The Vibe

At first glance, Whitby feels like an unassuming town on the eastern shores of Lake Ontario. However, it’s the gem in Durham’s crown offering the perfect balance of rustic rural experiences and high-end living. We’re talking unexpected culinary adventures, unique pop-ups at sites like abandoned lakeside pump houses serving local craft beers, and local farm markets offering everything from a round of golf to tobogganing and gourmet homemade condiments and jams to scrumptious creative baked goods. It’s a lifestyle ideal for city lovers who’ve grown weary of the crowds ready to turn in their city slicker passports for a quieter lifestyle.

The Story

Whitby was originally known as Perry's Corners named after one of the area’s earliest settlers, Peter Perry. The town was renamed Whitby after a sister seaside town in Yorkshire, England in 1848. Whitby was in William Lyon Mackenzie’s riding where his frequent pre-1837 rebellion meetings had locals dubbing the town square “radical corners.”

Whitby’s prime location on Lake Ontario made it a transportation hub in the 19th century, where the harbour started shipping grain from northern farms in 1833. In the 1840s, a roadway between the Harbour, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay brought further trade and settlement to the area.

In 1852, The Town of Whitby became the seat of government for the County of Ontario, followed by incorporation as a town in 1855. The arrival of the Whitby-Port Perry Railway in 1869 made the area even more accessible but the township slowly was outshone by Oshawa to the east and Toronto to the west as the leading transportation centres.

The original site of the private residence for the Sheriff of Ontario County built between 1859 and 1862 was the largest private residence in North America until Casa Loma was built in 1914. The Elizabethan-style castle became too much for the Sheriff to manage, forcing him to sell his home for use as a private girls’ school in 1874. Known as Trafalgar Castle School, it continues to provide education for girls from around Ontario and is considered a provincial historic site.

Whitby was also the location of a secret spy training facility known as Camp X during World War II. A monument stands at the original site where the buildings were located. It was also the location where Soviet dissenter Igor Gouzenko lived in secretive protective custody at the end of the war.

In 1968, the former town of Whitby and the township of Whitby amalgamated as a new municipality. When the County of Ontario was dissolved in 1974, Whitby joined the ranks of the new Regional Municipality of Durham.

Today downtown Whitby and the hamlet of Brooklin located a few minutes north has a lovely selection of original homes reflecting Victorian and Georgian styles. These areas are also prized for their charming bungalows, craftsman homes and cottage-inspired houses on lovely lots with mature trees. Popular subdivisions dating from the 1970s and 1980s such as Fallingbrook and Pringle Creek are popular with families due to their large properties, spacious homes, and proximity to well-rated schools.

The Convenience

Whitby is under an hour’s drive east from downtown Toronto, sandwiched between the 401 to the south and 407 to the north. Whitby GO trains get you to Union Station in about 40 minutes, while GO buses travel the 407 to reach areas north of the 401.

This town has all the conveniences of the city with plenty of shopping at popular chain retailers, Oshawa, and Pickering Malls, as well as unique boutiques at Whitby’s downtown “four corners.” It has become a foodie destination with emerging brew pubs and up-and-coming chefs who continue to impress with creative menus served in eclectic restaurants.

Exceptional schools, a thriving athletic community, construction underway for a world-class sports facility and plans to build a community hospital, add to the many things on Whitby’s list of conveniences.

The location on the shores of Lake Ontario offers trails for hiking and biking, lovely natural surroundings include a wide variety of parks, and activities include skiing at nearby Dagmar, plenty of local skating rinks, soccer fields, golf courses and more.

The Residents

Whitby is becoming a more diverse community welcoming people from around the world, with growing populations of East Asian and Arabic backgrounds. Households tend to be of above average income earning about $142,000 annually compared to the provincial average of $116,000.

The Best Part

A thriving community of culinary experimentalists anxious to create unique experiences for the community continues to offer exciting dining experiences that are hard to find in Toronto’s suburbs. From local craft brew pubs to fusion cuisine and family-style service to farm-to-fork concepts, you’ll never run out of great places to enjoy drinks and dining close to home.