York Regional Council


York Regional Council is the political body for the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario, Canada. Created in 1970, it consists of 20 elected representatives plus the Regional Chair. The elected members are the mayors of each of its nine municipalities, as well as an additional eleven Regional Councillors from the more populous municipalities—four from Markham, three from Vaughan, two from Richmond Hill and one each from Georgina and Newmarket. These members are elected via double direct election.
The Regional Chair is elected at large by the members of Regional Council at their inaugural meeting and serves a four-year term. The first Regional Chair, Garfield Wright, was appointed by the provincial government upon the creation of York Region and served for two terms. The current Regional Chair is Wayne Emmerson
Regional Council usually meets on the third Thursday of each month at 9:30am at the York Region Administrative Centre offices in Newmarket.

Membership

2018-2022 Regional Council

The chairman and CEO for this term is Wayne Emmerson.

2014-2018 Regional Council

The chairman and CEO of York Regional Council is Wayne Emmerson, who was elected by a majority of York Region Councillors on December 11, 2014.

2010-2014 Regional Council

The chairman and CEO of York Regional Council was Bill Fisch.

Regional Committees

There is no executive committee, rather ideas are brought forth in regional committees and voted upon by the council.
Services under the region's scope include:
The Regional Chair is the CEO of the Region and serves, ex officio, on all Committees. The position replaced the former Warden of York County and is selected by the other members of Regional Council.
Regional ChairTerm of OfficeNotes
Garfield Wright1971-1978Former Town Councillor, Deputy Reeve and Reeve of East Gwillimbury; Former Warden of York County ; Appointed Regional Chair by Lieutenant-Governor in Council. Died 2009.
Bob Forhan1978-1984Former hockey player and high school teacher; Town Councillor and Mayor of Newmarket ; CAO of York Region
Died 2018.
Tony Roman1984Township Councillor, Regional Councillor and Mayor of Markham, Federal Member of Parliament for York North. Died 1992.
Eldred R. King1984-1997Vice Chair and Chair of GO Transit, member of the Markham Township School Board and councillor on Markham Township Council, member of Whitchurch-Stouffville Township Council and Mayor of the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville. Died 2011.
Bill Fisch1997–2014Lawyer, formerly practicing in Thornhill, Ontario ; Former Councillor, Ward 7 and Regional Councillor for Markham.
Wayne Emmerson2014–presentFormer Town Councillor and Mayor of Whitchurch-Stouffville.

Former Regional Councillors

Regional CouncillorTerm of OfficeNotes
Ronald Moran1972-1991Former Deputy Mayor of Markham; Died 2013
Donald Cousens1994-2006former mayor of Markham, Died 2017.
Tony Roman1971-1984 and 1988-1992former mayor of Markham and Regional Chair, Died 1992.
Tony Wong2006-2009former Markham Town Councillor, Died 2009.

York Region Administrative Centre

York Regional Council main operations are located at 17250 Yonge Street. The four floor complex was designed by Canadian architect Douglas Cardinal and opened in 1992. It features an organic building shape with various towers located at the end. The main entrance features two clock towers.
Before 1992 it sat at 50 Eagle Street now home to the Newmarket Courthouse.
A new 8 storey glass annex by WZMH Architects is planned to consolidated various rented facilities and also house the Newmarket Courthouse by 2020.