in Chatsworth, Grey Highlands, Southgate, West Grey
September 21, 2025
BY SOUTHGREY.CA STAFF — The Municipality of Grey Highlands was formed on January 1, 2001, with the amalgamation of four smaller governments: the town of Markdale and the townships of Artemesia, Euphrasia, and Osprey. It was part of a major wave of municipal mergers in Ontario — Bill 26 — a provincial policy initiative enacted by the Conservative government of the time, led by Mike Harris.
A few years post-amalgamation, a study conducted by Brock University called Citizens’ Attitudes Toward Municipal Amalgamation researched residents’ attitudes across three Ontario municipalities with a mix of urban and rural ratepayers surveyed.
The study found that “(Municipal amalgamations in Ontario) had very little support before they were implemented. A combination of fear of the unknown, breakdown of community, loss of accountability, and concern regarding changes in tax and service levels made people wary of what was about to happen.” Further, the study suggested that "there was no tangible, financial benefit from amalgamation," according to the analysis.
A quarter century after-the-fact, we are approaching a milestone in the amalgamation experiment of 2001 and all the premonitions expressed in the Brock University study, seem to have come to fruition.
Despite this, Grey Highlands Council has recently revealed that plans are underway to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this municipality in 2026. We ask, “Are 25 years of amalgamation really worth celebrating?”
In this four-part series, we investigate. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s instalment:
25 Years of amalgamation in Grey Highlands: The Promises of Amalgamation
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