Whitby is my home, my job—and my passion. I LOVE Whitby and the Durham Region, and so should you. It is a great place to live, has a top-notch schooling system and a growing economic sector. But you know all that already. What you may not know are these 12 fun facts about Whitby!
12 Fun Facts About Whitby
Without further ado, here are my favourite 12 fun facts about Whitby, including information about its origin, namesake and sister cities…
1. Whitby was named after a seaport in the Yorkshire region of England.
2. The name \’Whitby\’ dates all the way back to the year 867, from the Danish—and the name is Danish for “White Village”.
3. The city has not one but TWO sister cities—Longueuil, Quebec and Feldkirch, Austria.
4. In WWII there was a secret spy training facility in the city known as Camp X.
5. In 1951 the population of Whitby was just over 7,000 people—and in 2011, just 60 years later has blossomed to over 120,000 people.
6. In the 5 years from 2001 to 2006 the population grew by almost 30%!
7. Our median household income is $84,000—which is WELL above the provincial average of just $60,500!
8. Whitby is home to major employers, including: Sobeys, Gerdau Ameristeel, the LCBO, Patheon, Johnson Controls, Lear, Automodular, McGraw-Hill Ryerson and more!
9. We have over 25 schools in Whitby, including 23 elementary schools and 4 secondary schools.
10. Whitby is one of the 100 biggest cities in all of Canada!
11. The Whitby Dunlops hockey team won a world championship in \’58 in Norway.
12. We have a number of famous people originally form Whitby, including: Criminal Minds actress A.J. Cook, hockey player Sandy Cohen, comedian and actor Kevin Duhaney, parliamentary member Jim Flaherty, Olympic gold medalists Adam Foote, Joe Nieuwendyk and Anne Ottenbriet, Canadian rapper K-OS, WWE wrestler Andrew \’Test\’ Martin, Hardy Boys author Leslie McFarlane, Canada\’s Next Top Model winner Andrea Muizelaar, and several NHL hockey players.
Whitby is a phenomenal city for a plethora of reasons, many of which were included in these fun facts about Whitby. Whitby\’s rich tapestry is nicely highlighted by the large number of famous contributors to Canada\’s political system, sports, TV and books—and of course its rich history. The throngs of new residents moving to the city every year would agree!
If you\’re a newcomer to the city and are choosing which part of our great city to live in—call Cheryl for information on some of the city\’s best neighbourhoods.
