Area Description

Clarington (2016 population 92,013) is a municipality in Ontario, Canada in the Regional Municipality of Durham. It was created in 1973 with the merging of the Town of Bowmanville, and the townships of Clarke and Darlington. It took its present name in 1994 after having been known as the Town of Newcastle from 1974-93. The name change was made to alleviate long-standing confusion between the municipality as a whole and the included village of the same name. Bowmanville is the largest community in the municipality and is the home of the municipal offices. The name "Clarington" is a portmanteau of the names of the two historical townships, Clarke and Darlington, that made up the majority of the geographic area.

It is part of the census metropolitan area of Oshawa and forms the eastern end of the Greater Toronto Area. Major employers in Clarington include the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, General Motors in Oshawa, and several medium-to-large sized manufacturing businesses; however, most residents travel to points west in Durham Region or to Toronto for employment.

According to the Canada 2011 Census from Statistics Canada there were 84,548 people living in Clarington, and its population in 2006 was 77,820, representing an increase of 8.6%. The 2011 Census counted 30,797 housing units and 29,880 being occupied.

2011 Census data show that Clarington has one of the highest proportions of residents that have English as their mother tongue within the GTA (91.2%). French is the native language for 1.8% of the population of Clarington. No other language has more than 1% of native speakers (Dutch with 0.8% - 695 native speakers - tops the pack of immigrant languages).