# Chatham-Kent

> rural municipality in Ontario, Canada

**Wikidata**: [Q113464](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q113464)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatham-Kent)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/chatham-kent

## Why It Matters
Chatham-Kent represents a significant administrative consolidation in Ontario's municipal governance history, created through the amalgamation of Kent County in 1998. As a single-tier municipality, it exercises both regional and local government powers, streamlining administrative services for over 100,000 residents across a predominantly rural landscape covering more than 2,450 square kilometres. The municipality plays a vital role in Southwestern Ontario's agricultural economy and serves as a cultural and economic hub connecting numerous small communities. Its strategic location between Lake Erie and Lake Saint Clair, bordering four other counties, positions it as an important corridor in the region's transportation and economic networks.

## Notable For
- Successfully transitioning from a county structure to a unified single-tier municipality in 1998
- Encompassing over 40 distinct communities within its boundaries, including Chatham (the largest city) and Wallaceburg
- Maintaining a stable population exceeding 100,000 residents across three consecutive census periods
- Covering one of the larger municipal areas in Southwestern Ontario at approximately 2,451.90 square kilometres
- Operating as both a city and census division, reflecting its complex administrative identity
- Being documented in major encyclopedic sources including Encyclopædia Britannica and The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Hosting the Chatham Memorial Arena as a municipally-owned facility
- Serving as the subject of Wikipedia articles in over 30 languages, indicating global recognition

## Body

### Administrative Identity and Governance
Chatham-Kent operates as a single-tier municipality and census division of Canada, located in the province of Ontario. This administrative structure means the municipality functions without a separate regional government, handling both local and upper-tier responsibilities. The legislative body governing the municipality is the Chatham-Kent Municipal Council. The head of government position has been held by Darrin Canniff since 2018, following Randy Hope who served from December 2006 until 2018.

### Historical Formation
The municipality was officially established on January 1, 1998, replacing the former Kent County administrative structure. This amalgamation consolidated numerous local municipalities into a single entity, streamlining governance across the region. The entity is distinct from the community of Chatham alone, which exists as one of many settlements within the larger Chatham-Kent boundaries.

### Geographic Extent and Boundaries
Chatham-Kent encompasses a land area of 2,451.90 square kilometres according to 2021 measurements (2,457.90 square kilometres in 2016). The municipality is positioned at coordinates 42.4° latitude and -82.183° longitude, with elevation ranging around 184 to 198 metres above sea level. It shares borders with four neighboring counties: Essex County, Lambton County, Elgin County, and Middlesex County.

The municipality is situated in relation to several significant water bodies. The Thames River flows through the area, while Lake Saint Clair lies to the west and Lake Erie to the east. This positioning between two major lakes influences the region's climate and economic activities.

### Demographics and Population
Population figures from recent censuses demonstrate demographic trends:
- 2021 Census: 103,988 residents
- 2016 Census: 101,647 residents
- 2011 Census: 103,671 residents

These figures indicate population fluctuation over the decade, with the 2021 count representing a slight increase from 2016 but remaining below the 2011 peak.

### Communications and Infrastructure
The municipality utilizes postal codes ranging from N0L to N8A. Local telephone services operate under area codes 519 and 226. The official website provides information in English at https://www.chatham-kent.ca/Pages/default.aspx. Chatham-Kent operates within the Eastern Time Zone.

### Contained Communities
The municipality encompasses numerous settlements of varying sizes. Major population centers include:
- Chatham (the largest city)
- Wallaceburg
- Blenheim
- Dresden
- Ridgetown

Additional communities within Chatham-Kent include Wheatley, Tilbury, Mitchell's Bay, Grande Pointe, North Buxton, Charing Cross, Merlin, Erie Beach, Shrewsbury, Rondeau Bay Estates, Morpeth, Highgate, Thamesville, Tupperville, Oldfield, Electric, Baldoon, Dover Centre, Oungah, Bear Line, Jeannettes Creek, Fletcher, Valetta, Quinn, Stevenson, and Raglan. This extensive list reflects the municipality's character as a collection of diverse rural and small-town communities.

### International Relationships
Chatham-Kent maintains a sister city relationship with Harpers Ferry, establishing international municipal ties. This twinning arrangement connects the Canadian municipality with its American counterpart.

### Property and Facilities
The municipality owns and operates the Chatham Memorial Arena, demonstrating its role in providing community recreational infrastructure.

### Academic and Reference Recognition
Chatham-Kent has been documented in several authoritative reference works:
- Encyclopædia Britannica (including the 11th edition)
- Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
- The Canadian Encyclopedia (article ID: chatham-kent)

The entity maintains numerous identification codes across library and academic systems, including Library of Congress Authority ID (n2010069512), VIAF ID (123400118), ISNI (0000000406050893), and GND ID (4704710-0).

### Digital Presence and Identifiers
Chatham-Kent maintains extensive digital footprints across various platforms and databases:
- Statistics Canada Geographic Codes: 3536 (single-tier municipality), 3536020 (city)
- GeoNames ID: 5920450
- OpenStreetMap Relation ID: 4010050
- TripAdvisor ID: 11825303
- Quora Topics: Chatham-Kent, Chatham-Kent-County
- AllTrails Trail ID: canada/ontario/chatham-kent
- iNaturalist Place ID: 49180
- OpenWeatherMap City ID: 5920450

The Wikipedia article exists in over 30 languages including English, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and many others, with a sitelink count of 35.

### Visual Documentation
Photographic documentation of Chatham-Kent is available through Wikimedia Commons, including images of the municipality, a locator map (Map_of_Ontario_CHATHAM-KENT.svg), a page banner featuring farm imagery, and photographs of municipal signage. These resources provide visual context for the municipality's character and geography.

## References

1. LinkedIn
2. [Source](https://www.chatham-kent.ca/localgovernment/mayor/Pages/Mayor-Darrin-Canniff.aspx)
3. GeoNames
4. Gazetteer
5. Canadian Encyclopedia
6. Canadian Geographical Names Database
7. Library of Congress Name Authority File
8. [Source](http://www.harpersferrywv.us/)
9. [Open ISNI for Organizations](https://isni.ringgold.com/api/stable/institution/0000+0004+0605+0893)
10. archINFORM
11. [Source](https://github.com/JohnMarkOckerbloom/ftl/blob/master/data/wikimap)
12. Virtual International Authority File
13. [Source](http://www.geopostcodes.com/Chatham_Kent)
14. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
15. MusicBrainz
16. Canada 2021 Census
17. Who's On First
18. Canada 2016 Census
19. BabelNet
20. Quora
21. Google News
22. [archINFORM](https://www.archinform.net/service/wd_aiort.php)
23. AllTrails
24. [iNaturalist](https://www.inaturalist.org/places/inaturalist-places.csv.zip)
25. National Library of Israel Names and Subjects Authority File