel Regional Police provides police services for Peel Region in Ontario, Canada. As of 2005, it is the second largest municipal police service in Ontario after the Toronto Police Service and third largest municipal force in Canada with 1,700 uniformed members and close to 600 support...
force, the public health department, and the region's only major museum, the
Peel Heritage ComplexThe Peel Heritage Complex is a museum/art gallery/archives for the Peel Region, located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.Originally the Peel County Courthouse, Brampton Jail , and registry office, this complex hosts award-winning exhibition...
, are all located in Brampton.
This move was not met with open arms. Bramptonians feared urban sprawl would dissolve their town's personality, and Bramalea residents took pride in the built from scratch and organized structure that came with a new city. Many residents of the former community of Bramalea do not classify themselves as Brampton residents.
In 1972, Bramalea created its civic centre. Two years after it was built, when Brampton and Bramalea merged, the new city's council chambers and other facilities were created in the building, moving from the town of Brampton's modest downtown locale. The library systems of Brampton and Bramalea became one, creating a system of four locations.
The future of Peel Region as encompassing all of Brampton, Mississauga, and Caledon, has been called into question by some. Mississauga council, led by Mayor
Hazel McCallionHazel McCallion, CM is the mayor of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, the sixth largest city in the country. McCallion has been Mississauga's mayor for 31 years, holding office since 1978...
, voted in favour of becoming a single tier municipality and asked the provincial government to be separated from Peel Region, arguing that the city has outgrown the need for a regional layer of government and that Mississauga is now being held back by supporting Brampton and Caledon with its municipal taxes.
Development of Brampton as a city
In the 1980s, the Capitol Theatre, then owned by
OdeonCineplex Odeon Corporation was one of North America's largest movie theatre operators, with theatres in its home country of Canada and the United States...
, closed its doors. The City bought the facility in 1981, under the spearhead of then-councillor Diane Sutter, turning the former movie house and vaudevillian stage into a theatre for the musical and performing arts. It was renamed the Heritage Theatre. In 1983, Toronto consultants Woods Gordon reported to the City that, rather than continue "pouring money" into the Heritage, a new 750-seat facility should be built. The 2005/06 season was designated as the theatre's "grand finale" season, and the new
Rose TheatreThe Rose Theatre is located in downtown Brampton, Ontario. It opened in September 2006 with a series of public events throughout the month, culminating in a Grand Opening on September 29th featuring Diana Krall...
opened in September 2006.
CarabramCarabram is an annual multi-cultural festival in Brampton, Ontario, founded in 1982.The festival was founded after volunteers from different ethnic communities wanted to organize a festival celebrating diversity and cross-cultural friendship...
was founded in 1984, after volunteers from different ethnic communities wanted to organize a festival celebrating diversity and cross-cultural friendship. With a name based on Toronto like-event, Caravan Festival of Cultures, Carabram's first event included Italian, Scottish, Ukrainian, and West Indian pavilions. By 2003, forty-five-thousand visitors visited 18 pavilions. Canada itself had an anchor pavilion in the late-1980s and early-1990s, and this past year for Carabram's 25th Anniversary, it was included once more.
With a growing multicultural population, the Peel Board of Education introduced evening
English as a Second LanguageESL , ESOL , and EFL all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with a different native language. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is described below...
(ESL) classes at high schools. Originally taught by volunteers, the classes eventually became daytime courses taught by paid instructors. In the 1980s, the public and Catholic board expanded its languages programs, offering night classes in 23 languages. These were introduced by the urging of parents who wanted their children to learn their ancestral heritage and language. Brampton has a very large South Asian population and it is expected to grow at a high rate.
Spearheaded by then Mayor Ken Whillans, the early 1990s brought a new city hall to Brampton's downtown. Ken Whillans never got to see the opening of the new City hall because of his untimely death in August of that same year. The move of City hall to downtown would spark a renewed interest by future politicians and businesses alike to revitalize the downtown core. The facility was designed by local architects and constructed by Inzola Construction.
The Brampton Fair Grounds were sold in 1992 to the City of Brampton, leading the Agricultural Society to relocate to Heart Lake Road and Old School Road (outside the boundaries of the city) in 1997.
The Health Services Restructuring Commission (HSRC) decided in 1997 that Georgetown and District Memorial Hospital,
Etobicoke General HospitalThe Etobicoke General Hospital was opened in 1972. It has 262 hospital beds and serves over 230 000 residents in Etobicoke and the surrounding areas. The hospital cares for over 50 270 outpatients, 15 785 inpatients, and 64 044 emergency visits. It employs 1026 health care professionals, and has...
and
Peel Memorial Hospital- Past: before October 28, 2007 :Peel Memorial Hospital was a 367-bed acute care hospital located in central Brampton Ontario. PMH was founded in 1925 and became a part of the William Osler Health Centre in 1998. It previously served approximately 400,000 residents in Brampton and the surrounding...
amalgamate into the
William Osler Health CentreThe William Osler Health Centre is one of the largest hospital corporations in the Canadian province of Ontario. It serves a geographic area of over 2,400 square kilometres including Brampton and Etobicoke. It provides programs and services to over 900,000 residents of those and surrounding...
, becoming what now is the province's 6th largest hospital corporation.
Brampton's 2003 Sesquicentennial celebrations were a booster to community spirit, restarting the tradition of a summer parade (with 100 floats), and creating other initiatives. To commemorate the town's history, the city under Mayor Fennell reintroduced floral projects to the community, including more plantings around town, the restart of the city Parade in 2005, and participation for the last few years in the Canada
Communities in BloomCommunities in Bloom is a Canadian non-profit organization that fosters friendly competition between Canadian communities to beautify their civic spaces. It was established in 1995 as a national competition between 29 communities, and has since expanded to include competitions in various...
project.
Current events
In early 2006, the Brampton campus of the William Osler Health Centre was renamed back to Peel Memorial Hospital, because it was no longer considered a part of the William Osler family of hospitals. On October 28, 2007 at 6am Brampton Civic Hospital opened its doors while
Peel Memorial Hospital- Past: before October 28, 2007 :Peel Memorial Hospital was a 367-bed acute care hospital located in central Brampton Ontario. PMH was founded in 1925 and became a part of the William Osler Health Centre in 1998. It previously served approximately 400,000 residents in Brampton and the surrounding...
closed for renovations. Since then, the fate of Peel Memorial has been the subject of controversy. Local residents want the hospital to re-open as an acute care facility with an emergency department, arguing Brampton Civic's 479 beds aren't enough to meet the needs of the fast-growing community.
In September of that year, the Rose Theatre opened its doors in downtown Brampton. By 2008, the facility had attracted over 137,000 patrons, surpassing its five-year goal in only its first season. The theatre is also seen as a catalyst for downtown revitalization. Since its opening, new businesses have opened, established businesses have renovated their storefronts and several high rise condominium projects are either under construction or in the planning phases. In December 2007, the
Toronto StarThe Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, though its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
published an article entitled, "Brampton comes alive," which documents the latest in the city's revitalization plans.
In February 2008, the Central West Local Health Integration Network recommended that Peel Memorial be redeveloped to house outpatient services. That would include mental health services, cancer screening, day surgery and non-urgent care.
Geography and climate
Brampton has a total land area of 265 square kilometres. The City of Brampton is bordered by
Highway 50 (
VaughanVaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is one of the fastest growing municipalities in Canada, having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern Ontario and is part of the Greater Toronto Area...
) to the East, Winston Churchill Boulevard (
Halton HillsHalton Hills is a town in the the Regional Municipality of Halton, west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located within the Greater Toronto Area....
) to the West, Mayfield Road (
CaledonCaledon is a town in the Regional Municipality of Peel in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. In terms of land use, Caledon is somewhat urban, though it is primarily rural in nature...
