We are a rural community in both geography and character. Travelling through town you will marvel at the rolling hills and the many streams and creeks which form the headwaters of three rivers; - the Humber and Credit that flow to Lake Ontario and the Nottawasaga that bends north to Georgian Bay. Additionally, Mono forms a portion of the headwaters of the Grand River, which flows to Lake Erie. This gives rise to the Town's slogan, 'the heart of the headwaters'.
Mono is best known for its spectacular landscape of escarpment, villages and tree-covered rolling hills. The UNESCOWorld Biosphere Reserve designated Niagara Escarpment informs the character of town providing breathtaking views. With our kilometres of trails you will find yourself invigorated by our natural beauty, rejuvenated by our boundless recreational opportunities and inspired by our eclectic artisans.
The Town of Mono is situated in south-central Ontario, Canada, at the south-east corner of County of Dufferin, just north of Caledon and northeast of Orangeville. It stretches from Highway 9 along its southern border to Highway 89 along its northern border. Its border to the west is with the Township of Amaranth and in the east it is bordered by the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio.
The Hockley Valley, running north-east from Highway #10 right across the municipality, is well-known for its natural beauty. For those interested in hiking, the Bruce Trail enters Mono at Highway #9 just east of Airport Road and meanders over the countryside through two Provincial parks up to Primrose where it crosses Highway #89 and continues its course north. Mono Cliffs Provincial Park contains part of the Niagara Escarpment, with its trails for summer hikers and winter cross-country skiers that are well maintained by the Ministry of Natural Resources. Hiking and skiing are also available in Monora Park on Highway #10/24 at the south end of Mono.
Mono's residents live on farms, rural estates and in small settlements. Mono Centre, Hockley and Camilla are just some of the small communities which lie within the Town of Mono.
It’s hard to believe that such a pastoral setting is just 45 minutes north of the metropolis, Toronto. A thousand shades of green paint the hillsides of Mono, excepting the winter months when everything is tucked in under a blanket of snow. Mono's diverse landscape was most recently sculpted when the glaciers retreated, leaving deep river valleys, abundant clear freshwater streams, cliffs and crevices.
The original Township of Mono was incorporated in 1850, though mention was made as far back as 1821 in the legislation that created Simcoe County. Simcoe County was later partitioned, along with Wellington County, to form the County of Dufferin. In 1999Mono changed from a Township, officially becoming the Town of Mono on May 14th of that year.
Considerable speculation surrounds the origin of the name Mono. It is suggested that Sir Peregrine Maitland, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1818 to 1828, and who had served in Spain, had a fondness for foreign names, may have named the township after the Spanish word for monkey: mono.
Some people claim that Mono was named after a daughter of the Shawnee chiefTecumseh; however, this interpretation has been challenged as historically inaccurate, citing that Tecumseh only had one child, a son named Pageshashenwa. Mulmur Township, located adjacent to Mono to the north, is said to be named after Tecumseh's son though this is by no means definitive. Another explanation is that Mono was named after the Gaelic wordmonadh, meaning hilly or hill-pasture.
In his book published in 1930 Indian Place Names in Ontario, Captain William Francis Moore further suggests that Mono may have taken its name from the word Mahnoo from an Indigenous language meaning "let it be so". Though he does not specifically attribute it, Moore likely took the meaning of Mahnoo from Elijah Middlebrook Haines' treatise on the culture and language of North American Indigenous peoples titled, The American Indian (Un-nish-in-na-ba). The Whole Subject Complete In One Volume published in 1888.
The origins of the name Mono may be lost in the sands of time; though, if you have any further insight, we would love to hear from you.
Town Crest
The Town crest was designed by Mr. William. J. Bakker in 1981 in a project celebrating the centennial year of Dufferin County.
The maple leaves at the top are reproduced from the County of Dufferin Coat of Armsand signify that Mono is one of its constituent municipalities, in addition to their symbolism of Canada itself.
The plough is a historical recognition of the farming pioneers who settled Mono and of the continued importance of agriculture in the municipality.
The three fish represent the three major rivers whose headwaters rise in Mono: the Credit, the Humber and the Nottawasaga, and also the abundant wildlife.
The tree represents Mono’s forests and natural beauty.
The skier represents the availability of recreational activities in Mono and the rolling terrain which constitutes much of the landscape.
The Town of Mono will be a safe, sustainable municipality where the new Economy, our Environment, our Community and our Natural Heritage can flourish in harmony.
Mission Statement
Town of Mono Council and Municipal Officials commit:
to preserve the natural heritage bequeathed to us by earlier generations,
to provide services to residents that are safe, sustainable and affordable, and
to balance our environment and economic success in a respectful and equitable manner.
The 3 E's
The Town has established three ‘themes’ as over-riding goals which are entrenched as corporate policy and that must be achieved in the following order for any proposal to proceed.
Protect our environment and rural character.
Ensure economic sustainability of our decisions.
Honour our commitments and be equitable in our dealings with stakeholders and others.
We call these goals the Three E's:
Environment
Economy
Equity
These are the tests we put ourselves, and others doing business with us, to with the order being as important as the tests themselves. If you can’t meet the first one ‘Environment’ you stop right there.
