Wedding in Pickering
Pickering is a city located immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada.
Pickering has experienced rapid growth in the post-war period. Between the 1996 and 2001 Census, the municipality experienced a growth rate of 10 percent (78,989 people to 87,139). Population growth has slowed considerably in recent years, growing only slightly between the 2001 and 2006 census. This is due mainly to development restrictions on land in the northern portion of the City. Negotiations are ongoing to permit development in this area. Consequently, the City has estimated that by 2023, Pickering will be home to nearly 170,000 residents.
A significant portion of Pickering residents are classified as visible minorities. According to the 2001 Census, 9.3% of the City's population is Black, 7.0% South Asian, 2.2% Filipino and 2.0% East Asian. 73.5% of the population identifies as Caucasian.
Pickering is home to the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, an eight-reactor facility with a capacity of 4,120 megawatts. The first station, Pickering A, opened with four reactors in 1971. Ontario Power Generation, the plants' operator, is the largest single employer in the city. In 2001, the wind-powered OPG 7 Commemorative Turbine was opened on the Generating Station site.
Pickering is also the home of the head office of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. MPAC is responsible for value assessment for property tax purposes for all municipalities in Ontario.
Provincial Highway 401 travels east-west in the southern portion of the City. There are full interchanges at Whites Road and Brock Road and a partial interchange at Liverpool Road. Toll Highway 407 enters Pickering in the northwest from Markham and continues to its current terminus at Brock Road. Proposed expansion would see the highway extended eastward. Highway 7 continues eastward to Whitby from the end of Highway 407. Major Durham Regional roads include Taunton Road, which becomes Steeles Avenue in Toronto. Kingston Road, the original settlement road connecting Toronto and Kington and former Highway 2, is still a major local roadway and is maintained by Durham Region.
Pickering is served by the Durham District School Board and the Durham Catholic District School Board. As of early 2007, the Public board operates 17 elementary schools and two secondary schools, while the Catholic board runs seven elementary schools and one secondary school.
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