) to the north (except for a small neighbourhood, Snelgrove, which is part of Brampton despite extending somewhat north of Mayfield Road) and the Hydro Corridor (Mississauga) to the south.
Bramalea was built as a "satellite city", Canada's first when built in the 1960s. It was annexed into Brampton in 1974, but still remains essentially autonomous in spirit, with even new residents responding that they live in Bramalea. Chinguacousy and Toronto Gore were two townships incorporated into Brampton mid-way through the twentieth century. From this merger, communities such as Bramalea,
Heart LakeHeart Lake is a lake located in the northern part of Brampton, Ontario, Canada. The lake itself is found in the Heart Lake Conservation Area in which trees are planted every year by students from the local elementary schools. There are numerous biking and running trails as well as a roped-off area...
and Professor's Lake,
SnelgroveSnelgrove is a community in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, straddling the border between Brampton and Caledon centred on Hurontario Street....
, Tullamore, and Mayfield, were formed.
Rural villages, such as Claireville, Ebenezer, Victoria, Springbrook, Churchville, Coleraine, and Huttonville were merged into the larger city. While only Huttonville and
ChurchvilleChurchville is a rural hamlet in the south-west corner of Brampton, Ontario. Churchville is now designated as a heritage community because of the Ontario Heritage Act....
still exist as identifiable communities, other names like Claireville are re-emerging as names of new developments.
The early 1980s brought new development, as the city released large tracts of land to residential developers. The large new suburban community of Springdale was developed in 1995 and is the area where most of the urban sprawl has taken place. This land began in its largest boom in 1999, when development started to appear as far north as the city's border with Caledon. The region has designated this border as being the line of demarcation for urban development until 2021. However, neighbouring communities not part of Peel have also been massively affected by the city's sudden spurt. The end of Brampton and start of Georgetown, for example, is essentially non-identifiable.
Demographics
" style="float:right;margin:2em"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
|+ align="bottom" |
align="bottom" |
| Racial Groups (2009 Est.) |
Population |
Percent |
| White White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
|
182,765 |
42.3 |
| South Asian |
136,750 |
31.7 |
| Black Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
|
53,340 |
12.4 |
FilipinoThe Filipino people are the nationals of the Republic of the Philippines and to persons having Filipino ancestry. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines and about 11 million outside the Philippines....
|
11,980 |
2.8 |
| Other visible minority |
8,900 |
2.1 |
| Latin American |
8,545 |
2.0 |
| Chinese The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People who reside in and hold citizenship of the People's Republic of China or the Republic of China . This definition stems from a legal perspective...
|
7,805 |
1.8 |
| All Others |
18,825 |
4.4 |
Religion
Some 67.78 percent of Brampton claimed various Christian denominations. The largest was Roman Catholicism (35.11%), followed by various Protestant denominations Anglican, United Church, Lutheran, at (27.96%), while the remaining numbers of Christians (4.70%) consists mostly of the Eastern Orthodox rite. Other religions with a notable presence include SikhismSikhism, founded on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev and ten successive Sikh Gurus in fifteenth century Punjab, is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world. This system of religious philosophy and expression has been traditionally known as the Gurmat or the Sikh Dharma...
(10.63%), HinduismHinduism is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as ', a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law", by its adherents. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as...
(5.43%), and IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
(3.53%). More than 10 percent of the population does not identify with a particular religion.
Population growth
- 1858: 50
- 1922: 8,000 (according to Celebrating 150 Years)
- 1949: 6,000 (according to Brampton: An Illustrated History)
- 1959: 14,500
- 1963: 26,363
- 1967: 37,701
- 1978: 95,000
- 1983: 165,000
- 1985: 180,000
- 2001: 325,428
- 2006: 433,806
- 2007: 452,000
These numbers are of the population of Brampton proper and do not include areas that were later annexed by Brampton prior to the expansion of municipal boundaries.
Generally speaking, the GTA has spawned growth in all its neighbouring bedroom communities (PickeringPickering is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area .-Demographics:...
, AjaxAjax is a town located in the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario, Canada.The town is named for the HMS Ajax a Royal Navy cruiser that served in the second World War. This ship was captained by John Mooseford the 2nd. Ajax is a part of the Greater Toronto Area and the Regional Municipality of...
and WhitbyWhitby is a town in Ontario, Canada. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region...
to the east, MarkhamMarkham is a town of York Region, located in Southern Ontario and forms a part of the Greater Toronto Area. Markham is regarded as largest town in Canada, and regarded as one of the fastest growing municipalities in Canada, having doubled its population since 1990. The population of Markham...
, Richmond HillRichmond Hill is a town located in Southern Ontario in the central portion of York Region, Ontario, located about halfway between Toronto and Lake Simcoe. It is the third most populous municipality in York Region and the 28th most populous municipality in Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto...
and VaughanVaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is one of the fastest growing municipalities in Canada, having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern Ontario and is part of the Greater Toronto Area...
to the north, and Brampton and Mississauga to the west) since the early 1980s, due to a number of converging factors including an exponential rise in the cost of real estate within the city and high property and corporate taxes. Due to TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
's high cultural diversity and infrastructure (including public transit), it is a leading destination for emigration, which continues to drive demand for living space, thus buoying the real estate market.
Brampton, with its proximity to the Pearson International Airport and road infrastructure, population growth, cost of land, and more favourable corporate tax structure, has become a prime location for corporate head offices, factories, warehouses, etc., as well as the typical domestic goods and services required to provide for the population.
Languages
The 2006 census found that EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
was spoken as mother tongue by 54.8% of the population. The next most common language was PunjabiPunjabi or Panjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region ....
, spoken by 15.3% of the population, followed by PortuguesePortuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
and UrduUrdu is a Central Indo-Aryan language of the Indo-Iranian branch, belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. It is one of the two official languages of Pakistan. It is also one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of five Indian states...
at 2.8% each, and SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
and ItalianItalian is a Romance language spoken by about 60 million people in Italy, and by a total of around 70 million in the world. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four official languages. It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of Vatican City...
at 2.1% each.
" align="left"
|- bgcolor="#A9A9A9 "
! Mother tongue
! Population
! Percentage
|-
| EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
| 236,715
| 54.85%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
| 3,610
| 0.84%
|-
| English and French
| 635
| 0.15%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| English and a non-official language
| 9,065
| 2.10%
|-
| French and a non-official language
| 170
| 0.04%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| English, French and a non-official language
| 125
| 0.03%
|-
| PunjabiPunjabi or Panjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region ....
| 66,240
| 15.35%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| PortuguesePortuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
| 12,210
| 2.83%
|-
| UrduUrdu is a Central Indo-Aryan language of the Indo-Iranian branch, belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. It is one of the two official languages of Pakistan. It is also one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of five Indian states...
| 12,055
| 2.79%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| ItalianItalian is a Romance language spoken by about 60 million people in Italy, and by a total of around 70 million in the world. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four official languages. It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of Vatican City...
| 9,155
| 2.12%
|-
| SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
| 8,885
| 2.06%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| TagalogTagalog is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 22 million people.It is related to Austronesian languages such as Chamorro , Indonesian, Malay, Javanese and Paiwan , Cham , and Tetum...
| 7,215
| 1.67%
|-
| GujaratiGujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family...
| 6,910
| 1.60%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| HindiStandard Hindi, also known as High Hindi, Nagari Hindi or Literary Hindi is a standardised register of Hindi. It is one of the 22 languages with official status in India, and is used, along with English, for administration of the central government.Standard Hindi is a sanskritised register derived...
| 6,775
| 1.57%
|-
| TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in India, Sri Lanka and Singapore. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in Malaysia, Mauritius and Réunion as well as emigrant communities around the world...
| 6,005
| 1.39%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| ChineseChinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of languages mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
| 5,265
| 1.22%
|-
| PolishPolish is a West Slavic language and the official language of Poland. Its written standard is the Polish alphabet which corresponds basically to the Latin alphabet with a few additions...
| 5,035
| 1.17%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| VietnameseVietnamese , formerly known under French colonization as Annamese , is the national and official language of Vietnam...
| 3,455
| 0.80%
|-
|}
" align="left"
|- bgcolor="#A9A9A9 "
! Mother tongue
! Population
! Percentage
|-
| ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
| 3,115
| 0.72%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
| 2,430
| 0.56%
|-
| Akan (Twi)Twi is a language spoken in Ghana by the Akan people, which comprises the Asantes or Ashantis, the Fantes, the Akuapems, the Kwawus, the Akyems, the Bonos or Brongs and the Denkyiras. The population that speak Twi in Ghana is about 8.3 million...
| 2,100
| 0.49%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq and Bahrain, and has a status of official language in the first three countries under different names...
| 1,610
| 0.37%
|-
| DutchDutch is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language.
