Elgin County (/ˈɛlɡɪn/EL-ghin) is a county composed of seven municipalities in Ontario, Canada with a 2021 population of 51,912. Its population centres are Aylmer, Port Stanley, Belmont, Dutton and West Lorne. The county seat is St. Thomas, which is separated from the county but within its geographic boundary.
Subdivisions
Elgin County is composed of seven incorporated municipalities (in order of population):
The City of St. Thomas is geographically within the boundaries of Elgin County and part of the Elgin census division, but is separated from county administration.
First settled in 1803. During the War of 1812 only twelve families lived in the township. In 1817 a company of Selkirk's Highlander settled in the Township. The Township is named after Dunwich in Suffolk.
Malahide
69,181 acres (108 sq mi; 280 km2)
Organized in 1810, named for Malahide Castle in Ireland, the former home of Thomas Talbot, patriot of the region. The Township was first settled in 1810.
South Dorchester
30,560 acres (48 sq mi; 124 km2)
Although surveyed in 1798, it was not settled until 1826.
Southwold
72,898 acres (114 sq mi; 295 km2)
Opened for settlement in 1797, however the first colonist arrived in 1809. Named for Southwold in Suffolk.
As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Elgin County had a population of 94,752 living in 37,278 of its 38,889 total private dwellings, a change of 6.5% from its 2016 population of 88,978. With a land area of 1,878.57 km2 (725.32 sq mi), it had a population density of 50.4/km2 (130.6/sq mi) in 2021.[9]