If you can, then we look at ‘Economic’ impact.
If you have passed both of these we look at whether it is ‘Equitable’, which has opposing forces working.
Any business or government should honour its commitments made in good faith. For example, a balance must be struck to meet the needs & expectations between a developing land owner and his neighbours whose interests are often in conflict.
The Town occupies 278.37 square km. According to the 2021 Census, Mono's population is 9,421 residing in 3,327 households. According to the 2011 Census, of those over 25, 65% hold a postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree. The average household income in Mono is $163,961.
The 2021 census indicated a population growth of 9.4% from 2016. This compares to the national average growth of 5.2%.
Land area is 278.37 square kilometres with a population density of 33.8 persons per square kilometre. This compares to the provincial land area of 892,411.76 square kilometres with a population density of 15.9 persons per square kilometre.
In 2021, Mono had 3,131 private dwellings occupied by usual residents.
Age distribution
In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Mono was 14.4%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 69.5% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 16.0%.In comparison, the national percentages were 68.5% for the population aged 15 to 64 and 16.7% for the population aged 0 to 14.
Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups
Both sexes
Males
Females
0 to 14
16.0%
15.4%
16.6%
15 to 64
69.5%
69.2%
69.8%
65 and over
14.4%
15.3%
13.6%
Source:Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census, Mono, ON
Reproduced and distributed on an "as is" basis with the permission of Statistics Canada.
Source: Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census, Mono, ON
Reproduced and distributed on an "as is" basis with the permission of Statistics Canada.
Median Age is age where half the population is older and half is younger. It is the age that divides a population in two groups of the same population size, one group being older than age 'x' and the other group being younger than age 'x', where 'x' is the median age.
In 2011, the median age in Mono was 45.9 years. In comparison, the median age of Ontario was 40.4 years.
Median age
2006
2011
Canada
39.5
40.6
Ontario
39.0
40.4
Mono
42.5
45.9
Source: Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census, Mono, ON
Reproduced and distributed on an "as is" basis with the permission of Statistics Canada.
Median Age is age where half the population is older and half is younger. It is the age that divides a population in two groups of the same population size, one group being older than age 'x' and the other group being younger than age 'x', where 'x' is the median age.
In 2011, the number of census families in Mono was 2,300, which represents a change of 7.5% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.
In Mono, 82.0% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 10.0% were common-law-couples and 8.0% were lone-parent families.
Geographic name
Total families
Married-couple families
Common-law-couple families
Lone-parent families
% change, census families, 2006 to 2011
number
%
number
%
number
%
Canada
9,389,695
6,293,950
67.0
1,567,905
16.7
1,527,840
16.3
5.5
Ontario
3,612,205
2,612,890
72.3
394,670
10.9
604,645
16.7
5.5
Mono
2,300
1,885
82.0
230
10.0
185
8.0
7.5
Caledon
17,250
13,895
80.6
1,415
8.2
1,940
11.2
3.8
Amaranth
1,160
910
78.4
140
12.1
115
9.9
1.8
Orangeville
7,895
5,325
67.4
1,055
13.4
1,510
19.1
3.5
Mulmur
1,050
810
77.1
135
12.9
110
10.5
5.0
Melancthon
820
595
72.6
135
16.5
95
11.6
-5.2
Adjala-Tosorontio
3,150
2,420
76.8
410
13.0
320
10.2
-0.3
Source: Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census, Mono, ON
Reproduced and distributed on an "as is" basis with the permission of Statistics Canada.
67.2% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (59.9%) or living with a common-law partner (7.3%).
The remaining 32.7% were not married and not living with a common-law partner, including those who were single (never-married), separated, divorced or widowed.
Among couples (married and common-law), 47.2% were couples with children aged 24 and under at home. In comparison, as a whole, 46.9% of couples in Canada had children aged 24 and under at home.
In 2011, 61.3% of the 5,195 adults aged 25 years and over in Mono had completed some form of postsecondary education, compared with 59.6% at the national level.
Of the population aged 25 years and over in Mono, 27.1% had a university certificate or degree. An additional 23.6% had a college diploma and 10.7% had a trades certificate.
The share of the adult population that had completed a high school diploma as their highest level of educational attainment was 26.6%, and 12.0% had completed neither high school nor any postsecondary certificates, diplomas or degrees.
Highest level of educational attainment
Mono
Number
%
Total – Population aged 25 years and over
5,195
100.0
No certificate, diploma or degree
625
12.0
High school diploma
1,380
26.6
Postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree
3,185
61.3
Trades certificate
555
10.7
Trades certificate or diploma (other than apprenticeship)
295
5.7
Registered Apprenticeship certificate
265
5.1
College diploma
1,225
23.6
University certificate below bachelor
240
4.6
University degree
1,170
22.5
Bachelor's degree
760
14.6
University certificate above bachelor
105
2.0
Degree in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or optometry
80
1.5
Master's degree
195
3.8
Earned doctorate
30
0.6
Source: Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census, Mono, ON
Reproduced and distributed on an "as is" basis with the permission of Statistics Canada.