"1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language...
| 1,440
| 0.33%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| CroatianCroatian is a South Slavic language which is used primarily in Croatia, by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Croatian minorities in some neighbouring countries, in the Italian region of Molise, and parts of the Croatian diaspora....
| 1,270
| 0.29%
|-
| BengaliBengali or Bangla is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages....
| 1,225
| 0.28%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
| 885
| 0.21%
|-
| SerbianSerbian is a South Slavic language, spoken chiefly in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and in the Serbian diaspora...
| 850
| 0.20%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| Sinhala (Sinhalese)
| 835
| 0.19%
|-
| HungarianHungarian is a Uralic language unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries...
| 765
| 0.18%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| RomanianRomanian or Daco-Romanian is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova. It has official status in Romania, Republic of Moldova, and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in Serbia...
| 630
| 0.15%
|-
| MalteseMaltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
| 580
| 0.13%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| LaoLao or Laotian is a tonal language of the Kradai language family. It is the official language of Laos, and also spoken in the northeast of Thailand, where it is usually referred to as the Isan language. Being the primary language of the Lao people, Lao is also an important second language for...
| 520
| 0.12%
|-
| SindhiSindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan. It is spoken by 24,410,910 people in Pakistan, and is also spoken in India by 2,535,485 speakers. It is the third most spoken language of Pakistan, and the official language of Sindh in Pakistan. It is also an official language of India...
| 520
| 0.12%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| UkrainianUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses the Cyrillic alphabet....
| 470
| 0.11%
|-
| KoreanKorean is the official language of North Korea and South Korea. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers. It was formerly written using Hanja, borrowed Chinese characters pronounced in the Korean...
| 445
| 0.10%
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
| MacedonianMacedonian is the official language of Republic of Macedonia and is a part of the Eastern group of South Slavic languages. Macedonian is closely related to and shares a high degree of mutual intelligibility with the Bulgarian language and to a certain extent with Serbian and Croatian...
| 410
| 0.10%
|-
|}
Economy
Major companies in Brampton include Best BuyBest Buy Co., Inc. is a specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Canada, Mexico, and China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates under both the Best...
(and Future ShopFuture Shop is Canada's largest consumer electronics retailer. Future Shop currently operates a total of 139 stores across all of Canada's provinces as of December 2008....
), Brafasco, FordThe Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo Cars of Sweden, and a small stake...
, Rogers CommunicationsRogers Communications Inc. is one of Canada's largest communications companies, particularly in the field of wireless communications and cable television, with additional telecommunications and mass media assets. It is headquartered in the Rogers Building in Toronto, Ontario.The company considers...
, NortelNortel Networks Corporation , formerly known as Northern Telecom Limited and sometimes known simply as Nortel, is a multinational telecommunications equipment manufacturer headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
, Para Paints, Coca Cola Bottling Co.Coca-Cola Enterprises is the world's largest marketer, producer, and distributor of Coca-Cola products. It is the anchor bottler for North America and Western Europe....
, NestléNestlé S.A. is a multinational packaged food company founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, and listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange with a turnover of over 87 billion Swiss francs...
, Chrysler Canada Ltd., Maple Lodge Farms, Hudson's Bay CompanyThe Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world...
(HBC), Loblaw Companies Ltd., Frito Lay CanadaFrito-Lay North America is a division of PepsiCo, Inc. which manufactures, markets and sells a variety of corn chips, potato chips and other snack foods....
, MD Robotics, Parkinson Coach LineParkinson Coach Lines was founded in 1946 in Snelgrove, Ontario by Harold Parkinson, and was acquired by the Murray family in 1953. Parkinson started running the predecessor to Brampton Transit in Brampton, Ontario in the 1960s. They further expanded into school bus service in the 1960s and coach...
and Canadian TireCanadian Tire Corporation, Limited is one of Canada's 35 largest publicly traded companies and operates an inter-related network of businesses engaged in retailing and services...
An automobileAn automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
manufacturing facility was opened by American MotorsAmerican Motors Corporation was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company — at the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history....
(AMC) in 1960 as the Brampton Assembly Plant. In 1986, AMC developed a new, state-of-the-art operation at another location and called it "Bramalea Assembly". After AMC was acquired by ChryslerChrysler Group, LLC is an American automobile manufacturer headquartered in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925. From 1998 to 2007, Chrysler and its subsidiaries were part of the German based DaimlerChrysler AG...
in 1987, AMC's Canadian division and its plants in the area (Brampton and Bramalea) were absorbed with the oldest facility closing in 1992. The newest factory was renamed Brampton AssemblyBrampton Assembly is a Chrysler automobile factory in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. The plant was shut down on May 1, 2009, due to Chrysler filing for bankruptcy protection in the United States on April 30, 2009.-History:...
and it became one of Brampton's largest employers with over 4,200 workers when running at capacity.
Education
Brampton's only public higher education institution is Sheridan CollegeSheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a diploma and degree granting Canadian polytechnic institute with campuses in Oakville, Ontario, and Brampton, Ontario, both western suburbs of Toronto...
, which also has a campus in OakvilleOakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...
. Founded in 1967, it is known for its animationAnimation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in a number of ways...
and illustrationAn illustration is a visualization such as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that stresses subject more than form. The aim of an illustration is to elucidate or decorate textual information by providing a visual representation.- Overview :Illustrations can:* give faces to...
courses, music theatre performance program, and craft and design program. Sheridan has the second largest school of Art and Design in North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
.
Public schools are managed by the Peel District School BoardPeel District School Board is the public board of education for the Peel Regional Municipality serving the Ontario communities of Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon.-Staff and students:...
. Local high schools include Cardinal LegerCardinal Leger Secondary School is a separate school in the downtown sector of Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It is a member of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and is connected to both St. Mary's Parish and St. Annes. Its trustee is Mr. Ken Adamson, Mrs. Linda Zanella and principal is...
, BramaleaBramalea Secondary School is a high school located in Brampton, Ontario.The current principal is Ms. Semler. It operates under the Peel District School Board....
, Brampton CentennialBrampton Centennial Secondary School is a public high school located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Brampton Centennial Secondary School is also commonly known as BCSS. It was the scene of the Centennial Secondary School shooting in 1975....
, Central PeelCentral Peel Secondary School is a high school that is located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, and it is operated by the Peel District School Board.The school enrollment stood at 1,433, according to statistics gathered in 2006...
, ChinguacousyChinguacousy Secondary School is a high school located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.Chinguacousy Secondary School is one of the major highschools in the Bramalea area. Since 2000, the school's enrollment has expanded dramatically with the development of the surrounding area...
, Fletcher's MeadowFletcher's Meadow Secondary School is a high school located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.Fletchers Meadow employs highly capable staff, each department featuring teachers who are very well educated. This school contains the only broadcast studio complete with editing rooms, greenscreen, light...
, Harold M. BrathwaiteHarold M. Brathwaite Secondary School is a public high school located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.- History :The school was named after the former director of the Peel District School Board, Harold M. Brathwaite, who retired in 2003...
