# Parry Sound District

Parry Sound District is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its boundaries are District of Muskoka to the south, the Sudbury District to the north-northwest, the French River and Lake Nipissing in the north, Nipissing District and North Bay in the north and east and parts of Algonquin Park in the northeast.
It is geographically in Southern Ontario, but the Ontario and federal governments administer it as part of Northern Ontario. Like other census divisions in Northern Ontario, it does not have an incorporated county, regional municipality, or district municipality level of government but instead serves as a purely territorial division, like the other districts of Northern Ontario. Instead of an upper tier of municipal administration, all government services in the district are provided by the local municipalities or by the provincial government itself.
Some communities that are not part of any incorporated municipality are served by local services boards. The district is also included in the service areas of FedNor and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund. Accordingly, in most administrative contexts, the division is grouped with the Northern Ontario region instead of Southern Ontario, which is mainly geographic.
Along with the neighbouring Muskoka and Haliburton regions, the Parry Sound District is considered part of Ontario's cottage country, which is geographically in the primary region of Southern Ontario and the secondary region of Central Ontario. The district is commonly divided into two subregions, West Parry Sound and East Parry Sound, the latter of which is often referred to as the Almaguin Highlands.

## Subdivisions

Communities within these subdivisions are added in parentheses.
Towns:
* Kearney
* Parry Sound
* Powassan
Townships:
* The Archipelago
* Armour
* Callander
* Carling
* Joly
* Machar
* Magnetawan
* McDougall
* McKellar
* McMurrich/Monteith
* Nipissing
* Perry
* Ryerson
* Seguin
* Strong
* Whitestone
Villages:
* Burk's Falls
* South River
* Sundridge
Unorganized areas:
* Centre (Restoule)
* North East

### First Nations

Reserves:
* Dokis
* French River
* Henvey Inlet
* Magnetawan
* Naiscoutaing
* Shawanaga
* Wasauksing

## Original geographic townships

Status of geographic townships in Parry Sound District :
| Township | Unorganized | Incorporated | Annexed/Amalgamated |
| Armour | | Y | |
| Bethune | | | Annexed by the Town of Kearney. |
| Blair | Y | | |
| Brown | Y | | |
| Burpee | | | Part of the Municipality of Whitestone. |
| Burton | | | Part of the Municipality of Whitestone. |
| Carling | | Y | |
| Chapman | | | Part of the Municipality of Magnetawan. |
| Christie | | | Part of the Municipality of Seguin. |
| Conger | | | Part of the Municipality of the Archipelago, with a small part in the Municipality of Seguin. |
| Cowper | | | Part of the Municipality of the Archipelago. |
| Croft | | | Part of the Municipality of Whitestone, with a small part in the Municipality of Magnetawan. |
| East Mills | Y | | |
| Ferguson | | | Annexed by McDougall Township. |
| Ferrie | | | Part of the Municipality of Whitestone. |
| Foley | | | Part of the Municipality of Seguin. |
| Gurd | | | Annexed by Nipissing Township. |
| Hagerman | | | Part of the Municipality of Whitestone. |
| Hardy | Y | | |
| Harrison | Y (part) | | Most became part of the Municipality of the Archipelago. |
| Henvey | Y (part) | | Northern section was transferred to the Town of Killarney in Sudbury District. |
| Humphrey | | | Part of the Municipality of Seguin. |
| Joly | | Y | |
| Laurier | Y | | |
| Lount | Y | | |
| Machar | | Y | |
| McConkey | Y | | |
| McDougall | | Y | |
| McKellar | | Y | |
| McKenzie | | | Part of the Municipality of Whitestone. |
| McMurrich | | | Part of the Township of McMurrich/Monteith. |
| Monteith | | | Western two-thirds became part of the Municipality of Seguin, while the eastern third became part of the Township of McMurrich/Monteith. |
| Mowat | Y (part) | | Part transferred to the Town of Killarney in Sudbury District |
| North Himsworth | | Y | Now the Municipality of Callander. |
| Nipissing | | Y | |
| Patterson | Y | | |
| Perry | | Y | |
| Pringle | Y | | |
| Proudfoot | | | Annexed by the Town of Kearney. |
| Ryerson | | Y | |
| Shawanaga | Y (part) | | Most became part of the Municipality of the Archipelago. |
| South Himsworth | | | Annexed by the Municipality of Powassan. |
| Spence | Y | | |
| Strong | | Y | |
| Wallbridge | Y | | |
| Wilson | Y | | |

## History

The district falls under the Robinson-Huron Treaty in 1850. The Anishinaabeg/Anishinaabek - Ojibway, Odawa, and Potawatomi communities reside in the District of Parry Sound, which also encompasses the lands of the Wasauksing, Shawanaga, Magnetawan, Dokis, and Henvey Inlet First Nations.
During the early part of the 20th century, the area was a popular subject for the many scenic artworks of Tom Thomson and members of the Group of Seven.

### Forest fire protection history

The Parry Sound Forest Fire District was founded by Ontario's former Department of Lands and Forests (now the MNR) in 1922 as one of 17 districts to help protect Ontario's forests from fire by early detection from fire towers. The headquarters for the district were housed in the town of Parry Sound. It was the central location for 21 fire tower lookouts, including the Parry Sound fire tower, which was erected in the same location as the modern lookout tower at 17 George Street. The other 20 towers in the district were: Pickerel River CPR, Byng Inlet, Still River, Pointe au Baril, Pakesley, Pickerel River CNR, Key Junction, Ardbeg, Spence, Go Home, Loring, Stormy Lake (Restoule), Nipissing, Boulter, Lount, Laurier, Strong, Proudfoot, Stisted and Draper. When a fire was spotted in the forest a tower man would get the degree bearings from his respective tower and radio back the information to headquarters. When one or more tower men from other towers in the area would also call in their bearings, the forest rangers at headquarters could get a 'triangulation' read and plot the exact location of the fire on their map. This way a team of forest firefighters could be dispatched as soon as possible to get the fire under control. In 1969 there remained only 4 actively staffed towers: Ardbeg, Go Home, Stormy Lake, and Boulter. These would all be phased out shortly after when aerial firefighting techniques were employed in the 1970s.

## Demographics

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Parry Sound District had a population of 46,909 living in 20,848 of its 35,640 total private dwellings, a change of 9.5% from its 2016 population of 42,824. With a land area of 9,113.92 km$^2$ (3,518.90 sq mi), it had a population density of 5.1/km$^2$ (13.3/sq mi) in 2021.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1921 | 26,860 | — |
| 1931 | 25,900 | −3.6% |
| 1941 | 30,083 | +16.2% |
| 1951 | 27,371 | −9.0% |
| 1956 | 28,095 | +2.6% |
| 1961 | 29,632 | +5.5% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1966 | 28,335 | −4.4% |
| 1971 | 30,244 | +6.7% |
| 1976 | 32,654 | +8.0% |
| 1981 | 33,528 | +2.7% |
| 1986 | 33,828 | +0.9% |
| 1991 | 38,423 | +13.6% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1996 | 39,885 | +3.8% |
| 2001 | 39,665 | −0.6% |
| 2006 | 40,918 | +3.2% |
| 2011 | 42,162 | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 42,824 | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 46,909 | +9.5% |
Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes. Source: Statistics Canada :