Business View Magazine | February 2018

80 81 THE TOWN OF CALEDON, ONTARIO Caledon, Ontario A TRUE ‘COMMUNITY OF COMMUNITIES’ T hescenicenvironsofCaledon,Ontario are the icingonthecake thatmakesthis “communityofcommunities”anenviable placetolive,work,andvisit.Peoplelovethat itissafe,active,andenvironmentallyconscious;close tolargeurbancentresandmajortransportationroutes, yetrepletewithquaintvillages,nature,artsandculture, andabundantfarmfreshgoodness. TheTownofCaledonwasestablishedon January 1,1974; anamalgamationof the formerCountyof Peel townshipsofAlbion,Caledon,thenorthernhalf ofChinguacousy,andtheVillagesofBoltonand CaledonEast.Today,it forms thenorthernmunic- ipalityof theRegionofPeel.CaledonMayor,Allan Thompson,delves intothe intriguing logisticsof the town:“The regionofPeel hasabout1.5million people–about800,000 inthecityofMississauga toour immediatesouth,a dclose to700,000peo- ple intheCityofBrampton.Caledon is sittinghere withapopulationaround75,000and56percentof theentire landmassofPeelRegion.Underprovin- cial legislation,80percentof ourmunicipalityis underprotectionof somekind–coveringdevelop- mentonagricultural landor areas forgravel (we’re the largestproducer inOntario),andthebeautyof theOakRidgesMoraineandtheNiagaraEscarp- AT A GLANCE CALEDON, ONTARIO WHAT: A vibrant town of 75,000 WHERE: Region of Peel in the Greater Toronto Area WEBSITE: www.caledon.ca ment,andtheheadwatersofthemajorwatershedsthatflow southtowardLakeOntario.Youcouldfittheentirecityof Torontoinouruntouchableprotectedarea.” Mississauga,home toPearson InternationalAirport,isa huge tradehubforPeelRegionandToronto.Withall the developmentgoingon inthesurroundingarea,Caledon needsagoodtaxbasebalance tokeepfarmersandres- idents sustainable inthoseprotected landareas.Ithasn’t