, Heart LakeHeart Lake Secondary School is a high school in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the corner of Conestoga Drive and Wexford Road. Heart Lake has a great bond with Robert H...
, Holy Name of MaryHoly Name of Mary Catholic Secondary School is an all-girls regional high school in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It is the only one of its kind in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, both as an all-girls school, and in that it follows a non-semester system...
, North Park- Highlights :It is also one of three schools to host the International Business and Technology Program. This school has also hosted the International Co-op Program in conjunction with AFS , which has sent a selected number of students for one semester to Paraguay, South America for volunteer work...
, North PeelNorth Peel Secondary School is a high school in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It is one of two vocational schools operated by the Peel District School Board, the other being West Credit Secondary School in Mississauga. North Peel offers hands-on training courses to students looking to pursue a career...
, Notre DameNotre Dame Catholic Secondary School is a Roman Catholic secondary school of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board in Brampton, Ontario, Canada....
, Sandalwood HeightsSandalwood Heights Secondary School is a high school located in the city of Brampton, Ontario and is a part of the Peel District School Board. It opened in 2007. Its mission is "Personalized Pathways equal Unlimited Opportunities" - for all students....
, St. Augustine, St. Edmund CampionSt. Edmund Campion Catholic Secondary School opened its doors to 250 Grade 9 students on September 2, 2003 at the Streetsville Campus, its temporary home for two years while the school was being built on Brisdale Drive....
, St. Marguerite d'Youville, St. Thomas AquinasSt. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School may refer to:In Canada:*St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School , Brampton, Ontario*St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School , Lindsay, Ontario...
, and Turner FentonTurner Fenton Secondary School is Peel Region's largest high school, located in Brampton, Ontario. The principal is Robert Garton. It operates under the Peel District School Board....
(Canada's only campus-based high school).
Culture
There are several cultural entities in the city under the umbrella of the Brampton Arts CouncilThe Brampton Arts Council is a non-profit, charitable organization, which was formed to promote and develop the arts in the city. The BAC annually recognizes a Brampton resident for their contribution to the arts.Groups include:*Visual Arts Brampton...
. These include Visual Arts BramptonVisual Arts Brampton was formed in 1986 to organize the arts community, providing workshops, exhibits and a regular newsletter, among other things.The president and founding member of this twenty-year-old group is artist Keith Moreau.-Galleries:...
, the Brampton Historical Society and the Brampton Symphony Orchestra. Also in the city is the Peel Heritage ComplexThe Peel Heritage Complex is a museum/art gallery/archives for the Peel Region, located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.Originally the Peel County Courthouse, Brampton Jail , and registry office, this complex hosts award-winning exhibition...
, which is run by the Region of Peel.
The Rose TheatreThe Rose Theatre is located in downtown Brampton, Ontario. It opened in September 2006 with a series of public events throughout the month, culminating in a Grand Opening on September 29th featuring Diana Krall...
(originally the Brampton Performing Arts Centre), billed as "a cultural and tourist destination that will attract significant new business to surrounding restaurants, shops and services", opened in September 2006. The City says that the facilities are expected to generate $2.7 million in economic activity the first year and grow to $19.8 million by the fifth year. Despite some cynicism, the Rose Theatre attracted over 137,000 patrons in its inaugural year, surpassing its original five-year goal. Since then, numerous new businesses have opened in the vicinity of the theatre and its Garden Square, where a new Fountain Stage was unveiled in June 2008.
The opening chase scene with Sarah Polley in 2004s Dawn of the Dead was filmed in Brampton.
Sites of interest
- Gage Park
*Gage Park, Topeka, Kansas, U.S.A, a city park*Gage Park, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A, a community area*Gage Park, Brampton, Brampton, Ontario, Canada, a city park...
- Artway Gallery
- Bovaird House
- Chinguacousy Park-Greenhouse and gardens
- Claireville Conservation Area
The Claireville Conservation Area, one of the largest tracts of land owned by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority , is very unique. It was acquired in 1957 to construct a flood control dam and reservoir after the destruction caused by Hurricane Hazel...
- Flower City Theatre Festival
- Formula Kartways
- Great War Flying Museum
The Great War Flying Museum is an aviation museum located at the Brampton Airport in Brampton, Ontario Canada. The museum builds and maintains flying replicas of World War I aircraft. Paying members and volunteers help build and maintain the authentic replicas. All aircraft are kept flying by...
- Heart Lake Conservation Area
- Heritage Theatre
- Historic Bovaird House
- Humber Nurseries Butterfly Conservatory
- Korea Veterans' National Wall of Remembrance
- Ontario Field of Honour
- Peel Heritage Complex
The Peel Heritage Complex is a museum/art gallery/archives for the Peel Region, located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.Originally the Peel County Courthouse, Brampton Jail , and registry office, this complex hosts award-winning exhibition...
- Powerade Centre
The Powerade Centre is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It was built in 1998, and officially opened the same year on October 7. Its main arena is home to two major hockey teams, the Brampton Battalion of the OHL, and the Brampton Thunder of the CWHL...
- Rose Theatre
The Rose Theatre is located in downtown Brampton, Ontario. It opened in September 2006 with a series of public events throughout the month, culminating in a Grand Opening on September 29th featuring Diana Krall...
- South Fletchers Sportsplex
- Wild Water Kingdom
Wild Water Kingdom , is Canada's largest water-based fun park, located Brampton, Ontario. Opened in 1986, the 100 arce park is located next to the Clairville Reservoir, Clairville Conservation Area and the Humber River . The park has a variety of attractions, including water slides, a wave pool,...
Major shopping areas include Bramalea City CentreThe Bramalea City Centre is an indoor shopping mall located in the city of Brampton, Ontario, Canada. With over a million square feet of retail space and more than 280 outlets, it is one of Canada's largest shopping malls...
, Shoppers WorldNow 40 years old, Shoppers World Brampton was at one point in the 1970s Canada's top selling mall, per square foot. Currently it is host to over 190 stores, including Canadian Tire, Winners, Zellers and Staples/Business Depot...
, and "big box centre" Trinity Common MallTrinity Common Mall is a large shopping complex located at Bovaird Drive and Highway 410 in the Springdale section of Brampton, Ontario, Canada...
. The downtown area has some retail, the Centennial Mall and the Brampton Mall are also of note.
Media
Brampton was one of the first areas Rogers CableRogers Cable Inc., a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., is Canada's largest cable television service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet subscribers, in Southern Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.The company's digital cable...
offered its service in. As a result, it started a community access channel in the 1970s, which is still operational today. While some programs on the channel are produced in their Brampton studios, most are headquartered out of their Mississauga location.
The Brampton GuardianThe Brampton Guardian is a locally distributed, cost-free community newspaper in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.-History:In the late-1950s, the Bramalea development began, under the oversight of Bayton Holdings Ltd., then Bramalea Consolidated Developments Limited...
is the community's only newspaper after Brampton's original newspaper The Daily Times stopped circulation in the early 1980s. For a little over a year, The Brampton Bulletin attempted to challenge the Guardian, but it was dismantled after a series of editor changes.
Brampton is also the official city of licenseA city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.- History :...
for two radio stations, CIAOCIAO is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 530 AM in Brampton, Ontario. The station, owned by Evanov Communications, broadcasts a multilingual programming format.-History:...
and CFNYCFNY-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 102.1 FM. While the station's official city of license is Brampton, Ontario, it targets the entire Greater Toronto Area, with studios located at 228 Yonge Street in downtown Toronto, and its transmitter in the CN Tower...
, although both stations target their programming toward the entire Greater Toronto AreaThe Greater Toronto Area is the most populous metropolitan area in Canada. The GTA is a provincial planning area in Southern Ontario with a population of 5,555,912 at the 2006 Canadian Census...
rather than exclusively to Brampton.
