York Region Claim to Fame
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  • Canada's "Silicon Valley" is in York Region - home to numerous high-tech company headquarters including IBM, ATI & Motorola.
  • York Region Forest - the first forest in Canada to be designated for its contribution to the environment.
  • York Region contains the largest protected "green" recreational area in the Ontario Greenbelt (second only to the Niagara Escarpment)
  • York Region is home to the 15,000-acre Holland Marsh.

    • The Windfall Ecology Festival held every June, has been named one of Canada's top 12 green events .
    • Sharon Temple is #1 on the list of Essential Canadian Architecture, surpassing the Parliamentary Library & East Block and Quebec City's Chateau Frontenac. It celebrates its 175th anniversary in 2007.
    • Canadian firsts - Sharon Temple's Children of the Peace Quakers led the country's first farmers' co-operative; built its first shelter for the homeless; and played a key role in the development of democracy in Canada.
    • York Region is home to the world's largest Inukshuk statue - Schomberg, Ontario.
    • The unique, environmentally sensitive, Oak Ridges Moraine forms the height of land and divides the water drainage between Lake Simcoe and Lake Ontario. It contains the headwaters of over 35 rivers and streams in the Greater Toronto Area. About one third of York Region's total land area is within the Moraine.
    •  Jackson's Point is Ontario's first cottage country.
    •  Canada's Wonderland is Canada's largest single location employer of youth and York Region's top employer.
    •  The Varley Gallery in Markham is named in honour of Fred Varley, one of the Group of Seven founders. It is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2007.
    •  The Canadian Icefishing Championships take place in York Region on Lake Simcoe every year.
    • The McMichael Canadian Art Collection houses the largest collection of Canadian art.
    • York Region has the largest Italian community outside of Italy.

     

     More York Region facts can be found at About York Region.