Tay is a township in Central Ontario, Canada, located in Simcoe County in the southern Georgian Bay region. The township was named in 1822 after a pet dog of Lady Sarah Maitland (1792–1873), wife of Sir Peregrine Maitland, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. Two other adjoining townships were also named for her pet dogs, Tiny and Flos (now Springwater Township).[2]
History
The current territory of Tay was home to the Wendat towns of Teanaostataé (St. Louis), and Taenhatentaron (St. Ignace). Together with the nearby town of Teanaustayé (St. Joseph) in nearby Hillsdale they were destroyed by the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) in 1648–1649. During this warfare, the JesuitsJean de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant were killed at Taenhatentaron.[3]
In 1994, under countywide municipal restructuring, the Villages of Port McNicoll and Victoria Harbour were amalgamated with Tay.
Communities
The township comprises the villages and rural hamlets of Ebenezer, Elliots Corners, Melduf, Mertzs Corners, Ogden's Beach, Old Fort, Paradise Point, Port McNicoll, Riverside, Sturgeon Bay, Triple Bay Park, Vasey, Victoria Harbour, Waubaushene and Waverley.
Port McNicoll
Victoria Harbour
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Tay had a population of 11,091 living in 4,535 of its 5,301 total private dwellings, a change of 10.5% from its 2016 population of 10,033. With a land area of 137.86 km2 (53.23 sq mi), it had a population density of 80.5/km2 (208.4/sq mi) in 2021.[1]