Sports and recreation
Sports teams of Brampton
|-bgcolor="#A9A9A9 "
! scope="col" | Club
! scope="col" | League
! scope="col" | Sport
! scope="col" | Venue
! scope="col" | Established
! scope="col" | Championships
|-
! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | Brampton BattalionThe Brampton Battalion are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team is based in Brampton, Ontario and started playing in 1998.-History:The Brampton Battalion were granted an expansion franchise on December 3, 1996...
| OHLThe Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada....
| hockeyHockey is any of a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball, or a hard, round, rubber or heavy plastic disc called a puck, into the opponent's net or goal, using a hockey stick.-Field hockey:...
| Powerade CentreThe Powerade Centre is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It was built in 1998, and officially opened the same year on October 7. Its main arena is home to two major hockey teams, the Brampton Battalion of the OHL, and the Brampton Thunder of the CWHL...
| 1998
| 0
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | Brampton CapitalsThe Brampton Capitals are a Tier II Junior "A" ice hockey team from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League.-History:...
| Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey LeagueThe Ontario Junior Hockey League was a Junior A ice hockey league under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The league dated back to 1954 as the Central Junior B Hockey League. In 1993, the Central Junior B Hockey League was promoted to the...
| hockey
| Brampton Memorial Arena
| 1984
| 4
|-
! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | Bramalea BluesThe Bramalea Blues are a Tier II Junior "A" ice hockey team from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League but also used to be a part of the Metro Junior A Hockey League. They joined the OPJHL in 1995.-History:...
| Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey LeagueThe Ontario Junior Hockey League was a Junior A ice hockey league under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The league dated back to 1954 as the Central Junior B Hockey League. In 1993, the Central Junior B Hockey League was promoted to the...
| hockey
| Powerade CentreThe Powerade Centre is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It was built in 1998, and officially opened the same year on October 7. Its main arena is home to two major hockey teams, the Brampton Battalion of the OHL, and the Brampton Thunder of the CWHL...
| 1972
| 1
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | Brampton ExcelsiorsBrampton Excelsiors may be:*A team that competes in an OLA league at some level:**Brampton Excelsiors who compete in Major Series Lacrosse**Brampton Excelsiors Jr. A who compete in the OLA Junior A Lacrosse League...
| Major Series LacrosseMajor Series Lacrosse is a Senior A box lacrosse league based out of Ontario, Canada sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Most of the players in the league play or have played in the National Lacrosse League. Each year, the playoff teams battle for the right to compete against the...
Senior "A" Lacrosse League.
| lacrosseLacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin that is played using a small solid rubber ball and a long-handled racquet called a crosse or lacrosse stick. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose netting that is designed to hold the lacrosse ball...
| Powerade Centre
| 1912
| 30
|-
! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | Brampton ThunderThe Brampton Thunder is a semi-professional ice hockey team, established in 1999 and formerly of the National Women's Hockey League and now of the Canadian Women's Hockey League...
| Canadian Women's Hockey LeagueThe Canadian Women's Hockey League ice hockey league was founded in 2007. The league currently has six ice hockey teams in Ontario and Québec....
| hockey
| Powerade Centre
| 1999
| 0
|-
|-style="background:#efefef; color:black"
! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" | Junior ExcelsiorsThe Brampton Excelsiors are Junior "A" box lacrosse team from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. The Excelsiors play in the OLA Junior A Lacrosse League.-External links:***...
| OLA Junior A Lacrosse LeagueThe OLA Junior A Lacrosse League is a box lacrosse league in Ontario, Canada sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. The playoff champion moves on to compete for the National Championship -- the Minto Cup.-The Teams:-Playoff Champions:...
| lacrosse
| Brampton Memorial Arena
| 1971
| 4
|-
|}
There are many sporting venues and activities including the outdoor ice path for skatingIce skating is moving on ice by use of ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water such as lakes and...
through Gage Park and the ski liftThe term ski lift can refer to many different types of uphill transport, in three main classes:-Lift systems and networks:The network lifts at a ski resort can be arranged in several patterns depending on the size and topography of the area. Several lifts may be arranged radially outward from a...
at Chinguacousy Park. In the summer amateur softballSoftball is a team sport popular especially in the United States. It is a direct descendant of baseball. Some key differences between softball and baseball are that softballs are larger than baseballs, and pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand. Softball was invented by George Hancock...
leagues abound and crowds line the beaches at Professor's LakeProfessor's Lake is a spring-fed artificial lake located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Beginning in 1918, the area where the lake currently is was used as a gravel pit. In total, the pit produced approximately 20 million tonnes of sand and gravel. When digging hit the water table, the gravel...
.
Every year, since 1967, the Brampton Canadettes host the Brampton Canadettes Easter TournamentBrampton Canadettes Easter Tournament is an annual 3½ day tournament for women's and girls' hockey teams. It has been held every year since 1967 and is hosted by the Brampton Canadettes in Brampton, Ontario. It bills itself as "The World's Largest Tournament Girls Hockey." Teams of all ages and...
women's and girls' hockey teams invade Brampton for 3 1/2 days of head-to-head competition. Teams of all ages and categories from across CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
compete in this annual tournament. Teams from EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
, Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, KazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country situated in Eurasia that is ranked as the ninth largest country in the world. It is also the world's largest landlocked country. Its territory of 2,727,300 km² is greater than Western Europe...
and RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
attend this international tournament.
Thousands of players and spectators will pass through the doors during the tournament. There is no limit on the number of teams in a division.
The Intermediate AA and Midget AA divisions are highly scouted by local and American colleges and universities seeking recruits for varsity teams. Teams from as far as Alaska and Calgary, Quebec and Carolina, Michigan and Minnesota, as well as virtually all hockey centres in Ontario will compete in a minimum of 3 games each over the course of the tournament. Including championship finals, over 600 games are played in just 3½ days. For the best in hockey tournament competition, Brampton is second-to-none in the world of women's and girls' hockey.
Public transit network
Local transit is provided by Brampton TransitBrampton Transit is public transport bus operator for the City of Brampton in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and within the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Brampton Transit began operations in 1974....
, with connections to other systems such as Mississauga TransitMississauga Transit is the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada's public transportation operation.The city's Transportation and Works department is in charge of its operation. MT only operates buses, but as part of the Greater Toronto Area, is connected to commuter rail with GO Transit...
, York Region TransitYork Region Transit is the public transit operator in York Region, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Richmond Hill, at 50 High Tech Road.-Overview:...
, and Toronto Transit CommissionThe Toronto Transit Commission is a public transport authority that operates buses, streetcars, subways, and rapid transit lines in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
. Brampton is currently planning a new Bus Rapid TransitBus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems that use buses to provide a service that is of a higher speed than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
system, called AccelerideAcceleride is a bus rapid transit system that has been proposed by Brampton Transit in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It would be similar to the BRT system currently operated by York Region Transit's Viva system...
along Main/Hurontario and Queen Streets, which would form the backbone to its bus network. Acceleride received funding from the provincial government in 2006 to begin implementation of this system. The fare is $3.00 for single adult transfer which is valid for 2 hours. There is GO Bus service to York UniversityYork University is a university located in Toronto, Ontario. It is Canada's third-largest university and has produced several of the country's top leaders across the humanities and in sciences such as chemistry, meteorology and space science....
and subway stations at Yorkdale Mall and York Mills in Toronto.
Railways
Both Canadian National Railways and the Orangeville-Brampton RailwayThe Orangeville-Brampton Railway is a 55 kilometre long short line railway between Orangeville and Streetsville Junction in Mississauga, Ontario. It passes through the City of Brampton and the Town of Caledon....
short line (formerly part of the Canadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a Canadian Class I railway operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited. Its rail network stretches from Vancouver to Montreal, and also serves major cities in the United States such as Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City...
line) run through the city, CN's Intermodal Yards are located east of Airport Road between Steeles and the former Highway 7/Queen Street EastHighway 7 is a provincially maintained highway in Southern Ontario, Canada. At its peak, Highway 7 measured a total distance of 716 km in length, stretching from Highway 40 east of Sarnia in Southwestern Ontario to Highway 417 southwest of Kanata in Eastern Ontario...
. The CN Track from Toronto's Union Station, is the Georgetown GO Transit Rail Corridor providing commuter rail and bus services to and from Toronto with rail station stops at Bramalea, Downtown Brampton, and Mount Pleasant. VIA RailVIA Rail Canada is an independent Crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada....
connects through Brampton as part of the Quebec City-Windsor CorridorThe Quebec City–Windsor Corridor is the most densely-populated and heavily-industrialised region of Canada. With over 17 million people , it contained 56.8% of the Canadian population and three of the four largest metropolitan areas in the country...
.
Airports
Canada's busiest airport, Toronto Pearson International AirportToronto Pearson International Airport, also known as Lester B. Pearson International Airport or simply Toronto Pearson , is a major international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is situated northwest of Downtown Toronto in the city of Mississauga, Ontario...
(CYYZ), is located near Brampton, in MississaugaMississauga , incorporated in 1974, is a city in Southern Ontario located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and part of the Greater Toronto Area. With a population of 668,549 as of the 2006 census, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality, and has almost doubled in population in each...
. For general aviationGeneral aviation is one of two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
the city is served by the privately-owned Brampton AirportBrampton Airport, , is a privately owned general aviation airport in Caledon, near Brampton, Ontario, Canada, northwest of Toronto.The club and airport was established in 1946 and occupies of land...
(CNC3), located to the north of the city in neighbouring CaledonCaledon is a town in the Regional Municipality of Peel in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. In terms of land use, Caledon is somewhat urban, though it is primarily rural in nature...
.
Road network
Brampton is served by several major transportation routes: Highway 401The King's Highway 401 is a highway that extends across Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the longest 400-Series Highway in Ontario, and one of the widest and busiest highways in the world. In fact, the segment of Highway 401 passing through Toronto has the distinction of being North America's...
from Toronto is a short distance south in MississaugaMississauga , incorporated in 1974, is a city in Southern Ontario located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and part of the Greater Toronto Area. With a population of 668,549 as of the 2006 census, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality, and has almost doubled in population in each...
, and can be reached by Highway 410Highway 410 is a 400-Series highway in Ontario, Canada that connects Highway's 401 and 403 with Greater Toronto's western suburbs of Mississauga and Brampton. Its total length is 17.7 km....
, which runs north-south through the middle of the city. Highway 407Highway 407, officially called the 407 Express Toll Route , is a tollway in North America, located in the Greater Toronto Area, Southern Ontario, Canada. It begins at the junction of the Queen Elizabeth Way and Highway 403 in Burlington, and travels 108 km east to its present terminus at...
runs along the southern portion of the city, just north of the boundary with Mississauga. Steeles AvenueSteeles Avenue is an east-west street that forms the northern city limit of Toronto and the southern limit of York Region, Ontario, Canada. It is 38.75 km within Toronto, between Albion Road and the Scarborough-Pickering limit....
, which runs north of the 407, is another thoroughfare from Toronto. The former Highway 7Highway 7 is a provincially maintained highway in Southern Ontario, Canada. At its peak, Highway 7 measured a total distance of 716 km in length, stretching from Highway 40 east of Sarnia in Southwestern Ontario to Highway 417 southwest of Kanata in Eastern Ontario...
(now Regional Road 107 in Brampton) is another east-west corridor, (actually two, as it incorporates the eastern part of Queen Street and the western part of Bovaird Drive.
Sister cities
USA PlanoPlano is a northern suburb of Dallas, Texas. Located mostly within Collin County, the population was 222,030 at the 2000 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Texas. According to a 2008 census estimate, Plano grew to 267,480 residents, making it the seventieth most populous city in the...
, TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
Philippines Marikina CityThe City of Marikina , known as the Shoe Capital of the Philippines, was formerly the capital of the province of Manila during the declaration of Philippine Independence...
, PhilippinesThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
USA Miami BeachMiami Beach is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city was incorporated on 26 March, 1915. It is located on a barrier island between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean; the Bay separates Miami Beach from the city of Miami, Florida. The city is often referred to under the...
, FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
Sportspeople
NHLers Rick NashRick Nash is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and team captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League ....
, Andrew CasselsAndrew Cassels is a retired professional ice hockey centre who played sixteen seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, Hartford Whalers, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals.-Playing career:Andrew Cassels was selected 17th...
, Jamie StorrJamie Storr is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender.-Playing career:Jamie Storr was the first goalie selected in the 1991 OHL Entry Draft and played major junior with the Owen Sound Platers and the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League...
, Kris NewburyKris Newbury is a professional ice hockey centre who is currently a member of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League ....
, Todd ElikTodd Elik is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre. Currently, he is playing in Langnau for SCL Tigers in Nationalliga A.-Biography:...
, Jason Spezza, Tom Laidlaw, Mike Wilson and Luciano BorsatoLuciano Borsato is a retired Canadian professional hockey centre who played 5 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Winnipeg Jets.-Playing career:...
are from Brampton, as is TSNThe Sports Network, commonly abbrieviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language cable television specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the second group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
and NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
play-by-play announcer and author Chris CuthbertChris Cuthbert is a Canadian play-by-play sportscaster for the TSN cable network. Formerly, he worked for CBC Sports in a multitude of roles and for the American television network NBC on NHL on NBC....
. Brampton-born Cassie CampbellCassie Campbell-Pascall is a former Canadian female ice hockey player. She was the captain of the Canadian ice hockey team during the 2002 Winter Olympics and led the team to a gold medal...
was captain of the 2002 and 2006 Canadian national women's hockey teamThe Canadian women's national ice hockey team is controlled by Hockey Canada. Canada has been by far the most dominant team in international competition. They have won the vast majority of the major ice hockey tournaments, while their losses have only been against the United States and Sweden....
, and has since become a Hockey Night in CanadaHockey Night in Canada is a television broadcast of National Hockey League games in Canada, produced by CBC Sports. Hockey Night has consistently been among the highest-rated programs on Canadian television, and is the world's oldest sports-related television program still on the air...
personality, while Bernadette BowyerBernadette Maria Bowyer is a former field hockey player from Canada.Bowyer represented her native country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. The Canadian National Team finished seventh in the competition.-References:* *
...
played for the Canadian field hockey team at the 1992 Summer OlympicsThe 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain in 1992.-Host city selection:...
in Barcelona, Spain. Professional soccer players Atiba HutchinsonAtiba Hutchinson is a professional Canadian soccer player who plays for F.C. Copenhagen in the Danish Superliga.- Career :...
(FC Copenhagen), Iain HumeIain Edward Hume is a Scottish-born Canadian football player. On June 25 2008, it was announced that Hume had been signed for £1.2m on a 3 year contract by Barnsley.-Tranmere Rovers:...
(Leicester City), Gabe GalaGabriel "Gabe" Gala is a Nigerian-born Canadian soccer player who currently plays for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer.-Youth:Gala moved from his native Nigeria to Brampton, Ontario as a young child...
(Toronto FCToronto FC, popularly abbreviated as TFC, is a professional football club located in Toronto, Ontario and the first Canadian and non-American team in the United States' pre-eminent professional soccer league, Major League Soccer...
) and Paul StalteriPaul Stalteri is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the German 1. Bundesliga.-Early life:Stalteri was born to a Calabrese father and a Guyanese mother.-Club career:...
(Tottenham Hotspur), NCAA football defensive end Jamaal WestermanJamaal Akeem Westerman is an American football defensive end and linebacker for the New York Jets of the National Football League . He was signed by the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Rutgers.Westerman played high school football in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,...
, as well as Olympian high-jumper Mark BoswellMark Boswell and grew up in Brampton, Ontario is a Canadian high jumper, who won a total number of six national titles in the men's high jump event....
.
Politicians
Three Canadian premiers got their start in Brampton; Premiers T.C. Norris and Howard PawleyHoward Russell Pawley, PC, OC, OM is a Canadian politician and professor who was Premier of Manitoba from 1981 to 1988.-Personal life:...
OC of Manitoba, and "Brampton Billy", Ontario premier William Grenville Davis CC. Other notable politicians include John Coyne, Gordon GraydonGordon Graydon, BA , QC , LL.D was a Canadian politician.Graydon received his early education at S.S. No. 6 Chinguacousy in County Peel, Ontario. He attended Brampton High School, and was a student at University of Toronto in Political Science. He graduated from Osgoode Hall law school in 1924...
. Alberta politician Sir James A. LougheedSir James Alexander Lougheed, KCMG , PC was a businessman and politician from Alberta, Canada.Lougheed was born in Brampton, Canada West, to Irish Protestant parents. The family moved to Weston, Canada West, when Lougheed was a child, and he attended King Street Public School Sir James Alexander...
was also from Brampton.
The arts
- Curtis Albert Williamson, nicknamed 'The Canadian Rembrandt' and co-founder of the Canadian Art Club
The Canadian Art Club, founded 1907 in Toronto by Edmund M. Morris and Curtis Albert Williamson, was a group of Canadian artists that did much to introduce Fauvism to Canada.-Notable Members:*Homer Watson*Maurice Cullen*Clarence Gagnon*James Wilson Morrice...
(1907)
- Carolnie Helena Armington, Wife of Frank Armington, notable exhibitions: Paris Salon
The Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the western world...
and Panama Pacific Exposition (1915)
- Ronald Bloore, Member of the Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
; Organizer and member of the "Regina FiveRegina Five is the name given to five abstract painters, Kenneth Lochhead, Arthur McKay, Douglas Morton, Ted Godwin, and Ronald Bloore, who displayed their works in the 1961 National Gallery of Canada's exhibition "Five Painters from Regina".-External links:...
" (1960)
- Rohinton Mistry
Rohinton Mistry is an author of Indian heritage, writing in English. Residing in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, Mistry is of Indian origin, and belongs to the Parsi community.-Biography:...
- Edo Van Belkom
Edo van Belkom is a Canadian author of horror fiction.Born in Toronto, Ontario, he is the author of the novels Wyrm Wolf, Teeth, Martyrs, Scream Queen, Army of the Dead, and Wolf Pack, and the Dragonlance setting novel Lord Soth , amongst others...
- David Feiss
David Feiss is an American animator.Feiss was born in Sacramento, California. He joined Hanna-Barbera around 1978 while still a teenager....
, creator of Cow and ChickenCow and Chicken is an American animated series, created by David Feiss. The series shows the adventures of a cow, named Cow, and her chicken brother, named Chicken. They are often tormented by the Red Guy, a usually pants-less devil-like character who poses as various characters to scam or hurt...
and I Am WeaselI Am Weasel is an American animated television series, created by David Feiss and broadcast on the Cartoon Network. Its basic premise is a somewhat twisted take on the classic nursery rhyme "Pop Goes the Weasel"; in fact, the theme song of the series, sung by April March, is based on the well-known...
- Watercolourist Jack Reid
Jack Reid was a Canadian artist and a member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour . With a career spanning six decades, his paintings are seen in the diverse locales of people's homes, galleries, major corporate collections, and in Windsor Castle in Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's...
- Little X
Julien Christian Lutz , better known as Little X, is a Canadian music video director of Trinidadian and Swiss descent. A protégé of Hype Williams, Little X has been noted for his high-budget, visually distinctive videos for popular music singles, including Mystikal's "Shake That Ass" and "Danger!...
, music video director
- Keshia Chante
Keshia Chanté is a Canadian Juno Award-winning critically acclaimed, singer, songwriter, actress, Ford model, socialite, beauty queen and Fashionista...
, R&B singer
While she doesn't live in Brampton, Deepa MehtaDeepa Mehta is a Genie Award winning and Academy Award nominated Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter...
's 2008 film Heaven on EarthHeaven on Earth a.k.a Videsh is a 2008 Canadian film directed and written by Deepa Mehta. Preity Zinta plays the leading role of Chand, a young Indian Punjabi woman who finds herself in an abusive arranged marriage with an Indo-Canadian man, played by theatre actor Vansh Bhardwaj...
is set in town.
Actors and comedians
Two notable comedians hail from Brampton, Scott ThompsonScott Thompson is a Canadian television comedian, best known for his time as a member of the comedy troupe Kids in the Hall.-Early life:...
and Russell PetersRussell Dominic Peters is an Indo-Canadian stand-up comic and actor.-Early life and background:Russell Peters was born in Toronto, Ontario to Eric and Maureen Peters, and raised in Brampton. He is of Anglo-Indian descent. His father was born in Bombay, India and worked as a federal meat Inspector...
. Thompson, one of the first openly-gayThe term gay was originally used, until well into the mid-20th century, primarily to refer to feelings of being "carefree", "happy", or "bright and showy"; it had also come to acquire some connotations of "immorality" as early as 1637....
television personalities in Canada, was part of the Kids in the Hall comedy troupe. Peters is an increasingly popular stand-up comedian who was raised in town, and later moved back, after winning a Gemini AwardThe Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada...
for his Comedy Now!Comedy Now! is a Canadian comedy television series which debuted in 1997 featuring the newest in Canadian comedic talent. The show has won numerous Gemini Awards as well as many international awards. It is broadcast in Canada on The Comedy Network, CTV and A...
special,he has now relocated to Hollywood.
Comedic actor Michael CeraMichael Austin Cera is a Canadian actor best known for his roles in Arrested Development, Superbad, Juno, and Year One. Cera received two Canadian Comedy Award Best Actor nominations in 2008 for his work in Juno and Superbad, winning for Superbad.-Early life and education:Cera was born in...
was born and raised in Brampton. He was a regular on the television series Arrested Development, and most recently starred in the movies Superbad and JunoJuno is a 2007 Canadian-American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera,...
. Paulo CostanzoPaulo Costanzo is a Canadian actor who is perhaps best-known for his roles in the 2000 comedy Road Trip and the sitcom Joey which ran from 2004-2006. Costanzo currently stars in USA Network's hit series Royal Pains....
(Joey) is also a former resident of Brampton as is Alan ThickeAlan Thicke is a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is best known for his role as Jason Seaver, the patriarch on the ABC television series Growing Pains....
(Growing PainsGrowing Pains is an American television sitcom that ran on the ABC network from 1985 to 1992.The show's premise is based around the fictional Seaver family, who reside on Long Island, New York. Dr. Jason Seaver , a psychiatrist, works from home because his wife, Maggie Malone , has gone back to...
, Thicke of the NightThicke of the Night was an American late night talk show produced by MGM Television, distributed in syndication by Metromedia and broadcast in first-run syndication during the 1983-1984 TV season....
) grew up in Brampton. Shawn AshmoreShawn Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, most famously known in his role as Jake in the Animorphs. He is easily confused with his twin brother Aaron Ashmore.-Early life:...
(X-MenX-Men is a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1 . Under a cloud of increasing anti-mutant sentiment, Professor Xavier creates a haven at his Westchester mansion to train young mutants to use their powers for the...
movie series, Terry Fox in Terry) and his twin brother Aaron AshmoreAaron Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, best known as Jimmy Olsen in Smallville. He is easily confused with his twin brother Shawn Ashmore.-Career:...
(SmallvilleSmallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB, premiering on October 16, 2001...
) are Brampton-raised.
Other Brampton-born or affiliated actors include Gemini AwardThe Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada...
winner Kris LemcheKristopher Lemche is a Canadian actor.Lemche was born in Brampton, Ontario to a schoolteacher mother and a father who was the proprietor of a heating business. Lemche attended the Mayfield School of Arts, not so much because he dreamed of being an actor, but because his friends attended the school...
(Emily of New Moon-Plot summary:Similar to her earlier and more famous Anne of Green Gables series, the Emily novels depicted life through the eyes of a young orphan girl, Emily Starr, who is raised by her relatives after her father dies of consumption. The series was less romanticized and more realistic than the...
, Joan of ArcadiaJoan of Arcadia is an American television fantasy/family drama telling the story of a teenage girl who communicates with God and performs tasks she is given. The program originally aired on Fridays, 8-9 p.m...
), David PhillipsDavid Joseph Phillips is a Canadian actor best known for starring in numerous theatrical performances in Toronto and at the Stratford Festival, hosting Video & Arcade Top 10 and The Miss Canada Pageant, as well as starring in the films Poker Night and Shark City.-Early life and education:Phillips...
(Shark CityShark City is a comedy written by Evan Shear starring Jefferson Brown, David Phillips, Carlo Rota, Corey Haim, Vivica A. Fox, Jordan Madley, Samantha Gutstadt, and Tony Nappo; with Skye Collyer, Adam Rodness, Sean Tweedley, Michael Gelbart, and Dylan Ramsey.-Plot:At the infamous club Shark City,...
, Green Guys), Sabrina GrdevichSabrina Grdevich is a Canadian actress.Sabrina portrayed Dana Ballard in the 1999 made-for-TV movie Ultimate Deception with Yasmine Bleeth. Her starring roles include Mile Zero and Lola...
(TradersTraders is a Canadian television drama series, which was broadcast on Global Television Network from 1995 to 2000.-Overview:Although Global had locked up most of NBC's "Must See Thursday" situation comedies for their Thursday night broadcasts, they lost the rights to broadcast the medical drama ER...
), Nicole LynNicole Lyn is a television actress. She is also known for her role in Student Bodies, a Canadian teen comedy series.-Biography:...
(Student BodiesStudent Bodies is a syndicated television comedy program produced in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1997 to the end of 1999 that mixed animation with live action....
, married to Dulé HillKarim Dulé Hill is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Josiah Bartlet's personal presidential aide Charlie Young on the NBC drama television series The West Wing, and as pharmaceutical salesman-turned-detective Burton "Gus" Guster on the USA Network television comedy-drama Psych...
), Brenna O'BrienBrenna O'Brien is a Canadian actress. She is best known for voicing Rin in the anime series Inuyasha.-Career:She is also known for playing Meghan in Zixx: Level Two and appears in X-Men: The Last Stand as the girl in the car with her family during Magneto's displacement of the Golden Gate Bridge...
(InuYasha, full title , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It premiered in Weekly Shōnen Sunday on November 13, 1996 and concluded on June 18, 2008...
, Zixx: Level Two), and film director Mark PenneyMark Penney is a Canadian film director.Mark Penney is the director of the 2004 film The Right Way which played at many world film festivals most notably at the 61st Venice Film Festival. He began his career in Christian television at the age of 16 and has directed many short films and television...
.
Tyler LabineTyler Sean Labine is a Canadian actor. His brother is actor Kyle Labine. He is known for his role as Dave Groves on the cult favorite Invasion and as Bert "Sock" Wysocki in Reaper.-Feature films:* Tucker and Dale vs...
is another young, locally-raised actor, having starred in InvasionAn invasion is a military offensive consisting of all, or large parts of the armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of either conquering, liberating or re-establishing control or authority over a...
. Niagara area radio DJ and stand up comedian Chris ConnorChris Connor was an American jazz singer.-Biography:She was born as Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri to Clyde and Mabel Loutsenhizer. She studied and became proficient on the clarinet, having studied for 8 years throughout junior high and high school...
grew up in Brampton and Police AcademyPolice Academy is a series of comedy films, the first six of which were made in the 1980s. The seventh and to date last installment, Mission to Moscow, was released in 1994. The series opened with Police Academy which started with the premise that a new mayor had announced a policy requiring the...
series star George R. Robertson won a Gemini AwardThe Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada...
in 2004 for his Humanitarian work.
Musicians
Keshia ChanteKeshia Chanté is a Canadian Juno Award-winning critically acclaimed, singer, songwriter, actress, Ford model, socialite, beauty queen and Fashionista...
attended High School in Brampton before making it big as a pop and R&B singer. Composer and musician Friendly RichFriendly Rich, born Richard Marsella, is a Canadian avant-garde composer/musician from Brampton, Ontario. His music has been featured on CBC and The Tom Green Show....
, and bands The JunctionThe Junction is an indie rock band from Brampton, Ontario, Canada.They were previously signed to Universal Music and later split from the label to begin their own Canadian label, The Junction Inc.-Current members:*Brent Jackson: Vocals, Guitar...
, and MoneenMoneen is an indie rock band from Brampton, Ontario, Canada.-History:The band formed in 1999 after the dissolution of another band, called Perfectly Normal. Moneen's original bass player, Mark Bowser, was replaced by Chris Slorach, who left the band after the release of The Theory of Harmonial Value...
are from Brampton, as is Jason CollettJason Collett is a Toronto based singer-songwriter. He is a member of Broken Social Scene but also tours on his own, having released four solo CDs. His latest album, Here's to Being Here, was released in February, 2008....
, member of Broken Social SceneBroken Social Scene are a Juno Award-winning Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective currently including nineteen members, formed in 1999 by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. All of its members currently play in various other groups and solo projects, mainly based around the city of Toronto...
. Heavy metal and jazz artist Lee AaronLee Aaron is a Canadian rock and jazz singer. She had several hits with titles such as "Metal Queen", "Whatcha Do to My Body", and "Sex with Love"...
also has connections with Brampton, as do The Wires and The Hip Hop Collective. Gospel singer Karen BurkeBorn in Brantford, Ontario Canada on November 14, 1961, Karen Burke entered McMaster University's Honours music programme in 1979 and there developed an interest in choral conducting. During her time there, Karen received the Louise E...
, co-founder of the Toronto Mass Choir, has been living in Brampton for many years. Also, Danni Action and other members of Revolution Love are from Brampton.
Others
- Nathaniel Branden
Nathaniel Branden, né Nathan Blumenthal , is a psychotherapist and writer best known today for his work in the psychology of self-esteem...
, psychotherapist, best known as a former associate of Ayn RandAyn Rand , was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her best-selling novels and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
and founder of the Nathaniel Branden InstituteThe Nathaniel Branden Institute was an organization founded by Nathaniel Branden in 1958 to promote Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. The institute was responsible for the many Objectivist lectures and presentations around the country...
- Malgosia Majewska
Małgorzata “Malgosia” Majewska is Miss World Canada 2006 and Miss World Peel Region 2006. During the Miss World Canada competition, she won the Miss Fitness component which placed her among the finalists.Ms...
, Miss World CanadaThe Miss World Canada contest has been held in several incarnations during its lifetime. The current franchise-holders are MWC Inc., based in Unionville, Ontario.Canada began competing in Miss World in 1957...
2006
See also
- List of airports in the Greater Toronto Area
- City of Brampton Arts Person of the Year
- Brampton Board of Trade
The Brampton Board of Trade is a business organization first founded in Brampton, Ontario in 1887. Currently representing the broad interests of 1100+ members, the Brampton Board of Trade serves its members through government lobbying, member discounts, and networking opportunities.-History:* 1887...
- Brampton municipal election, 2006
The Brampton municipal election, 2006 took place on 13 November 2006, to elect a mayor, five regional councillors and five city councillors in the city of Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It was held in conjunction with all other municipalities in Ontario...
External links
Local media